So, as of writing this article, the St. Louis Blues have not officially begun the offseason. The players are mostly all gone, but the playoffs continue without them.
The loss to the Colorado Avalanche still stings. Most fans, including myself, are big enough to admit that the Avs just had more talent.
Why it stings is because the Blues were good enough to knock off Colorado, when they were at their best. The Blues just were not at their best for long enough to get the job done.
Hats off to Colorado for slaying their demons and getting it done. Yet, we swing our own focus back to the Blues and the ever-present hope that an offseason brings.
It is filled with uncertainty, never knowing exactly who will return and who might come in. St. Louis is good enough and has enough roster certainty that we all expect gaps to be filled as opposed to any sort of reset.
In terms of filling the gaps, there are always names. The most popular in town has to be that of Matthew Tkachuk.
Every city does it, but for some odd reason, St. Louis gets a wet dream when one of their own might be playing in their home city. So, beyond just the talent, St. Louisans are frothing at the mouth to bring a Tkachuk back to The Note.
There are definitely reasons why this would be a good idea. Tkachuk has talent, he has age on his side and he’s not fully in his prime.
For all the furor about him being a missing piece, the Blues need to not go down that road – at least not how it’s being presented. As of right now, the Blues would likely need to trade for Tkachuk since he is to be a restricted free agent.
There are three main reasons the Blues need to not explore that option.