{"time":1777586210878,"blocks":[{"id":"1c8zwyWeLQ","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"ST.\nLOUIS – The words were simple from the St. Louis Blues going into\nthe 2025-26 season after the season ending so excruciatingly painful\nin the playoffs the previous season: they’ll come back hungrier and\nmotivated as to not experience such a feeling again."}},{"id":"-7fCxJMMJC","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nWell,\nthey got one part right: they won’t have to experience the pain of\nlosing a Game 7 of a playoff series in double overtime, after leading\nby two like they did against the Winnipeg Jets, at least not for this\nseason."}},{"id":"du_XSy0BPK","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nThat’s\nbecause they never gave themselves a chance to join the party of the\nStanley Cup playoffs for a second straight season with a terrible\nstart to their season."}},{"id":"jLfc9aK-ze","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nGeneral\nmanager Doug Armstrong, who was hoping for a much better swan song as\nhis last as GM before Alexander Steen takes the reigns on July 1, had\nused the words ‘disappointing’ and ‘embarrassing’ in\ninterviews at times describing the Blues’ play."}},{"id":"mom0xf3b","type":"video","data":{"url":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/cb0137db-0974-4941-9c2f-129df6c458c4/mp4","caption":"","autoplay":false,"controls":true,"muted":false,"stretched":true,"width":0,"height":0,"image":{"url":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/cb0137db-0974-4941-9c2f-129df6c458c4/thumbnail"},"cdn":{"videoId":"cb0137db-0974-4941-9c2f-129df6c458c4","libraryId":"372172","collectionId":"30032062-eefd-4041-a355-12ad05bc987b","cdnBaseUrl":"https://vz-052fc010-b27.b-cdn.net","mp4Url":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/cb0137db-0974-4941-9c2f-129df6c458c4/mp4","thumbnailUrl":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/cb0137db-0974-4941-9c2f-129df6c458c4/thumbnail","previewAnimationUrl":"https://vz-052fc010-b27.b-cdn.net/cb0137db-0974-4941-9c2f-129df6c458c4/preview.webp"}}},{"id":"KKfGHBumE1","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nYes,\nthey finished the season above .500 when all was said and done\n(37-33-12) because of another strong finish to the season\npost-Olympics (17-5-3), but as Armstrong said in his season-ending\ncomments, “This group, when we got back into it and we had to put\nour own money back on the table, we didn’t\nget the job done. There’s just a different feeling on the winning\npercentage post-4 Nations (than) post-Olympics for me. I assume\nthey’re somewhat close, the winning percentage but there’s a much\ndifferent feeling going into the summer now than I had, and it’s\nnot based on making or missing the playoffs, it’s based on those\nmassive games where we didn’t perform to the level that was\nnecessary.”"}},{"id":"aZtEc85a3g","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nThe\nBlues missed out on the playoffs this season by four points, and\nthere’s a plethora of games we can point to as to why, but that’s\nnot why we’re here. We’re here to determine if anyone had a good\nyear, if anyone had a great year. Who was meh? Who didn’t perform\nup to expectations?"}},{"id":"1gXyq7GYo1","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Trust me when I say that if the end of season doesn't happen, there would be a number of F's handed out. "}},{"id":"vQZoh7rv3V","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"But ... "}},{"id":"osfY6QbBCW","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nI\ngive you my grades for the 2025-26 roster, the job Montgomery and his\nstaff did as coaches and Armstrong in putting together this roster."}},{"id":"OZCzLdo6V6","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nFORWARDS"}},{"id":"jbbuKNUTwq","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nRobert\nThomas – If you want to make the comparison of player and the team\nhe plays for, how reflective said player and team was from\npre-Olympics to post-Olympics play. Look no further than the\n26-year-old. Just like last season when Thomas tore up the league\nafter the 4 Nations Face-Off, he ripped through the league again with\n31 (14 goals, 17 assists) of his 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in\nthe final 22 games played and an exceptional plus-25. Sure, it all\ncame with the Blues buried at the bottom of the league standings when\nthe post-Olympic schedule resumed Feb. 26. And most importantly, this\nplay came after A) being fully healthy following a leg procedure that\nhad apparently been bothering him since late last season and B)\nformulating a line with Dylan Holloway and Jimmy Snuggerud. Now we\nunder stand that Thomas was playing less than 100 percent the first\n42 games he played; he finally said enough was enough and played his\nlast game Jan. 10 before returning on March 1. Thomas finished as a\npoint-per-game player (64 in 64 games) and that’s on pace for 82\npoints in a full season and averaged 19:01 per game (down from 19:58\nlast season), but I think to a fault, how good could he have been had\nhe had this procedure done last off-season? I think he chose not to\naddress it before because he wanted to see if he could play through\nwhat was bothering him to see if he could still produce but to also\nnot louse up a chance at playing for Canada in Milan. And as it\nturned out, it was to his own detriment. Putting up 33 points (11\ngoals, 22 assists) is not terrible by any stretch, but there was\nobviously was something off in his first 42 games of the season And\nthat was when the Blues needed to perform most as to be relevant at\nthe end. I just feel like he left something on the table trying to\nplay hurt."}},{"id":"5ZjrwendTN","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – B"}},{"id":"WU9Kqx37vQ","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nJimmy\nSnuggerud – There’s some similarities here between the rookie and\nThomas, only in the sense that he may have been dragged down prior to\ninjuring himself, Snuggerud’s being his wrist. He played 26 games\nbefore stepping away after a Nov. 29 game to get his wrist fixed with\nsurgery, which cost him roughly a month. But it was a really good\nfirst full season for the 21-year-old, and he exploded as well\npost-Olympic break with 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 25 games\nand a plus-21 rating. Snuggerud finished with 51 points (21 goals, 30\nassists) in 70 games playing 16:42 a game, but like Thomas, just\nwasn’t quite there early on, by his own admission. And that’s\nnatural, since he’s learning the nuances of the NHL in his first\nfull season. This kid is so smart and has such a feel for the game,\nnot only with his shot but is a smart passer and reads and reacts to\nthe game as it happens. I’m probably being hard on him by not\npushing his grade higher but when he tells us he wasn’t good enough\nearly in the season (24 points; 10 goals, 14 assists in 45 games)\nwhen the Blues has to have better play, that’s just a mature kid\nbeing honest with himself. I love his upside and see a 30-40 goal\nscorer, point-per-game player in the league very soon."