St. Louis Blues 2017-18 Final Report Card: Scottie Upshall

The St. Louis Blues are not too proud to admit when they might have made a mistake. That was proven by bringing Scottie Upshall back right before the 2017-18 season.

The St. Louis Blues were poised to move on from Scottie Upshall in 2017-18. They went so far as to allow him to sign with other teams and go through their training camps.

However, injuries began taking their toll late in the preseason. So, though Upshall was working on a tryout contract with Vancouver, the Blues gave him a full NHL contract and the veteran came back for one more season.

After the year he and Kyle Brodziak had, the Blues might want to think about retaining their services again. The argument against both is about age and the prospects coming up behind them. There are plenty of other guys you can drop off your roster that would have no impact. These particular fourth line players bring that extra something that teams need.

Final Grade: B+

In his third season with the Blues, Upshall ended up putting up one of his best seasons. His year was bookended by some injuries, and a freak injury (lacerated kidney) ended his season.

Despite this, he was one of the few players you could consistently count on. He was nothing close to an offensive force, but he did set a career best for points in a Blues uniform with 19.

His goal totals went down from 2016-17, but the point totals went up. This might seem insignificant, but you have to remember he had no training camp with the Blues and the team was in the midst of implementing Mike Yeo’s full system. Upshall still jumped in right away.

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Upshall’s possession metrics went up from his prior season. He also took better care with his passes, having the fewest turnovers in his career in what would be considered a full season of 60 games or more.

On a team that was noticeably less physical, for whatever reason, Upshall was a true physical player. His 119 hits were another best for his time in St. Louis. He also set a personal best in blocked shots for his time in St. Louis.

One of the negatives about Upshall was the penalties. When you look at his stats, he really did not have many more minutes than previous years. He has literally gone up by one minute each season going 44, 45 and 46 with the Blues.

The issue was he seemed to take more bad penalties. There were quite a few offensive zone penalties or ill-timed penalties that sucked the momentum out of a game. When you’re playing on something called an energy line, you don’t want to take energy away by putting your team shorthanded.

One of the only other minor gripes about Upshall was his lack of shorthanded production. Much of that can be attributed to the team, overall. Nevertheless, it was slightly disappointing that Upshall failed to get a single shorthanded point for the first time since arriving in St. Louis.

In the end, we may have seen that last of Upshall. The Blues are still in a transition period and Upshall likely does not fit in those plans.

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That’s a shame since the team lacks leadership and grit and both he and Brodziak are players that set good examples.

If it was his final season, it would have been nice for him to go out better but he gave his all. He had some bad luck picking up a knee injury and then the lacerated kidney, but he gave his all most every night. Young players could learn a lot from that.

He did not put up a ton of points or flashy goals. He just went out and did his job every shift. There is something to that that younger players don’t always seem to get used to.