St. Louis Blues: Second Crack At Early Forward Lines

The St. Louis Blues have had one heck of an offseason. Fans have every right to be excited, but one guess is as good as the next as to what the forward lines might look like.

The St. Louis Blues keep saying they are done with the 2018 offseason and then they make another big move. Whether they are done now or not, fans have every right to be super pumped about the prospects of 2018-19.

The odd thing about all this excitement is not knowing. It is like being a kid on Christmas (or your birthday) and actually not knowing what you’re going to get. You know it’ll be something fun and good, but what makes up the present is a mystery.

That is exactly what we have in the Blues forward line potential right now. There are probably 50 different combinations and even then the right one might not be in there.

Neverthless, we tried to guess at it just before Pat Maroon signed. Now that the Big Rig is in the fold, we might as well try to guess again.

Lines I’d Like To See

Normally I say we, but this one is more I since my top line might be somewhat divisive.

Pat Maroon, Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn, Robert Thomas
David Perron, Tyler Bozak, Robby Fabbri
Dmitrij Jaskin, Alex Steen, Nikita Soshnikov/Ivan Barbashev.

Now, anyone who follows this space knows that my fourth line is somewhat of a surprise and that has little to do with Alexander Steen. I’ve been a proponent of saying enough is enough with Dmitrij Jaskin, but if he is fine being a fourth line player then he helps the Blues have a dynamic, yet still physical bottom three.

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Steen is very prideful, so it would probably be difficult to convince him a fourth line role would be beneficial. Again, if you can get him on board, that is a heck of a player to be playing those defensive minutes. With the two Russians, you have a good combination of speed and tenacity. If you can put two players that have played top-six minutes in their career and put them on a bottom line, then you can truly run out any line on your roster and expect production.

The second line is probably wishful thinking. With all these additions, it seems like the prospects might have been squeezed out of the equation for the moment. If that is not the case, I’d like to see Robert Thomas get acclimated to the game with two of last season’s hardest workers.

As mentioned, the top line might be somewhat controversial. Maroon is not your prototypical top line player. However, if he fits then you do not worry about production alone. This is not a video game where you simply plug in your three best players. The Blues did that in 2017-18 and it had mixed results with Brayden Schenn being vocally upset at times.

Tom Wilson is not a top line player on anyone’s personal team, other than his family. However, that’s where the Washington Capitals used him, to draw the ire of opponents and take their attention away from the big-time scorers. Maroon could be exactly that for the Blues. Even if he has a drop in points, a 30 point season would be very beneficial if he is creating space for the skill guys and creating havoc in front of the net.

Lines We Are Likely To See

Alexander Steen, Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn, David Perron
Robby Fabbri, Tyler Bozak, Pat Maroon
Dmitrij Jaskin, Ivan Barbashev, Chris Thorburn

I have nothing against Steen. I just do not believe he is a top-line player at this stage of his career. If he produces, fine, but we need to be beyond rewarding players purely for what they’ve done already.

The second line is what it is. I hesitate to use David Perron on the right since he’s more comfortable on his off wing. Nevertheless, he could be a fit with those other two.

If/when fully healthy, you could always swap Perron and Robby Fabbri. Fabbri gives that second line a little more speed while Perron could fit with that particular third line a tiny bit more.

As far as the third line, I know Maroon said he would play anywhere from the first line to the fourth if the Blues need him there. However, I just cannot see him playing a fourth line role no matter what some fans say.

The fourth line is kind of jumbled no matter what happens. I foresee Chris Thorburn being rewarded with a starting role after a good ending to 2017-18 as long as he begins the season in St. Louis.

Overview

Those are only a couple of the possibilities available and not even ones I am personally set on yet. The options are all there for the Blues right now.

If they wanted to get extra tricky, you could have a fourth line made of two prospects and a more veteran presence. I just think giving Thomas and/or Jordan Kyrou fourth-line minutes does not develop them, but if you truly go with a more new-age fourth line then maybe you swing some minds.

Maroon is the interesting linchpin in all of this. He literally could be anywhere from top-six to bottom-six. It all boils down to how well he plays, how well others play and what Mike Yeo wants to do.

Next: St. Louis Has Players That Want To Be Here

Things are so fluid right now that it’s all just fans having fun talking. What are your best line combinations. Let us know.