ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

If you looked at the Blues’ group of top-six forwards entering training camp, it would look pretty close to what it was late in the season after Jimmy Snuggerud signed and before Dylan Holloway got hurt.

But the bottom-six group? Well, there’s going to be some change there.

The Blues fortified their center depth in free agency by signing both Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad. While it’s possible Bjugstad shifts to the wing, that the Blues have another option at center puts them in a different situation than they were across the past few seasons when they tried Holloway, Pavel Buchnevich, Nathan Walker and Kasperi Kapanen at center.

Gone are gritty fourth-line center Radek Faksa (signed with the Stars) and promising scoring winger Zack Bolduc (traded to Montreal for Logan Mailloux). The Blues will return Jake Neighbours, though he will at times, be playing top-six minutes, surely. Walker and Alexey Toropchenko are back to form the ethos of a physical fourth line, and Oskar Sundqvist will look forward to a healthy campaign.

Matheiu Joseph and Alexandre Texier will look for more regular playing time after being scratched frequently. Plus, the Blues brought in veteran winger Milan Lucic on a professional tryout to challenge for an unlikely roster spot.

So with the movement of bodies and the versatility of players, how exactly do the third and fourth lines shake themselves out?

The biggest question centers around who will fill the open winger spot on the third line. Presumably, Neighbours and Suter will play third-line minutes, but there’s a spot up for grabs. Bjugstad could shift to right wing and form a line that can bring elements of physicality (Neighbours), two-way play (Suter) and size (Bjugstad).

Sundqvist could fill a role there but could be better used as the fourth-line center between Toropchenko and Walker. Sundqvist, despite his slowed pace, plays a gritty, defensive game that could match what the fourth line brought to the Blues last season when Jim Montgomery continuously started them in the playoffs.

Then there’s Joseph and Texier.

The two players combined for 10 goals and 15 assists in 91 total games during their first seasons with the Blues in 2024-25. Each player was a healthy scratch four times in the seven-game, first-round series loss to the Winnipeg Jets. Now, they begin camp on the outside looking in despite costing a combined $5.05 million against the salary cap ($2.95 million for Joseph, $2.1 million for Texier).

While Lucic is a longshot to make the team, he’ll surely get his look in training camp. At 37 years old, Lucic hasn’t played professionally since Oct. 21, 2023, with Boston. He played just four games that season after he injured his ankle, then was put on an indefinite leave following a charge of assault and battery against a family or household member. The charges stemmed from a Nov. 18, 2023, incident but were dropped in February 2024, when Lucic’s wife declined to testify against him.

Prospect Dalibor Dvorsky is looking to make his first NHL roster out of training camp after a two-game cameo last season. Zach Dean missed most of last season with a knee injury. Justin Carbonneau, this summer’s first-rounder, will try to shock people with a training camp push for the NHL. Aleksanteri Kaskimaki and Dylan Peterson were constants in the AHL last season.