The St. Louis Blues had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity against the Presidents' Trophy winners of the 2024-25 season, the Winnipeg Jets, in the first round of the playoffs. It would end in heartbreak, as the Blues would give up two goals in the final two minutes of the third period, and then the eventual series-clincher in double overtime.
But what if that didn't happen? What if the Blues held off the late rally and moved on to the next round of the playoffs that year? How much different would things be now?
Let's talk about it.
Surviving and moving on?
When the Blues lost to the Jets in game seven, the winners went on to face-off against the Dallas Stars. So, in this sense, if the Blues had beaten the Jets, Dallas would have been their next stop.
That matchup would have been interesting for two reasons. The Stars were a force to be reckoned with in that season of 2024-25, and they narrowly made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, losing to Edmonton in five games of the Western Conference Final.
The other was that the Blues were a special group themselves. Riding that high from knocking out the regular-season champs might have added some wind to their sails as they moved on.
How would things look now?
The main result of the reality check that the Blues lost in seven games is that they were not as good as everyone thought. That was evident last season, the 2025-26 season, in which disappointment was seen all over the ice. This team had an identity crisis, hence the reason for the new era of younger players now taking shape as the core group.
If they had won, however, there is enough evidence that maybe the 2025-26 season might have been different. The offseason might have seen more action from then-General Manager Doug Armstrong, as they only really signed Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad and traded Zack Bolduc for Logan Mailloux. Nothing spectacular with the first-round exit.
Had it been a series win instead, the Blues might be still in that championship window with a better chance at bringing in top talent to St. Louis. It would not have been a complete 180-degree turn from where they are now, as the foundation for acquiring young, blossoming prospects has been in the works for years. Eventually, this franchise was going to wrap it up and start over.
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