St. Louis Blues: Best And Worst Case Scenarios For 2019-20 Season

With the 2019-20 St. Louis Blues season coming in just a few months, we’ll take a look at some things that could go oh so right, or so terribly wrong.

It’s never easy for an NHL team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, and the St. Louis Blues will be faced with a lot of adversity throughout the year. Teams will be motivated day in and day out when they play St. Louis, and the Blues will need things to break their way in 2020.

Best Case: Jordan Binnington Is Binnington Again

If you were looking for any other best-case scenario to start the article, then you need to reevaluate how desperately the Blues need Binnington to have another great season.

No disrespect to Jake Allen, I have been an Allen apologist for many years and still think he can be a valuable asset as a backup goalie. However, if Binnington can replicate what he did last season, there’s no reason to believe the Blues cannot get back to the Stanley Cup Finals.

A healthy, competitive Binnington can only spell success for St. Louis, and he might be the sole reason why the Blues will or will not have success next season.

In the modern NHL, goaltending can make or break a team’s season. Blues fans know this all too well with Allen’s performances over the last five years.

Worst Case: Jordan Binnington Takes A Step Back

I had to get this one out of the way pretty quickly, and it may be the ultimate worst-case scenario for the upcoming season. It’s hard to go back and determine if Allen was the sole reason why the Blues struggled out of the gate last season, but we don’t want to take that chance again.

We had almost a full season of Binnington between the second half of the regular season, and then 26 more games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he didn’t show signs of slowing down.

One glimmer of hope that we could have if Binnington regresses next season is that Allen has had experience as a number one goalie. However, St. Louis has some goalies in their system that still need seasoning, so Binnington needs to be ready to go on October 2.

Best Case: Jaden Schwartz Rebounds From Lackluster Season

Jaden Schwartz did not have a good season by any means during the regular season, but more than made up for it during the Stanley Cup playoffs and was a prime candidate to take home the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Schwartz played in 69 games for St. Louis last season and was only able to register 11 goals and 25 assists. He somehow finished seventh on the team in points, but that might be more of an indication of the entire team struggling offensively during the season.

If the 27-year-old can get anywhere close to his 25-30 goal scoring potential, the Blues should have no problem getting back into at least the Western Conference Finals again next season.

Worst Case: Pat Maroon‘s Body Is Missed

The Big Rig signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning, ending his brief stint playing for his hometown team. Even though his departure means more playing time for young players, the team may miss his physical presence.

St. Louis has some candidates to be the Blues’ physical presence on the ice in front of the net. Sammy Blais and Mackenzie MacEachern both demonstrated that they could throw their body around at times last season, but it will be hard to replicate Maroon’s presence.

As far as being an enforcer next season, Robert Bortuzzo seems to be the next person in line to fill this role. We’ve seen him drop the gloves before, and will need to step up his game next season.

Best Case: The Young Guns Take The Next Step

The Blues have an abundance of young talent coming through the ranks, especially at the forward position. The team will be looking at Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, and possibly Klim Kostin to step up for the team.

We saw how dominant Thomas could be last season, and the highlight of his short career may have been setting up Maroon’s game seven-goal, but he isn’t the only one who could make an impact.

Kyrou and Kostin will likely need to have stellar preseasons to earn a spot on the team. We saw how dominant Kostin was at the World Junior Championships, and Kyrou has torn up the AHL.

Worst Case: The Boys Are Too Hungover To Play

There’s a really good reason why back-to-back champions are so rare in the NHL. It’s because it takes its toll on the entire roster. Not only is the offseason shorter, but it means that the injured players will have less time to recover.

Ryan O’Reilly somehow won the Conn Smythe while playing with a cracked rib and other notable injuries include Vladimir Tarasenko and the rookie Thomas.

Hopefully, the thrill of winning the Stanley Cup will motivate the team enough to propel them past a potential Stanley Cup hangover, but if this team has any part of the 2019 resiliency, they should be just fine.

It’s likely that any one of these scenarios comes to life when the puck drops on the new season, but the Blues should be equipped with enough depth and talent to overcome any potential issues they run into.