}},{"id":"GgQYZKA3Uz","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – B+"}},{"id":"RpAXWt0LZj","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nDylan\nHolloway – Another player whose season was derailed by injury, but\nthis stems to coming back from a major surgery to repair a torn\nabductor muscle off his hip that really put the 24-year-old up\nagainst it. Like his two linemates, he tore it up post-Olympics to\nthe tune of 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists) in 25 games and a\nleague-best plus-26; he finished the season with 51 points (22 goals,\n29 assists) in 59 games averaging a career-high 18:15 per game. And\nit was no coincidence either. Holloway was finally(!) healthy. You\nknew it was going to be a challenge to pick up where he left off\nafter last year’s 63-point (26 goals, 37 assists) season. It was\ngoing to take some time to fully be back from such a serious injury,\nbut Holloway had – like the team – an inconsistent way of\nproducing early. But then things got worse on Dec. 14 when he\nsuffered a high right ankle sprain in practice. That cost him a total\nof two more months of action. To that point, he had just 17 points\n(eight goals, nine assists) in 34 games, far below his pace of a year\nago. But one thing that never wavered to me, even fighting through\ngetting back from the pelvic injury, was Holloway’s willingness to\naffect the game through his forechecking and skating ability. When he\nwas effective in those areas, he had such an impact on the Blues’\nresults. It was at peak performance from Feb. 26 on. I’m giving him\nthe benefit of the doubt for the early-season point drought because\nit’s not an easy injury to come back from, and the sprained ankle\ndidn’t help things. I think post-Olympic Holloway is that guy, but\nnow he has to go prove it with his next contract that he can stay\nhealthy. But this dude is someone the Blues should build around, and\nthey will. He’s a RFA this summer; all that’s left to decide is\nwhether a long-term contract now comes with it or a bridge contract."}},{"id":"HjYj9KOdXr","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – B+"}},{"id":"hA3hjLYQYW","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nPavel\nBuchnevich – There’s going to be a couple that I will describe\nwith such words: I needed to see more … way more. Here’s another\nplayer that had a decent (not as good as the aforementioned trio)\nfinish to the season with 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in\n24 games and a plus 5 post-Olympic break, but 48 points (20 goals, 28\nassists) and a minus-10 in a career-high 81 games played this season\nfor a player that started his $8 million AAV contract for six seasons\nwas just not good enough. In his five seasons as a Blue, the\n31-year-old has gone from 76 to 67 to 63 to 57 to 48 points with five\nyears left on his contract. If I’m a Blues fan, I’d be concerned.\nI just didn’t see that consistent bite in his game, and that\nincludes being a fundamentally sound defensive player. There were\nmoments but not nearly enough for someone playing a top six role.\nBuchnevich’s ice time has gone from 19:48 to 19:02 to 17:56 this\nseason, and it’s been reflective in his play. He did match his goal\ntotal of last season, but too many games this season be looked\nineffective. Coming back, he’s got to have more of an impact on\ngames moving forward."}},{"id":"DBRGYu_Nkg","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – D+"}},{"id":"G-qOMgb9h9","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nJordan\nKyrou – I’ll get the injury to his knee which evidently required\na minor procedure here recently out of the way now. Maybe it affected\nhis play, maybe it didn’t, but I’ll say the same thing as I said\nin the Thomas capsule: if you’re healthy enough to play, you’re\nhealthy enough to perform. I don’t know when a knee issue popped\nup, but 18 goals, 28 assists and 46 points in 72 games isn’t nearly\ngood enough for someone getting paid as much as Thomas. This is one\nof the offensive catalysts – or is supposed to be – on this\nroster and those numbers are Kyrou’s fewest since first full season\nin 2020-21, and he only played 55 games that season. Someone whose\nice time has gone down the past three seasons (18:20, 17:29, 15:44)\nhas been reflective, especially this season. I didn’t think Kyrou’s\ndefense was poor for a second straight season (although he was a\nminus-5), but he’s paid to affect the game offensively, and that\nwasn’t nearly good enough. Kyrou, like Thomas, has four years left\non his contract that pays him an AAV of $8.125 million per season,\nand I don’t know if a fresh start is in the cards for him, but if\nhe returns to St. Louis next season, he’s got to get back to the\nplayer that averaged just under 35 goals and 70 points per season for\nthe Blues to take those next steps. Because 18-28=46 just doesn’t\ncut it."}},{"id":"MQsfYbMx2_","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – D+"}},{"id":"2vinBkXhRh","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nJake\nNeighbours – Hard worker, motivator, voice in the room and on the\nbench. Never in question. Now comes the production, and when the\n24-year-old scored six times in the first eight games of the season,\nyou may have been thinking – I know I was – here comes the guy\nthat scored 27 goals two years ago storming back. But from Nov. 20\non, which includes 61 games, Neighbours put up nine goals the rest of\nthe season and 29 points, scoring in only seven of the remaining 61\ngames; he finished with 36 points (15 goals, 21 assists) in 69 games\nwho missed time with a lower-body injury early in the season blocking\na shot in Detroit. His average time on ice was 15:14, slightly below\nthe 15:54 he played a season ago, and his shooting percentage\nslightly dipped to 17.4 percent from 18 percent, but the power play\npoints also dropped from 14 two years ago to 12 last year to just\nseven this season. This is a guy that makes his living around the\nnet, and he will get high percentage looks. That’s what makes his\ngoal production a bit concerning, going from 27 to 21 to 15. He is\nonly 24 years old and hasn’t reached his peak yet, at least we\ndon’t think. The work ethic is always there, and that’s not going\nto change. And when Neighbours was in the midst of a 23-game goal\nscoring drought late in the season, he was as critical of himself as\none would be. He took accountability knowing he’s a factor in this\nlineup that was 22nd in goals for this season (2.82 per game).