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Evening Notes: Neighbours, Kemell, O’Connor

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The St. Louis Blues will get leading goal-scorer Jake Neighbours back on their current five-game road trip, per head coach Jim Montgomery. Neighbours has been out with a right-leg injury since St. Louis’ October 25th win over the Detroit Red Wings. He scored two goals in that game, bringing his year-long totals up to six goals in eight games. That mark was double any other Blues’ goal total at the time, and is still tied for the team lead despite him missing the last 11 games. He has seven points in total.

The Blues will be anxiously anticipating the return of their hot hand. They have posted a 3-4-1 record since Neighbours’ exited the lineup – the fifth-lowest point-percentage in the NHL in that span. It’s been a brutal stretch, marked by St. Louis averaging over four goals against per game. Neighbours’ confident offense, and chemistry with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, should help spur the Blues’ offense; while his physicality supports the defense. The 23-year-old could return as soon as Thursday’s game versus the Philadelphia Flyers.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Nashville Predators have reassigned winger Joakim Kemell to the minor-leagues. Kemell was recalled on November 10th, but didn’t appear in any NHL games over the last week. His only NHL action this year came in two games at the start of Nashville’s season. He managed no scoring, one shot on goal, and four hits in the pair of outings. Kemell has managed six points in six AHL games this season, making him one of three Milwaukee Admirals scoring at a point-per-game. He’ll now bring that productivity back to an Admirals team that’s 5-1-0 through November.
  • The Colorado Avalanche will have to wait a bit longer to get depth forward Logan O’Connor back into the lineup. He has sustained an soft-tissue issue that will delay his return from a hip surgery he underwent in March per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. This new injury is unrelated to the surgery, per Rawal, but has still pushed back O’Connor’s original return date of early November. The 29-year-old right-winger appeared in 80 games, and scored 21 points, with the Avalanche last season. He’s become a fixture of the team’s fourth-line, and has managed at least 20 points in each of the last four seasons.

Blues Open To Moving Justin Faulk

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Add Justin Faulk’s name to the list of players the Blues will be open to moving if their season-opening slide continues, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period writes.

It’s far from the first time Faulk’s name has been brought up in trade speculation. For years, each one of the Blues’ aging top-four group on defense was listed as a potential target. That talk has quieted down after St. Louis aggressively retooled their left side in the past couple of seasons, losing Torey Krug to a career-ending injury and waiving Nick Leddy while adding Philip Broberg via offer sheet and Cam Fowler via trade.

Today’s report on Faulk is more than just speculation, though. Moving him this season becomes much easier after his no-trade clause was downgraded to a 15-team no-trade list, much like how captain and fellow trade candidate Brayden Schenn’s contract is structured. With just one season left after this one on his deal, his $6.5MM cap hit becomes more appealing, too – especially since his actual salary owed is just $4.5MM per season.

Faulk and Colton Parayko have each seen relatively equal time with Broberg and Fowler as their partner this season. The two lefties have posted significantly worse possession numbers when paired with Faulk. Broberg has controlled 59.7% of expected goals at 5-on-5 with Parayko compared to 57.7% with Faulk, while Fowler has controlled 53.5% with Parayko and just 40.7% with Faulk.

That will undoubtedly be a concern for more analytically-focused clubs and could steer them away from their interest. However, his traditional stats paint a picture of him being worth the investment for a team in need of a puck-moving righty in their top four. The 33-year-old leads Blues defensemen with eight points in 16 games while averaging 23:32 of ice time per game, the most on the team.

Still, moving Faulk would leave a gaping hole on their right side if they’re anticipating a quick retool and a return to postseason contention in 2026-27. Top righty prospect Logan Mailloux, acquired from the Canadiens over the offseason, is still a long-term wild card thanks to his extreme defensive deficiencies. The 22-year-old has been offensively dominant in the minors and juniors, but has just five points and a -16 rating in 17 career NHL games thus far. He’s likely more than a year out from being ready for a top-four role as a result, and the Blues don’t have any other righties in the system with the two-way utility or upside to give them quality second-pairing minutes behind Parayko.

