Last season: 44-30-8, lost to Winnipeg in first round.
COACH: Jim Montgomery (first full season with St. Louis; 215-102-0 career).
SEASON OPENER: Oct. 9 vs. Minnesota.
DEPARTURES: D Ryan Suter, F Radek Faksa, D Nick Leddy, C Zachary Bolduc.
ADDITIONS: C Pius Suter, C Nick Bjugstad, D Logan Mailloux.
GOALIES: Jordan Binnington (28-22-5, 2.69 goals-against average, .900 save percentage), Joel Hofer (16-8-3, 2.64, .904)
BETMGM STANLEY CUP ODDS: 50-1
If last season is any indication from the point Jim Montgomery took over as coach in November, making the playoffs is the minimum expectation. The Blues get a full season with Montgomery behind the bench and his system firmly in place. Montgomery has plenty of talent to work with, starting with top center Robert Thomas, who was the NHL's leading scorer during the second half of last season. Thomas and Jordan Kyrou are supposed to be organizational building blocks. It took some time for Kyrou to find his peak performance last year, but the combination of them, Pavel Buchnevich and No. 1 defenseman Colton Parayko form an impressive core that can win.
The good: The Blues are legitimate contenders in the Western Conference six years removed from winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. General manager Doug Armstrong has remade the blue line and was rewarded when Parayko showed massive growth. Parayko averaged nearly 24 minutes of ice time a game last season.
The not-so-good: Playing in the Central Division with Colorado, Dallas, Winnipeg and Minnesota makes it an uphill climb to make the playoffs. If Kyrou flounders again, it could be decision time for Armstrong and the organization to potentially part ways with a 27-year-old bursting with potential.
Binnington is worth the price of admission on his own some nights, as much for his fiery personality and willingness to throw a blocker punch as his ability to make big saves. But he can do that, too, and figures to be Canada's starter at the Olympics after backstopping his country to victory at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Defenseman Philip Broberg and winger Dylan Holloway, poached with offer sheets from Edmonton in the summer of 2024, are still in their early 20s and should only get better with more NHL experience.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
FILE - St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas (18) skates during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Saturday, March 28, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.
Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.
The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.
In Friday's case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting.
Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.
Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.
Yoon, who can appeal the ruling, hasn’t immediately publicly responded to the ruling. But when the independent counsel demanded a 10-year prison term in the case, Yoon’s defense team accused them of being politically driven and lacking legal grounds to demand such “an excessive” sentence.
Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.
Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.
South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