\nNeighbours is such a wild card in Jim Montgomery’s lineup that he\nplayed anywhere from the first to third lines, but that versatility\nhas to produce results, too. When Neighbours scored 27 two seasons\nago, maybe the bar was set that he could push 30 or more. That’s\nnot his standard, but getting into the 20s is not out of his reach on\na regular basis. He didn’t get there this year and needs to be\nbetter moving forward."}},{"id":"4_sAwLgz2l","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – C-"}},{"id":"aRihtk7_8T","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nPius\nSuter – Another player who’s expectations were probably elevated\nafter putting up 25 goals last season with the Vancouver Canucks. The\nBlues signed the 29-year-old to a two-year, $8.25 million ($4.125\nmillion AAV) contract to fill a void down the middle and actually was\nvery serviceable in the 64 games he played this season that included\nsome down time due to injury and included 29 points (13 goals, 16\nassists) that averaged 15:54 ice time per game (down from 17:21 last\nseason). Suter was good on a penalty kill that for most of the\nseason, wasn’t, and was a solid defensive option that provided\nstability down the middle of the ice. Here’s another player,\ndespite his smaller stature, doesn’t shy away from making his\nliving in and around the net, which makes the 13 goals a little\nshorter than perhaps expected, although last season’s goal total is\nlikely an anomaly after scoring 14, 14, 15 and 14 his first four\nseasons. Was I expecting 25? No, but closer to 20 was more of a\nrealization and going from 46 to 29 points was a a bigger dip than I\nthought. I liked the player’s defensive habits; the Blues would\nlike to see them moving forward into the final year of his contract.\nThe offense, though, as Suter was at times used on the power play and\ngiven top six minutes, can use an uptick."}},{"id":"bQy7g6R5_p","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – C+"}},{"id":"Zv78_Q1DDq","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nDalibor\nDvorsky – Like Snuggerud, first full season in the NHL can be a\nchallenge, learning all the nuances of playing and living life in the\nNHL can have its ups and downs, and Dvorsky certainly had his share.\nHe finished with 21 points (12 goals, nine assists) in 71 games while\naveraging 14:20 per game The Blues fluctuated Dvorsky’s ice time\nand responsibilities, giving him good ice time, then pulling him back\nthroughout the season. It’s as if they were testing him to see how\nmuch he could handle and how much he couldn’t. The results were a\nbit mixed. There were certainly good stretches but also stretches\nwhere you would like to see more. He’s a shooter, and seeing 93\nshots (1.31 per game) needed an uptick, and quite frankly, given a\nrole behind Thomas down the middle, the production is OK for a\nfirst-year player. We’ll see if those numbers can get a boost\nmoving forward. But at 5-on-5, you would have liked to see a little\nbetter than 14 points. He’s going to get a bigger chance to boost\nhis value next season, and the 20-year-old that represented Slovakia\nat the Olympics is the player the Blues hope to see grow more.\nDvorsky also learned the valuable lessons of winning face-offs\nagainst top-tiered guys in the NHL is a little more difficult than he\nexpected (46 percent). I would call skating efficiency one of\nDvorsky’s main areas of improvement. The shot mentality, one-timers\nfrom the right circle specifically, was one area I saw as something I\nthink Dvorsky can build on, and I can’t really say he was really\ndeficient in other areas. Again, for a first-year player, we’ll see\nwhat he can grow from this season and you can only hope for\nimprovements moving forward, and there are a number of areas that\nwill need to improve for this player to be a factor for the\nfranchise."}},{"id":"dwFFGqmhwy","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – C"}},{"id":"NOWRBByi-C","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nOskar\nSundqvist – What I will start out saying about Sundqvist is he’s\na tried and true Blue, loyal to the franchise from the moment he\narrived in St. Louis in 2017. A warrior, a top-trusted player no\nmatter who’s been the coach here, but we’re judging the\n32-year-old’s season this year, and he played in just 52 games with\n17 points (five goals, 12 assists) and was a minus-18. From an effort\nstandpoint, much like Neighbours, that has never been in question\nwith the 32-year-old Sundqvist, and I understand that fourth-line\nplayers are no the make-or-break guys if you’re looking to be\ndifference makers from an offensive standpoint, but his offense has\nwaned in each of his past three seasons since returning to the Blues\nas a free agent. The Blues just got little to no offense from their\nenergy guys this season, and we’ll get into that with the others\nlater. Sundqvist has never been fleet of foot when it comes to speed\nas a skater, but I think his healthy scratches in the second half of\nthe season came as a result of when he was in the lineup, he would\ntake the ill-timed minor penalty/penalties, and quite frankly, the\nBlues were looking at younger players that compensated for his ice\ntime, which dipped to 12:58 per game, down from 13:12 a year ago.\nSundqvist will be a UFA this summer, and the only way I see the Blues\nand his former teammate/GM-in-waiting Alex Steen offering a contract\nis one-year deals at the league minimum to be a depth forward with\nexperience. I don’t know if Sundqvist at this point in his career\nwould be willing to move somewhere else, with his wife being from St.\nLouis and a newborn daughter, but I just think his peak production\nwhen he was here as a Stanley Cup champion to be specific is beyond\nhim, and it showed this season. If indeed this is it for him in St.\nLouis, Sundqvist will always go down in Blues lore for being a key\ncog on that fourth line as part of a championship team and will never\nbe forgotten for it."}},{"id":"rmNtt86GHW","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – D+"}},{"id":"xIc5cYX-QU","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nJonatan\nBerggren – I have to admit, I didn’t know much about the player\nother than he played for the Detroit Red Wings when the Blues picked\nup the 25-year-old off waivers on Dec. 16. I quickly came to realize\nthat when the puck is on his stick, there is a gift to Berggren’s\ngame; he finished with 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 51\ngames overall, including 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 36\ngames with St. Louis and a career-high 14:35 average time on ice, but\nthose numbers could have been better had some of the precision plays\nhe was able to make were put into the back of the net by various\nBlues teammates he was on a line with. He was an obvious project the\nBlues felt was worth looking at, and I think the Blues realize the\nplayer Berggren is and things he can improve upon moving forward. One\nof them is his play away from the puck, something I’ve spoken to\nhim about when talking about his game. I think he’s someone that\ncan be in the 15-20 goal range at his best, and I’d like to see his\nfinishing be more on par the more he plays. I was one of the ones\nalways curious when Berggren was healthy-scratched but understood\nthat if he’s going to play for this coaching staff, he has to be\nmore adept to the defensive side of things and be more hard-nosed on\nthe puck. Offensively, I liked a lot of the things I saw and the\npotential that comes with it. I would have liked to see him more as a\nshooter, but that will come with more time and reps. And if he can\nget that 200-foot game down pat, I think he can be more of a regular\nin this lineup. Berggren is a RFA this summer. It’ll be interesting\nto see how the Blues handle his contract situation. Perhaps this is\nyour prototypical bridge type of contract to prove himself if he can\nbe here long-term or a flash in the pan."