St. Louis Blues Reassign Logan Mailloux, Recall Hunter Skinner

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The St. Louis Blues announced this morning that defenseman Logan Mailloux has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. In a corresponding move, the team recalled defenseman Hunter Skinner.

The move comes amid what has been an extremely difficult start to the 2025-26 season at the NHL level for Mailloux. Blues GM Doug Armstrong spoke to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford about the move. Armstrong said Mailloux “needs a reset” but refused to place all the blame for Mailloux’s tough start on the player himself. He noted that St. Louis is, as a whole, “not functioning at a high level right now” and that Mailloux’s struggles have been a small part of that.

In explaining the motivations behind this move, Armstrong said the team wants Mailloux to be able to play without the level of “anxiety” and pressure that exists at the NHL level. The Blues believe, Armstrong said, that sending Mailloux back to the AHL will help him “get his game back” and “unlock his mind.”

St. Louis acquired Mailloux, who is a 2021 first-round pick, from the Montreal Canadiens over the summer in a one-for-one trade, sacrificing forward Zachary Bolduc after his promising rookie year in the NHL. Trading away a rookie forward right after a 19-goal, 36-point rookie season that saw him earn down-ballot Calder Trophy consideration certainly isn’t a decision a team takes lightly. But the Blues saw an opportunity to acquire a young right-handed defenseman with a rare combination of size and dynamic offensive ability.

Big right-shot defensemen who can skate and play a quality offensive game are one of the hardest-to-find commodities in the NHL, yet players of that archetype remain extremely in-demand among NHL teams.

That supply-and-demand consideration had to have played a role in making Mailloux a first-round pick despite the off-ice issues surrounding him, and without question motivated the Blues’ decision to trade Bolduc in order to acquire him.

So far, Mailloux hasn’t been able to reward the Blues’ faith in him with quality play at the NHL level.

Through two professional seasons in the Canadiens organization, Mailloux proved to be an exceptional offensive weapon on the back end, but also a defenseman who at times struggled mightily with decision-making and reading the play in his own end. Those issues have resurfaced in the NHL this season.

He was never able to reach a level of reliability in the defensive zone to earn a consistent NHL role in Montreal, playing with the Canadiens only on a sporadic basis. But he did manage to make his presence felt at the AHL level, playing in two AHL All-Star games and landing on the 2023-24 All-Rookie team.

It’s that previous success he has at the AHL level that has likely led to the Blues’ belief that a stint in the AHL could go a long way in helping Mailloux “reset” his game.

Through nine NHL contests this season, Mailloux has failed to register a point and has logged a -12 plus/minus rating despite averaging the second-fewest minutes per game of any Blues defenseman.

The Blues’ season as a whole has not gone to plan, and surrendering a game-tying goal with a second left and then losing in overtime last night cannot have helped matters. This transaction is unlikely to be the only move the Blues make in order to try to spark a turnaround in results.

From Mailloux’s perspective, it would be understandable to be discouraged by a return to the AHL after making the NHL roster out of training camp. But getting the chance to rediscover his game and build some confidence in a league he’s largely starred in could genuinely make a difference in helping him stay in the NHL on a more permanent basis the next time he’s called up.

This move is a disappointing development for one young defenseman but a significant opportunity for another. Skinner, 24, has yet to make his NHL debut and this recall positions him to do exactly that, with his first opportunity coming Nov. 11 against the Calgary Flames.

The 6’3″ right-shot defenseman was originally acquired in 2023 as part of the trade that sent Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers, and he has worked his way up to the NHL all the way from the ECHL. While he’s not considered a top prospect by any stretch, Skinner offers the Blues a physical edge they could find useful.

Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Blues Shifting Into Retool Mode, Willing To Move Brayden Schenn

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For the second straight season, Blues captain Brayden Schenn finds himself in the rumor mill. This time, the discussion is being drummed up earlier on as St. Louis faltered out of the gate to a 5-8-2 start.

