Nobody’s complaining about the Blues past playoff run, but wow, you can’t help but wonder what would’ve been. Would they be playing for the Western Conference Championship right now? Probably not, but if the Blues held on to a pair of players from seasons past, I’d have liked their chances a lot better.
Below, I have two forwards whose presence this season would’ve stacked their lineup. But maybe if both players saw ice time this season in a Blue Note, who knows what the trajectory of this past season may’ve brought. A division championship? I won’t get that bold, but they may’ve ended up in the Central Division's top three.
So, which players would’ve made quite the impact in Arch City had they stuck around? You might find these two names familiar. They would’ve transformed the Blues into a full offensive force while playing some much-needed solid defense, too.
Vladimir Tarasenko
While Vladimir Tarasenko was awful in Detroit this past season, think of it as more of a bad fit for the system than anything else. After he left St. Louis, Tarasenko was just fine in New York, Ottawa, and Florida, and there’s no reason to think he’d have played any worse in Jim Montgomery’s system. Detroit just wasn’t for him.
Not that his production wouldn’t have taken a backslide, because it probably would have with so many youngsters taking center stage. But Tarasenko would’ve given the Blues a physical presence and depth scoring while dropping back to primarily playing middle-six minutes.
Tarasenko also would’ve brought yet another much-needed veteran presence, despite all the retooling showing vets the door. But with his scoring prowess, even if it had gone back a notch, plus his hitter’s mentality, the Blues would’ve had a solid, all-around player still capable of serviceable play.
Ivan Barbashev
What jumped out at me with Barbashev was the exact opposite of Vladimir Tarasenko. While Tarasenko was older, Barbashev was in his age-26 season as recently as 2021-22, and could’ve been another Pavel Buchnevich type in terms of age. Not exactly young, but young enough to be part of the retooled core if the Blues could’ve hung on to him.
And Barbashev proved he could lay back in 2021-22 with 60 points, 26 goals, and a 23.4 shooting percentage. He would have been a force in the top six this past season, and his physical nature would’ve added yet another intimidating presence to the Blues. Which, for playoff hockey, is a pretext.
With the Blues getting hot scoring-wise toward the end of the season, both Tarasenko and Barbashev could have upped the ante even more. And, to be honest, they’d have beaten the Jets in five, maybe six games, in the playoffs this past year.