With 5:55 left in the second period on Saturday, Colton Parayko recorded a shot on goal for the St. Louis Blues with a 25-foot wrist shot from the high slot. The shot was stopped, and this play would likely be forgotten as soon as it was over for most, as it really wasn't remarkable. Unfortunately for the Blues, Parayko's entire start to the year has been unremarkable and forgettable - that shot on goal was his first in six full games.
2024 Parayko vs 2025 Parayko - Two different players
Last season, Parayko was incredible on both the offensive and defensive ends. Defensively, this is what Blues fans have come to expect of the 6-foot-6-inch defenseman. Offensively, however, this was a breakout year. Colt put up 16 goals and 36 pts, both career highs, in a year that he played just 64 games due to injury. Throughout the first half of the season, he was undoubtedly the Blues best skater and kept the team afloat long enough for the squad to finally figure it out and go on their excellent end of season run.
This year, Parayko has put up no goals and just six total points in 19 games - a sharp step back from his production last year. While some regression was likely inevitable, this steep drop-off is incredibly detrimental to the Blues and points to some larger issues with the team.
First, it's important to simply recognize that missing that offensive production is going to hurt the team at face value. Having fewer goals and fewer assists from anyone is never a good thing. More importantly, though, it's the reason why that production is gone that is the bigger problem for the organization.
Why is Parayko changing his playstyle?
Parayko is and always has been a defense-first defenseman. He hasn't been able to put himself in forward positions to score because of the Blues biggest problem - goaltending. With Hofer and Binnington both looking shaky and downright bad at times, No. 55 likely feels more of a responsibility to prevent breakaways or odd-man rushes in order to help out his struggling goalies. In doing so, he is less inclined to join the team on the rush, less likely to push the puck himself from the blue line, and much more likely to try to play conservatively and act as a safety net for the team in those situations.
How can the Blues fix it?
In order to get the offensively opportunistic and all-around star back to last year's form, we need to see an improvement in between the pipes. When a defense feels that they can't make any mistakes or else the puck will be in the back of their net, it handcuffs offensive creativity due to that more conservative playstyle that inevitably becomes the default. It boils down to whether or not one of Joel Hofer and Jordan Binnington can prove that they are able to consistently make saves and, at times, bail out an overly aggressive play. If they can, we should see Colton Parayko return to the more dynamic player that Blues fans love.