Okay, hear me out.

After the All-Star break last season (2024–25), the Blues were one of the hottest teams in the league. They went from inconsistent to legitimately dangerous, finishing strong and looking like a young roster finally clicking.

Post–All-Star record: 22–10–4
structured hockey, confident goaltending, and real momentum toward the future.

Binnington post-ASG: 14–7–2 | 2.62 GAA | .918 SV%
Looked like a true No. 1 again.

Hofer post-ASG: 8–3–2 | 2.55 GAA | .916 SV%
One of the better backups in the league during that stretch.

The young core was improving fast. They pushed into the playoffs and went down swinging, but it felt like the beginning of something.

Then 2025–26 starts… and it all collapses.

Team record: 9–11–7
Goals against: 3.44 per game

Binnington: 6–6–5 | 3.20 GAA | .878 SV%
Hofer: 3–5–2 | 3.45 GAA | .877 SV%

The team’s defensive structure is a mess, the goalies have cratered, the young players who were trending up suddenly look lost, and team is getting injured left and right.

Now here’s where it gets weird: the jersey split.

The new primary jerseys debuted this season. Last year’s navy-and-gold set is now the alternate.

In the new primaries: 6–11–7
In the alternates: 3–0–0

Undefeated in last year’s look — including wins over Dallas and Edmonton, plus a shutout. They even snapped their 7-game losing streak the first night they wore the alternates.

And the losses in the new set aren’t quiet:

  • 7 OT/SO losses
  • Two 8–1 blowouts (Washington at home, Ottawa on the road)
  • A 7-game losing streak, then another 4-game skid

A team that surged after the break last year suddenly looks fragile, flat, and directionless — the exact opposite of what you expect from a young core on the rise.

(stats came from GPT so might be off)

12 comments

  5. Eh I don’t believe in these superstitions. I think these jerseys are amazing, especially the away jersey.

  6. The away sweater is beautiful.

    The home one is quite nice, but a bit too buffalo.

    Moral of the story is: we may suck, but we look good doing it.

    This team doesn’t hate losing.

  7. The real curse is our inability to hold leads after the absolute implosion of our playoff loss last year. Binner needs to shake it off but can’t seem to. He also looks REALLY skinny. Like almost unhealthy. Am I the only one who thinks that?
    We have a chance. If we’re looking at this team historically, we suck ass until new years and then we go on a crazy win streak. *reckless optimism* we can totally make the playoffs!

    But honestly, I just don’t get that vibe this year. Everything is in transition. We’re not a *bad* team. We’re just not ready to be a *good* team. Nothing really needs to change. Everything just needs to marinate a little bit. And, personally, I think 18 needs to step into a major leadership role and own it. Thomas and neighbors can be the bleeding heart of an all new version of the Blues. It’s time to stop trying resurrect 2019 and find a way for a NEW blues team to win. That can include some old time cup team winners. But they need to let go of yesteryear and focus on tomorrow.
    Binner is one of the greatest goaltenders of all time IMO.
    If he gets his shit together and we can start scoring some goals…baby you got a stew going.
    The new jerseys aren’t a curse. JK isn’t a curse. Looking to the past is our curse. We can only win again by creating something new and stop trying to resurrect the past.

    Let these young guys cook. Let’s flounder a little bit. With the veteran leadership we have, I really believe that in 2 or 3 years we’ll be a top tier team. And we really have the potential to be a competitive team now, but I think we just lack the confidence to go out and win games.

    If the fans are talking curses, how do you think the players feel? It’s bad mojo man. We aren’t cursed, we just need to get our shit together.

  10. It’s not the jerseys, it’s the management. This team fought back to not only being a playoff team but a true win-now contender last year – no one more than Bolduc who had 19 goals, all of them under Monty.

    What was his reward for that? Being traded for a glorified prospect that simply didn’t fill a need. When Army made that trade he announced to the entire team “I don’t care about the effort you’re putting in to be a win-now team.” It’s another move in the long line of Doug Armstrong moves that send the exact wrong message to the team because he’s too goddamn dense to get to know the players and their personalities

  12. Nice data dive. It is bizarre but apparently true. I think JK “blessed” the new togs on the way out the door! Thanks for digging this up for our collective edification.

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