St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn (10) readies for play during the NHL game between the St. Louis Blues and the Winnipeg Jets, on Oct. 22 2024 at the Enterprise Center. (Source: West Newsmagazine/Lou Countryman photo)
Lou Countryman
The 2025-26 season for St. Louis begins with the Oct. 9 season-opener against the Minnesota Wild at Enterprise Center.
Will the team’s playoff loss last season serve as fuel for the Blues this season? Blues coach Jim Montgomery says, “Yes.”
“I think it’s motivation because we don’t like the way we finished that game,” Montgomery said. “We didn’t advance, we should have advanced, but we’re not belaboring it, we’re going to learn from it and we’re going to get better.”
Montgomery will begin a full season as the Blues coach. He was hired Nov. 25, 2024, four days after being fired by the Boston Bruins.
Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong fired Drew Bannister to hire Montgomery, who previously had been a Blues assistant coach.
St. Louis went 35-18-7 after Montgomery was hired. The team finished the season with 96 points and a 44-30-8 record.
In the final 27 games of the season, the Blues put together a 20-4-3 record to become the second wild card from the Western Conference by besting the Calgary Flames on a tiebreaker.
So, the Blues returned to the Stanley Cup Playoff under Montgomery after missing postseason play in the previous two years.
With a full season to run the team, Montgomery is looking to make some changes in how he wants things done.
“I want to tweak some things, look at what some of the best teams are doing that we could maybe copy, because it’s a copycat league,” Montgomery said.
“There’s some areas of our game that need to get better and we’ll look at those; 5-on-6 is No. 1. And then I just think everybody coming back and having a training camp together and setting the tone of this is how hard we’re going to work.
“We’re going to come and have fun, too, because we get to play a game for a living, but when it’s your turn to go, whether it’s in training camp, it’s an exhibition game, we’ve got to go and I think that’s something that everybody has embraced.”
Armstrong is optimistic about the club.
“Last year, I thought we might surprise some teams – we might be a little bit better,” Armstrong said. “I liked where we finished last year. I like where we’re headed, with the caveat, though, that the Central Division is better than it was last year at this time. (But) I think we’re a little deeper, and we have some positive experience to go off of.
“My expectations will be a little bit greater this year.”
Armstrong said teams that finish strong need to be careful of overconfidence in following seasons, but with a good mix of returning veterans and sprinkling in some newcomers along with young skaters, he believes this team can produce.
However, it will take work.
“There’s a lot of things that the players can remember and learn from last year,” Armstrong said. “But to think they can just replicate it by showing up, hockey doesn’t work that way – the NHL doesn’t work that way.”
Eight teams from the Western Conference will make the playoffs. The Blues aspire to be one of them.
The Blues added two free agent signings this past summer.
St. Louis signed forward Pius Suter to a two-year, $8.25 million contract and forward Nick Bjugstad to a two-year, $3.5 million contract.
The Blues obtained 22-year-old defenseman Logan Mailloux from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Zack Bolduc.
“He was known as an offensive defenseman; that’s what he’s been his whole career, and I can see the shot, I can see the instincts,” Montgomery said.
Mailloux joins veterans Colton Parayko, Cam Fowler and Justin Faulk on defense. Younger defensemen include Philip Broberg, Tyler Tucker and Matthew Kessel.
The offense will be led by Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Dylan Holloway, Pavel Buchnevich, Jake Neighbours and team captain Brayden Schenn.
Five Blues scored 20 or more goals last season. Kyrou recorded 36 goals last year while Thomas added 21 goals and 60 assists. Holloway had 26 goals, Neighbours scored 22 and Buchnevich added 20.
In goal, Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer are back. They are a solid tandem between the pipes.
“I do like our depth. The depth is great but we’re going to need the big dogs to be the big dogs,” Armstrong said.
“We’re in this for the long haul to continue to get better. But we’re also in the winning business.”