ST. LOUIS — Just like other NFL and NBA fans, there are St. Louis Blues players who turn on the TV and can’t believe some of the outrageous outfits they see their professional-sports brethren wearing to their games.
“Their outfits are a little crazy,” Jordan Kyrou said.
“It seems like they’re trying to go off the runway — literally,” Dylan Holloway said.
What does forward Jake Neighbours think of the style?
“That I would never wear that,” Neighbours said. “It’s different, but it’s almost been embraced in those leagues.”
“People like to see it,” Robert Thomas said. “People like to talk about it.”
Including his teammates.
“I always like seeing those NBA guys walk in,” Cam Fowler said. “They always have some new, cool clothes that they can show off. It gives guys the opportunity to kind of show their personality a little bit.”
“They’re ballers, they have fun with it and it’s entertaining,” Jordan Binnington said. “The NFL is different, though, because they only have 17 games. We have 82 games. That would be a lot of money on outfits.”
In the NHL, players have mostly stuck to businesswear. The league’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) required players to wear suits and ties on game days. Until now.
In July, the NHL and NHL Players’ Association voted to ratify a four-year extension to the CBA. While many of the new rules won’t go into effect until September 2026, some have been approved to start immediately, and one of those allows players the flexibility to “dress in a manner consistent with contemporary fashion norms.”
“I was surprised that it got through this quick,” Oskar Sundqvist said.
The league has communicated guidelines, but they will likely be interpreted differently from team to team and player to player.
“I don’t know what the dress code will be for our team,” Alexey Toropchenko said. “It will be decided by the leaders.”
“Every team is going to be different,” Fowler said. “We’re still having a conversation about if we want to do something all together, where it might not be a suit but we’re all kind of aligned in what we’re wearing. So we’ll see what we end up doing as a team, but I think, in general, it’s a good idea.”
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Some Blues said they’ll continue wearing suits because that’s what they prefer, and, well, because they paid a lot of money for them.
“I’ll be a suit guy,” Philip Broberg said. “There’s just something about putting a suit on when you go to a game.”
“I’ve got so many suits at home, it’s like, ‘When else am I going to wear this?’” Sundqvist said.
“If you look in your closet and you’ve got 10 suits, what are you going to do — just not wear them until wedding season?” Nathan Walker said.
“I personally bought four new suits for this season, so I’m going to be wearing suits at home, for sure,” Binnington said.
So will anyone be sporting fresh fits?
“I feel like there will definitely be guys who can style it up,” Jimmy Snuggerud said.
“I don’t really have much for a sense of style, but there are some guys with some good fashion takes,” Neighbours said.
“The away games, I could see people splashing and going with different stuff,” Tyler Tucker said.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of people who you’d never expect that really come out and change some stuff up,” Thomas said. “I’ll probably dress like I normally dress but maybe mix it up if there’s a big game or a cool city — that kind of thing.”
“I’ll mix it up a bit, but I don’t really have a crazy style,” Holloway said.
“Yeah, I don’t think anyone on this team is hiring a stylist or anything,” Binnington said.
Especially the veterans.
“We did a few fashion days in Utah and Arizona, and I would always get ripped on by the young guys because I didn’t have much of a wardrobe,” Nick Bjugstad said. “The younger guys, they’ve got a little more style than the older guys. The (Milan) Lucics, the (Brayden) Schenns, we’re kind of the traditional old-school, suit-and-tie guys, so it’ll be different not having a dress code.”
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Blues coach Jim Montgomery, who played six seasons in the NHL (including 67 games with the Blues from 1993 to ’95), was asked for his opinion on the clothing requirements and was extremely honest.
“The way the world has changed, I’m not surprised. The other leagues have been doing it for a while,” Montgomery said. “I do have to say, I’m not a big fan of it. I believe hockey players have always come to the game looking professional. They look sharp in suits. It’s a mindset: ‘I’m coming to play a game. I’m not going to camp. I’m not going to practice. I’m coming to play.’ And to me, you dress like you play.”
Montgomery even admitted that he was hopeful players would read his response.
“I guess this is as far as I can go, so hopefully they’re watching it,” he said, laughing.
As of a few days ago, that clip hadn’t made its way back to the locker room.
“I haven’t heard that from him yet, so maybe that’ll get addressed,” Tucker said.
Perhaps there will be similar conversations across the league, and even if there is change forthcoming in hockey, it will likely happen slowly.
