In the days before the Blues launched the new modernized Blue Note and tertiary marks publicly, I kept going back to one specific new design: the \u201cSTL.\u201d It will be on the players\u2019 game pants and available on merchandise.<\/p>\n
Many different concepts hit the table over the last few years, and the Blues waited until they could get it right. They did.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey nailed it!\u201d former Blue Paul Stastny wrote in a text.<\/p>\n
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The new \u201cSTL\u201d logo is one of three tertiary designs in the Blues\u2019 rebrand. (Courtesy of St. Louis Authentics)<\/p>\n
The St. Louis Cardinals baseball team has its own iconic \u201cSTL\u201d logo, and now the Blues have their own distinctive mark with interconnected letters resembling a musical clef. The look is new to the city\u2019s sports fans now, but will quickly become recognizable and representative of the hockey club.<\/p>\n
2. Carbonneau\u2019s first impression<\/p>\n
It was as if Justin Carbonneau had rehearsed his first media interview after the Blues selected him at No. 19<\/a> in the NHL Draft, then scripted how he played in the team\u2019s development camp. His words couldn\u2019t have been more confident and his performance couldn\u2019t have been more impressive.<\/p>\n In case you missed it, here\u2019s a couple of snippets from that first interview:<\/p>\n Throw a hit, make a play, score a goal. We like Justin Carbonneau already. #stlblues<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/MBZQnqbwSm<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) July 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n After flying to St. Louis for development camp a few days later, Carbonneau backed it up. He was scoring goals, and as he said on draft night, going to the front of the net.<\/p>\n As Scott Wheeler, my colleague at The Athletic, wrote about Carbonneau before the draft<\/a>, this is who he is, and Blues fans are here for it.<\/p>\n 3. Bolduc\u2019s goodbye message<\/p>\n On the first day of free agency, the Blues made a trade<\/a> that few, including myself, saw coming.<\/p>\n I remember seeing the team was acquiring defenseman Logan Mailloux from the Montreal Canadiens, and I knew he wasn\u2019t going to come cheap.<\/p>\n Who would be going the other way? It probably wouldn\u2019t be a Blues prospect who still hadn\u2019t established himself in the American Hockey League, where Mailloux was a force last season with the Laval Rocket. That would only leave a couple of AHL players, such as Dalibor Dvorsky, or someone off the NHL roster.<\/p>\n It ended up being Zack Bolduc, which was a bit of a surprise considering how well the 22-year-old winger stepped up as a rookie<\/a> last season. As general manager Doug Armstrong hinted ahead of time, and explained after the deal was done, the Blues had depth on the wing and saw an opportunity to bring in a young, right-shot defenseman.<\/p>\n We may not know who won this trade for several years, and there\u2019s a chance both the Blues and Canadiens will like the outcome. We do know, however, that the Blues are saying goodbye to a player in Bolduc who worked hard and has a promising future.<\/p>\n On his way out the door, the Blues\u2019 first-round pick from 2021 (No. 17 overall) expressed how grateful he was in a heartfelt social media post.<\/p>\n Thank you, St. Louis \ud83d\udc99 \u2014 Zachary Bolduc (@zack_bolduc) July 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 4. Free-agent finds: Bjugstad, Suter<\/p>\n Often, when a player switches teams, the beat writer who covers his previous team will send a text message to the new team\u2019s beat writer. That was the case on the first day of free agency last week when the Blues announced a two-year, $3.5 million contract for veteran center Nick Bjugstad.<\/p>\n \u201cYou won\u2019t find a better dude than Nick,\u201d former Arizona Coyotes beat writer Craig Morgan told me.<\/p>\n In our industry, having players who don\u2019t mind making themselves available to the media and putting some thought into the questions they\u2019re answering is much appreciated. I realize that stuff doesn\u2019t matter a ton to the team itself, but what I\u2019ve found is typically when guys are good with reporters, they\u2019re usually also great personalities in the locker room.<\/p>\n The same is true of Pius Suter, who left the Vancouver Canucks to sign a two-year, $8.25 million contract with the Blues.<\/p>\n \u201cQuiet, but a quality human being and he\u2019s well-liked,\u201d Vancouver beat writer Thomas Drance of The Athletic said.<\/p>\n While the Blues did some tidy work with their bottom-six forwards by adding Bjugstad and Suter, it appears they\u2019ve also brought two more team-minded players into a group that grew extremely tight last season.<\/p>\n 5. Leddy\u2019s departure<\/p>\n In March 2024, I wrote about defenseman Nick Leddy playing in Game No. 1,000<\/a>. I enjoy working on those milestone stories because players have fun reflecting, and you learn a lot about them from family and friends.<\/p>\n For example, Leddy has a quiet, modest demeanor, and his father, Mike, can recall where that began.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d talk in the car about humility,\u201d Dad said in 2024. \u201cI said, \u2018If somebody says something nice, say \u2018Thank you!\u2019 and go on about your business.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Leddy, who won a Stanley Cup in 2013 with the Chicago Blackhawks, has plenty to be proud of in his career. He caught a lot of criticism the last couple of years with the Blues, but the 34-year-old is still a silky-smooth skater who has time left in the game.<\/p>\n It\u2019s just that Leddy\u2019s time had run out in St. Louis. The Blues placed him on waivers last week, and the San Jose Sharks subsequently picked him up<\/a>. The move will save St. Louis $4 million on its 2025-26 salary cap.<\/p>\n 6. The Maroon father-son goal<\/p>\n Pat Maroon no longer plays for the Blues, but he\u2019ll forever be a hometown hero. His son, Anthony Maroon, will forever be part of Blues lore after sticking by his dad\u2019s side for the 2019 Stanley Cup run.\u00a0 Fans will never forget Anthony, just 10 years old at the time, crying in the stands<\/a> at Enterprise Center when his dad scored the double-overtime game-winning goal against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference semifinals.