}},{"id":"bRnCDYE3CM","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – B-"}},{"id":"Hce4Hwwy41","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nAlexey\nToropchenko – Effort, speed, forechecking, physical. All traits you\ncheck the boxes for when you’re talking about Toropchenko, and the\neffort was always there, the speed rarely lacked, but I just felt the\nforechecking and physicality at times – not often – seemed off.\nAnd if you’re not creating momentum from the fourth line with that\nintensity and forechecking style, you better be providing it more on\nthe scoresheet, and like Sundqvist, I needed more from guys like the\n26-year-old who had just four goals and seven assists in 65 games\nthis season, who also missed some time to injury. I remember when\nToropchenko, whose ice time fell to 11:59 per game from 12:30 last\nseason, scored 14 goals two years ago, and you’re thinking OK, this\ncan be good to get near the mid-teens from a fourth-line winger, but\nin his last 145 regular season games: eight goals. There just has got\nto be more of it there, and he had good looks to either score or set\nup someone for a big fourth-line goal that just didn’t materialize.\nHe’s a strong penalty killer, and three shorthanded points is good,\nbut that means you only had three goals and five assists at even\nstrength or 4-on-4 in 62 games. Toropchenko is a solid fourth-line\nwinger; he isn’t going anywhere after signing a new two-year, $5\nmillion extension last season. More money will mean more\nexpectations."}},{"id":"rimxkT8CTA","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – C-"}},{"id":"E1iiJvT_X-","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nNathan\nWalker – Same goes for the 32-year-old Walker as his fellow fourth\nliners: works hard, forechecks, but he hits everything in sight. He\nwas seventh in the league in hits last season (3.8 per game) but\nplayed in 73 games. This season, Walker played in just 46 games; he\nwas a healthy scratch often, and for me, this is a player that brings\nmomentum, and like many of his fourth-line mates, it just didn’t\nfeel like it was there often enough. Walker’s bite from a\nphysicality standpoint was still there (3.89 hits per game) so he was\nstill willing to throw the body around, but when your forecheck just\ndoesn’t seem to be as effective as it has in the past, you have to\nfind other ways to create momentum from that group, and with Walker\nhaving four goals and seven assists, you could have used some more\ntidy offense to create momentum. I think he’s a nice role player\nwho can slot in when necessary, but I just didn’t think Walker –\nwhen in the lineup – had that bite like he had last year affecting\nhockey games, and when he affects hockey games, good things usually\nhappen. He’s another player that signed a new two-year extension at\n$8.875 million AAV prior to the season so he’s not going anywhere.\nIt’s kind of hard to explain in too much detail here, but bottom\nline is I just needed to see more from another fourth-liner here and\ndidn’t feel it was there like it has been in the past."}},{"id":"p37nynmIUU","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – D+"}},{"id":"rsQSRUcr25","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nOtto\nStenberg – Super impressed. I really didn’t know what to expect\nfrom the first-round pick (No. 25) in the 2023 NHL Draft on his first\ncall-up, but with the Blues floundering at the time when Stenberg\nmade his debut Dec. 17 against the Jets, he made an immediate impact\nwith his game smarts. It’s not often you can watch a kid play\nimmediately and see how fundamentally sound he is, but Stenberg was\nnot overwhelmed by the situation. He finished with 10 points (three\ngoals, seven assists) in 32 games this season and left the Blues with\na lasting impression. Jim Montgomery didn’t waste any time trusting\nStenberg’s abilities as a penalty killer. Rarely did you see the\n20-year-old out of position or lacking in using his stick to break up\nplays and or be in passing lanes. Offensively, was always in on the\nforecheck winning pucks back and getting to the net to try and score\ngreasy goals. Understandably so, I think more of a scoring touch was\nthere, but the first-year player deferred, which is also the norm, it\nseems, but if there was any deficiency, pull the trigger on that\nshot. The Blues already trust the player, and that bodes well for his\nNHL future. The benchmark was established early, and to Stenberg’s\ncredit, instead of being overwhelmed, he was impressive in his first\ngo-round. Look for him to be a mainstay with the Blues for a long\ntime."}},{"id":"qGk-i1H8Au","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – A-"}},{"id":"todilmzIxZ","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nJack\nFinley – Another one of those that I didn’t necessarily see\ncoming when the Blues claimed the son of former Blues defenseman Jeff\nFinley off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 7. He\ninstantly jumped in with the group on the fourth line to provide help\nat center and did an adequate job. He played an average of 11:00 per\ngame and played in 22 games down the stretch, finishing the season\nbetween the Blues and Lightning with two goals, three assists in in\n44 games, including two assists in St. Louis. He was a trusted and\nsolid guy on the dot, winning 52.7 percent of his draws here after\njust 48.7 percent with the Lightning, and there were some games here\nthat Finley was just exceptional there, and he was part of a solid,\nreliable group of penalty killers that were third in the league at\n84.8 percent after the Olympic break. But this is sounding like a\ncommon there: no options at any kind of offense, which if you’re\nlooking for balance, like the Blues were all season, they needed just\nsomething from these guys at the bottom. A big, strong player at 23\n(6-foot-6, 227 pounds), like Toropchenko, should find himself around\nthe net for a tip-in, deflection or something but in a sense, a new\nteam and trying to find his way as well. But from that end of it, you\njust didn’t get any of it. So his season, albeit a short sample\nsize here, balanced out. Finley will be under contract for the league\nminimum ($775,000) for the next two years, the Blues will keep\nworking with him in the hopes that he can become the next version of\nStanley Cup Sundqvist with more bite to his game."