NHL Preview 2024-25 103 SportsForecaster.com

Forwards

Pavel Buchnevich [W/C]

  • Age: 29
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 196
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 80 27 36 63 3 48 0.79
Career 623 187 285 472 52 261 0.76
Forecast 81 32 43 75 - - 0.93

He is coming off the poorest of his three seasons with the Blues. Buchnevich was not bad, just not the point-per-game player he had been in his first two seasons in St. Louis. That was partly because he missed a number of scoring chances he had previously buried–his shooting percentage dropped from 21.1% in 2022-23 to 13% in 2023-24.

Radek Faksa [C]

  • Age: 30
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 215
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Dal 74 7 12 19 0 20 0.26
Career 737 95 130 225 -9 392 0.31
Forecast 75 8 9 17 - - 0.23

Faksa's offensive numbers have dropped in the last several campaigns, as has his ice time (12:31 TOI/GP in '23-24). The Czech forward plays most of his minutes in a checking role; he is trusted to shut down opponents and kill penalties. Also, veteran Faksa has won at least 54 percent of his face-offs in each of the past four seasons.

Dylan Holloway [LW]

  • Age: 23
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 206
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Edm 38 6 3 9 -1 29 0.24
Career 196 43 55 98 13 72 0.50
Forecast 81 23 20 43 - - 0.53

Injuries, including a pair of wrist surgeries, have hampered Holloway's development. When healthy, he is fast, physical and a pain-in-the-butt forechecker who can generate offense off the rush or by powering his way to the crease area. His upside was on display in the '24 playoffs; he provided secondary scoring and improving defense.

Mathieu Joseph [LW/RW]

  • Age: 27
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 190
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Ott 72 11 24 35 -4 51 0.49
Career 444 61 96 157 13 200 0.35
Forecast 79 13 21 34 - - 0.43

This season, Joseph will try to build on his career-best 24 assists and 35 points with the Senators in '23-24. He also posted career highs in games played (72) and shots on goal (124). The offensive improvement came even though he notched zero points on the power play and saw few minutes with the extra man. He is versatile and handy.

Jordan Kyrou [RW]

  • Age: 26
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 196
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 82 31 36 67 -12 22 0.82
Career 444 158 190 348 -25 108 0.78
Forecast 80 36 40 76 - - 0.95

The Toronto native will try to build on his team-leading 31 goals, 10 of which came in his final 13 games of 2023-24. That late-season burst helped make up for a woeful start that saw him score just five goals in his first 29 games, so he is prone to peaks and valleys. His plus/minus rating also took a major leap forward last season.

Jake Neighbours [RW/LW]

  • Age: 22
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 201
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 77 27 11 38 -16 21 0.49
Career 229 64 44 108 -43 113 0.47
Forecast 80 25 24 49 - - 0.61

The 2020 first-rounder provided the Blues with an unlikely shot of goal-scoring prowess in his first full NHL season. His willingness to get to the dirty areas led to him scoring 27 goals, tied for second on the team in '23-24. Twenty of his goals were scored from in front of the net, despite averaging just 15:42 of overall ice time.

Brandon Saad [LW/RW]

  • Age: 31
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 215
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 82 26 16 42 -4 20 0.51
Career 962 267 266 533 42 180 0.55
Forecast 80 24 21 45 - - 0.56

The 31-year-old is not terribly exciting, but he is productive: Saad reached the 20-goal mark for the seventh time last season and topped 25 goals for the first time since 2015-16. He also led the team with seven game-winning goals, including two in overtime. Saad's ability to produce while playing up and down the lineup is valuable.

Brayden Schenn [W/C]

  • Age: 33
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 199
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 82 20 26 46 -22 56 0.56
Career 1052 284 414 698 -57 610 0.66
Forecast 77 19 28 47 - - 0.61

He navigated through some huge valleys in his first campaign as Blues captain. Schenn reached 20 goals again in 2023-24, but he had stretches of nine, 16 and 18 games without a goal and 12 contests without a point. His 46 points were his fewest for a full season in a decade, and his minus-22 rating was the worst among Blues forwards.

Oskar Sundqvist [C/RW]

  • Age: 30
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 220
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 71 6 15 21 -6 32 0.30
Career 514 63 111 174 -27 217 0.34
Forecast 46 4 7 11 - - 0.24

Sundqvist's 2023-24 reunion with the Blues was going well and yielded a contract extension before it ended in late March with a torn ACL in his right knee that needed surgery. It is uncertain if he will be ready to go for the start of 2024-25. He is not a huge scorer but can play on special teams, and he goes to the front of the net.

Alexandre Texier [LW/RW]

  • Age: 25
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 186
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
CBJ 78 12 18 30 -5 38 0.38
Career 246 40 53 93 -19 94 0.38
Forecast 78 13 22 35 - - 0.45

The 25-year-old is coming off his best offensive season in the NHL, which came after he spent a season in Switzerland while dealing with family issues. However, Texier has yet to develop into a top-six forward. He did not get a lot of power-play ice time in '23-24, but his speed and smarts are definitely assets on the penalty kill.

