51ºÚÁÏ

Matthew DeFranks: Good afternoon! Training camp is about a month away. Let's get to your questions.

tylerg: Matty D, what it is what it do. Wishing you and the fam all the best and I want to thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Today I have questions about the bottom 6 on this team. My first question is about Pius Suter, is a good comparison to Suter a less physical, Ivan Barbashev? It sure seems like it based on the games I remember seeing Suter play in as well as his stat line. Second question is about Toropchenko, do you see him resigning in STL? I see this going either way based on his age, role, cap space/projected cap, impact on team chemistry, stat line, etc. Curious to hear you take, thanks!

Matthew DeFranks: I view Pius Suter as much more defensively responsible than Ivan Barbashev. Barbashev's defensive metrics were never really even close to what Suter can bring. I do think they both like to play on the interior, and we've seen the scoring touch Barbashev has brought when paired with top-line guys like Stone and Eichel. I don't expect that kind of punch from Suter, but he'll still put up some numbers just based on where he plays in the paint.

Toropchenko and the Blues signed a one-year extension last year that is worth $1.7M and walks him to UFA in the summer. Clearly, the fact that Toropchenko would hit UFA in 2026 didn't scare either side, or else they wouldn't have extended so early.

Toropchenko brings a couple things that are tough to find: speed in a 6-6 frame. So from that aspect, his reach and skating could be missed on the PK. But I think his contributions could be replaced at 5v5 at a younger and cheaper rate. We'll see how his season goes this year, but with all of the wingers (particularly bottom-six-ish guys) in the pipeline, maybe he becomes expendable if his ask is a mid-term deal in the $2M or $3M range.

Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Happy Wednesday Matt and to Blues chatters everywhere! I recently read Dalibor Dvorský's skating is considered below average, is this something the Blues asked him to work on this summer, and do you agree this is an accurate critique of his skill set?

Matthew DeFranks: I would say it's accurate. HIs pace of play has always been the biggest knock on him, and it was one of the things that the Blues and Springfield had him work on when he first arrived in the AHL last year. I imagine that message has been consistent summer to summer, and it's something Dvorsky knows he has to work on.

There is a chance, though, that Dvorsky's strengths (shooting, puck protection, offensive creativity) can be enough to overcome slower foot speed. I guess we'll find out together.

Harry York: Good morning, Mr. DeFranks!

Last year, we had a glut of "potential" at Forward and saw several new faces compete for forward roles. This year is more set in stone, it appears. New Vets Suter and Bjugstad are locks to start, and there seem to be no openings at Forward to speak of. Snuggerud's college choice has readied him for a big-time role with the team. I wonder if former Vegas Knights first-rounder Zach Dean will raise any eyebrows in camp. He had a tough adjustment from four years of billet-life to turning pro and struggled in his first year at Springfield, although he looks steady and solid- if unremarkable- in his nine-game stint with the Blues a year ago this past spring. He looked great in last year's camp but got hurt early in the season and missed a ton of games. He did "roar bacon" in the last two games of the T Bird's season and was one of their few highlights in their three-game playoff loss. I am one of those who see him as an excellent 3C very soon. What are your thoughts? We have a glut of talented young forward prospects, although only Dvorsky is a Cednter.

Matthew DeFranks: These are my 12 penciled in for opening night: Buchnevich, Thomas, Snuggerud, Holloway, Schenn, Kyrou, Neighbours, Suter, Bjugstad, Toropchenko, Sundqvist, Walker. With Texier and Joseph as scratches.

Is there room to overtake a player like Sundqvist or Walker? Sure. Or to take a roster spot from Texier or Joseph? Sure. But that player will need a hell of a camp, and enough of a track record (I think) so that the Blues don't feel like they are rushing a prospect too early into NHL time.

As for Zach Dean, he missed a ton of time with what I believe was a knee injury last season, and that really stunted any growth the team had in mind for him. Tough timing because now he's going to be coming back healthy at the same time as Stenberg, Pekarcik and Stancl all turn pro and play AHL minutes.

I think his ceiling is 3C, but I don't know if we can count on that type of player at this point.

Sctdog: In total the Monty influence appears very favorable w the post 4 nations run amazing. However, momentum doesn’t always transfer over the summer. What sort of team is Monty brining to 25/26. Most of this Blues term it seemed much harder for the opposition to score while he also opened up the offense, does this repeat?