}},{"id":"mskON0Zqe1","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – C+"}},{"id":"YmX_Tbb67W","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nBrayden\nSchenn – A good captain in his three seasons with the ‘C’ who\nalways took accountability, whether it was from a team perspective or\ncritiquing his own play. A stand-up person who rarely minced words.\nHe was well-respected in the locker room by his peers, which is what\nyou want, and someone the coaches trusted in that regard. That was\nnever in doubt. But at 34, the production took a downward dip, and to\nan extent, that was expected, finishing with 28 points (12 goals, 16\nassists) and a minus-23 in 61 games in his ninth\nseason\nwith the Blues, averaging 16:41 (down from 17:34 the previous season)\nwith a career-high 54.2 percent efficiency in the face-off circle\nbefore being dealt at the trade deadline to the New York Islanders.\nBut being real here, despite the longevity in his career, Schenn was\nstill given a role in the top six this season and a power-play guy,\nand the numbers just didn’t back up the roles as well. But\nnevertheless, this was a guy that gave his heart and soul from the\nmoment he arrived in 2017 and goes down as a fan favorite for being\nan important cog as a Stanley Cup winner. Effort and determination\nwas never an issue; production was unfortunately."}},{"id":"m-wr-P8ff-","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – C"}},{"id":"fLNPqBRTWC","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMathieu\nJoseph – Someone that always had a high motor on the ice that was\nrelentless in his skating but it just never translated to offense.\nThe 29-year-old played in 39 games for the Blues, his second season\nhere, this year and had just two goals and nine assists while\naveraging 12:41 of ice time. Joseph was in and out of the lineup but\ncould never stick on a consistent basis and considering he was making\n$3.3 million in actual salary ($2.95 million AAV), he had just six\ngoals and 19 assists in 99 regular-season games with the Blues before\nthey placed him on waivers, ultimately the two sides terminating his\ncontract before signing with the Los Angeles Kings. If the Blues\ncould have gotten anything close to the 11 goals, 24 assists Joseph\nput up in his final season with the Ottawa Senators in 2023-24, they\nwould probably have been OK with that production, but it just never\ncame anywhere close to it. Again, the motor was there, the effort was\nthere, the execution wasn’t."}},{"id":"EAaoj0jyLg","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – D"}},{"id":"EbhGfOOg_j","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nNick\nBjugstad – I’ll get this out of the way first: one of the nicest\nhumans to deal with in a locker room. Always a smile, never a\nnegative person. First time dealing with him on a regular basis and\nit was always pleasant. But when the Blues signed the 33-year-old\nveteran to a two-year, $3.5 million ($1.75 million AAV) contract\nprior to the season, it was with the hope to add depth to the bottom\nsix. But Bjugstad played in just 35 games with the Blues before being\ntraded to the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 4 for a conditional\nfourth-round pick this year and forward Thomas Bordeleau. Bjugstad\ndid provide depth down the middle but had just six goals and one\nassist and a minus-7, adding to the notion that the fourth line,\nwhich is where he played the majority of the time, didn’t add much\noffense to the balance of the lineup, and when the Blues were\nfloundering in the standings, the 6-6, 210-pound forward was\njettisoned off to help New Jersey in its playoff push. He averaged\n11:38 of ice time and won 51.1 percent of his draws, which is not too\nshabby. But this is a guy that’s had some decent seasons of\noffensive production (22 goals and 45 points just two seasons ago in\nArizona) and I think the Blues were hoping for a bit more out of it.\nIf the team was more competitive, I don’t think he gets dealt when\nhe did, but it was the chance to start looking at younger players for\na team that – at the time – was going nowhere."}},{"id":"w10D89FnDp","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – D+"}},{"id":"wvrK7bvv9D","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\n*\nRobby Fabbri, Jonathan Drouin, Hugh McGing, Matt Luff, Alexandre\nTexier and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki each gets an incomplete."}},{"id":"Q3prWEO1O1","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nDEFENSE"}},{"id":"RXJdC0wmb-","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nPhilip\nBroberg – If you thought the first season in St. Louis was good, it\nonly got better this season, at least from a defensive perspective.\nThe 24-year-old, who signed a six-year, $48 million extension ($8\nmillion AAV) on Jan. 10, solidified himself as a top-pairing D-man\nthis season by seeing his minutes increase from 20:30 per game last\nyear to 23:21 this season; he started off playing alongside Colton\nParayko and for all intents and purposes, helped nurture the play of\nrookie Logan Mailloux as his partner for a good part of the season.\nBroberg did finish with 34 points (six goals, 28 assists) in 81 games\nthis season, a slight jump from the 29 points (21 assists) he had a\nseason ago in 68 games, and for a player that likes to jump into the\nattack on the offensive side and was inserted in as a power-play\nquarterback in the latter portion of the season. Broberg was a\nplus-14 this season to go with his plus-21 last season, so at 5-on-5,\nwhen he was on the ice, there was little to no negative nights. His\nspeed helped close down plays and ended rush attacks, his stick was\nexceptional and his recovery was really good on most nights. I\nthought there was more offense to his game, which would be my only\nnegative – if you want to call it that – side to this season, but\nas he continues to mature and grow and get more responsibilities,\nthose numbers should grow. I thought it was an excellent season that\nwas justified by the addition to the Swedish Olympic team, which is\nno small feat to make that roster."