St. Louis Blues Are Going To Be Fine In 2016-17

There is a lot of consternation still going on about the St. Louis Blues taking a step back. It’s just not true.

Here we go again. It died down for a few weeks, but now that we can begin to smell the 2016-17 season those rumblings of the St. Louis Blues taking steps backward are coming up again. Can we please just stop it?

I know that’s a pointless question, because those that think the Blues won’t be good or have been passed up by the division can’t be swayed by an argument. It is only the play on the ice that will assuage their fears.

That’s fine, because I believe this team will rid some of the non-believers of their fears. The sad thing is those same people will pop up again come playoff time and anything short of a Stanley Cup Finals berth will be seen as a failure when that is just nonsense.

The Stanley Cup playoffs are one of the hardest tournaments, if not the hardest tournament, in all of sports. One or two bad days can mean a first round exit for a team that is more talented than the one that eventually wins the championship.

All that said, I still believe this team will succeed in 2016-17 and I am not alone. Our friends at the Chase and Pang Show ran a poll and a decent majority feel the Blues will match or exceed what they accomplished in the prior season.

59% of voters think the @StLouisBlues Blues will have as good or better season as last year. #LetsGoBlues #stlblues https://t.co/21ggYtO76S
— Blues NHL Podcast (@NHLShow) August 15, 2016

Of course, you get the people on the other side of the fence. Almost no opinion can be shared by 100% of the people asked, so it’s no surprise.

You get your people that want to have the faith, but just don’t seem able to summon it.

That’s fine. They are at least open to the idea that the team could still be successful. It’s the ones that are so certain that are a bit more bothering.

Disagree. Lost: Net-front presence, Leadership, Security in goal. Stars/Preds/Hawks will be as strong. Avs get stronger #stlblues
— Drew Haeffele (@DrewHaef) August 15, 2016

Now, I don’t mean to call out this one man’s opinion. I merely use it as an example of several people I’ve read and even spoken with.

The problem with this idea comes from the fact we’re so absorbed by the Blues that we fail to see the daily activities of other teams. Therefore, we only see what we want to see from other teams and these specific people form the opinion because a couple other teams are more active than the Blues that they must have made better moves.

It’s just not the case.

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According to the above tweet, the Avalanche got stronger. I’m not quite sure how, to be honest.

They have a good amount of talent in their core, no doubt. However, they finished sixth in the division last season and ninth in the conference.

They signed Joe Colborne, who has only scored more than 10 goals once in his career; Fedor Tyutin, who is a decent defender but has been somewhat injury prone the last few seasons and Patrick Wiercioch, who is another big defender but hasn’t played more than 56 games in any one season.

The team is also in turmoil as their head coach, Patrick Roy, just stepped down with only a month and a half to go until training camp. Not exactly the time to go on a coaching search.

So, where’s the improvement? They signed their big names, but there are just as many guys who have bad years following a big contract than those that live up to them.

Sorry, but those names coupled with the losses they had don’t give me any indication they’ve made vast improvements. They’re better defensively than they were, but a team that went from division winners to bottom dwellers need to show more.

The Dallas Stars continue to be loaded on offense and will still be a team to be reckoned with. However, even with a great acquisition of Dan Hamhuis, defense continues to be their weak link and they will also still have questions in goal since they don’t seem to want to settle between their two high-priced talents.

The Minnesota Wild added Eric Staal and Chris Stewart, but lost Tomas Vanek and David Jones. Vanek was a disappointment, but I still consider all these moves a wash. They’re going to continue to be a team that plays hard, is tough to take on, but isn’t a true contender if they have an injury or two like they did last year.

The Winnipeg Jets are the Winnipeg Jets. Sorry to their fans, but they are years away from being a threat. At least Edmonton is making an effort to give the impression they’re trying.

The Chicago Blackhawks will always be good as long as they have Toews and Kane. However, if not for their fantastic scouting department, this team would have gone in the crapper long ago. They’ve saddled themselves with some really hefty contracts and sooner or later it will catch up.

Perhaps that’s this year. That’s not to say they won’t be good, but they’ve added Jordin Tootoo and Brian Campbell. Meh. One is an over-glorified goon (by today’s standards) and the other is an aging defenseman trying to get a little more glory with the team he made his name with.

The ‘Hawks lost Andrew Shaw, Andrew Ladd (again) and Teuvo Teravainen. While Ladd was only a late season addition, that’s a decent amount of talent gone from a team that, while supremely skilled at the top, is starting to thin out at the third and fourth line.

Lastly, everyone wants to kiss the Nashville Predators boots. No offense to the guys over at Predlines – they do a great job – but one huge addition doesn’t always mean a huge change in the team.

P.K. Subban is a huge pick up for them. He brings a dynamic offensively that will surely make them a contender and hard to defend. He’s one man though. As talented as he is, I do not believe he is the missing piece as there really aren’t any teams that are only one player away in the NHL.

March 3, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (76) moves the puck against Los Angeles Kings during the second period at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Also, he was addition by subtraction. He’s younger and more dynamic than Shea Weber, but the argument about whether he is better overall is a legitimate one. Also, the team gave up on young Seth Jones in an effort to add scoring halfway through the season.

Yannick Weber is not a suitable replacement. So, how are we to know that the Preds are going to be as stout defensively with the loss of Weber and Jones and the addition of an offensive defenseman and a guy who has been a minus-player and only played 65 games as a career high in Yannick Weber?

Turning the tables to the Blues, yes they lost some key pieces. David Backes will be hard to replace in the locker room. Troy Brouwer came up with some huge moments, none bigger than the goal that knocked the ‘Hawks out of the playoffs.

Even so, it was one good year. I’m not trying to discount the efforts they put in or the contributions given, but they just are not irreplaceable names.

Like all of you, I was not enthused by the return of David Perron. However, if he shows up motivated then he can replace some of the production lost. Then it is simply up to players we gushed over last season to live up to the hype we placed upon them.

It somewhat boggles the mind that so many were ready to anoint Robby Fabbri as the next big thing. They were ready to say it was far past time Ty Rattie got his opportunity, but are now shrinking back and saying they cannot build on their performances. Apparently, they will not be able to replace what was average production in the regular season by Backes and Brouwer in the first place because they are too fragile to exist without those presences in the locker room.

I hesitate to bring up the goaltender argument. It’s always a can of worms. However, Brian Elliott gave his all and it was top notch for one playoff run. However, he got three.

Don’t let others fool you, he had his shots. Everyone whines about how he was overlooked, but that’s bull.

He had two runs against the Kings, got his jock handed to him, and then had a magical run last season. That does not mean he’s necessarily the goaltender to build around for the future.

You can argue for or against Jake Allen, but he’s the one they’re going with and I believe he will succeed. He’s at the age where goaltenders start to hit their stride and the best of the snake is still in front of us.