Are the Blues a Potential Spoiler in the Western Playoff Race Next Season?

40 comments

1. no. they need to rebuild

2. Yes

3. I think the plan is to keep the cap space for a couple more years so that when a bunch of contracts expire they have a ton of space all at once.

4. Kyrou had a really interesting season. You could tell he was really focusing on his defensive game, and he made big strides on that end of the ice but it seemed to affect him offensively.

   I think Bolduc is definitely the guy to keep an eye on from a young player perspective this year, I expect him to crack the top six by the end of the season

   There's a lot of doom and gloom in the Blues fanbase but I'm excited for this coming season

5. Good video. Absolutely we can make the playoffs. LGB’s!

6. I honestly can’t blame people hesitant on the Blues. I think for them to make the playoffs, some of the prospects – Dvorsky, the Zachs, etc will need to make an impact. And Kyrou needs to prove doubters (like me) wrong. His final numbers made his season look way more respectable than it was last year.

   Goaltending was definitely a highlight last year, and Hofer actually got noticeably more comfortable after about January – not just stat wise, but how he held himself before and during games. A lot less flailing.

   If Krug misses the season, I think he’ll be heading to Robidas Island to finish his career. With all his previous time off for injury, I already had a suspicion that he wouldn’t be finishing that contract.

   Oh, and a dark horse on having a good season – Toropchenko. I don’t think we’ve seen him hit his full potential yet.

7. blues are poised for a 1st round playoff exit this year

8. I think they're gonna be a whole lot less close this year tbh

9. We can do it!!!! Can't wait to see what the young guys can do this season.

10. The Blues have to stay healthy. The Goalies have to stand on their heads. Thomas and Kyrou have to be monsters all year. And Parayko plus Faulk have to be consistently better than good.

11. Honestly, I think the Blues made some really sneaky moves this year. This team is better than what some may say……

    IF we make the playoffs, which we could, we probably surpass Winnipeg as the WC team in the Central. I think the Jets are probably the 4th place team in the division, but the Blues could make it interesting, especially if the special teams improve and goaltending takes another step forward.

    It’s about a 50/50 shot at this point. I’m leaning towards no, but not for a lack of effort. It may be a difference of a few points that we miss out. This retool is almost over.

12. High end talent is lacking, the defense is sketchy, the depth is good, the goaltending is great. The result? Probably a 9th seed.

13. Well, I certainly HOPE they make the playoffs. Once you get into the habit of missing on an annual basis (see Sabres, Buffalo) it becomes harder and harder to get back in. The key is the advancement of the young players. Dvorsky making the team out of camp would help a lot. Snuggerrud joining the team after his college season is over would also be a big help. Dean and Bolduc MUST show continued improvement. Where the Blues are lacking is young defensemen who are close to being ready to play. The d-men they drafted this year are a ways away from contributing. Finally, this is not a huge deal, but it is not obvious to me who the #3 goaltender is, should the need arise. Ellis and Zherenko are the goalies at Springfield, but I don't know which one is better.

14. There's a lot of question marks– probably too many. The biggest issue (their defense) hasn't changed or improved enough for it to make them a playoff team. I really don't agree that their defense was good, but their goaltending was outstanding from both Binnington and Joel Hofer which probably made them seem a lot better. The biggest question mark is can they be that good again. I tend to think not, as Binnington has had his ups and downs, but he will have to be that good again for them to have any chance of making the playoffs. There's a chance Krug misses the entire season but he hasn't been great anyway. Does adding Suter and Joseph really make them any better? I'd say marginally at best. Another interesting question is can any of their prospects crack the roster? I think they're likely a year out from any rookies making a meaningful impact, but Dvorsky, Snuggerud and Lindstein have potential in the future. Overall I think they'll have a season similar to last year and miss the playoffs by a few points again.

15. Al MacInnis said in his own words that Colton Parayko is the rare player you go looking for the second you get rid of him. Parayko will, more than likely, be a Blue till he retires, which I am more than ok with.

16. i think they need to take a look at how much there paying under perfoming aging players but i hope they do well it seems like its a make or break year for the blues 🍻

17. I believe the Blues can make the Playoffs & Push Vegas out.

    I don’t believe they can go deep. While they do have a load of guys who have been there & done that (gone on deep playoffs runs, 3rd round or further), their coach isn’t good enough to take them to the Cup. You could have said the same about Berube, however he at least got to Finals as a Player, and with another organization not as a head coach. Bannister hasn’t.

18. I think the Blues are way better than people give them credit. They also went through a coaching change last year and looked much better afterwards. The next year or so will be a lot of waiting for reinforcements to arrive, but the future is bright.

19. Blues are in the position where they need a lot of things to go right, and very little to go wrong to do much. They don't have the kind of depth that can absorb the loss of key players to injury for a significant time.