}},{"id":"deFuEZ8h7O","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – A"}},{"id":"_GJtV7p9DE","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nCam\nFowler – It was easy for Blues fans to be excited about Fowler\nafter the way he burst onto the scene last year after his acquisition\nfrom the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 14, 2024. And getting a three-year,\n$18.3 million extension in the off-season was what the Blues were\nhoping for moving forward too. But the 34-year-old was what many of\nthe Blues were early on, not good enough. He and Parayko just didn’t\nhave that magic that they had last season to start, were separated\nand Fowler was playing with Mailloux for stretches on the third\npairing and that didn’t see to work out well either, and his\noffense (four goals, 26 assists) in 82 games didn’t really start to\npick up until the latter half of the season. His defensive play, like\nthe team’s, also picked up in the latter stages of the season. He\nwas a minus-11 on the season after being a plus-19 in 51 games with\nthe Blues last season but that number would have been much worse this\nseason had Fowler not finished a plus-12 from the Olympic break on\nand 12 of his 30 points (three goals, nine assists) also came in the\nfinal 25 games of the season. Fowler did show durability as the only\nplayer to play in all 82 games, the third time he’s done that in\nhis career (2022-23 and 2011-12). But with three years kicking in on\nhis contract next season, you just have to hope as a Blues fan that\nthe first 57 games this past season isn’t the norm moving forward\nbecause we’ve all seen some of Fowler’s best here. But he is 34\nand has played 1,124 games and it’s understandable to wonder if the\ndownward turn has started. Defensemen can age well, and Fowler did\nshow his durability this season. They’re going to need him after\ninvesting in him for another three years. But for this season, he\nrescued himself with a good finishing stretch. You just have to hope\nit continues."}},{"id":"1IrSIyfJIt","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – C"}},{"id":"0rxyIqzg6l","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nColton\nParayko – It may have been one of the more challenging seasons for\nthe career Blue who started in 2015-15 here. It started off, as\nmentioned above, with a tough start with he and Fowler, who ended\nlast season as the top defensive pair on the team to an up-and-down\ndefensive season to an ever-growing lack of offense, which may have\nbeen the biggest surprise after having a career-high 16 goals and 36\npoints in 64 games last season. Then came the rumored trade at the\ndeadline to the Buffalo Sabres when GM Doug Armstrong was purging\nveterans after the poor pre-Olympic results, only for Parayko – to\nhis own right to do so – nix any potential deal because of his full\nno-trade clause. In 77 games this season, which included 22:12\naverage ice time, his goals fell to four and points were sliced in\nhalf to 18. But he also shined in the final 25 games after the\nOlympics, and he deserves a lot of credit for formulating a solid\npair when the Blues brought Theo Lindstein (2023, first round, No. 29\noverall) up from Springfield. Parayko didn’t put pucks on net\nnearly as often as last season (125 last season to 105 this season\nplaying in 13 more games) and his shooting percentage showed it as\nwell (3.8 percent) and his minus-6 season plus-minus was alleviated\nby a plus-9 finish post-Olympics and it was reflective how well he\nand Lindstein were as a pair. Parayko, 32, still has four years\nremaining on his contract, including the next two seasons with a full\nNTC. It’s obvious of his love for St. Louis and how much he wants\nto be here, and I’m not certain if the Blues would ask him to move\nagain, but if he is still here, I believe there is still lots of good\nhockey left in him. It just can’t be what it was pre-Olympics."}},{"id":"0TMUycCXUm","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – C"}},{"id":"dV60lDjOAq","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nTyler\nTucker – I sat back plenty after last season and wondered what were\nthe reasons things went as well as they did for Tucker. And I really\ncame to one conclusion: Ryan Suter. The veteran was a perfect partner\nfor Tucker, and the two seemed to go hand-in-hand. Tucker had an OK\nstart to the season, including a goal and three assists in the first\nnine games, but like many of them, his play fell off and took time to\nrecover. The 26-year-old is a big kid at 6-1, 204, but I just didn’t\nthink he used his physicality as often as he could this season. He\ngot beat at the net front in 1-on-1 physical battles that resulted in\ngoals and skaters took advantage of beating him around the edges\ngetting to the net. He, too, was a product of finding the right fit\nin a partner, and he and Mailloux weren’t trusted too often after a\ntough start, but things got noticeably better when he was playing his\noff side with Fowler on the third pair. Tucker would play a\ncareer-high 69 games and had three goals and 14 assists and was a\nminus-4 in 14:22 average time on ice, which is right on par with his\naverage of 14:09 for his young career. He had his moments of picking\nthe right times to set the tone in games or get his team fired up\nwith a fight or big hit. That really hasn’t been much of an issue,\nbut the consistency of his game makes him a third-pairing D-man or\nseventh defenseman moving forward. He has a big clapper from the\npoint, so there’s more scoring in his stick, and I thought there\ncould be more goals from him this season; he matched last season’s\noutput but needed 31 more games this season. Tucker took a number of\nill-advised penalties this year, and with the PK playing as poorly as\nit did early in the season, it resulted in a number of opposing\npower-play markers. Tucker’s got one more year on his contract at\n$925,000 and still has plenty to prove for what could be a UFA summer\nin 2027."}},{"id":"AW4OlQ52Pl","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – C-"}},{"id":"5T0ZZJ3PN-","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nLogan\nMailloux – If I’m wrong, point it out, but I can’t seem to\nrecall a young defenseman since Chris Pronger’s arrival in the\nBrendan Shanahan trade that had such a microscope placed on him than\nthis. When you get traded for the popular Zack Bolduc in a 1-for-1\ntrade with the Montreal Canadiens after Bolduc had 19 goals and 36\npoints in 72 games, his first full season in the NHL, your\ncredentials better alleviate the loss. Well, it didn’t start that\nway, despite comparing apples to oranges, one being a forward and the\nother a defenseman. The 23-year-old Mailloux struggled mightily to\nbegin the season, so much so that the Blues sent him to Springfield\nof the American Hockey League to help salvage a semblance of\nconfidence. Jim Montgomery told us prior to the season Mailloux was\nready. He was obviously not ready. Through the Olympic break,\nMailloux played in 42 games and had a goal and two assists and was a\nminus-23. In 25 games after, things skyrocketed. Confidence,\nresponsibilities, production. It all went hand in hand. The Blues put\nthe righty-handed D-man with Broberg and had 10 points (four goals,\nsix assists) averaging 21:34 ice time and was a plus-13, only behind\nBroberg’s plus-15 among D-men; he averaged just 14:30 prior to the\nbreak. The growth in one season was a big uptick, but there’s still\nplenty of learning curves and growing experiences with this player.