The St. Louis Blues’ best line last season averaged less than a minute of ice time together at five-on-five ahead of the Olympic break. The Blues wouldn’t know it yet, but uniting the trio of Robert Thomas at center, flanked by Jimmy Snuggerud and Dylan Holloway on the wing, unofficially launched the Blues’ 2026-27 campaign.
Of course, the only problem was that it was February 2026, the 2025-26 season was still in full force and Thomas was at the center of raging trade rumors. The Blues finally determined Robert Thomas was a part of their future. As a result, both the team and the player reached an accord.
Now, it’s up to head coach Jim Montgomery to determine if he’ll reunite the Blues’ best line from 2025-26. Jeremy Rutherford, beat writer for The Athletic, thinks Montgomery won’t have “an easier decision” to make than reuniting the Holloway-Thomas-Snuggerud line.
The Blues’ Best Line, But Perhaps Also the NHL’s?
The Blues’ holy trinity spent around 18 minutes on-ice together at five-on-five during the entire run-up to the Olympic break. There’s not much data worth breaking down from that stretch, but the Blues did outscore their opponents 2-0 in those minutes. It was what happened after everything that made such a difference. After the Olympic break, after Robert Thomas returned from injury and after the trade deadline passed, the trio found their groove.
For a stretch of around 20 games, they were the best line in hockey. Snuggerud, Thomas, and Holloway scored at the highest rate and had the highest goals-for percentage of any line that played at least 200 minutes, according to MoneyPuck. The Blues labored to find lineup consistency all season, but that line dominated. As a result, they exploded, outscoring opponents 24-6 over 253 five-on-five minutes. That line had the best goals-per-60-minute rate of all 77 qualifying lines with at least 200 minutes. If their work continues, it’s likely going to result in a massive raise for Snuggerud.
The toughest part of a new year is living up to the hype created by the previous season. There are any number of reasons why this line could have found such success. And, unfortunately for Blues fans, some of those reasons can’t be replicated. As Robert Thomas told Jeremy Rutherford, being the Blues’ best line last season doesn’t guarantee carryover into the new season.
“That would be nice, but as we’ve seen, it doesn’t really work like that. (Last season) was definitely some confidence, for sure. But the start of the season is the hardest because everyone is so prepared. We’ve got a lot of work to do to continue that.”
Are the Blues Contenders?
St. Louis is in an odd position, but not a bad one. The Blues have a new GM who had held the ‘in-waiting’ moniker for a while. Consequently, there seems to be an appetite to remake the roster without resorting to a traditional rebuild. The Blues traded long-time winger Jordan Kyrou as part of their retool. They also used draft picks to swing on former Anaheim Ducks forward Mason McTavish.
The torrid top line excelled, but they weren’t the only hot Blues to end the season. Joel Hofer nearly helped catapult St. Louis into the playoffs in a weak Western Conference. The Blues haven’t extended Hofer’s contract yet. He’s eligible for an extension, but the Blues brass might want to see a little more. Hofer went 12-2-2 after the Olympic Break with a .931 save percentage.
The Blues don’t need Hofer to provide Hart-caliber goaltending. Conversely, simply building off of last season’s .909 save percentage is a start. The combination of the Blues’ best line, new scoring depth and Hofer could make St. Louis a dark horse to return to the playoffs.
It all starts and ends with a simple question: are we in store for an encore performance from Thomas, Holloway and Snuggerud?
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