Paul Stastny has been a bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in his tenure with the St. Louis Blues. Some of that is his own making and some has been put upon him. Regardless, the player that shows up in the postseason may determine how far this team goes.
Paul Stastny has had a bit of a raw deal since arriving in St. Louis. He was met with much pomp and circumstance and large fanfare when he signed with the team he grew up around. That gathering at Ballpark Village may have set the tone, for better or worse.
Stastny has not lived up to the expectations many had for him coming in, including himself, but the fans are partly to blame for that.
He was initially met with unrealistic expectations and put in a bit of a hole similar to David Beckham when he arrived on the scene for the LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer. He was immediately expected to be a scorer and that was never his game.
Similar to Beckham, Stastny just isn’t a scorer. Yes, he puts goals in but if you read between the lines of the buzz he received, you would automatically think Stastny was going to be a 30 goal scorer.
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Even at his peak, Stastny was never a 30 goal scorer. He has come close, scoring 28 in his rookie season and then 25 in his final year in Colorado. So, it is somewhat understandable that fans are upset that Stastny only has 25 total in his two seasons thus far with the Blues.
Injuries have played a large part in his lack of offensive numbers. For two seasons in a row Stastny got off to a good start, including a red-hot start in 2014-15, before getting injured. The time off during both seasons made the bulk of his year almost play out like an extended training camp and preseason. But people only focus on the numbers in the end and the large amounts of money going his way.
Personally, I throw out the contract number. Many will say that is insane because players should be held accountable for their contract total, but the reality is that it’s the complete opposite. A contract is really the reflection of what the player has already accomplished, so almost no player ever lives up to it once they get the big money.
So, the expectations and large contract really set up Stastny for failure unless he just went off on a tear the likes of which we have not seen in his career. It wasn’t going to happen. That doesn’t mean that he can’t still be productive.
Stastny isn’t the missing piece to the Blues’ Cup hopes and he’s not the driving force of the team. He can and must still be a strong component and without him, the team may be doomed to more postseason failure.
The bright side to this equation is Stastny seems to be hitting his stride late in the year. As of writing this, he has three goals and five assists in his last five games including assisting on a powerplay goal.
Beyond just the pure stats, he looks more confident and comfortable. While the line juggling of Ken Hitchcock is overblown by many, it has affected Stastny. He’s gone from top-line to third and played with a bevy of combinations.
Now, he seems to have settled in with his linemates. He’s getting comfortable in knowing where people will be on the ice. More importantly, he’s shooting.
If there is any one thing you can point to as being his downfall with the St. Louis Blues, it has been his reluctance to shoot. His lack of confidence or being comfortable seemed to make him revert to his natural instinct, which is to pass first.
That’s fine in some circumstances, but Stastny was taking it to the next level by passing up good scoring opportunities in an effort to include his linemate. While that’s not just a Stastny problem – cough, Jori Lehtera, cough – the spotlight shines on those that have the big name.
The bottom line is that the Blues don’t need Stastny to change his game and be Vladimir Tarasenko or Alexander Steen. They need him to be Paul Stastny, which he hasn’t been until recently.
The Blues need him to be the 2013-14 Stastny where he was a beast both in the regular season and playoffs. He was a powerplay point producer and scored 10 points in 7 playoff games that year. That’s what the Blues need.
There’s not really an argument to be made that Stastny’s performance for the last nine games will determine where the Blues finish in the standings. They’ve already done very well for themselves with him not doing a ton.
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However, in the playoffs they need all lines clicking and all players producing. This is a team that, despite Tarasenko, is more a sum of its parts rather than star dependent. They need Stastny to be a part and not defer.
If the Blues get the real Paul Stastny, then they can go far. He’s talented enough to pick up that big assist or score that important goal to get them over the hump. If they get the Paul Stastny that has been on the ice for much of his Blues career, then an early exit may be in the cards again.