The St. Louis Blues were the best team during the 2018-19 season, and some key components of that team were added on the first day of free agency.
The St. Louis Blues acquired both Tyler Bozak and David Perron a year ago today, and both were instrumental in the team’s success last season. The only swing and miss move that general manager Doug Armstrong made was signing goaltender Chad Johnson.
However, with the acquisitions of Bozak and Perron, Armstrong proved that the first day of free agency could be crucial to a team’s season. St. Louis was also able to acquire Ryan O’Reilly on July 1, but the team acquired him via trade.
Fans often make hasty remarks about moves that a team does not make and are often slow to appreciating when a move works out like it was intended.
More from Editorials
- St. Louis Blues Need Kasperi Kapanen To Be On Best Behavior
- Hayes’ Debut And Other Bold Predictions for the St. Louis Blues
- St. Louis Blues Captaincy Is Suddenly A Huge Problem For 2023-24
- St. Louis Blues National Games Cause More Problems Than They’re Worth
- St. Louis Blues Brayden Schenn Has To Be An Impact Player In 2023-24
Perron signed a four-year $16 million contract last season, and he was worth every penny. Before missing two months with an injury, Perron was on pace to shatter his career high in every offensive category.
Despite playing in only 57 games during the regular season, Perron finished fourth on the team in points with 46.
This is an incredibly low number for a second line player on a Stanley Cup winning team, but this is more of an indication of how the team was performing during the first half of the season.
Perron’s offensive input did not end after the final regular season game. Perron played in all 26 postseason games for St. Louis and finished fifth on the team with 16 points. The 31-year-old also finished third on the team in goals with seven.
Despite pushing Blues fans to pull their hair out of their head with so many offensive zone penalties, the Perron signing played a key role in the Blues’ ability to have sustained success deep into the summer.
Only O’Reilly matched Bozak’s input on the team in terms of the style of play Bozak brought to the Blues. Bozak signed a three year $15 million deal after spending his entire career with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 33-year-old forward is not the offensive-minded forward that he had shown early in his career. However, he demonstrated how important he can be in all aspects of the game.
None more noticeable than his faceoff abilities. Paired with O’Reilly, the Blues had two of the best at winning faceoffs.
Only O’Reilly rivaled Bozak’s faceoff ability on the Blues roster. Bozak won 54.3% of the faceoffs he took throughout the season, finishing second behind O’Reilly’s 56.9%.
We saw Bozak play in every situation for St. Louis and took some of the biggest faceoffs of the season during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He also centered the Blues best line for the first two rounds of the playoffs and was a big reason why the Blues were able to get past the Stars in the second round.
The combination of Bozak, Robert Thomas, and Pat Maroon was the best line the Blues had. Playing primarily with Thomas and Maroon, Bozak registered 13 points in 26 games for St. Louis.
Doug Armstrong should have won GM of the Year at the NHL Awards a few weeks back. There is a very short list of signings and trades that have not gone the Blues way in recent years, and he showed us how vital free agency can be.