Matthew DeFranks: I would think so. Looking at Montgomery's previous stops, the defense has typically been the thing that repeats itself. These are ranks by Natural Stat Trick's xGA/60 at 5v5: 2018-19 Dallas 9th, 2019-20 Dallas (partial) 6th, 2022-23 Boston 6th, 2023-24 Boston 16th, 2024-25 Boston (partial) 14th and 2025-25 51ºÚÁÏ (partial) 4th.

The results improved after the 4 Nations, but the process did so before that. It's just that inconsistent goaltending and a poor PK delivered worse results than the Blues deserved with their 5v5 play. So Montgomery's work paid dividends eventually, but it started soon after he took over.

Sctdog: a few years ago the Bkues were counting on guys like Saad and Hayes to be significant players, now w Suter, Holloway, Neighbors part of the core the Blues have 7 players who could score 20 goals apiece or more. The improvement in depth had to make the Blues harder to match up against. What is the new primary weakness?

Matthew DeFranks: Top-end talent, but that will usually be the case with a Doug Armstrong team that is more so built through depth rather than star power. I think we all know who Robert Thomas is, but him and Sebastian Aho are pretty comparable and the Hurricanes have been trying to get a star to push them over the edge for years.

I think it should also be noted that how much younger the Blues got in making the improvements within their depth. Holloway and Neighbours are 23 years old.

Sctdog: in the minors expected to be the first group of callups are Dvorsky, Lidsttum, Kazamacki. Next year it could be Carbrneu, Jirikeck, Stenberg. There is also the possibility that Alexandrov, Dean, or another like Peterson break in as well. Is this as deep as the Blues have been? No Calebrini or Bedard, but potential many good players.

Matthew DeFranks: I did the research before last season began. From the prior six drafts, the Blues had 10 first-rounders in their system. That was third-most behind Montreal (12) and Buffalo (11).

Previous five drafts? Chicago (10) and then 51ºÚÁÏ (9).

Previous four drafts? Chicago (9), Nashville (8) and 51ºÚÁÏ (7).

I haven't redone the research this summer, but I imagine the overarching thought remains the same. The Blues have a lot of young, first-round talent in the system and they did so without doing what Buffalo and Chicago have done on the ice with tanking.

woodburnky: Hello MD, why is Dvorsky considered so valuable if his skating is considered "average.?" I have seen his goals on Youtube and nothing really stands out to me except tip in and odd-man rush follow ups.

Matthew DeFranks: He scored 21 goals as a 19-year-old in the AHL, as one of the youngest players while missing time to go play in his fourth World Juniors for Slovakia. He's not perfect, but there's a lot to like about a player that can score. I think we forget how young Dvorsky is right now. If he was in the Canadian junior system growing up, he would just be turning pro right now. But since he's been in the AHL and in the public eye, it feels like he's older than he is.

pugger: Hey Matt!! Is there a player you have in mind where you could see them have a surprisingly good season.. kind of a dark horse to just totally elevate their game? Be a solid contributor, if not spectacular. I kind of think Dvorsky is going to make the team (or get called up) and he's going to have a solid 1st season.. 12-15 goals, 30-40 points. Thanks Matt!

Matthew DeFranks: I guess Mailloux would be the pick here? I can see him getting more and more power play time as the season goes on, and combining that with sheltered even-strength minutes on the third pairing.

pugger: How do you see the Blues goaltending playing out in the next 2-3 years with Binnington and Hofer? If you were GM how would you play that position with those 2? I think if Blues are close to contending in next 1-3 years, Blues will hold onto Binner. If not, maybe they trade him for assets and hand over the reigns to Hofer. Or if it's 3 years from now, Binner is 34, they trade him as they need to move to a younger guy. What would you do?

Matthew DeFranks: They're both signed for the next two years. After that, Hofer becomes an RFA, and Binnington is a UFA. I don't think it's an accident that those two contracts line up perfectly. Honestly, I think the Blues gradually start giving more starts to Hofer, and see which goaltender is playing better.

And then revisit it in the summer of 2027.

DCG: MDF: Do the Blues really have that much "depth" at winger, or do they just have a lot of bodies with NHL experience? Currently, they have four guys who have produced 20+ goals in a season--Kyrou, Buch, Holloway, Neighbors. They have projected that on Snuggs, but we'll see. I tend to believe, so that's a solid 5. After that, I don't think they have a single guy you could count on for 10+ goals. So, is that really depth? That's why the Bolduc trade makes me so nervous. If one of the current top 5 wingers goes down, the team will struggle to produce a third scoring line.

Matthew DeFranks: If we want to look at last year and use Zack Bolduc as a benchmark, the Blues had five wingers with at least 19 goals. That was the most in the NHL. Obviously, that changes with the Bolduc trade to Montreal, but it's tough to argue that the Blues didn't deal from a position of strength in making that trade.

