St Louis Blues News

The Blues have lost two straight, being outscored 8-4, and will turn to Hofer between the pipes for the second time this season. The 24-year-old Hofer salvaged a 5-4 victory in his only outing this season but allowing four goals on 29 shots (.862 SV%). That said, the young netminder had a solid 2023-24 campaign, posting a 2.65 GAA and .913 SV% in 30 appearances (15-12-1). The Blues enter action on Thursday as +127 home underdogs against a New York Islanders club with a 1-1-1 record.

Sundqvist underwent surgery for a torn ACL towards the end of the 2023-24 campaign and, after a long recovery, has finally been cleared for contact. The 30-year-old veteran enjoyed an average first season in St. Louis as far as personal production, with his six goals, 21 points, 68 SOG and 32 PIMs in 71 games played before the injury.

Leddy suffered a lower-body injury and could be out of the Blues' lineup on Thursday against the New York Islanders. The 33-year-old Leddy has zero points and a -3 plus/minus through four games this season.

Binnington has played two of three games for the Blues thus far and will return to the crease for Tuesday's matchup against the Minnesota Wild. The 31-year-old Binnington had difficulty in his previous outing, allowing four goals on 28 shots (.857 SVV%) in a 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. That said, Binnington is sporting a 1-1-0 record early in the season and his Blues are slight -109 home favourites against the Wild.

Texier did not play the last two games for the Blues due to an upper-body injury and has been placed on Injured Reserve. In his only game of the season, Texier recorded one assist and two shots on goal in 13:03 time-on-ice. Brandon Saad, who missed the first three games of the season, has been activated from IR and will draw back into the lineup.

Kessel will get the night off on Friday after playing in each of the Blues' first two games of the season. Pierre-Olivier Joseph will draw into the lineup and make his Blues debut.

Texier was a late scratch on Thursday due to an upper-body injury and he will be sidelined again on Friday. Texier spent the first five seasons of his career as a Columbus Blue Jacket. The 25-year-old Texier had a career-high 30 points (12G / 18A) in 78 games last season.

On the tail end of a back-to-back set, the Blues will turn to Binnington in the crease on Friday night after Joel Hofer allowed four goals on 29 shots (.862 SV%) in a 5-4 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks last night. The 31-year-old Binnington was solid in the Blues' season opener on Tuesday, saving 30 of 32 shots (.938 SV%) in a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken. The Blues enter action on Friday as +188 road underdogs against the Vegas Golden Knights.

On the tail end of a back-to-back set, the Blues will likely turn to Binnington in the crease on Friday night after Joel Hofer allowed four goals on 29 shots (.862 SV%) in a 5-4 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks last night. The 31-year-old Binnington was solid in the Blues' season opener on Tuesday, saving 30 of 32 shots (.938 SV%) in a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken. The Blues enter action on Friday as +188 road underdogs against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Texier was a late scratch on Thursday, being replaced by Zachary Bolduc, due to an upper-body injury. Texier spent the first five seasons of his career as a Columbus Blue Jacket. The 25-year-old Texier had a career-high 30 points (12G / 18A) in 78 games last season.

On the front end of a back-to-back, the Blues will turn to Hofer in the crease on Thursday evening against the San Jose Sharks. The Blues were victorious in their opening night contest in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory on Tuesday with Jordan Binnington in net against the Seattle Kraken. The 24-year-old Hofer had a steady workload last season as Binnington's backup, posting a solid 2.65 GAA, .913 SV%, and one shutout in 30 appearances (15-12-1). The Blues enter action as -154 road favorites against an improved Sharks club that finished 31st in the league offensively last season with 181 goals.

On the front end of a back-to-back, the Blues will likely turn to Hofer in the crease on Thursday evening against the San Jose Sharks. The Blues were victorious in their opening night contest in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory on Tuesday with Jordan Binnington in net against the Seattle Kraken. The 24-year-old Hofer had a steady workload last season as Binnington's backup, posting a solid 2.65 GAA, .913 SV%, and one shutout in 30 appearances (15-12-1). The Blues enter action as -154 road favorites against an improved Sharks club that finished 31st in the league offensively last season with 181 goals.

The Blues will turn to Binnington in the crease for their matinee season opener against the Seattle Kraken. The 31-year-old Binnington had a solid 2023-24 campaign, posting a 2.84 GAA and a .913 SV% in 57 games (28-21-5), his strongest save percentage since the .927 SV% he posted in his rookie season when he finished fifth in voting for the Vezina trophy. Binnington and the Blues enter action on Tuesday as +140 road underdogs against a Kraken club that finished fourth-worst in the league offensively last season, scoring 217 goals.

St.Louis solidified their offensive depth on Monday as they came to a one-year, two-way agreement with 24-year-old Nikita Alexandrov. The tall centre was expected to take a step forward in his sophomore campaign in 2023-24, but struggled offensively with only two assists, four PIMs and 15 SOG in 23 games played. He will look to add on to the three goals and nine career points he has amassed through his 51 NHL games played across two seasons.

Krug will undergo surgery to address pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle, which will force him to miss the 2024-25 season. According to the Blues, "the decision to undergo surgery was reached following an effort to rehabilitate the injury through non-surgical interventions." In an effort to replace Krug in 2024-25, the Blues signed Philip Broberg and Ryan Suter in the offseason.

The Edmonton Oilers will not match St. Louis' offer sheet to restricted free agent Philip Broberg which means the 23-year-old has signed a two-year, $9.16 million contract with the Blues. Due to the signing, Edmonton has been compensated a 2025 2nd-round pick. In 12 games with Edmonton in 2023-24, Broberg had two assists, six SOG, and a -3 plus/minus while averaging only 11:37 TOI/GP.

Alongside Philip Broberg, Edmonton has decided to not match the two-year, $4.58 million offer sheet St.Louis presented to Dylan Holloway and will therefore lose the 22-year-old forward for a 2025 3rd-round pick. Holloway was Edmonton's 2020 1st round pick (14th overall) and had six goals, nine points and 29 PIMs in 38 games played in 2023-24.

Krug will be evaluated in 6-8 weeks to determine if surgery on his ankle is needed. If he does require surgery he is expected to miss the entire 2024-25 season. The 33-year-old defensemen just completed his 13th NHL season and had four goals, 39 points and a -31 plus/minus in 77 games played in 2023-24.

St.Louis added a strong veteran presence on Wenesday as it added 39-year-old Ryan Suter on a one-year, $775,000 deal. The grizzled defensemen played in all 82 games with Dallas in 2023-24, picking up two goals, 17 points, and a +14 plus/minus while still avergaing 18:56 TOI/GP. Suter currently ranks first amongst active players in games played (1444) as he enters his 20th NHL season with his fourth team.

The Blues selected Jiricek with the No.16 overall pick in this year's NHL Draft. The 18-year-old blueliner spent the 2024 season in Czechia, posting one assist in 19 games with Plzen HC. He also represented Czechia at the World Juniors but played just one game before suffering a knee injury that forced him to miss the rest of the tournament.