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St. Louis Blues’ Jay Bouwmeester Will Bounce Back

By Andrew Martin

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Apr 3, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester (19) waits for play to begin against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Blues defeat the Stars 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The 2014-2015 NHL season was one to be forgotten for St. Louis Blues defenseman, Jay Bouwmeester. He will be one of many on the Blues roster looking for a comeback year flooded with goals, assists, and ever-elusive playoff victories.

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Bouwmeester played in 72 games this past year and totaled only 13 points. The St. Louis Blues may have won a Central Division title in 2015, but they certainly disappointed their loyal fanbase by crashing out of the playoffs in the first round at the hands of the Minnesota Wild.

The 31-year-old defenseman from Edmonton was traded to the Blues in 2013. St. Louis sent a first round draft choice to the Calgary Flames in exchange for the veteran defender. He was expected to help solidify the blue line with his veteran presence in a squad with a heap of young talent with high potential.

Prior to the 2014-2015 season, Bouwmeester signed a 5-year deal with the St. Louis Blues worth $27 million. This is quite a sum to devote to a player who will be 35-years-old in his final contract year with the club. The defenseman was expected to be another member of the St. Louis Avengers, but unfortunately his “ironman” streak ended after suffering a lower-body injury against the Ottawa Senators in November of 2014. Including playoffs, the Tony Stark of the NHL ended his streak at 743 consecutive games played.

I don’t expect him to break that record again, but I do expect that he’ll enjoy a much more prosperous 2015-2016 season on the blue line for the St. Louis Blues. His stat line of 2 goals and 11 assists were the lowest in his career. Bouwmeester remarked on his injury saying, “I probably tried coming back a couple of times and that might not have been the smartest thing. I probably felt that I could just try to get through it, and once I got back, things would kind of fall in to place. But sometimes, you know, things don’t come around as quick as you want them to. It definitely set me back a little bit.”

With a full 0ff-season of recovery, Bouwmeester should start the new season with the motivation and rejuvenation necessary to bring his point total back near his 2013-2014 total of 4 goals, 33 assists, and a +26 rating over 82 games played. He certainly needs to be forthcoming in his injury-status this season. With that type of injury, it can nag at a player for quite some time and cause his output to significantly drop off. This was obvious with his low point total last campaign.

37 points may be difficult to come by for the defenseman, but it is certainly not out of the question. Assuming he spends most of his time paired with fellow-defender, Alex Pietrangelo, big things could be on the horizon for this upcoming NHL season. Pietrangelo is widely considered one of the best defenders of the blue line in the NHL, and a healthy Bouwmeester will add to that billing.

The St. Louis Blues will certainly give Bouwmeester the attention he deserves with the training staff to ensure his lower-body injury has fully healed. It is a long season, and the former “ironman” doesn’t have a massive streak of games to continue to build upon. He is on the wrong side of 30, but his ability to make vital assists and block shots is still better than most defenders in the league, and certainly on the current Blues roster.

Next season should prove to be a comeback of sorts for Bouwmeester. I expect him to rise like the phoenix from the ashes of his injury and prove to be the player the St. Louis Blues knew he could be when they extended him his 5-year contract. If all goes to plan, Blues fans should see much more like the goal in the video below.

Next: St. Louis Blues Offseason Grades: 2015

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