St. Louis Blues: Paul Stastny May Finally Get Time As The Top Center

Paul Stastny was brought in to St. Louis to be the St. Louis Blues top line center. It has yet to happen, but still may.

The St. Louis Blues have been somewhat snake bitten when it comes to having a true number one center. Sure, there have been talented guys that filled the spot and did a decent job. However, they have yet to find someone in the like of Adam Oates or even Pierre Turgeon.

Paul Stastny was supposed to be that guy when the Blues signed him to a four-year, $28 million contract. However, due to various reasons, he has not been that player for the Blues. He still may however.

Stastny has been tried on the top line before. He began the 2014-15 season with the top line, but an early injury broke his stride and took him down. The Blues were flowing well, so when he returned, he was stuck on a lower line. The unknown status and trying to fit in with a new team combined were a recipe for disaster and he scored a career low when playing in close to a full season.

The same thing happened in 2016-17. This time the injury lasted longer and it threw off his ability to get an offensive rhythm again. This time, however, Stastny was almost always going to be on the second line, but finding his teammates was more problematic.

Now the Blues have some flexibility. While nobody wanted to lose David Backes or Troy Brouwer, their departure might actually present an opportunity for Stastny to claim the spot on the top line.

In a chat with Ken Hitchcock, Blues beat writer Jeremy Rutherford revealed that Hitchcock is considering a top line of Stastny, Steen and Tarasenko. That would be very intriguing, to say the least.

I spoke with Hitch today and he said one he likes is Steen-Stastny-Tarasenko. He hinted about the others, so check out chat for more info.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) July 28, 2016

Vladimir Tarasenko is a great player, but he is still young. He can create, but he needs a top notch center to partner with him and set him up for goals. He needs someone that will tell him that he’s got to shoot more and not worry about the passing. Stastny can be that guy since he’s a veteran and also a pass first guy.

Additionally, Alexander Steen still provides enough offense while playing a solid two-way game. In essence, he can be the muscle. While he’s not a big, physical player, he’s still going to stick up for the other two and keep players off them.

That would provide a fairly potent trio. Stastny would benefit from Tarasenko as well. His numbers with St. Louis have been far below his average with the Colorado Avalanche. He hasn’t hit a wall, he’s just been a bit unlucky. If he can stay healthy and be on a line with a guy capable of scoring 40 or more goals, then his numbers should only go up.

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Additionally, as much as I like Jori Lehtera and he has a good rapport with Tarasenko, Lehtera just doesn’t fit the mold of a top center. Unless he has a rebound year, he seems a bit slow, which doesn’t match up with the speed of Tarasenko.

Putting those three on the top line could also create some interesting line matches below them too. If Stastny is centering the top line, that creates a hole at the second line center spot.

However, the team still lists Robby Fabbri as a center. If he is comfortable there, they could use him as the center for Jaden Schwartz and David Perron. Lehtera could then be sandwiched with Dmitrij Jaskin and Patrik Berglund. The fourth line would be Kyle Brodziak centering Scottie Upshall and Ryan Reaves.

Ty Rattie and Vladimir Sobotka, who still isn’t “officially” a member of the team, also provide rotation. Sobotka could jump as high as a second line center if needed or be used as a fourth line winger. Rattie is in the same situation as a winger.

If the Blues can legitimately have enough depth and production to have Schwartz on the second line, then things are looking good and not nearly as dire as many fans want to make out. This team is capable of scoring. It’s just about finding the right combinations.

I’ve been advocating for Stastny to play with Tarasenko for quite awhile. People can argue he hasn’t lived up to his contract all they want, but he’s also not a pure scorer. He’s a setup man. As good as Fabbri is, they didn’t gel quickly enough for Stastny to rack up points during this last regular season.

Putting him with Tarasenko and someone like Steen who can score with the best and set people up seems like a dynamic line. I’d love to see it and it seems the coach would too.

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While it would be a shame to “demote” Schwartz, he’s still going to produce. A line with him and Fabbri on it could be a speedy, tenacious one as well.

Given hockey coaches penchant to change up lines, it may not happen or may not last long. Even so, the prospect of those three going together and Stastny returning to the production that earned him his current deal is something that might be too good to pass up.