His name is just one that could be on the move as the Blues’ poor start has general manager Doug Armstrong shifting into retool mode. He has been traveling lately due to his duties with the Canadian national team for the upcoming Winter Olympics. While doing so, he’s been letting other front offices know he’s “open for business,” Frank Seravalli said on Amazon Prime Canada’s Coast to Coast.

That’s in conjunction with a report yesterday from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, which stated that Schenn is beginning to generate interest from hopeful contenders. It’s been a deceptively tough start for the 34-year-old, who’s now in his ninth season as a Blue. He’s off to a slow start offensively with two goals and six points in 15 games, but he’s been making headlines for his league-worst -13 rating. Combine that with his 16:49 average ice time, checking in as his lowest in a decade, and it seems as though his value won’t be as compelling to contenders as it was last year, when a reportedly sky-high asking price contributed to Schenn sticking around in St. Louis.

The boxcar stats don’t tell the whole story, though. The lack of point production is a legitimate concern, but aside from that, he’s played the reliable two-way physical game that he’s delivered for years. He’s winning 52.2% of his draws, and his poor even-strength results are far more attributable to the Blues’ poor goaltending than defensive regression on Schenn’s part. The Blues are still controlling a reasonable 48.2% of shot attempts with Schenn on the ice at 5-on-5, and his line with Dylan Holloway and Jordan Kyrou has controlled 58.7% of expected goals.

Those promising underlying numbers, plus Schenn’s long track record as a top-six fixture, likely mean his value hasn’t dipped too much, especially with another year burned off his contract. Any team picking him up without retention would only have to contend with his $6.5MM cap hit for two full seasons after this one, instead of three. It’s also much easier for the Blues to facilitate a trade now than it was at last year’s deadline – he had a full no-trade clause last season that downgraded to a 15-team no-trade list on July 1.

The Maple Leafs and Devils were the two clubs most closely linked to him last season. Pagnotta expects both of them to be in the mix this time around if Armstrong continues down a retooling path. It’s his final season as general manager before transitioning to a president of hockey operations role for the 2026-27 season, overseeing incoming rookie GM Alexander Steen.

Blues Expected To Scratch Jordan Kyrou

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A tough start in St. Louis is coming to a head today. The club is making top-six winger Jordan Kyrou a healthy scratch for tonight’s game against the Sabres, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.

While likely a message-sending vehicle to the entire team rather than targeted at Kyrou, it’s still a perplexing decision for a club scoring 2.71 goals per game, 24th in the league. Few Blues have performed up to expectations through 14 games, Kyrou included, but he’s still tied for second on the team in scoring with four goals and eight points. He’s fourth among forwards in average ice time per game at 17:23.

It’s also hard to attribute St. Louis’ 4-8-2 record to much else other than their goaltending. Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer have combined for one of the more disastrous starts from a goalie tandem in recent memory. Among the 43 goalies with at least five games played this season, Binnington’s .859 SV% ranks 40th, and Hofer’s .836 SV% ranks last. They’ve combined to allow 11 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. With even average goaltending, the Blues are looking at a -10 goal differential instead of their current -21 and would be hovering around .500 instead of four games below it.

The group of skaters, as a whole, has largely held up its end of the bargain. There hasn’t been a dominant offensive force – Pius Suter’s nine points lead the team – but they’ve put together above-average two-way play, including a 54.4% share of high-danger chances at even strength. Individual ratings like Kyrou’s -8 mark and Brayden Schenn’s -13 are deceptively low because of the goaltending behind them. St. Louis’ de facto second line, featuring Kyrou, Schenn, and Dylan Holloway, has actually been quite adept at controlling play. Out of 54 forward line combinations with at least 60 minutes together, their 58.7 xGF% ranks 13th, per MoneyPuck. In terms of raw shot attempts, they’re still a respectable 27th at 54%.

