For the last 23 years (13 with The Hockey News) DobberHockey has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 24th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what we take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

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Gone

Jordan Kyrou, Jonathan Drouin, Robby Fabbri, Matthew Kessel

Incoming

Mason McTavish, Connor McMichael, Dillon Dube, Ross Johnston, Brandon Carlo, Milton Gästrin

Impact of Changes

The big change for the Blues was re-tooling their forward group. After eight seasons with the Blues, Kyrou is now with the Washington Capitals, and the Blues took on a couple of younger projects in McTavish and McMichael.

McTavish's issue has never been his offense – he can both score goals and setup teammates. His issue is on the defensive side, and it kept him from ascending to a top-line role with the Anaheim Ducks. He can help replace a good chunk of the offense left by Kyrou's departure, especially on the playmaking side, but if the defensive problems persist, there are other second-line center options like McMichael and Pius Suter who can push McTavish down the depth chart. McTavish has 25-goal, 60-point upside this season, but he has to earn the trust of his coaches to get there.

It is the same story for McMichael. He has the offensive skill to be a productive forward, whether at center or on the wing, but the persistent defensive lapses are why he couldn't hold onto a top-line role. He likely starts on the wing but is one of many viable options as the fourth forward on the power play. There is 30-goal, 60-point potential here, but if he's unreliable defensively and remains on the second PP unit, he won't get the ice time or role to reach that potential. Also, whether the Blues use him at center or the wing will be a big determinant of his fantasy value in fantasy formats counting face-off wins.

Dubé returns to the NHL following the Hockey Canada trial. Regardless of the off-ice issues, he has never been more than a third liner and his role got significantly reduced in his last season with the Calgary Flames. He might not even be an NHL-level talent, so don't expect much.

Johnston had a career-high 14 points last season but that was because the Ducks shot 12.3% with him on the ice at 5-on-5. That is difficult to replicate, so don't expect 15-20 points from him. When he's dressed, he's a significant source of penalty minutes and hits, but that's about it.

Carlo might help the Blues defensively but he's a poor offensive play-driver who has difficulty moving the puck. He will be battling Logan Mailloux for the second-pair right-handed spot behind Colton Parayko, and Mailloux got heavy usage towards the end of last season. Carlo can bring triple-digit hits and blocks, but don't expect more than 12-15 points to come with those peripherals.

Ready for Full Time: Theo Lindstein

With Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Mailloux all becoming regulars last season, St. Louis' prospect pool has thinned out considerably.

Lindstein, a first-round pick from 2023, mostly played in the AHL last season but got some NHL games in. He is the most likely prospect to be a lineup staple in 2026-27, but has competition from Tyler Tucker, who has improved over the last few years. Training camp will give us the answer, but Lindstein should stay in the NHL, it's just a matter if he plays 50 games or 75 games. For posterity, the Dobber Fantasy Guide projects Lindstein holding a third-pair role with 79 games played.

There is a chance Otto Stenberg stays in the NHL all season, but with the additions of Dubé and Johnston, as well as returning options in Jonatan Berggren, Alexey Toropchenko, Nathan Walker, and Oskar Sundqvist, there are seven players battling for three spots in the bottom six.

Fantasy Outlook

It was a tale of two seasons for the Blues. Dylan Holloway posted 17 points in 33 games before getting hurt in December, and Robert Thomas had 33 points in 42 games before getting hurt in January. Up until the Olympic break, the Blues were 28^th by goals per 60 minutes.

Both Thomas and Holloway returned after the Olympic break, and from that point to the end of the season, the Blues jumped all the way to 9^th in goals per 60 minutes thanks to a massive increase in 5-on-5 scoring. Across the team's final 25 games, Thomas (1.41), Holloway (1.36), and Snuggerud (1.08) all exceeded point-per-game status while Philip Broberg posted 15 points. We shouldn't expect Thomas and Holloway to provide 110+ points, but those seven weeks showed the upside the top line has.

The real question is how the new depth scoring forwards figure in. Last season, after the top line of Holloway, Snuggerud, and Thomas, no Blues forward reached 50 points, and none surpassed 20 goals. McTavish and McMichael topped both those marks in 2024-25, so they can help there. How high their upside is depends on who locks down a top PP role, though the Blues' power play was poor last season, even during their late-season surge. Those new additions will have fantasy relevance as depth in most formats, it's just whether they can be more than that, and the power play will be a big factor here.

Dobber's Fantasy Guide has seven Blues forwards reaching 50 points and six of them reaching 20 goals. There will be fantasy-relevant forward depth, and both Thomas and Holloway have top 25 fantasy forward potential if everything falls into place.

The real battle is on the blue line. Broberg picked up top PP time after the Justin Faulk trade last season, but the Blues' power play remained among the bottom-10 teams following the Trade Deadline. Broberg should get the first crack, but he's far from a lock to stay there, and Mailloux is their hopeful puck-mover of the future. Broberg is the guy to draft in most one-year fantasy formats, but Mailloux is the name to keep an eye on for a waiver claim.

Joel Hofer started more games (43) than Jordan Binnington (39) last season, and Hofer has now greatly out-performed Binnington across the last two seasons. It will be the case where they share the workload early in the season, but this is an ideal situation to see Hofer take a firm grip in the crease after Christmas. Binnington is 33 years old with one year left on his contract, and the Blues want to get back to the postseason.

Fantasy Grade: B (last year was B)

Check out the rest of the Dobber team previews here.