The St. Louis Blues were eliminated by the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday in painful fashion, losing Game 7 by allowing the tying goal with 2.2 seconds left in regulation then losing in double overtime.
As the NHL 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs head into the second round, BetMissouri.com wanted to see which teams that made the bracket, but couldn’t get past the first round, have the brightest future for next season. We used data from RotoWire.com, EliteProspects.com and PuckPedia.com to find projected cap space, current cap space, number of returning players on the rosters, and number of players listed among the top 200 prospects who could move up to the NHL in 2025 or 2026.
Rank | Team | Avg. Ranking |
1 | St. Louis Blues | 2.25 |
2 | Montreal Canadiens | 3.5 |
3 | New Jersey Devils | 4 |
T4 | Colorado Avalanche | 4.5 |
T4 | Los Angeles Kings | 4.5 |
This analysis is brought to you by BetMissouri.com as we await legal Missouri sports betting to get underway this year.
Despite Sunday’s third-period collapse – the Blues led 3-1 with two minutes left in the third period – the immediate future is bright in the Gateway City. St. Louis is led by a youthful cast of scorers such as 25-year-old Canadian forward Robert Thomas, who led the Blues in points scored (81) and assists (60) this season.
Throw in the goal-scoring exploits of Thomas’ front-line colleague (and fellow Canadian) Jordan Kyrou, who scored a team-high 36 goals to go with 34 assists in 2024-25, and you have the blueprint for a bright future in St. Louis.
Missouri sports betting apps will have odds on the Blues – at least at some point early in the next season, we hope. The Missouri Gaming Commission has a deadline of Dec. 1 to get sports wagering live in the Show-Me State.
Those two young scoring threats are part of the reason why the Blues scored the best average ranking among the teams eliminated from the postseason in the first round of the playoffs. St. Louis had an average ranking of 2.25 in the categories we measured, ahead of the Montreal Canadiens (3.5 average ranking), New Jersey Devils (4), then the Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings (each 4.5).
The top four scorers for St. Louis this season are under 30 and goaltender Jordan Binnington is 31.
For now, while the sting of a Game 7 defeat will undoubtedly hang around the Show-Me State for the short term, it’s worth remembering that the future is bright for players and fans of the Blues. The team has a host of young talent on the ice and flexibility to build for members of the team’s front office.
When the state launches sports betting, BetMissouri.com will show you top Missouri sports betting promo codes that you can use when you sign up with operators.
USA Today photo by James Carey
Author
Christopher Boan is a lead writer for BetMissouri.com, specializing in covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
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