Every franchise has players who flash brilliance, only to fade into the background. The St. Louis Blues are no different. According to Bleedin Blue, three specific names stand out as the biggest letdowns in the team’s 59-year history. These players showed promise, signed deals, and then simply stopped performing at the level fans expected.
The Late Bloomer Who Ran Out of Time
Jori Lehtera arrived in St. Louis late in his career, playing his first game at age 27 during the 2014-15 season. He got off to a decent start with 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points that year. The next season, he dipped slightly to 34 points but still found success in the playoffs with nine points in 20 games. Then the 2016-17 campaign turned into a total dud for Lehtera. Per Bleedin Blue, he was picked up by Philadelphia and bounced out of the league after just five NHL seasons. His tenure ended amidst legal troubles in his home country of Finland, leaving fans wondering what could have been if he had stayed healthy.
The Goal Scorer Who Could Not Sustain It
Brad Boyes made a massive mark when he joined the Blues at 24 years old. He scored 43 goals and added 22 assists for 65 points in his first full season of 2007-08. In the subsequent season, his performance improved further as he tallied 33 goals plus 39 assists to reach 72 points. But the fall-off came hard and fast. According to Bleedin Blue, he never sustained that success in the next year and a half before being traded away. His final full season with St. Louis saw him with just 14 goals and 28 assists in 2009-10. Such a strong start was wasted as he only scored over 20 goals one more time before retiring in Toronto after the 2015-16 season.
The First Fifty-Goal Scorer Who Peaked Too Early
Wayne Babych holds the unfortunate spot of the number one fall-off in franchise history. He played in the late 1970s and into the mid-1980s with some early success, including 26 and 27-goal seasons. In 1980-81, he peaked with a masterful 54-goal performance that remains the high point of his career. After that peak, he never truly recovered his form. Per Bleedin Blue, he only eclipsed the 20-goal mark once more in 1984-85 while playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Alongside Bernie Federko and Brian Sutter, Babych played a key role in making the “Kid Line” legendary, yet this success proved unsustainable over time. He retired after the 1986-87 season with Hartford, leaving a legacy of what might have been.
