St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong was given the financial backing from Blues ownership to go out and make a splash in the 2018 offseason. Signing three forwards and trading for Ryan O’Reilly has given the team some much-needed flexibility.
One of the biggest contributors to a disappointing 2017-2018 season for the St. Louis Blues was the lack of depth on the offensive side. After an intriguing start to training camp, young players including Robby Fabbri and Zach Sanford went down early in camp and missed the entire season as a result.
Every NHL team is going to go through injuries however, it is the teams that are able to stop the bleeding are the ones who find success through the absence of key players. Newly acquired Brayden Schenn was brought in from Philadelphia via trade to solidify the center position for St. Louis and exceeded expectations, registering 70 points including 28 goals while playing in all 82 games for the Blues.
This production, backed by the breakout year of Jaden Schwartz and the always-reliable Vladimir Tarasenko, paced the Blues offensively for the majority of the season. It wasn’t until Schwartz’ injury that knocked him out 20 games, did the Blues start to become exposed due to their lack of depth.
The Blues were clearly a different team with Schwartz on the ice, and the Blues may not have finished just one point out of a playoff spot if Schwartz had been healthy all season long, however regardless of the injuries during the season, it was clear that the Blues lacked scoring depth, and was an issue that Armstrong needed to address in the offseason.
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On July 1st, the first day of free agency, Doug Armstrong did exactly that by signing Perron and Bozak, as well as trading for Buffalo Sabers center Ryan O’Reilly. Perron is coming off a career year after being picked by the Vegas Golden Knights during the expansion draft, he proceeded to post a career-high 66 points, en route to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance with Vegas.
Perron, who has scored over 100 goals for the Blues over his career will slot into the top 6 along with O’Reilly, Tarasenko, Schwartz, Schenn, and possibly Fabbri or Alexander Steen. The signing of Tyler Bozak gives the Blues one of the best third line centers in the league.
Bozak has recorded 40 points or more in four of the past five seasons, including a 43-point year with Toronto in 2017-2018. However, Bozak brings more than just scoring depth, he is a force on the faceoff.
He has a 50% mark or better in four consecutive years and could help fill the role that Paul Stastny had before he was traded to Winnipeg last winter. Bozak could easily be called upon during a power play or a must-win faceoff late in games to help establish a presence in the offensive zone.
Ryan O’Reilly was a part of the perhaps the biggest trade of the entire offseason, acquired from Buffalo for Tage Thompson, Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, and a first and second round pick, O’Reilly was brought in to solidify the Blues down the middle.
Coming off of a 61-point season with a bad Sabers team, O’Reilly figures to be slotted into one of the top two lines and could be playing with Tarasenko and rookie Robert Thomas before the holiday season.
Goal scoring aside for a moment, O’Reilly is one of the best in the faceoff recording a 60% success rate in 2017-2018 and plays a 200-foot game of hockey as well as anyone else in the league. O’Reilly is also a force on the power play, registering 23 points and 15 goals with Buffalo, he will give St. Louis a breath of fresh air to one of the worst powerplays in the league a year ago.
Head coach Mike Yeo will have plenty of options for line combinations, and though it is enjoyable to grab a napkin at dinner time and write down line combinations, it is important to note that injuries could throw a wrench into all the work the Blues front office has done in the offseason.
However, if everyone stays healthy for the majority of the season, the return of Fabbri and Sanford, along with rookies Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, gives Yeo the chance to find combinations of 12 forwards that include Tarasenko, Schwartz, O’Reilly, Maroon, Bozak, Perron, Fabbri, Sanford, Thorburn, Kyrou, Thomas, Steen, Schenn, Soshnikov, and Barbashev.
Needless to say, Mike Yeo will have a lot more toys at his disposal for the upcoming Blues season, and it should lead to a top-3 divisional finish and a chance to make a run during the playoffs.