Puck Watching

The Blues' preseason is over, and it wasn't pretty. They went 1-3 and scored 5 goals on 122 shots. The power play went 0-for-18. None of the projected top-six forwards scored. Luke and Nick dig into what's wrong with the offense and whether any of it should worry you before opening night in Dallas.Then the headline: the Adam Jiricek era begins. Jim Montgomery compared the 20-year-old to Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, and he was sent to Springfield anyway. Two days later he was back, after Logan Mailloux got hurt fighting for a teammate in Chicago. We talk about what Jiricek showed in camp, where he fits on the blue line, and whether he should stay up all year.And the name that keeps coming up: Alexander Nikishin. Carolina's 6-foot-3 defenseman asked for a trade, skipped Hurricanes camp, and is reportedly asking for about $9 million a year. With the power play stuck at zero and the blue line banged up, is he the answer for St. Louis? And is he worth that price? 🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don't miss a drop. ⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify. 📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstl Proud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Blues finished last season as the hottest team in hockey and watched the playoffs from home. Luke and Nick break down what's changed.We start with the top line. Thomas, Holloway and Snuggerud put up 92 points in 25 games after the Olympic break, and Montgomery hasn't touched the combination in camp. How high does it go?Then the money line: Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael cost two first-rounders and Jordan Kyrou, and they're skating with Pavel Buchnevich. We get into the third line, which might be the shakiest group on the roster, and a fourth line with a real heavyweight in Ross Johnston — the first time St. Louis has had that look since Ryan Reaves.On the back end: Broberg–Mailloux, Lindstein–Parayko and Fowler–Carlo, plus how this group stops beating itself in the D-zone. The power play was 26th and the penalty kill was 25th, and Monty told us on this show they have to be top 10 combined — so what do Vinny Prospal and Greg Cronin actually change?Plus: is Hofer the No. 1 all the way, what does Binnington have to prove in a walk year, Snuggerud's contract year, and where the Blues land in a Central that runs through Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota. We each make our picks at the end. 🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don't miss a drop. ⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify. 📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstl Proud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jim Montgomery has been a Blue three times: an undrafted rookie in 1993-94, an assistant on Craig Berube's staff, and now the man running the bench. Days before training camp opens, he sat down with Luke and Nick.He explains why Robert Thomas was "the easy choice" to become the 25th captain in franchise history. He takes apart the slow starts that have cost the Blues two seasons in a row, and tells us what camp looks like because of them. He talks about what the new additions of Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael give a second scoring line, how much Dylan Holloway's health decides the season, and which defensive pair he wants together from day one.Plus the one everybody has asked about since last season — what actually happened in Chicago when Hofer took his time getting to the net.0:00 Welcome, Jim Montgomery1:16 Robert Thomas, the 25th captain in franchise history6:44 A younger roster and a new identity9:41 Why the Blues keep starting slow11:58 The battle for the bottom six14:21 Fourth-line physicality16:32 McTavish, McMichael, and "Mikey and Mac T"18:33 A top-heavy offense20:10 Injuries, and what Dylan Holloway changes22:45 The defense pairs25:00 Special teams, Greg Cronin and Vinny Prospal27:36 Hofer, Binnington, and two top-10 goalies29:53 The Chicago goalie switch, explained33:03 The Central Division35:43 A brutal October start37:16 What he took from Carolina and Vegas40:13 Rapid fire: St. Louis food and golf 🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don't miss a drop. ⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify. 📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstl Proud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kevin Shattenkirk played 14 seasons across six NHL organizations, including 425 games in a Blues sweater, good for fifth all-time in scoring among Blues defensemen. He won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in the 2020 bubble. Now he's a Divisional Player Representative for the NHLPA.Luke and Nick talk with Shattenkirk about his playing career: the 2011 trade that brought him to St. Louis, life under Ken Hitchcock, the 2016 Western Conference Final run, and what it felt like watching two former teams win Cups without him. Then the conversation goes somewhere almost nobody covering the Blues beat gets to: inside the NHLPA and the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which takes effect September 16.🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don't miss a drop.⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstlProud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. 🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don't miss a drop. ⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify. 📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstl Proud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Last place on January 3rd. Champions on June 12th. Seven years later we still can't explain it, so we stopped trying and made an episode about it instead. No grades, no cap talk — just Luke and Nick back in the 2019 vault, picking out the moments from the Cup run that still get us. A bar in Philadelphia and a song nobody saw coming. A rookie goalie named Binnington. The streak that turned a dead season into a playoff team. Maroon in double OT. The hand pass. Game 7 in Boston, and what the room you watched it in sounded like. Plus the personal ones — [who you watched with, the moment you finally let yourself believe it]. Whether you were at the parade or you found this team afterward, this one's for you. 🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don't miss a drop. ⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify — it takes eleven seconds and it's the biggest thing you can do for a small show. Drop your favorite 2019 moment in the review and we'll read it on the next episode. 📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstl Proud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. 🎧 Follow Puck Watching so you don't miss a drop. ⭐ Rate us 5 stars on Apple or Spotify. 📲 Instagram @puckwatchingstl · X @PuckWatchingSTL · YouTube /@puckwatchingstl Proud member of The Hockey Podcast Network. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.