The Blues finished six points out of a playoff spot in 2023-24 with a 43-33-6 record. This past season, they made the playoffs, but just barely, thanks in part to some new additions.

In mid-August 2024, the St. Louis Blues signed Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to offer sheets. The Oilers elected not to match, and their 2019 and 2020 first-round picks departed for the Blues. It was an odd choice given Edmonton fell two goals shy of winning the Stanley Cup.

After a 4-3 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 22, the Blues were 25-26-6, seven points back of the final wild-card spot with four teams to leapfrog. Then, much like their 2019 run, they caught fire: four straight wins, a loss, two wins, two losses, and suddenly they were within two points with only two teams to jump.

Then the streak happened. From Mar. 15 to Apr. 7, the Blues rattled off 12 straight wins. They dropped the next three, one in a shootout, which gave the Calgary Flames some hope, but clinched with an emphatic 6-1 win over the Utah Hockey Club (now Mammoth).

They finished with 96 points and snuck in on the regulation-wins tiebreaker over the Flames, setting up a first-round matchup with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Jets.

St. Louis held its own, winning Game 6 by a 5-2 score to force a winner-take-all Game 7. A late second-period goal made it 3-1 heading to the third, and the lead held until Vladislav Namestnikov scored with 1:56 left. With 1.6 seconds remaining in regulation, Kyle Connor fired from the half boards, and Cole Perfetti deflected it past Jordan Binnington. I am no Jets fan, but it was one of the coolest finishes to watch live on TV. With under four minutes left in double overtime, a shot deflected off Adam Lowry and in to send the Blues home.

If Holloway had been healthy for the postseason, things might have looked different. The 23-year-old broke out with 26 goals and 63 points in 77 games, production the Oilers would have welcomed.

Broberg added eight goals and 29 points in 68 games, plus one goal and one assist in seven playoff games. He was on the ice for nine goals for at five-on-five during the postseason, and the Blues did not concede at five-on-five with him out there. Two of his goals and 12 of his points came in his first 15 games before he cooled to six goals and 17 points over the next 53.

Like Holloway, Jake Neighbours is from Calgary, and he posted 22 goals and 46 points. Robert Thomas had 21 goals and 81 points in 70 games, while Jordan Kyrou led with 36 goals and added 70 points.

After acquiring Cam Fowler in a trade, the left-shot defenceman produced nine goals and 36 points, matching Colton Parayko’s 36 points, though Parayko scored 16 goals. Veteran Pavel Buchnevich finished with 20 goals and 57 points, and Brayden Schenn had 18 goals and 50 points.

In goal, Binnington posted a .900 save percentage and a 2.69 goals-against average and helped Canada win the 4 Nations Face-Off. Joel Hofer is a young netminder who recorded a .904 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average in 31 games.

It’s been a quiet off-season. The first order of business was extending Joel Hofer, who was three days from restricted free agency. Their biggest free-agent signing was Pius Suter, a centre who averaged roughly 14 to 15 goals in his first three seasons before potting 25 with Vancouver in 2024-25.

Former Oiler Nick Bjugstad also signed in St. Louis. He scored 22 goals and 45 points in 76 games with Arizona in 2023-24, his best output since 2014-15, then slipped to eight goals and 19 points in 66 games with Utah in 2024-25.

The Blues made one trade, sending Zach Bolduc to the Montreal Canadiens for Logan Mailloux. Bolduc, the 17th pick in 2021, scored 19 goals and 36 points last season. Mailloux, a right-shot defenceman, has played eight NHL games with two goals and five points. He had 12 goals and 33 points in 63 AHL games in 2024-25 after 14 goals and 47 points in 72 games in 2023-24.

In addition to Bolduc, Radek Faksa, Nick Leddy, and Ryan Suter have moved on. Faksa rejoined Dallas and posted five goals and 15 points in 70 games last season. Leddy was claimed on waivers by San Jose and finished with two goals and five points. Notably, the Blues originally acquired Leddy from Detroit in the deal that sent Jake Walman to the Red Wings. Suter, 40, has not retired but remains an unrestricted free agent.

The last two seasons have seen St. Louis fight for a wild-card spot, missing in 2024 and qualifying in 2025. The question for 2025-26 is whether they can take the next step and play for a top-three spot in the Central Division.

That’s easier said than done. The Jets, Avalanche, and Stars are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, and the Wild and Mammoth can push for spots as well.