20. Congrats on 325k!

21. I see them 20th-14th in the league. Just good enough to not get a high pick and just bad enough to not be real contenders even if they make the dance. I think the core of Buchnevich, Kyrou, Neighbors, Binnington and Thomas are good enough to build around and hopefully be contenders again before the decade is over.

22. Yes.

23. I think the guy from Dallas and Sunquist are going to end up as an attempt to create a shutdown 4th line. Not sure who their partner end up as.

24. I kinda wonder if Armstrong is attempting a hockey equivalent of Moneyball with all those short contracts.

25. im a blues fan and i think its crazy for them to be thinking about playoffs this year. they are at least 2 years away from thinking about the playoffs. they need at least 2 top 6 forwards and 2 top defenseman. the question is do you want to win in the playoffs or just make them. ps stop trading away draft picks.

26. 0:26 THG secretly works for the Caps confirmed

27. Defense IS our biggest concern. Respectable goals against is 100% on elite goaltending (which looks like decently ok goaltending on the stat sheet – due to bad defense giving up high quality shots on the regular.)

    Team defense improved a bit last year because of our defensive forwards and Parayko starting to return to form. Faulk had looked better on defense in other years. Krug has never looked good on defense since he put the Note on his chest.

    Overall the defense didn't look good. Better than the previous year, but that is a low bar.

28. I respect their style of play and work ethic, but I don't see them progressing any higher than last year.

29. No.

30. The high cap hit for such a meh Defence is pretty shocking. Blues fans must be hoping Krug is going on to LTIR…

31. Blues spoilers srsly …… not even close of making the playoffs… this club since their stanley Cup made bad bad bad moves

32. I dont think the blues defense allows them to keep pace with any other playoff contenders

33. Great breakdown as always. I definitely think BLUES can make playoffs.. replacing NASHVILLE, or even replacing the JETS. Personally I hate Dallas so that’d be great, but doubtful.

34. Don’t forget Parayko was #1 in the NHL for Blocked shots last year. He is a secret beast

35. The blues definitely need more in the $16 million duo of Thomas and JK 25. If neighbors continues to develop, he will become the star that St. Louis is looking for.

    The fluctuation of the bottom six and the defensive pairings outside of the top pair was also fluctuating.

    This team cannot afford a slow start because that’s what cost them down the stretch last season.

    This team has to find consistency in the roster, in the lineup. The emergence of the Pacific division plus the teams in the Central are improved.

    I don’t know, and the organization doesn’t completely know who this roster is.

    The blues are battling for the third or fourth spot in the division. If blues make the playoffs, Winnipeg will not.

36. I just want to give some insight that at no point has any knowledgeable Blues fan thought we could or should get rid of Parayko.

37. The Blues PP last year was atrocious, puck control in the o-zone generally, all of which translate to talent – Blues goals came on transition (speed not a problem). We'll see, they're a middle tier decent team w/ superior tending – the new blood will bump us up, down, or sideways, while the new talent is integrated. Expectations are measured.

38. more depth scoring from transition passing after team coverage in defense zone?

39. It’s not that Perunovich hasn’t been given opportunities it’s that he hasn’t stayed healthy long enough to keep a spot

40. Honestly, the offense and defense (including better backchecking from forwards) needs to improve for Blues to have a chance at playoffs. I expect goaltending to drop a little as they put up some numbers last season that are absolutely unsustainable, but if the defense and offense improves, it should balance out. With the exception of the Leddy/Parayko pair, the bottom 4 of the defense was horrible last season. Kessel would be the other exception but he only played the last half of the season. Replacing Krug with Suter in the top 4 and a full season of Kessel should improve the defense (as well as Krug being on IR all season). After this season, they have better flexibility to make moves on the defense as Krug/Faulk/Leddy all go from full NTC to 15/16 team no trade lists. Blues also got practically no offense from their bottom 6 forwards either. There were a lot of moves done to make the bottom 6 faster and better defensively this offseason. Some extra contribution there and better defensive play from the forwards should also improve the team. Bolduc is a lock for the top 6 IMO. His last 5 games of the season playing with Thomas and Schenn, he had 5 even strength points in those games and looked really good with them. I think he is the reason the Blues didn't acquire anyone for the top 6 this offseason. They are expecting the internal growth there. I also think Dvorsky has a really good shot at making the team out of camp. I have never heard Army talk up a prospect the way he has Dvorsky. He may go to the AHL if he struggles, but for my money, I think he makes team out of camp. On paper, I like the look of the forward group.

    Bolduc-Thomas-Schenn
    Neighbours-Buchnevich-Kyrou
    Saad-Dvorsky-Texier
    Joseph-Faksa-Toropchenko