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Blues Terminate Alexandre Texier’s Contract

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Nov. 23: After much back-and-forth, the Alexander Texier Blues stalemate has reached an end. As expected, the St. Louis forward cleared waivers, and as per the team, his contract has been terminated. Texier is now an unrestricted free agent. The Montreal Canadiens are known as to having interest, the likely favorite to land the speedy two-way winger, with another unknown Eastern Conference team in the running. This morning it was noted that the Ottawa Senators have also expressed interest, but it is unclear if they are the second suitor.

Nonetheless, we will likely find out soon, as Texier is healthy, and likely eager to sign quickly and make an impact with his new club.

Nov. 22: Texier did not report to the minors and he has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination, reports Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.  If he passes through unclaimed as expected on Sunday at 1:00 PM CT, he will become an unrestricted free agent and his $2.1MM AAV will be off the books for the Blues entirely.

He clearly has gotten a head start on talking to other teams even while still signed with St. Louis.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports that nine teams are believed to have shown interest in signing Texier when he hits the open market but Texier and his agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Sports Management have whittled the field down to two Eastern Conference teams.

Nov. 21: Texier has cleared waivers after being placed on them yesterday and has been assigned to AHL Springfield, the team announced. If he fails to report to the minors, he’ll be in breach of contract and can trigger a contract termination.

Nov. 20: Texier has considered asking for a contract termination to become an unrestricted free agent, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He remains on the Blues’ roster for now but has played just once since Oct. 28, sitting as a healthy scratch in nine of their last 10 games.

Texier, the first player in NHL history drafted directly from France’s Ligue Magnus, signed a two-year, $4.2MM contract with the Blues in June 2024 after they acquired his signing rights from the Blue Jackets. He was coming off a career-high 12 goals and 30 points in 78 games with Columbus, averaging north of 15 minutes per game, but the team wasn’t interested in re-signing him as they opened roster spots for a younger wave of prospects.

The 26-year-old just hasn’t been a fit in St. Louis. He made only 31 appearances last season and lost 15 games to illness and injury, meaning he spent nearly half the year in the press box. When dressed, he delivered career-average production on a per-game basis, notching six goals and five assists for 11 points. He did so in reduced ice time, averaging closer to 12:30 per game, as his role as a penalty killer in Columbus was stripped entirely from him with the Blues.

This season, Texier’s ice time has been slashed further to 10:15 per game. He’s only made eight out of 20 possible appearances, on track to finish with a similar workload to last season. Skating most commonly in fourth-line deployment with Nick Bjugstad and Nathan Walker, he’s logged one assist and nine hits. Perhaps more importantly, his chance generation is way down. He averaged 1.61 shots on goal per game last year – even more than he managed during his breakout year in Columbus – but that figure has nearly halved to 0.88 in 2025-26.

A contract termination would allow Texier to be uninhibited by his above-market-value $2.1MM cap hit as he looks for a new home. Still, he would be walking away from roughly 75% of his identical base salary for this season to do so. Whether he desires to remain in the NHL also remains to be seen. He’s made a move back to Europe before to be closer to his family in France, asking the Blue Jackets to spend the 2022-23 season on loan to Switzerland’s ZSC Lions, which they granted.

St. Louis Blues Recall Logan Mailloux

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The St. Louis Blues announced today that defenseman Logan Mailloux has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

While Mailloux struggled quite a bit during his first stint on the Blues’ NHL roster, his reassignment to the AHL was never expected to be a lengthy one. TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reported today that the Blues had always planned for Mailloux to play five games in the AHL before returning to the NHL.

That’s exactly what’s happened thanks to this recall. Mailloux got into five games with Springfield, scoring two goals. The Blues reassigned defenseman Hunter Skinner, the player they recalled to fill Mailloux’s vacated NHL roster spot, yesterday in a move that pre-empted today’s recall.

Mailloux’s ability at the AHL level has never been in question, and his solid play in his recent five-game stint served as further proof of that. Mailloux is a two-time AHL All-Star who landed on the league’s All-Rookie team after his 47-point rookie campaign with the Laval Rocket, and on the league’s “Top Prospects” list last season, one where he scored 33 points in just 63 games.

As a player who offers a rare combination of size, strength, and offensive ability from the blueline, Mailloux has long been a coveted talent. The Blues surrendered Zachary Bolduc, coming off of a strong 19-goal rookie season, in order to acquire him. But his first nine games playing for the Blues were nothing short of a disaster, as routine defensive lapses and an inability to translate his offensive talents left him scoreless with a minus-12 rating.

Those high-profile struggles are what prompted the Blues to send Mailloux down to the AHL in order to help him “reset” his game. After five games, the hope is likely that Mailloux has gained some confidence playing in a level he’s a star at, and will be able to translate that confidence into improved play at the NHL level.

The Blues could badly use the kind of talent Mailloux has shown he could eventually become. They have won just six times in 21 games this season, and need something to help spark a turnaround. If Mailloux can begin to play up to his potential, that could be a big boost to the overall form of the team’s defense.