\nIt’s not going to happen with the snap of a finger, but this was a\npositive finish to what could have been a disastrous first season. I\nthink the start and finish tilted the scale close enough to where it\ncould be viewed as an average season. Close but not quite."}},{"id":"vjGICXIiUE","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – C-"}},{"id":"OV9i9U-Nnv","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nTheo\nLindstein – I loved the idea when the Blues brought him up. I\nthought it was a clever move and one of which what did the Blues have\nto lose at the time, recalling their first-round pick in 2023 (No.\n29) on march 9 and throwing him right into the fire March 10. I\nhonestly expected him to experience growing pains and an overwhelming\nenvironment because after all, it was the 21-year-old’s first dip\ninto the NHL. I was super impressed. Not only did Lindstein blend\nright in, but Jim Montgomery threw him right into a top-four role\nwith Parayko and he flourished. He looked calm, he was wasn’t\noverwhelmed at this level and adjusted well to the speed and size\nthat he was facing. He took care of the puck well, played his\nposition well and contributed in such positive ways. And Springfield\ncoach Steve Ott, who said he could see Lindstein’s affect in the\nNHL “right away,” said that Lindstein has one thing a coach can’t\nteach. “His skating ability is superb. It’s high-end, it’s very\nelite. He adds that with great composure to his game.” Couldn’t\nhave said it better because for the 17 games Lindstein played here\nand contributed two goals and two assists to go with a plus-6, the\nlefty displayed all those attributes. Yes, it’s a small sample\nsize, but in no way shape or form did I see this kid come in here and\nplay with the type of composure he displayed. As long as he remains\nguarded and grounded, I see a very bright NHL future."}},{"id":"MnvHrjMeWY","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – A+"}},{"id":"Zj-LNowEfa","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMatthew\nKessel – I really didn’t know what to make of Kessel this season.\nHe played in just 29 games despite playing the entire season in the\nNHL. He played in 29 games last season, too. This season, he had two\ngoals and an assist and was a plus-1 on the year. He seemed to make a\ndecent pairing on the third D-pair with Tucker usually. There wasn’t\nanything really glaring when he did play. At times, his positioning\ncould have used some work and he would get overaggressive on pinches\nleading to odd-man rushes, but for the most part, when Kessel played,\nthe Blues won. They were 18-7-4 when he was in the lineup. Not bad.\nCould you use a little more scoring? Sure. Could they have used a\nlittle more physical play? Probably. But all in all, for averaging\n12:32 a game on the third pairing, he didn’t hurt them."}},{"id":"KdZBSi2g05","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – B"}},{"id":"QE9jlP0QFs","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nJustin\nFaulk – Faulk’s season prior to being dealt to the Red\nWings on NHL Trade Deadline day, like Brayden Schenn, was one filled\nwith plenty of responsibilities playing with Broberg, Fowler and\nTucker. He took a lot of flack from fans for late-game defensive\nbreakdowns when Blues coaches trusted having him on the ice to help\nprotect leads. Some of it was warranted, some of it not. But when you\ndissect the Blues’ defensemen and their offense, nobody provided\nmore than Faulk. He was on a good pace all season and had 32 points\n(11 goals, 21 assists) in 61 games and was a minus-3 on the season\nbefore being traded. It’s why his stock was up and the Blues were\nable to get a good haul for him, and not to his fault just like\nSchenn, but with the way the season was going, it was inevitable that\nFaulk was likely to be traded away. I didn’t mind his game this\nseason. He played an average of 22:30 per game, and that’s nothing\nunusual for how much he played on both sides of the special teams.\nEleven of his points, including nine assists came on the power play,\nso for a unit that wasn’t doing well, he was at least producing\nresults there. Unfortunately the PK was not good, and that is a\nreflection on everyone, including Faulk. He served his time in St.\nLouis well, but for a guy that was to many viewed as the one expected\nto replace Alex Pietrangelo, there were high expectations from the\nfanbase and it’s tough to live up to a two-time Stanley Cup\nchampion."}},{"id":"QkVD673ak7","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – B"}},{"id":"KCTxzAsOs1","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\n*\nJustin Holl and Hunter Skinner each gets an incomplete grade."}},{"id":"Ym12SWcyqq","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nGOALIES"}},{"id":"CZjXBOcrzG","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nJordan\nBinnington – Honestly, watching Binnington a lot this season, it\nwas hard not to feel bad for him. I just didn’t understand how the\nBlues could play so poorly defensively in front of him. The open slot\nareas, the odd-man rushes, the backdoor tap-ins, poor PK play. All\nrolled into one. It all added up to a 13-20-7 record with a 3.33\ngoals-against average and .873 save percentage. The wins were the\nfewest in any of his eight seasons and the goals-against and save\npercentage were all career-worst numbers. He played well, though, for\nTeam Canada, at the Winter Olympics, but that’s of no surprise when\na team plays structurally well in front of Binnington defensively, he\nseems to rise to that level. I’m cutting him some slack on the\ngrade is I watched the games he played and although he was giving up\na number of high-percentage looks, one night while watching a TNT\nnational broadcast game – don’t ask, because I can’t remember\nwhich one it was – Tuukka Rask was on the panel and he was asked\nabout the goaltending numbers, and the one thing he said that has\nalways stuck out in my mind is that he said he never paid too much\nattention to GAA and save percentage, but goals saved above expected\ntold the story of a great goaltending season. And I thought about it,\nand felt he was absolutely right. All good/great goalies find a way\nto bail out teammates’ mistakes and is that last line of defense. I\ncan’t ignore the fact Binnington was, among all goalies to play in\n41 or more games – which is what he played in this season – dead\nlast at GSAE at -22.4. Compare that to Logan Thompson (29.3), Jeremy\nSwayman (28.8), Ilya Sorokin (25.3), Andrei Vasilevskiy (24.7) and\nScott Wedgewood (23.1) as the top five, three of them are up for the\nVezina Trophy this season. In other words, Binnington was making\nsaves he was expected to make – and he even let in goals that he\nshould have had – but wasn’t necessarily making those ones he\nwasn’t expected to make. Now, he finished the season 5-3-1 with a\n2.55 GAA and .907 save percentage, and the team’s record reflected\nthat of how much better the goaltending was, I can overlook poor\nnumbers if your GSAE is at least respectable, but when you’re dead\nlast, I can’t do it. He still remains one of the best, if not the\nbest, puck movers among goalies, so that trait remains at a high\nlevel. Binnington has one year left on his contract, and with the way\nJoel Hofer performed and has seemingly supplanted him as the No. 1\ngoalie, does he seek a move elsewhere to try and revive his career or\nstay on and keep a strong 1-2 punch going? That’s something the\n32-year-old and Blues management will have to discuss. I don’t\ndoubt he still has good game left in him. It showed down the stretch,\nbut if he’s to parlay another contract out of the one he currently\nhas, a season like this can’t be in the cards."