NHL Central Division Predictions for the 2024-25 Season

5. St.Louis Blues

The Blues finished fifth in the central with 92 points last season.

This offseason the Blues added Alexandre Texier, Mathieu Joseph, Radek Faska, Ryan Suter as well as the two moves that got talked about the most, the offer sheets of Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. They only lost Kevin Hayes and Jakub Vrana.

The Blues added some depth this season with Texier, Joseph, Faska and Holloway who are all projected to play in their bottom six on dailyfaceoff.com. I could see Holloway taking a step this season and finding a role in their top six eventually this season. The additions on the blue line are a little bit more impactful. Suter struggled in Dallas last season and will have a third-pair role in this lineup while Broberg has a much bigger role as a top-four defenceman.

Broberg is going to be big for the Blues this year. With Torey Krug out for the year, Broberg will play big minutes. After signing an offer sheet with the Blues for two years with an average annual value of 4.5 million dollars, many saw this as an overpay. I thought it was an overpay but that is what you must do if you want a player to sign an offer sheet. I also think we will see Broberg take positive steps this season and live up to close to the cap hit.

I like their core players of Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich. It would be big for the Blues if they saw progression in the game of Jake Neighbours after posting 27 goals and 11 assists for a total of 38 points in 77 games last season.

Ultimately what does scare me for this Blues team is the blue line. I like Broberg but I'm not a huge fan of the rest. Their goaltending is also a question mark for me. Binnington had a solid year last year but will he be able to replicate it? Will Hofer take a step in his young career?

Like last year, the Blues will finish fifth in the central this season.