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On Saturday, the Blues season will begin and the nightmares featuring Darren Helm’s slapshot will dissipate.
Honestly this offseason felt shorter than most. Whether it was because the team was back in the second round or because this is the first full offseason since COVID, it’s the best time of the year: the start of St. Louis Blues hockey. Get ready to hear “Holy jumpin” and “Bring out the Zamboni” from here until hopefully June
For the second straight year, there is a lot of mystery surrounding the Blues. While there aren’t the sexy acquisitions like Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad from a year ago, there’s some interesting changes to the bottom-six. However, the elephant in the room is how Jordan Binnington performs and how the Blues replace the value of a franchise icon.
Let’s start with the forwards, as they may actually have the least uncertainty of any position. Simply put- the Blues should have no problem scoring goals. If the last preseason game is any indication, the Blues should be able to roll at least three lines. The fourth is going to be very interesting.
While pending UFA Ryan O’Reilly lost his right wing in David Perron, having Saad to his left and recently paid Jordan Kyrou on the is pretty good consolation. All bring their own unique skillset to the table and should make for both an exciting and reliable top line.
Speaking of recently paid, Robert Thomas got the same eight-year deal as Kyrou. His second line looks to be a throwback to last year- Buchnevich to the left and Vladimir Tarasenko on the right. Yes, Tarasenko is still here. After requesting a trade, he went on to have the best year of his excellent career. As an impending UFA and still wanting out, GM Doug Armstrong is going to have his hands full.
The third line will be a fascinating one. After a cup of coffee last year, Jake Neighbours looks to be here full time. He’s on the left of his center and landlord, Brayden Schenn and Ivan Barbashev, fresh off of a 60-point season that nobody could’ve seen coming. Once the top line center, Schenn took his reduced role in stride last year. Seeing how the streaky scorer leads this line could become this team’s X-factor.
The fourth line looks to be a battle of five guys and three spots. Last year’s Calder Cup playoff MVP Josh Leivo is here after beating the Blues’ AHL affiliate in the final. Also into town is Noel Acciari, whom Blues fans will remember as the recipient of Tyler Bozak’s tripping call in the Stanley Cup Final. Local boy Logan Brown had a solid preseason. The last two competitors are Alexey Toropchenko, who turned heads and got some valuable minutes in the playoffs and Nathan Walker, a spark plug any time he gets his name called. These guys all have something to prove and will be interesting to follow early on. Craig Berube has always gotten a lot out of his fourth line, particularly during the Cup run. The standard has been set.
The defense is already battered and the is still four days away when this was written. Within about a week of each other, Marco Scandella underwent surgery on his right hip and is out until February. Scott Perunovich’s injury was a gut punch and another stepback for the promising LD. This time, it’s a fractured shoulder that’s going to keep him out for six months after surgery.
After these injuries depleted the left side, Armstrong made a move, acquiring Dmitri Samorukov from the Oilers in exchange for Klim Kostin. Samorukov will give depth to a defense that needs it but he will start in Springfield.
As for who will start the season, everyone should look familiar. Torey Krug will shake off trade rumors to return for the third season in a seven-year deal, as he will likely anchor the top power play once again while lining up next to the team’s best all-around defender- Justin Faulk.
The second pairing has a lot riding on it. Colton Parayko’s new contract is a steal for the 2019 version of him. In 2022, it’s a very high-risk move. Parayko has struggled mightily in recent years, fighting injuries and not utilizing his booming slapshot nearly enough. He’s expected to be the shutdown man for eight years alongside Nick Leddy, who also got a payday following a promising stint after a trade from Detroit.
The third pairing should see a promising Niko Mikkola get the call to the left of Robert Bortuzzo, the nine-year Blue who had arguably his best year last year. This pairing will see some maneuvering as Calle Rosen is back for another year.
This team may live or die by the play of Binnington in goal. He no longer has Ville Husso to take the load off, as he’s been replaced by a Thomas Greiss who put up a .891 save-percentage in Detroit a year ago. Binnington had a well-documented tough regular season in the first year of his 6x6 contract. He lost his starting job for a while as Husso took the net away from him.
What makes Binnington so enigmatic is that he can go from being a backup-level goalie to on-par with Andrei Vasilevskiy in no time. That’s what he did in the Playoffs. From game 4 against the Wild up until the collision with Nazem Kadri, Binnington was unreal. His .949 save-percentage and sub 2.00 goals against average were on-par with his 2018-19 run that could’ve won the Conn Smythe. His one loss, game 1 to Colorado, was arguably his best performance, as he dragged a flat team to overtime.
Don’t expect him to replicate that stretch for a full season; but don’t expect to pitch a .901 either. If he’s somewhere in between and Greiss proves that last year was a fluke on a Red Wings team with awful defense, the Blues will be just fine.
This team is going to make the playoffs barring any unforeseen disasters. The offense has the potential to be monstrous once again and lead the Blues to big things. Questions are still going to be asked about the defense and goalie situations, but Blues fans have no reason to doubt either Berube or Armstrong.
The Western Conference is the weaker of the two conferences once again. Edmonton and Calgary seem to be the only Pacific teams with legitimate Cup aspirations, while last year’s champions in Colorado are most people’s preseason Western Conference champions. They’re still going to be great, but there’s no reason the Blues can’t get second in the Central division. The Wild have some young pieces, but Kirill Kaprizov is going to have to do some carrying with the loss of Kevin Fiala. Nashville had a great offseason with additions of Nino Neiderreiter and Ryan McDonagh. Will it be enough to leapfrog any of the Blues, Wild or Dallas Stars with Peter DeBoer at the helm? Only time will tell.
That’s just one of many questions to be answered this year. Will Kyrou or Thomas reach 90 points? Does the O’Reilly deal get done? What happens with Tarasenko? What will Binnington and Greiss do? Nobody can say they know for sure. That’s why they play the game.
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