}},{"id":"rlmHb4OZmy","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – D"}},{"id":"7_nFa17fnm","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nJoel\nHofer – It’s too bad Hofer had the kind of poor start (1-2-0 in\nfour games with a 5.73 GAA and .793 save percentage) the Blues had\nbecause throw these numbers out the window and we may be talking\nabout someone that with a full season of numbers like he finished\nwith, could be in the conversation of a Vezina Trophy. He finished\nthe season 24-13-5 with a 2.61 GAA and .910 save percentage and tied\nfor 10th in goals saved above expected at 11.7. But from Nov. 1 to\nthe end of the season, Hofer was 23-11-5 with a 2.38 GAA and .918\nsave percentage, including 12-2-2 record, 2.04 GAA and .933 save\npercentage post-Olympics and got the majority of the starts. It was\nalmost as if the changing of the guard was happening based on Hofer’s\nplay. But when you watched this 25-year-old as the season progressed,\nhis confidence grew with each start. The command he had of his\ncrease, his puck-moving ability (also up there with Binnington),\nchallenging shooters, swallowing up rebounds, fundamentally sound\npositionally was all on display. If we can eliminate October, this\ngrade would be higher."}},{"id":"DOJj04n2K_","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – A-"}},{"id":"KgL5_DIL_3","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nCOACH/GM"}},{"id":"bDcYpozCae","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nJim\nMontgomery – All Montgomery could talk about, well most of it,\nwas the team’s inability to start strong this season and lack of\nplaying at a consistent level. It was his first full training camp\nlast September and while it’s up to the players to perform, the\ncoach and his staff have a great responsibility in having his team\nprepared to start the season off well. It didn’t happen, and it\nreally cost the Blues a return chance at getting back into the\nplayoffs. Goaltending wasn’t good to start the season, the\ndefensive game wasn’t good, and special teams finished 26th on the\npower play and 25th on the penalty kill. Montgomery was quick to\nswitch up the lineup and move people around, which I can tell you\ndrives players crazy, and it’s something all coaches do. None of\nthem have a ton of patience when things aren’t going well, and it\njust took this group once again too long to put together any kind of\na winning streak. They never won more than four games in a row and\ndid that three times, late in the season when everything was\npractically academic, and although the Blues finished strong this\nseason (17-5-3) and made a strong push for the second wild card,\ntrying to overcome passive odds for a second straight season is not\nthe way to live, and quite frankly, unsustainable. Montgomery will\nget the chance to help pick his own assistants moving forward and he\nseems determined to have this team ready from the outset with a\nshortened preseason and 84-game regular-season moving forward. And\nthe coach admitted that he also has to accept change for things to be\nbetter, and despite finishing 37-33-12, things need to be better. And missing out on the playoffs by four points, it's hard to overlook all the end-of-game lost points, the inability to be better in overtime/shootouts (4-12) and worst of all, two games losing in regulation after leading by four goals. Ouch. "}},{"id":"va6tUYr-Z6","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade – C-"}},{"id":"N4Gfml8sw8","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nDoug\nArmstrong – Armstrong had to have visions of good things in his\nfinal season as GM before handing the keys to the role off to\nAlexander Steen on July 1. But in doing so, he banked on a large\nportion of last season’s roster to run things back again. And it\nbackfired. He believed in the group to come back hungry and\ndetermined not to let what happened in Game 7 of the first round\nagain, and maybe to his own fault, bought into the finishing stretch\nwhich allowed the Blues to get in as the second wild card. But as\nArmstrong said, that group won games that mattered most. This year’s\nteam didn’t. He only made a couple upgrades to the roster after\nlosing Ryan Suter and Radek Faksa (Dallas Stars) and that was signing\nPius Suter and Bjugstad to free agent contracts. One panned out\nnicely, one didn’t. Shedding Joseph and Texier from the roster were\ncontracts that were not needed in the first place. I do like that\nArmstrong was able to fetch a couple nice hauls for Schenn and Faulk,\nincluding a pair of first-round picks, that should set the\norganization up with some nice options should they choose to trade\nthose picks and move up in the draft or use them as part of a greater\napples for apples type of impact trade this off-season, or get some\nnice future assets at whoever they draft. Signing Broberg was good\nbusiness, because by the end of that contract, an $8 million AAV\nshould look good and he secured a key piece through his 20s. Whether\nhe has Steen do it or Armstrong does it himself should cement his\nfinal days as GM when it comes to signing Holloway and move into his\nsole role of president of hockey operations, but I’m not going to\njudge Armstrong for believing in the players to be able to run\nsomething back that looked so strong at the end of last season. He\nbelieved it and it burned him, but the bottom line is the team didn’t\nhad what is considered a very bland year, and it reflects on the one\nrunning the roster."}},{"id":"HkX7Rf90Nb","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"\n\nMy\ngrade: C-"}},{"id":"EPiRwCiIpf","type":"image","data":{"caption":"","withBorder":false,"withBackground":false,"size":"full","alignment":"center","linkUrl":"THN.com/FREE ","file":{"url":"https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/2a877fdf-167a-4608-a77c-460cbd89ed3d.jpeg","width":1920,"height":1080}}},{"id":"fFWNaaQi8m","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum."}}],"version":"2.31.5"}

Blues' Oskar Sundqvist Joining Team Sweden At 2026 World Championship