Kyrou was frequently mentioned as a trade candidate last summer, including being linked to the Canadiens more than once. That talk largely quieted after Kyrou’s full no-trade clause kicked in on July 1. As of now, there’s been no indication that he’s been asked to waive it or that he’d be willing to do so if asked. He’s only in the third year of an eight-year, $65MM deal that carries a cap hit of $8.125MM.

While it’s been a tough stretch, Kyrou is as consistent a high-end second-line/fringe first-line piece as they come. He’s topped 30 goals for three years in a row and has finished with no less than 67 and no more than 75 points in the last four years. His early-season pace now puts him on track for 47 points over an 82-game schedule, which he won’t achieve with tonight’s scratch. While he’s finishing slightly below his career average at 12.5%, it’s a general lack of chance generation that brings his point totals down. He’s registering 21% fewer shots on goal and 12% fewer shot attempts per game than he did last year.

Blues Release Milan Lucic

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The Blues have released left-winger Milan Lucic from his professional tryout, according to a team announcement. He’ll nonetheless remain in the organization for now and will report to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, also in a tryout capacity.

Lucic, 37, landed a PTO with St. Louis all the way back in August and showed up for his first NHL training camp in two years. He skated in four preseason games for the Blues, recording a goal and an assist. He then sustained a lower-body injury that shut him down late in camp, removing any hope he had of converting his PTO into an opening night roster spot.

The Blues quietly kept extending Lucic’s PTO in 10-day increments – a new vehicle in the recent CBA extension – while he rehabbed his injury. Evidently, he’s now healthy. Even with the team’s 4-7-2 start to the season, though, they didn’t see enough out of him to warrant giving the 17-year veteran a look on the fourth line, at least not yet. Releasing him from his tryout does nothing to preclude the club from giving him a contract later if they like what they see during his return to action in Springfield.

If Lucic suits up for the Thunderbirds, it will be the first AHL action of his career. He made the transition straight from the WHL to the Bruins’ roster when he first broke into the NHL in 2007 as a 19-year-old. It will also be his first action of any kind in over two years. Lucic’s last appearance came for Boston on Oct. 21, 2023, his fourth of the young season. He then sustained an ankle injury and missed the rest of the season after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program following an alleged domestic incident, although those charges were dropped.

Central Injury Notes: Hintz, Duchene, Thomas, Zuccarello

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The Dallas Stars will be without some significant talent ahead of the Western Conference Final rematch tomorrow night. According to team reporter Brien Rea, the Stars won’t have forwards Roope Hintz or Matt Duchene against the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow night. Additionally, Jake Oettinger is also doubtful, given that he and his wife just had a child.

It’s more of the same for Duchene. The 17-year veteran will have missed Dallas’ last eight games due to an upper-body injury after tomorrow night’s contest. He’s only appeared in four games this year, scoring one goal and two assists with a 52.2% success rate in the faceoff dot.

Meanwhile, Hintz will miss his fifth straight game due to an undisclosed injury. He’s been a much bigger void to fill, given that he’s been a point-per-game player to start the campaign. Since Duchene left the lineup, the Stars have averaged two goals per game.

Other injury notes from the Central Division:

  • In some positive news, the St. Louis Blues will return Robert Thomas to the lineup tonight. According to Lou Korac of the NHL, Thomas returned to practice this morning and was included in all line rushes. He’s missed the team’s last four games with an upper-body injury. Unfortunately, Thomas’s absence was notably evident, as the Blues lost all four contests.
  • The positive news isn’t only isolated to St. Louis. According to Joe Smith of The Athletic, Minnesota Wild veteran Mats Zuccarello looks very close to returning. Zuccarello suffered a lower-body injury before the start of the regular season. Like Thomas, his absence has been noticeable. Despite leading the league in power-play goals, the Wild are only averaging 1.61 even-strength goals through their first 13 games.

Blues, Capitals Swap Corey Schueneman, Calle Rosen

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The St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals have each announced a minor league swap of defensemen. The Blues have acquired defenseman Calle Rosen from the Washington Capitals in exchange for Corey Schueneman.