“Hockey is just a humble (sport),” Binnington said. “It’s nice that it’s kind of evolving into showing a little more style and flair, but I don’t know how fast it will move in that direction.”
“The culture is a bit different,” Neighbours said. “But obviously times are changing and you’ve just got to roll with that.”
“It’ll be an adaptation,” Mathieu Joseph said. “You still have to look professional coming to the games because it’s the NHL, but we’re going to have to adapt a little bit because I think it’s a good thing. You’re going to see some guys with more personality, and if it can grow our game in that sense, like other sports are doing, I’m all for it.”
So, who will be the most stylish — and who will be the most casual?
Ahead of the regular-season opener Thursday against the Minnesota Wild, marking their first opportunity to personalize their appearance coming to the rink outside of a suit, The Athletic polled 18 players.
Pius Suter: I just started knowing the guys, so that would be hard. Probably MoJo (Joseph). I put it on him.
Tucker: I’m going to get zero votes. Probably Rouzy (Kyrou) or Matty Joe (Joseph). They both have some pretty elite wardrobes. I’ll go Rouzy because he can be pretty stylish dressing up.
Joel Hofer: Maybe Snuggy (Snuggerud). I like his threads. He’s always got something crazy brewing, whether it’s flip-flops or nice kicks. He gets the hair going, too, so he’ll be good.
Snuggerud: Me? What? No, I got Matty Joe.
Bjugstad: I feel like I’ve seen Fowler dress up very nicely, so I’ll pick Fowls.
Sundqvist: Oooh, I would say Fowler. He looks good in the stuff he wears, and he’s been around for a long time, too, so he’s probably got some good setups at home.
Walker: Fowls surprises me day to day with some styles he brings in, so I’ll go with him.
Fowler: I’ll take that. I could mix it up a little bit with a nice pair of pants, a button-down and maybe a Fedora every once in a while. But we’ve got some guys, and it’s hard to pick one, but Rouzy is a good one.
Kyrou: I’m going to go with Matty Joe. He can rock some nice ‘fits.
Joseph: I don’t know, I’m just a shoe guy. I like shoes. I just always like style and fashion, in general. Back home, it’s just a culture thing. I’ll go Rouzy.
Holloway: Most stylish? I could see Rouzy being the most stylish. I’m sure he’s got a bunch of designer stuff that he could throw on.
Mailloux: I’m pretty new here, too, but if I had to guess, it would be Kyrou. He’s just got some nice shirts, nice shoes.
Parayko: Binner. He just always looks clean.
Binnington: Man, (looking around the locker room), I’m going to have to go with myself — humbly.
Kyrou: I’ll go Robby Thomas. He’s got a pretty laidback wardrobe, kind of just throws whatever on and just goes. Doesn’t really think about it too much.
Sundqvist: Thomer is casual. I could see him coming in with his little, fluffy Uggs.
Holloway: Yeah, Thomer is a good one. I’d say Snuggy or Broby, too. Those guys like comfortable clothes.
Thomas: Jordan Kyrou. He really takes it to heart, and he’s going to try, but I want to kick him down every chance I can.
Toropchenko: Rouzy. He puts on whatever he finds in his closet, even if it doesn’t match.
Binnington: Rouzy can go socks and sandals sometimes, which is kind of questionable. But I’m still going Bob Thomas. Shorts, T-shirt, that’s it.
Hofer: Maybe Mayday (Mailloux). I can’t see him being too “baller.” He’ll be wearing whatever he can find on the floor — like a plain T-shirt, plain hoodie, backward hat.
Bjugstad: Faulker is from Minnesota like me, and he’s pretty blue-collar, so I’ll go Faulker.
Snuggerud: Faulker. Minny guy, and easy does it in Minny!
Neighbours: One-word answer: Faulker. Probably like some brown khakis, a quarter-zip and some half-ass dress shoes.
Walker: Faulker. He’ll probably be wearing some hunting gear.
Fowler: With Faulker, he would be kind of like a mountain man, like jeans and stuff. So yeah, I guess that would fall into the “casual” category.
Tucker: Yeah, Faulker. He keeps it casual, but you can’t go that casual. You’ve still got to be presentable.
Broberg: I guess we’ll find out soon, but it won’t be me!
(Photos of Jordan Kyrou, Justin Faulk and Brayden Schenn courtesy of the Blues)