Latest On Nick Bjugstad

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  • One team that hasn’t gotten off to a strong start in 2025-26 are the St. Louis Blues, who have begun the year with just six wins out of 21 games played. While the root cause of their struggles is larger than any one player, some players have gotten off to notably slower starts than others. One player who has struggled recently is veteran Nick Bjugstad, who has been a healthy scratch of late. The Blues signed Bjugstad to a two-year, $1.75MM AAV deal this past summer in part to help stabilize their bottom-six, but that hasn’t happened, with Blues head coach Jim Montgomery telling The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford that the veteran is “just not having the same impact he was having” earlier in the year. While Montgomery did note that Bjugstad has “done a lot of good things” defensively, he noted that his all-around impact has slowed down. As recently as 2023-24, Bjugstad scored 22 goals and 45 points. The Blues don’t need that much production from Bjugstad, but they’ll definitely need his play to improve (along with getting similar improvements from numerous other players) if they’re to have any hope of turning around their season and returning to true playoff contention.
  • Former Blackhawks blueliner Wyatt Kalynuk was traded in the KHL yesterday, according to an official release from the league. The 28-year-old was a solid three-year NCAA player with the University of Wisconsin who left school early to begin his pro career in Chicago, getting into 21 NHL games in his rookie professional season in 2020-21. At that point, Kalynuk looked like a potential future NHL player, but his game didn’t take any expected steps forward. He got into only five NHL games in 2021-22, and ultimately left the Blackhawks organization to sign with the Vancouver Canucks. In stints with Vancouver and later the New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues, Kalynuk was unable to find a way back to an NHL roster, and after going two full seasons without an NHL game, he decided to leave the North American pro game and sign in the Finnish Liiga. His strong play in his first year in Finland (33 points in 59 games) earned Kalynuk a deal in the KHL with Ak-Bars Kazan, but he was traded to Ufa Salavat Yulayev after just two games. Now, he’s been traded a second time in 2025-26, this time landing with Gerard Gallant’s Shanghai Dragons. Gallant was the coach of the Rangers in 2022-23 when Kalynuk was in the organization, playing in 15 regular-season games, and nine playoff games for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.

Blues Reassign Hunter Skinner

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The Blues announced Friday that they’ve reassigned defenseman Hunter Skinner to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. No corresponding move was announced, leaving them with an open roster spot.

Skinner, 24, replaced the struggling Logan Mailloux on the roster earlier this month after clearing waivers to begin the campaign. A fourth-round pick of the Rangers in 2019, he was acquired as part of the 2023 trade that sent Niko Mikkola and Vladimir Tarasenko to New York. His summons from Springfield on Nov. 9 marked his first-ever stint on an NHL roster.

The 6’3″, 195-lb righty didn’t get much of a chance in the lineup, though. Without Mailloux in the picture, the Blues have rolled with a third pairing of Matthew Kessel and Tyler Tucker for most of the month. That left Skinner relegated to the press box aside from a 6-5 shootout loss to the Flyers on Nov. 14 that served as his NHL debut. The Michigan native recorded a +1 rating, one shot attempt, one block, and four hits in 10:45 of ice time. The Blues were outshot 5-4 and outchanced 4-3 in Skinner’s 5-on-5 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick.

While the Blues’ top six defenders have been healthy all season long, it’s still peculiar to see them shed a healthy extra from the roster in the middle of a lengthy road trip. That road trip, though, is currently in New York and isn’t far away at all from the Thunderbirds’ Massachusetts base. The T-Birds have a light schedule – they’re in action at home tonight and don’t play again until next weekend – so the demotion could just be for Skinner to get his game legs fresh tonight before he or someone else rejoins St. Louis’ roster tomorrow as injury insurance.

Now in his sixth professional season, Skinner has a goal and an assist with a -6 rating in 11 appearances for Springfield this year. He’s coming off a career year across the board in 2024-25, when he recorded an 8-15–23 scoring line and a +2 rating in 71 games.

Blues Activate Jake Neighbours, To Place Alexandre Texier On Waivers

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The Blues announced that they’ve activated left-winger Jake Neighbours from injured reserve. Forward Alexandre Texier was moved to the non-roster list to open up an active roster spot. He will be placed on waivers for assignment to AHL Springfield, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported earlier Thursday that Texier was considering asking for a contract termination. If he clears waivers and fails to report to Springfield, that would give the Blues cause to trigger termination proceedings and place him on unconditional waivers.

Neighbours will return to the lineup tonight in Philadelphia significantly ahead of schedule. The 2020 first-rounder hasn’t played since sustaining a right leg injury against the Red Wings on Oct. 25 following a two-goal effort, and the Blues initially prognosticated he’d miss at least five weeks. That would have punted his return to the first week of December, but instead, he’s back healthy before Thanksgiving.

Before the injury, Neighbours was on a tear. The 23-year-old had rattled off six goals and an assist through eight games – all at even strength – while finishing at a 50% clip. Even with the missed time, that hot streak should have him well on his way to record his third consecutive 20-goal season. Neighbours had been stapled to Robert Thomas’ left wing to start the year. It’s hard to imagine the Blues removing him from that post, considering his early-season success, indicating Dylan Holloway will be shifted back to a middle-six role after seeing some time alongside Thomas.

Getting him back is a massive boon for a team that’s had nightmarish offensive output as they reach the first-quarter point of their schedule. Neighbours’ six goals are still tied with Jordan Kyrou for the team lead, and their 2.75 goals per game rank 26th in the league. Since Neighbours left the lineup, that figure drops to 29th place at 2.58 per game.

As for Texier, this is presumably the beginning of the end of his time in St. Louis. Beginning at 1:00 p.m. CT, the league’s other 31 teams will have the chance to pick up the remainder of Texier’s expiring deal at a $2.1MM cap hit if they so choose. If he clears and doesn’t report to Springfield, he’ll then land on unconditional waivers and become a free agent after another 24-hour waiting period, after which he can sign a prorated deal for cheaper with another team for the remainder of the season. St. Louis went through the same process last season with Brandon Saad.

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.

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