The St. Louis Blues are coming off a rather disappointing season. St. Louis missed the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a year removed from sneaking into the dance in 2025. The Blues did make a bit of a push late in the year. Unfortunately, Jordan Binnington and his teammates could not overcome a very poor start.
The Blues entered the offseason expecting some major turnover. A new general manager, Alex Steen, was taking over the front office. And there was discussion that he could look to kick off a fire sale this offseason.
However, this didn't really happen. Binnington remained put despite intense trade rumors. Robert Thomas was recently named captain, which likely ends any trade rumors there. Colton Parayko, who was nearly traded midseason, also stayed put.
This is not to say the Blues didn't make some moves. St. Louis traded Jordan Kyrou to the Washington Capitals before the NHL Draft. At the draft, they swung a trade for Mason McTavish with the Anaheim Ducks.
St. Louis is in an interesting spot entering 2026-27. This begs some important questions heading into the new season.
Can Jordan Binnington bounce back?
There has been a lot of discussion around Jordan Binnington for some time. Binnington has a very special place within the Blues organization. He was the spark plug of the team's Stanley Cup championship win in 2019. However, it isn't 2019 anymore.
St. Louis has not come close to contending for a Stanley Cup since that point. Binnington has shown some flashes of being that same player since that run. At the same time, he has struggled mightily more often than not.
This includes the 2025-26 campaign. Binnington was nearly unplayable with an .873 save percentage. For comparison's sake, the other Blues netminder, Joel Hofer, played to a .910 save percentage last year.
Whether Binnington takes the starter's net remains to be seen. In any event, it's unlikely he will go anywhere at this time. That means the Blues will need him to rebound if they want to have any success in 2026-27.
Article Continues BelowHow will Mason McTavish perform with Blues?
As mentioned, the Blues traded for Mason McTavish at the 2026 NHL Draft. St. Louis had four first-round picks to work with. On draft night, they elected to use two of them to acquire McTavish.
This is an intriguing bet by the Blues. It wasn't long ago that the now-former Ducks forward showed a ton of promise. In 2024-25, he scored 22 goals and 52 points. However, he took a big step back offensively in 2025-26. It reached the point that McTavish was a healthy scratch in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
McTavish is going to get a chance to rebound in 2026-27. Can he become the future top-six center most saw in 2024-25 with Anaheim? Or will the downward trend continue for the former top-three pick this coming season?
Can young forwards take a step?
McTavish is not the only young forward on this roster. In fact, he wasn't the only one acquired in the offseason. The Blues received Connor McMichael as part of the Jordan Kyrou trade. Outside of those two, St. Louis has Jake Neighbours, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Jimmy Snuggerud on the roster, among others.
Snuggerud was a star for St. Louis last season, scoring 51 points in his rookie season. The Blues will likely lean on him once again this coming campaign. But they will need some of the other youngsters on the roster to make their mark.
Can the Blues find future stars within their current lineup? Will this be the first glimpse of future success? Or will Alex Steen need to further shuffle the deck among the forwards this coming season?