Blues report card: Final grades for the defensemen, goalies, coach and GM

ST. LOUIS — At the beginning of the 2025-26 season, the St. Louis Blues’ defense and goaltending were stunningly bad. In mid-November, the club had the worst goals-against average in the NHL (3.84).Coach Jim Montgomery switched from a zone defense to man-to-man coverage, and the Blues tightened up in their own zone. From Nov. 16 on, they had the ninth-best GAA in the league (2.87) and goalie Joel Hofer’s save percentage was 52 points higher (.867 to .919).The recovery was good to see, but without the poor start, they might be in the playoffs.Advertisement