St. Louis Blues: Zach Sanford Could Be The Answer No One Saw Coming

For the first time in a few years, the St. Louis Blues have two lines that can be considered as the top line and Zach Sanford is a big part of the reason why.

The St. Louis Blues have struggled to start the season and many of the team’s issues have been on the defensive side of the puck but the return of Sanford to the lineup has seemingly sparked the entire team.

Acquired from the Washington Capitals for Kevin Shattenkirk and a first round pick in 2017 (which was used to take Robert Thomas), Sanford’s impact on the team was delayed almost two years due to injuries and personal crisis.

Sanford was a second-round pick by the Capitals in 2013 and made his NHL debut in the 2016-2017 season with Washington before being traded mid-season to St. Louis.

Prior to being traded to the Blues in 2016, Sanford played in 26 games scoring twice and tallying one assist. Once traded, Sanford appeared in 13 games and recorded five points.

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Each offseason that he has spent with the Blues, Sanford was expected to be a top-6 forward. He was injured on the first day of practice after taking a hit from Dmitrij Jaskin and missed the entire season as a result.

The Blues clearly missed Sanford and struggled with offensive consistency for the majority of the 2017-2018 season and missed the playoffs entirely.

After a complete 180 in terms of offensive depth for the Blues, Sanford was on the outside looking in for a roster spot to begin the year. Players like Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, the return of Robby Fabbri made Sanford’s chances of making the team slim.

On top of the incredibly important training camp, Sanford’s father passed away halfway through training camp which resulted in Zach stepping away from the team for a couple weeks.

This left Sanford starting the year in San Antonio with the Blues AHL affiliate where he scored two goals in for games for the Rampage.

The Blues recalled Sanford on October 17 before their game on the road against the Montreal Canadiens. He only played 9:02 during that game in a 2-3 loss but he played well enough to get promoted to the second line for the following contest against the Maple Leafs.

This is when things really started to turn around offensively for Sanford and the Blues. Somehow, someway, Sanford has found immediate chemistry with Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron on the second line.

In the four games that Sanford has seen time on the second line, he has recorded at least a point in every game. The forward has three goals and three assists this season and all of them are while playing on the second line.

Sanford brings a unique combination of size, speed, and skill to an already great line with O’Reilly and Perron. This looks like a top line that can go up against any team in the league. Expect these three to be paired together for the foreseeable future.

The only thing I can think of that would split this line up is either an injury or an injured player returning like Fabbri.

The majority of the issues for the Blues have been on defense and spotty goaltending but the way the second line and Sanford are playing for St. Louis, it could help turn the season around in the right direction.