ST. LOUIS — How can you tell it’s August?

When you ask subscribers to send in their bold predictions for the St. Louis Blues’ 2025-26 season, there are mentions of the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup.

Yes, I’m looking at you, Brad O. and Michael C.

I’m kidding, because they are bold predictions, of course, and after last season’s finish and this summer’s roster additions, there’s reason for optimism.

As many of you know, we revisit these halfway through the season, so we’ll find out at that point how far off you were on those high hopes.

Subscribers sent in more than 100 predictions and comments, and we’ve divided them into these categories: forwards, defensemen, goalies, trades and season outlook. Here they are, with my analysis.

Jordan Kyrou scores 40 goals and breaks the 80-point barrier for the first time in his career. — Philip H.

I’ve been doing my own bold preseason predictions for several years, and I think I’ve had Kyrou eclipsing the 40-goal mark every year. He’s been close, hitting 37 in 2022-23 and 36 last year. I’ll agree with you, Philip, that he’s going to do it this season. And with a few more goals and a few more assists, he’ll get to 80 points, too.

Dylan Holloway leads the team in scoring with 42 goals. — Dana D.

Wow, 42! He had a great season, scoring 26 goals in 77 games before his season ended with an undisclosed injury. However, he’ll be ready for the start of training camp, and the expectation is that he’ll be back on a line with Kyrou and Brayden Schenn, so another productive offensive season is possible. But I’ll say 30 goals for him.

Jimmy Snuggerud has 25-plus goals, 20-plus assists and wins the Calder Trophy. — Matt M.

I spoke with Snuggerud recently, and I could hear in his voice how much he wants to make an impact on the team in his first full season. He gained 12 pounds and is up to 197, which will help him win more battles and lead to more offense. I’ll say 20 goals and 40 points, but Montreal’s Ivan Demidov wins the Calder.

Kyrou, Snuggerud, Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours all score 30-plus goals. — Z A.

I’ll give you two of the five: Kyrou and Buchnevich, with the latter poised for a bounce-back year. I already mentioned 20 for Snuggerud. Thomas may hit 100 points, but that’ll come from a career-high in assists and 25 to 29 goals. With Neighbours, it depends: Will he play regularly on the third line or play one of the top lines?

By the end of the season, Neighbours and Buchnevich will have switched lines, with Jake at first-line left wing and Buchnevich at third-line left wing. — Aaron S.

Neighbours will definitely see some time in the top six, and perhaps his play will keep him there, but I don’t think it’ll be at Buchnevich’s expense. Buchnevich knows he hasn’t been productive enough offensively the past couple of seasons, and with his six-year, $48 million contract kicking in and the fact that he’ll be starting the season on the wing, he’ll be motivated and more suited for success.

Four players get 70-plus points. — Harry L.

I’m assuming you’re referring to Thomas, Holloway, Kyrou and Buchnevich. Yeah, I’ll go along with that.

Pius Suter joins the second line, scores 30 goals and has 60 assists.  — Brian R.

Suter did put up 25 goals with the Vancouver Canucks last season, and when I chatted with him earlier this summer, he said he felt like he could do it again. Thirty goals are a lot, though. Like with Neighbours, it’ll depend on where he’s playing. Is he centering the second or third line? My guess is he’ll fall short of your numbers.

Thanks to Steve Ott, Suter and Nick Bjugstad will both improve their faceoff percentage and both be around 50 percent on the year. — Shawn D.

Ott has worked wonders with Thomas and others in the faceoff circle over the past eight seasons. Bjugstad has a career-winning percentage of 48.9, so it wouldn’t take much for him to win 50 percent. Suter has a career winning percentage of 46 percent and was 42.6 percent with the Canucks last season, so that’ll be a little more difficult. But again, working with Ott every day will certainly help.

Suter helps to transform the Blues’ penalty kill into a top-five unit. — Stuart E.

I don’t know about top-five, but Suter will make a difference and the PK unit should be better than where it finished last season — No. 28 in the NHL. Vancouver was No. 3 in the league last year, and Suter was a big part of that.

Justin Carbonneau makes the team out of camp, and we sit Oskar Sundqvist. — Ryan R.

As much as I like Carbonneau — how can you not when you learn about his work ethic and compete level — I don’t see him making the team. Ever since the Blues went into their retool, they’ve preached about the need for patience with prospects and the importance of putting them in positions to succeed. Sundqvist may find himself battling to stay in the lineup, but that will be because guys like Mathieu Joseph, Alexandre Texier, Milan Lucic or even Dalibor Dvorsky are playing well — not because Carbonneau has arrived in St. Louis.

Dvorsky doesn’t make the opening night roster but joins them after the break and plays on the wing the rest of the season. — Shawn G.

I could see this happening. I don’t think you can keep Dvorsky in AHL Springfield another full season. Therefore, whether it’s him earning it in the minors or there are injuries, I could see him coming up and playing more wing than center to start.

Lucic makes the team and scores 20 goals playing on the third line with Neighbours and Schenn. — Terry T.

Going into this article, I thought the bold prediction would be Lucic just making the team. Now we’ve got him scoring 20 goals! Wow, Terry, you really understood the assignment. But Lucic hasn’t scored 20 goals since 2016-17 with the Edmonton Oilers, so even if he’s on the roster, I have to give this a thumbs down.

