By Dom Luszczyszyn, Sean Gentille and Shayna Goldman For the Blues , it’s a new season with the same problem: Too many talented young forwards to rebuild, and too many aging, overpaid defensemen to contend. It’s not an enviable situation for general manager and president of hockey operations Doug Armstrong — though it is, indeed, one he’s created for himself. If nothing else, though, the summer brought a bit of clarity to the team’s retooling plan.
St. Louis is refusing to punt on the present while also attempting to improve down the line. In other words, refusing to choose a lane is a feature, not a bug.
The projection Before 2022-23, we expected the Blues to be a 92-point team. They earned 81 points instead, and it felt like their time as a playoff team was over. That led to an 80-point forecast going into 2023-24, and while the Blues did miss the playoffs, it wasn’t by much after earning 92 points.
They had a better record than expected but one that felt like a mirage. St. Louis being bottom three in expected goals percentage at five-on-five during a career year from Jordan Binnington probably isn’t a recipe for sustainable success.
Advertisement Going into 2024-25, the model is doubling down on the Blues not having much of a playoff shot. Their projection lands right around 82 points, with a 1-in-10 chance of making the postseason. Some may feel like the Blues are being underestimated here, but it’s difficult to be enamored with a team that had so much goi.