It’s a coming home of sorts for Rosen. The Växjö, Sweden native, joined the Blues ahead of the 2021-22 campaign and enjoyed some of the best individual seasons of his career there. In his three years with St. Louis, he scored 10 goals and 26 points in 73 games while averaging 15:03 of ice time per game.

Additionally, Rosen was a solid defenseman for the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. From 2021 to 2024, Rosen played in 108 games for the Thunderbirds, scoring six goals and 51 points over that stretch. Since leaving St. Louis after the 2023-24 campaign, Rosen has spent the last two years with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles and Hershey Bears, respectively, scoring 11 goals and 41 points in 71 games.

In comparison, Schueneman has significantly less playing time in the NHL than Rosen. After starting his professional career with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, the Western Michigan University alumnus made his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens in the 2021-22 season.

Despite a seven-game stint with the Blues last year, Schueneman’s NHL career has been limited to two goals and seven points in 31 games for the Canadiens, averaging 16:10 of ice time per game. He’s had a far better track record in the AHL, scoring 26 goals and 116 points in 316 games with a +28 rating.

Latest On St. Louis Blues

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  • The St. Louis Blues have suffered a slow start to their 2025-26 season, going 3-6-1 in their first 10 games. Things have been especially bad recently, as the club blew a four-goal lead to the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 25, lost 6-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 27, and just yesterday wasted a strong start and surrendered four unanswered goals en route to a 5-2 loss to Detroit. With the Blues playing particularly poor hockey of late, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford wrote that the Blues “are broken” and “need a lot to change,” but noted that due to the contracts owed to key players, it’s unlikely any change will come to the team’s core. Head coach Jim Montgomery expressed optimism that the Blues will be able to turn things around, but if the current trends continue, they could be one of the more interesting teams to watch once we get closer to peak trade season.

Blues Recall Dalibor Dvorsky

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The Blues announced they’ve recalled their top center prospect, Dalibor Dvorsky, from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. St. Louis has an open roster spot after placing Jake Neighbours on injured reserve yesterday, so there’s no need for a corresponding transaction.

Dvorsky, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2023 draft, gets his first look of the season as the Blues deal with injuries to a pair of top-line forwards. Not only is Neighbours out for the next five weeks with a right leg injury, but their top center, Robert Thomas, has also missed the last two games with an upper-body injury and remains day-to-day.

Amid those injuries, the Blues have lost four games in a row and are 3-6-1 in their last 10 outings. It’s their goaltending that has been lacking. The Blues’ 4.40 goals against per game is 31st in the league, yet they’re allowing the fifth-fewest shots per game (25.4) in the NHL. Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer are both among the six worst goaltenders in the league this season in terms of goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck, combining for a -10.4 GSAx mark.

Dvorsky’s presence obviously won’t change the picture between the pipes, but they’re hoping his infusion into the roster can at least help them make strides toward outscoring their problems and get back in the win column. The Slovak pivot is off to a hot start with Springfield, scoring three goals and two assists for five points through six games. That’s tied for the team lead and marks a promising start to his second year in the North American pros. Last season, the 20-year-old churned out a 21-24–45 scoring line in 61 appearances for the Thunderbirds and was named to the AHL Top Prospects Team.

If Dvorsky plays, it will not mark his NHL debut. The 6’1″, 201-lb center suited up twice for the Blues late last season. He wasn’t given much runway, going without a point and averaging just 9:25 of ice time per game. With Neighbours’ and Thomas’ injuries stretching St. Louis’ forward depth thin, though, it stands to reason Dvorsky should not only enter the lineup for tomorrow’s game against the Canucks but play a semi-significant role while doing so. Being able to return Nick Bjugstad or Alexandre Texier to the fourth-line roles where they started the season would not only provide the Blues with better matchup options but also allow Dvorsky his first legitimate taste of top-nine minutes in the NHL, a role they anticipate him playing for years to come.

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