The 2024-25 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season is already underway, with the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres playing two games in Prague, Czechia, to begin the league’s Global Series. The St. Louis Blues, on the other hand, started their regular season against the Seattle Kraken with a 3-2 victory on Oct. 8.
Many things can significantly impact the Blues’ roster this season. The team opened up the season nicely with back-to-back wins over the Chicago Blackhawks and Kraken and will hope to continue their winning ways. Let’s take a look at what those impacts could be.
Special Teams Issue Could Be Solved This Season
Last season, the Blues struggled on special teams for the first half of the season and then slightly progressed after firing head coach Craig Berube and hiring Drew Bannister as their interim head coach. Their power-play percentage (8.8 percent) ranked 31st in the league, and their penalty kills (78.4 percent) ranked 20th when Berube was a coach in the first half of the season.
Things significantly changed once Bannister came into power; by the end of the season, their power-play percentage (22.4 percent) ranked 13th in the league, and their penalty kill (79.4 percent) ranked 11th. That shows how much of an impact Bannister made on the roster last season.
Related: Ex-Oilers Broberg and Holloway Shine in Blues Debut
Now that a new season is underway, the team must perform at its best and continue where it left off. The Blues also have much more depth in their defensive and offensive lines, so mixing around the lineup shouldn’t be an issue. Players like Dylan Holloway and Radek Faksa made great contributions in preseason, so the same will be expected going into the regular season.
The New Faces Could Be the Solution They Needed
The Blues struggled offensively and defensively last season and quickly added numerous pieces to their roster over the offseason to fit both needs. Besides Faksa and Holloway, other new names on the Blues this season are brothers Mathieu and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Ryan Suter, Philip Broberg, and Alexandre Texier. While these names may not be significant, they play a role in depth and experience.
Mathieu Joseph was in the top 15 in the league last season in takeaways (69), which could be helpful in the Blues’ bottom two lines. Joseph also played on the third line in the opening game against the Kraken, so it’s clear he was added for bottom-line depth. His…
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