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Approaching the midway mark of the season, the St. Louis Blues have seen pretty mixed results.
Through 34 games, the Blues hold a 15-16-3 record and just a .485 points percentage. As of now, St. Louis sits 11th in the Western Conference in points percentage.
So below, we take a look at the biggest reasons for hope and concern surrounding the Blues this season.
Blues desperately lack scoring
As of now, St. Louis ranks 30th in the NHL in scoring, averaging just 2.5 goals per game.
Jordan Kyrou leads the team in points, while Robert Thomas is averaging better than point-per-game numbers. Despite Thomas missing 12 games with a fractured ankle, he still ranks second on the team in points at 24.
However, both Pavel Buchnevich and Brayden Schenn are off to slow starts. Dylan Holloway has been a good fit so far but is still only just developing. Jake Neighbours can provide secondary offense but hasn't grown into a consistent producer quite yet. This is to say that the top of the team's forward group hasn't been as impactful as you'd hope.
It gets worse from there, though. The Blues really haven't gotten much offense from down the lineup. Outside of the top six forwards, no other forward on the Blues have even passed 10 points across the team's 34 games. Obviously, this only puts more pressure on the team's top forwards.
To this point, the Blues rank 28th in the NHL in shots per game. Meanwhile, their power play is operating at just 16 percent, ranking 27th in the league. Reports would also suggest that the Blues could look to add a forward via trade. But whether it's an internal improvement or an eternal addition, if St. Louis is going to make a real push for the playoffs, it likely needs to start with an improved offense.
Jim Montgomery could make a difference
The Blues made a coaching change roughly one month ago, replacing head coach Drew Bannister.
Bannister had spent less than one year in the role with St. Louis after taking over from Craig Berube. He managed a 39-31-6 record as the team's head coach but was fired after the Blues struggled with just four wins over a stretch of 15 games.
Enter Jim Montgomery.
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Just one year after Montgomery captured the Jack Adams Award, he too found himself fired after the Boston Bruins' disappointing start. But less than a week after being canned by the Bruins, Montgomery was named coach of the Blues. It's clear the organization feels Montgomery can be a difference-maker, with the team immediately inking him to a five-year contract.
Despite having been a head coach for parts of only five NHL seasons, Montgomery's track record is quite strong. He's posted a 186-87-35 record over his time with both the Bruins and Dallas Stars, with an impressive .659 points percentage. In his limited time with the Blues, we've also seen an immediate impact, posting a 6-3-2 record post-coaching change.
Given his contract, it's clear the Blues have a lot of faith that Montgomery can help steer the team. At a five-year team, his leash is going to be quite long. There's also an argument to be made that if a coach could really help propel the Blues back to being in the playoff mix, Montgomery is a good candidate to do it.
The roster still needs work
Clearly, the Blues are still looking to compete. Firing their head coach partway through each of the last two seasons, it's clear the organization still wants to keep up in the Western Conference.
At the same time, their roster may say otherwise. The Blues are on the older side of teams around the league, and there are still holes in the lineup. Even if a lot of the forwards mentioned beforehand were playing at the top of their game, to begin with, their forward group isn't overly dynamic overall.
Meanwhile, St. Louis is also relying on an aging defense group. Colton Parayko has been relied upon heavily, earning a spot on Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Meanwhile, Justin Faulk has been tasked with playing for nearly 24 minutes per game. Philip Broberg has also shown more upside than in his time with the Edmonton Oilers, with 12 points in just 21 games.
But the team is also relying on a 40-year-old Ryan Suter, and a recently acquired Cam Fowler. Factor in the injured Nick Leddy and Torey Krug, and the Blues have close to $30 million tied up in six defensemen who are over 30 years old.
Goaltending has also been up and down. Jordan Binnington, who's coming off a really strong 2023-24 season, has managed just an .896 save percentage. Still, with Canada having limited options, Binnington also earned a spot for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Essentially, the Blues are dealing with an underperforming forward group, an aging defense, and inconsistent goaltending. While there's still time to turn things around, St. Louis looks like a team on the outside rather than one truly in the playoff mix.