Kyrou has five major penalties this year for fighting! — Terry T.

If he fights five times this season, the tough guys on this roster should be put on waivers.

Defensemen

Colton Parayko wins the Norris Trophy — Vision F.

I like Parayko a lot, and I’m so impressed with the player he’s become. But while he should be in the Norris conversation, he’s never going to put the offense of the Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar and Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes, and that’s not going to help him. Whether Parayko ever sniffs the award or not, he’s a very, very solid defenseman.

Colton Parayko showed he’s one of the world’s best defensemen in the 4 Nations Face-Off with Canada in February. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

Cam Fowler breaks his personal best of 48 points in a season. — Scott F.

I got a question in a recent mailbag asking if Fowler would get to 50 points this season. It’ll be tough because I don’t know how he could play better than he did last season, when he got to 40 points. But playing with the Blues for the full season, he can find another nine points, right?

Philip Broberg plays his way onto Sweden’s Olympic roster. — Daniel G.

There’s a lot of competition with the likes of Rasmus Andersson (Calgary Flames), Jonas Brodin (Minnesota Wild), Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres), Mattias Ekholm (Edmonton Oilers), Gustav Forsling (Florida Panthers), Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning), Erik Karlsson (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Hampus Lindholm (Boston Bruins). But with Broberg settling into St. Louis after last year’s whirlwind offer-sheet headlines, I agree he’ll find his way onto the team.

Logan Mailloux is getting more minutes (per game) than Justin Faulk by the new year. — G.R.

Not a chance. Faulk ranks second on the team in average ice time per game behind Parayko, and as long as he’s on the roster, he’s going to play big minutes. Plus, I don’t think the Blues will want to force more responsibility on Mailloux.

Mailloux leads the team in fighting majors and becomes a fan favorite. — Todd H.

Mailloux may not lead the team in fights, but I’ll go out on a limb and say the third defensive pairing with him and Tyler Tucker will have more than any D pair!

Mailloux gets sent down to AHL Springfield. — Scott F.

I’d be shocked. He’s proved everything he could at that level, and the Blues have said he’s ready for the NHL.

The defense does not allow a single 6-on-5 goal all season. — Shawn H.

This is even bolder than Lucic scoring 20!

Goalies

Jordan Binnington is a Vezina finalist. — Brett W.

He probably should’ve been a finalist in 2023-24 when he had a .913 save percentage and a 2.84 goals-against average. Whether it’s been his consistency over the years, or his reputation, he doesn’t get the needed support around the league. He’d need to put up extraordinary numbers.

Binnington eclipses 200 career wins. — Patrick C.

This will be close. He’s at 173, so he needs 27, and his last three years have been 28, 28 and 27. The more motivated Binnington is, the better he is, so with the Olympics on the horizon, I’ll say he gets there.

Binnington gets in his first NHL fight and Joel Hofer scores his first NHL goal in the same game. — Brian G.

This scenario likely means that Binnington gets ejected, and after Hofer comes in, the opponent pulls its goalie for an extra attacker. I’ll go along with it for the creativity.

Binnington and Hofer combine to win the Jennings Trophy. — Shawn B.

This will mean it’s a great year for the Blues’ defense, which means solid performances from Faulk and the youngsters in the third pair.

Trades

The Blues make another surprise roster move before opening day. — Aaron R.

It always feels like something is coming, right? I’ll go the other way, though. Aside from maybe a move with Joseph or Texier, I’ll say this is largely the roster that breaks camp together.

The Blues make a blockbuster move at the trade deadline for a young top-four defenseman. — Kale D.

The Buffalo Sabres’ Bowen Byram got a new contract, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get traded at some point. The Blues were interested, so whether it’s him or someone else, it seems like an area they want to add. Maybe it doesn’t happen before the deadline, but perhaps next summer.

Dvorsky gets traded. — Scott F.

I wouldn’t completely rule that out. The Blues like him, and I think he’ll be better than some of the future projections, but he could be included in the right deal.

The team finally trades Binnington to allow Hofer to grow into the No. 1 goalie. — Mark S.

Binnington has this season and one more left on his six-year, $36 million contract. The Blues want to stay competitive, so my guess is we see Binnington play out the remainder of his contract with the club.

Season outlook

The Blues finish in the top three in the Central standings. — Cj P. 

I’m not there yet. I still like the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. The Blues’ center depth is still a concern, and we’ll need to see where they can get scoring from after Zack Bolduc’s departure.

A rematch with Winnipeg in the first round goes our way in five games. We beat the Avalanche in seven games and lose to Vegas or Edmonton in the Western Conference final. — David L.

This isn’t that far-fetched, but beating the Avs in the second round would be quite a feat. If the Blues can win a round and go to seven games in the second round, though, that will be a success.

The Blues are in the running for the Presidents’ Trophy with a great start to the season and set the record for the longest home winning streak, continuing from last season. I’ll say the streak ends at 26 games. — Brad O.

Oh, Brad, thank you for submitting this. I needed an introduction for this story, and you came through!

The Blues win their second Cup in franchise history! — Michael C.

Thank you, too, Michael C.

(Photo: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)