Veteran, acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in 2024 and burst onto the scene with a high success rate in St. Louis, feels he "let a lot of people down" with his play last season
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- When Cam Fowler stepped to the podium last week, there was no sugar-coating. There was no hiding from what he considered the harsh reality of facts.
“Last year it’s no secret, it was a difficult season for me personally,” the 34-year-old defenseman said succinctly. “I’ll be the first one to say that I wasn’t anywhere near the player that I expect to be.”
This is a player with 16 years’ worth of experience and 1,124 regular-season NHL games. You take him at his word for it. And you wouldn’t expect anything less than the honest truth, but watching a step back, Fowler isn’t off with his assessment.
When the St. Louis Blues acquired him from the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 14, 2024 for minor league defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka and a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, it was a steal of a deal. Fowler came to St. Louis and made an immediate impact.
After having just four assists in 17 games with the Ducks, he flourished with 36 points (nine goals, 27 assists) and a plus-19 in 51 games for the Blues, helping them go on a tear and reach the Stanley Cup playoffs to face the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets, and Fowler had 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in a seven-game series ultimately won by Winnipeg.
The Blues were so impressed with the return they got from a player that thrived playing with Colton Parayko, they signed him to a three-year extension at $6.1 million average annual value that carries a full no-trade clause until Jan. 29, 2027, to which it becomes a 15-team NTC.
Fowler played in all 82 games last season, but there was something missing; he did finish with 30 points (four goals, 26 assists) but was a minus-11 averaging 21:05 time on ice per game after averaging 21:42 the previous season.
“I went home this summer, reflected on a lot and really just got back to basics,” Fowler said. “I really had an emphasis on working hard this summer and making sure that I’m ready to go, and that’s mentally as much as it is physically. They know what they’re getting from me. I’m happy to slot into the lineup wherever they feel is the best opportunity for me. I’m looking forward to getting back to some competitive hockey and getting back to the player that I know I can be because I just felt like I let a lot of people down last year in that regard. I don’t want that to happen again.”
At the outset, the Blues are pairing Fowler with fellow veteran Brandon Carlo, acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on the second day of the 2026 draft for two 2026 third-round picks. It looks like it could be a good match, but in order to get the Fowler of old back into the fold, Blues coach Jim Montgomery likely paired Carlo with Fowler to put a reliable, stable, defensive-minded guy there so that Fowler can get back to doing what he does best: jump into the offense and make his mark there.
“It’s a guy that’s taking the puck and skating,” Montgomery said of Fowler’s best attributes. “He was in a 4-on-2 and a 3-on-2 today. He almost tipped in a backdoor pass. It’s him getting in and out and it’s him dictating plays going north. When he’s playing on his toes offensively, the rest of the game takes care of itself.”
Perhaps adding a familiar face should help Fowler get back to his top-end game again with the addition of former Ducks coach Greg Cronin, who the Blues hired as an assistant that will work with the defensemen and who coached Fowler in Anaheim in 2023-24 and 24-25 prior to being traded here.
“Obviously I have a good relationship with ‘Crow,’ playing for him in Anaheim,” Fowler said. “I think anyone that spends time with him knows he’s a hard-nosed guy that demands a lot but also is fully transparent with his players and wants us to be the best version of ourselves. He’s going to push us every day. I think he wants us to be uncomfortable in the things that we’re doing to help push us to be better players, but he does have a soft side to him. He really does care about us as people and our families. I’m looking forward to getting the opportunity to working with him again.”
Perhaps making a veteran feel uncomfortable may be the best medicine Fowler can get, and get him back to the 2024-25 Blues version.
“It was definitely something that was unique for me the first time I met (Cronin), some of the things that we were working on in training camp there in Anaheim,” Fowler said. “I can honestly say the way that he approaches the game, especially from a defensive mindset and working with the ‘D’, that stuff, if we get more and more comfortable with it will help us defensively as a team and individually. There are times, if you guys are watching, you’ll see some of the things that we’re doing, it’s definitely unique to hockey but it’s a lot about body position, making sure that our shoulders are staying square and that we’re in between the player and the net and making sure that we’re not giving up easy opportunities. Those are big, key factors for him and something that we’ll really be working on in training camp.”
A more well-polished Fowler and Carlo third pairing behind Philip Broberg and Logan Mailloux along with Parayko and Theo Lindstein can really balance out this Blues defensive unit.
“We understand that there’s going to be wins and losses along the way but it’s about the approach that we have and the process of what we’re doing that’s most important to us,” Fowler said. “I don’t feel like we did a good enough job of that last year and that’s everyone, myself included. There’s definitely an emphasis on that this coming season.”
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