<\/p>\n Today, Anthony is 16 and, as you might\u2019ve guessed, plays hockey. He played with the Long Island Gulls (16U AAA) last season, posting 15 goals and 55 points in 58 games. In 2024, the Green Bay (Wisc.) Gamblers selected him in the eighth round of the United States Hockey League draft.<\/p>\n There could be another Maroon in the NHL one day, but in the meantime, the father-son duo took the opportunity to play on the same team when St. Louis hosted a national roller hockey tournament last month. It turned into another magical moment for the family.<\/p>\n They were playing for the Tour Roadrunners in the pro division (18-and-up) at the Torhs National Championships and teamed up for the first goal of the game.<\/p>\n Pat was on the left dot and feathered a pass to Anthony as he went streaking to the net, where he went forehand-backhand and put it between the pipes. Dad pumped his arms, then gave his son a huge hug and pat on the helmet.<\/p>\n The Big Rig Pat Maroon got the apple on his son Anthony\u2019s first career pro roller hockey goal\u2026 what a moment for father-son \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n (via PattyMaroon\/IG) pic.twitter.com\/0JBmZ1J1Ya<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 B\/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 7. Tkachuk\u2019s Hall of Fame credentials<\/p>\n When the Florida Panthers won their second consecutive Stanley Cup last month, we saw proud papa Keith Tkachuk soaking up the moment again with his son Matthew.<\/p>\n It would have been glorious if Tkachuk received a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame the next day, but once again, he did not make the prestigious list<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s Sean McIndoe wrote an article<\/a> in support of Tkachuk\u2019s case, and I agree with McIndoe that it\u2019s \u201cnow a question of when, not if.\u201d He scored the 35th most goals (538) and the 15th most power-play goals (212) in NHL history.<\/p>\n Of the 34 players ahead of Tkachuk on the NHL\u2019s all-time goal-scoring list, the only one eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame who\u2019s not in yet is Patrick Marleau. Of the 14 players ahead of him on the all-time power-play scoring list, there are no eligible players not in the Hall.<\/p>\n It may indeed be a question of when, not if. But seriously, when?<\/p>\n Legendary defenseman Al MacInnis, who went into the Hall in 2007, recently voiced his support on social media<\/a>, saying Tkachuk \u201cshould absolutely be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.\u201d<\/p>\n 8. Kerber\u2019s sportscaster award<\/p>\n Nearly every morning on game day, you\u2019ll see Blues radio play-by-play man Chris Kerber walking in the lower bowl of Enterprise Center as the team takes the ice for practice.<\/p>\n He usually has a small group of people with him, and often you\u2019ll later learn the group includes a young student he\u2019s mentoring. It might also be someone who\u2019s made a sizable charitable donation, or a family who recently lost a loved one in the line of duty.<\/p>\n Last month, the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) named Kerber the 2025 sportscaster of the year in Missouri. It\u2019s an honor that\u2019s more than deserved, but we were already aware of his immense talent in the booth.<\/p>\n Kerber\u2019s daily commitment \u2014 a workday that begins before 8 a.m. and wraps up well after midnight \u2014 to bring the Blues\u2019 fan base closer to the club is what stands out more than anything.<\/p>\n Congrats, Kerbs, on the award and for being a true ambassador.<\/p>\n Congratulations to @chriskerber<\/a> on being named the @NSMASportsMedia<\/a> Sportscaster of the Year! pic.twitter.com\/VMq9uyXNiw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) July 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 9. Pietrangelo\u2019s health<\/p>\n There were rumblings this summer that former Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo, now with the Vegas Golden Knights, may miss some time with a few serious injuries. Then came his official announcement<\/a> on June 30 that the \u201clikelihood is low that my body will recover to the standard required to play.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of how anyone feels about Pietrangelo\u2019s departure from St. Louis in 2020, the health of a husband and father of four young children is first and foremost on the minds of many in the city.<\/p>\n We may never see the 35-year-old defenseman back on the ice again, and nobody should forget what he meant to the franchise. He played 758 games with the Blues and will always be the first player in team history to hoist the Stanley Cup in 2019.<\/p>\n Vegas Golden Knights Provide Update on Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo #VegasBorn<\/a> <\/p>\n MORE: https:\/\/t.co\/zaVm6JWy4O<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/JqUJ6b0rZf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) July 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 10. Blues on Olympic rosters<\/p>\n The NHL and NHL Players\u2019 Association confirmed Tuesday that they had ratified<\/a>\u00a0a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). It will extend the league\u2019s labor peace through 2030.<\/p>\n One major development in the new CBA is that the two sides have signed off on letting players compete at the Olympics in 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n Many countries, including Team Canada<\/a> and Team USA<\/a>, announced the first six players on their respective rosters in June, anticipating the agreement.<\/p>\n So far, the only Blues player on a list is Alexandre Texier, who was one of France\u2019s first six players<\/a>. There could be more, though, such as Canada\u2019s Colton Parayko, Jordan Binnington and Robert Thomas, when the complete rosters come out in February.<\/p>\n (Top photo of Pat and Anthony Maroon: Jeremy Rutherford \/ The Athletic)<\/p>\n\n
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To the Blues organization, my teammates, coaches, and the fans \u2013 thanks for everything. You believed in me and gave me the chance to grow, on and off the ice. I\u2019ll always be grateful for my time in STL and for the friends and memories I made along the way. pic.twitter.com\/Tdja9mixXo<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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