You do make a good point about losing a player to injury, but the fact that losing a body impacts the ability to form a third scoring line (as opposed to a second one) should be a testament to the team's wingers. I think if you look around the league, many teams would be in a much worse off position on the wing.

Now, about center ... different story.

Joe: I still feel that the Blues did poorly in the Bolduc-Mailloux trade because, for all intents and purposes, Mailloux was damaged goods in Montreal with the lingering personal problems that all Canadien fans (and most Canadians for that matter) will never forget. Kids make mistakes for sure, but he was not out from under this one if you read the stories even today. He gets a fresh start with an American team, so good for him. But the fact that Bolduc showed real promise on NHL ice while Mailloux was 'only' solid on AHL ice leaves the Blues as huge risk takers in this trade. Seems we should have netted a draft pick as well, even if only a 4th or so. Do you see more upside here, or do you also see this as a big risk?

Matthew DeFranks: It's definitely a risk. As you mentioned, the Blues took a proven NHL producer and traded him for an AHL player. I think the Blues made some sort of calculation about defensemen being a premium position compared to winger, so that's got to factor into the return. I would tend to agree that the Blues probably could have gotten something else in the deal. I mean, if nothing else, they traded the 16 pick for the 31 pick of the same draft, plus a few years of development.

Sctdog: Thinking about where the Blues may finish in the standings, if they are something better than horrific in the PK that could be a 5 pts swing. Something better than 4 goals in Saad’s 3rd line wing may add some points. I’m not sure who over achieved, maybe the 4th line was really good but it didn’t score any goals and Torpo could bounce back.

Matthew DeFranks: I'm not a huge believer in Winnipeg. I don't think Dallas or Colorado dropped off enough for the Blues to catch them. But the Blues could finish in third place, I think. In the last four years, that was 102, 107, 103 and 109 points.

Sctdog: in terms of Blyes competition in the central, doesn’t it seem like the Avs peaked and are beginning to slide a bit. Dallas looks tough, but you don’t normally get to the conference finals, lose and then climb higher. Wpeg had a great year, better than expected, but they lost Ehkers. Could the top 3 spots be more open than expected?

Matthew DeFranks: I look at it similarly. Dallas and Colorado got a little worse, but are still at the top. Winnipeg, in my eyes, is a goalie. And not sure the other teams did enough for me to say for sure that they're better than the Blues.

DCG: Ok, fair enough. But the Blues are a middle-of-the-pack scoring team, and that's with some pretty good goal production from D-men. So, how do you account for their just being an average scoring team? is that a function of need a better second line center, needing more out of Buch, style of play? Something else?

Matthew DeFranks: I think those are definitely factors, and I also think you can look at the Blues offense basically however you want to. Under Montgomery, they were third in the NHL in goals per 60 at 5v5. But that was also due to the third-best shooting percentage and 27th-ranked xGF at 5v5.

Overall, last year, they were 13th in the league in scoring and that was with the No. 16 power play.

pugger: Can Mailloux break out and be more? Lot to ask, the Blues bought low on the offer sheet guys who kind of blew away expectations, so not sure if lighting strikes a 3rd time.. :)

Matthew DeFranks: The risks taken on Eastern Conference players haven't really panned out with Vrana, Hayes, Joseph or Texier. But the Western Conference ones have with Holloway, Broberg and Fowler. I guess we're going to find out how well the Blues scouted Mailloux in Laval with their pro scout who was assigned that team.

pugger: Any free agents coming up in next 1-2 years, where you could say "Blues can adjust there model for this guy, gotta try to get him." McDavid? Or is that pie i the sky crazy??

Matthew DeFranks: McDavid, Eichel, Kaprizov would all be those types of players, but we'll see who gets to UFA and where they want to go themselves.

pugger: Do you see the Western Conference as a gauntlet, or has it (or certain teams) maybe taken a step back or are over hyped?

Matthew DeFranks: I think it's gotten tighter. There doesn't seem to be a dominant team, even if Edmonton won the West the last two years. More teams are making moves to win now.

GoThunder: My largest concern remains the Blues D simply are not physical enough as a group. When Tucker went down, the Jets forwards began to dominate the defensive zone (leading to the collapse in game 7). Can Mailloux hit?

Matthew DeFranks: He has a bigger body, and can play physically, but I wouldn't expect his defensive game to be there yet in the NHL.

The queue is empty, so we'll call it there for today. Thanks for stopping by.

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