The Blues finished last season as the hottest team in hockey and watched the playoffs from home. Luke and Nick break down what’s changed.
We start with the top line. Thomas, Holloway and Snuggerud put up 92 points in 25 games after the Olympic break, and Montgomery hasn’t touched the combination in camp. How high does it go?
Then the money line: Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael cost two first-rounders and Jordan Kyrou, and they’re skating with Pavel Buchnevich. We get into the third line, which might be the shakiest group on the roster, and a fourth line with a real heavyweight in Ross Johnston — the first time St. Louis has had that look since Ryan Reaves.
On the back end: Broberg–Mailloux, Lindstein–Parayko and Fowler–Carlo, plus how this group stops beating itself in the D-zone. The power play was 26th and the penalty kill was 25th, and Monty told us on this show they have to be top 10 combined — so what do Vinny Prospal and Greg Cronin actually change?
Plus: is Hofer the No. 1 all the way, what does Binnington have to prove in a walk year, Snuggerud’s contract year, and where the Blues land in a Central that runs through Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota. We each make our picks at the end.
0:00 Two huge weeks: Shattenkirk, Monty, and that top-10 goalie take
3:10 Our official 2026-27 season preview
4:14 The top line: Thomas, Holloway, Snuggerud
5:35 Snuggerud’s contract year — the Leonard and Gauthier comps
11:23 The cap picture, and where the uncertainty starts
12:16 The second line: McTavish, McMichael, Buchnevich
20:56 The third line: Neighbours, Dvorsky, Berggren
26:19 The fourth line, and a size experiment
28:48 Camp shuffle: Dubé to the third line, Walker–Sundqvist–Berggren
33:01 Defense: Lindstein’s camp, Broberg–Mailloux, Fowler–Carlo
42:02 “No sacred cows” — competition everywhere but the top line
43:54 Special teams need for improvement
48:51 Goalies: Hofer’s net, Binnington’s contract year
51:26 The Central Division and a brutal October start
54:11 The overtime record and never winning three in a row
56:18 Predictions: do the Blues make the playoffs and who breaks out?
most of the fanbase are blind homers. wackos