Robert Thomas [C]

  • Age: 25
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 207
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 82 26 60 86 9 48 1.05
Career 492 111 303 414 46 156 0.84
Forecast 80 29 56 85 - - 1.06

Trying to build on a career year, Thomas led St. Louis in assists and points in 2023-24–with career highs in both (and goals, too). He was the Blues' fourth player since 2000 to have 80-plus points. Despite spending most of his ice time against opponents' top lines, he was on the ice for 60 five-on-five goals for and only 42 against.

Alexey Toropchenko [LW]

  • Age: 25
  • Ht: 6-6
  • Wt: 225
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 82 14 7 21 -3 30 0.26
Career 276 31 31 62 -12 97 0.22
Forecast 81 12 13 25 - - 0.31

Few players had as much impact in limited ice time in '23-24 as the 25-year-old did while playing 12:31 per game. He was third on St. Louis with 165 hits, led team forwards with 55 blocked shots and scored twice while shorthanded and 12 times at even strength. He is one of the team's best forecheckers, backcheckers and shot-blockers.

Defensemen

Goaltenders

Philip Broberg

  • Age: 23
  • Ht: 6-4
  • Wt: 212
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Edm 12 0 2 2 -3 0 0.17
Career 179 12 40 52 14 30 0.29
Forecast 77 4 22 26 - - 0.34

The 23-year-old is still trying to work his way beyond a depth role, although stepping in and playing all seven games in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final should help. He is still learning to pick his spots on when to pinch and is sanding down some of the rough edges that have kept him from becoming a full-time NHL defenseman to this point.

Justin Faulk

  • Age: 32
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 214
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 60 2 28 30 -2 39 0.50
Career 1010 136 336 472 -69 494 0.47
Forecast 77 8 27 35 - - 0.45

Faulk's 13th NHL season was derailed by injuries that cost him 22 games in 2023-24. He struggled after returning from a high ankle sprain, and his two goals were his fewest in any National Hockey League campaign. Though Faulk remains a minute muncher, his average ice time in '23-24 (21:58 TOI/GP) was actually his lowest since '19-20.

Matthew Kessel

  • Age: 24
  • Ht: 6-2
  • Wt: 205
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 39 1 6 7 0 12 0.18
Career 87 3 9 12 -5 26 0.14
Forecast 72 4 12 16 - - 0.22

Taking advantage of a few blueline injuries, Kessel showed he was ready for the NHL last campaign, albeit in a relatively limited role (16:48 TOI/GP). He has never been a big point producer at any level, but he did the job in his own zone and finished with an even plus/minus rating for a team that was badly outscored at five on five.

Nick Leddy

  • Age: 33
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 205
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 82 3 25 28 14 14 0.34
Career 1054 75 344 419 -41 207 0.40
Forecast 79 2 21 23 - - 0.29

At 33, Leddy no longer produces points the way he did a few years ago, partly because he now sees little power-play time. His speed and ability to devour minutes (22:22 TOI/GP in '23-24) continue to make him valuable. He has never been a physical defenseman but kills penalties and will give up his body to block shots (127 in '23-24).

Colton Parayko

  • Age: 31
  • Ht: 6-6
  • Wt: 228
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 82 10 16 26 4 23 0.32
Career 753 77 227 304 64 208 0.40
Forecast 81 7 18 25 - - 0.31

In 2023-24, no NHL player blocked more shots than Parayko (218), no defenseman had more than his 73 takeaways and no one on the Blues averaged more minutes (23:52 TOI/GP). He played all 82 games for the first time since 2017-18 and registered double figures in goals for the first time since '19-20. It might have been his best season.

Scott Perunovich

  • Age: 26
  • Ht: 5-9
  • Wt: 172
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
StL 54 0 17 17 1 12 0.31
Career 108 2 30 32 0 30 0.30
Forecast 70 3 31 34 - - 0.49

A litany of injuries has slowed the 2020 Hobey Baker Award winner since he turned pro; his 54 games played in 2023-24 were a career high. Perunovich was a high-scoring defenseman in the NCAA and has averaged more than a point per game in the AHL, but he has not notched a goal in 73 NHL contests and seems reluctant to shoot sometimes.

Jordan Binnington

  • Age: 31
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 174
'23-24 GP W L OT SO GAA Sv%
StL 57 28 21 5 3 2.84 0.913
Career 356 180 123 41 18 2.8 0.905
Forecast 53 28 - - 2 2.93 0.908

The sometimes hot-headed 31-year-old got off to an inconsistent start last season but bounced back and was arguably the Blues' MVP. Binnington's goals-against average was below 3.00 for the first time since 2020-21, and his save percentage was the highest since 2018-19–when he came out of nowhere to lead the Blues to the Stanley Cup.

Joel Hofer

  • Age: 24
  • Ht: 6-5
  • Wt: 179
'23-24 GP W L OT SO GAA Sv%
StL 30 15 12 1 1 2.65 0.913
Career 83 39 27 7 4 2.77 0.905
Forecast 34 15 - - 1 2.86 0.91

He will try to build on a successful first full NHL season, one that saw his playing time increase as '23-24 wore on. His play improved as he got accustomed to the pace of the NHL, learned to relax and found out how to deal with the grind of an 82-game schedule. His .914 save percentage placed him ninth in the NHL (minimum 25 games).