Tyler Bozak epically stated after signing with the St. Louis Blues last offseason, “…Even though I was fortunate enough to accomplish some great things in Toronto, I never got the one thing I’ve always really wanted. The Stanley Cup. I want to win a Cup. So damn bad. That’s why I signed in St. Louis. There’s your headline. Print it.”
Welcome, Tyler Bozak! Move over Nostradamus! The St. Louis Blues have their own seer and fortune teller, and they need to ask Bozak what he sees this season now. Ok, that doesn’t necessarily spell out a Joe Namath like prediction, but it’s pretty close, right?
Bozak became of the key cogs in the St. Louis Blues playoff run to a franchise first Stanley Cup. He did so centering a fan favorite third line comprised of himself, hometown hero, Pat Maroon, and rising star, then-rookie, Robert Thomas.
Bozak’s third line was the decisive factor that sent the Blues to the Conference Finals over the Dallas Stars capping it off with the epic game seven overtime goal from Maroon that was set up by the rookie Thomas.
They combined for nine points that series, which is good but doesn’t quite do justice the puck possession dominance that line had in that series most games.
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Bozak’s season overall was respectable, especially considering the slow start the entire team, sans Ryan O’Reilly, had.
Bozey averaged 16:20 in TOI, had 13g 25As, 38pts and a -3 in plus/minus during the regular season. In the playoffs, he rattled off 5Gs, 8As, 2 GWGs and was a -2 in 26 games.
Over his entire career, he has amassed 149Gs, 254As, -81 with 112PPP over 666 games.
Bozak has been throughout his career a real steady Eddy. He has never been named to an All-Star team, but he’s made a name for himself as a 200ft centerman that can play on the powerplay and kill penalties. His best season was 2016-2017 when he amassed 55pts on the season.
Pretty easy to guess what Bozey will do for the Blues this upcoming season. Assuming he continues to get some power play time, I expect Bozak to come in the 15G range and maybe, optimistically with the maturation of Thomas playing his wing, reach the 20G plateau.
Bozak playing with Thomas the Tank Engine on the wing could bode well for the two-way center, especially if prospect Jordan Kyrou makes the club as the last piece to the third line.
I will say this on record if the Blues start slow Bozak will get traded to a contender. I don’t expect the Blues to stink up the joint like they started last season, but championship hangovers are real.
If the Blues suffer one of these then I see Bozak on the trade wire as he is a two-way centerman that most teams look for and he has a fairly comfortable cap hit at $5 mil a season.
With the likes of O’Reilly already a top centerman in the league, and the expectations of Robert Thomas coming into this season I could see Bozak getting moved and Schenn being resigned as the other top centerman on this team going forward.
I don’t foresee this happening as the Blues truly are primed to be contenders right out of the gate and, as I mentioned in another article, I believe they have the opportunity to be a team of the decade. We will need Bozey to be Bozey and continue to aid in the development of Tommy the Tank Engine.
We don’t need Bozak to be a 20+ goal scorer or a 70pt guy. We would happily take it, of course! No, Bozak will have a solid season with 15-20G, 25-35A, and hover around the -3 mark for 2019-2020. I think the points for him go higher depending on the play of Thomas, and if Kyrou effectively makes the jump to the NHL this season.