Lack offensive talent

[swatski]

Holloway about it. Snuggs and Dvorsky have potential but still young. Prospects really need to develop for this franchise to get back to playoff caliber because the slow vets and mediocre front liners just aren’t cutting it.
Kinda sounds like the other franchise in the city.

[hockey jedi]

We had a good offense last year. Did we age over the summer? Our offensive personnel is younger. I think it's our system and lack of team toughness

[theograce]

We had a good offense last year. Did we age over the summer? Our offensive personnel is younger. I think it's our system and lack of team toughness

It’s a lot of things. Over the past 105 games the Flames have 1 less point. Think about that. Teams around them have improved

[ratonmono2]

We had a good offense last year. Did we age over the summer? Our offensive personnel is younger. I think it's our system and lack of team toughness

It's a super competitive league. One season doesn't automatically translate to the next in a linear fashion. Other teams have been improving at a faster rate, while the Blues more or less treaded water and in this past summer's case got objectively worse. Faksa, Suter, Leddy and Bolduc leaving for Bjugstad, Mailloux, and Kessel is a steep downgrade. Snuggerud and Dvorsky are rookies who have promise but aren't impact guys. Pile on top of that Buch playing historically big minutes with pathetic results, a bad dip in goaltending, it adds up to a lost season real quick. League is too close to slip up.

[1983cougar]

The title of this thread says it all. You can watch the majority of the other teams in the league and see that we are way behind in offensive skills. This team has to win games 2-1, 3-2 and the occasional shutout and the defense and goaltending hasn't been that good for the most part.

[rezero]

We had a good offense last year. Did we age over the summer? Our offensive personnel is younger. I think it's our system and lack of team toughness

It's a super competitive league. One season doesn't automatically translate to the next in a linear fashion. Other teams have been improving at a faster rate, while the Blues more or less treaded water and in this past summer's case got objectively worse. Faksa, Suter, Leddy and Bolduc leaving for Bjugstad, Mailloux, and Kessel is a steep downgrade. Snuggerud and Dvorsky are rookies who have promise but aren't impact guys. Pile on top of that Buch playing historically big minutes with pathetic results, a bad dip in goaltending, it adds up to a lost season real quick. League is too close to slip up.

This. We simply downgraded and with the parity in the league, small moves down have big impacts in the standings.

[zuck698]

We had a good offense last year. Did we age over the summer? Our offensive personnel is younger. I think it's our system and lack of team toughness

It's a super competitive league. One season doesn't automatically translate to the next in a linear fashion. Other teams have been improving at a faster rate, while the Blues more or less treaded water and in this past summer's case got objectively worse. Faksa, Suter, Leddy and Bolduc leaving for Bjugstad, Mailloux, and Kessel is a steep downgrade. Snuggerud and Dvorsky are rookies who have promise but aren't impact guys. Pile on top of that Buch playing historically big minutes with pathetic results, a bad dip in goaltending, it adds up to a lost season real quick. League is too close to slip up.

Not that I don't agree with your point, but don't forget we added Pius Suter as well. I think he has been worth his contract thus far. It doesn't help that Buch, Schenn, and Sunny looking like each lost 2 steps over the summer. Man they skate so slow.

[Harry York 37]

People are not gelling and finishing as expected.

I must say that playing from behind, or playing with a lack of 60 minute compete, will enable the lack of gelling and finishing.
Few people choose to shoot, given time.

[HighStick]

It's the Kelly curse. No one on this team is playing up to their norm. And nobody on this team is playing so badly you can blame them specifically for this. It's a vortex of suckage that has taken over this entire team. There's no life, no drive, no heart in this team .

[icon]

This team is sickeningly boring. Scoring fewer than 3 goals per game? Something needs to change.

And it's not just the Blues. Scoring is way down in the NHL, and it's becoming like soccer. Boring. Just one team, Colorado, is scoring 4 goals per game. And they are at 4.0.

[netboy65]

I think we have plenty of offensive talent, we’re just not allowed to use it. We’re back to boring Bannister hockey.

[BobbyOrr]

Time to take the ankle weights off, we are to slow with them on.

0 Urgency...

[11WSChamps]

This team is sickeningly boring. Scoring fewer than 3 goals per game? Something needs to change.

And it's not just the Blues. Scoring is way down in the NHL, and it's becoming like soccer. Boring. Just one team, Colorado, is scoring 4 goals per game. And they are at 4.0.

Between the oversized goalie equipment and the size of the goaltenders its a wonder anyone scores unless its a deflection or a goofy bounce.

[BalotelliMassive]

I think we have plenty of offensive talent, we’re just not allowed to use it. We’re back to boring Bannister hockey.

The man double shifted Buchnevich last night.

[John Cocktoastin]

It's also regression of offensive talent.

Thomas is not the same player. Not sure what is going on with him but his compete is off, his passing is off -- his whole game is off. Almost floating around the ice and not setting up great scoring chances. He missed about 4 games, but still.

After a career-high 86 points in 2023–2024, Thomas posted 81 points in the 2024–2025 season. Early into the 2025–2026 season, he is on a pace for a significantly lower point total: 47. Not going to cut it.

Surely there are others...

[dtkblueshockey]

It's also regression of offensive talent.

Thomas is not the same player. Not sure what is going on with him but his compete is off, his passing is off -- his whole game is off. Almost floating around the ice and not setting up great scoring chances. He missed about 4 games, but still.

After a career-high 86 points in 2023–2024, Thomas posted 81 points in the 2024–2025 season. Early into the 2025–2026 season, he is on a pace for a significantly lower point total: 47. Not going to cut it.

Surely there are others...

That’s just it isn’t it?

The highest paid guys aren’t getting the job done.

Additionally, center ice is still very weak. Dvorsky has been a general upgrade to Schenn and Sundqvist but the Blues need a true one-two punch down the middle to drive the offense in the top six.

All teams have to do to beat the Blues right now is put a couple past the goalies and shut down RT and it’s over. The team doesn’t have enough offensive firepower to compete with the rest of the division even.

This road trip was a chance for the Blues to claw their way back into the thick of things and they lost a majority of the games.