2019 was a beautiful year. The St. Louis Blues won in an edge-of-your-seat game seven match against the Boston Bruins to earn their first Stanley Cup Championship.
The stars came out to play, with Ryan O’Reilly and Alex Pietrangelo scoring goals, along with Brayden Schenn and Zach Sanford. With a 4-1 win in game seven, the St. Louis Blues rose to become champions.
How does the current St. Louis Blues team match up against the 2019 squad?
Regarding postseason play, the St. Louis Blues have neglected to make the playoffs the past two years, but in regular season play, there are some intriguing similarities and drastic differences.
In 2018-19, Ryan O’Reilly led the Blues with 77 points, followed by Vladimir Tarasenko at 68 points and Brayden Schenn with 54 points.
Goalies Jake Allen and Jordan Binnington led the way, with Binnington’s emergence as a star highlighting a regular season save percentage of .927 (2018-19).
The playoffs brought the best out of the 2019 Blues, as Ryan O’Reilly scored 8 goals, Jaden Schwartz 12 goals and Vladimir Tarasenko 11.
Robert Thomas led the current Blues squad with 86 points, Jordan Kyrou with 67 points, and Pavel Buchnevich with 63 points.
Notably, in terms of points, the current team and its three best players were superior to the 2019 squad.
Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer also played very well in goaltending this season, with Binnington’s .913 SV% and Joel Hofer’s .914 SV%.
In the regular season, the Blues finished with 99 points during the 2018-19 campaign, concluding with a 45-28-9 performance.
This year, the Blues had 92 points and a 43-33-6 record.
Analytics argue for patience from the St. Louis Blues fans
Although it may come as a surprise to St. Louis Blues fans, their current team demonstrates a strong performance in analytics, potentially even outperforming the 2019 squad.
There are also reasons for further encouragement. Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou are both young players, notably younger than O’Reilly was.
Thomas’s regular season performance outshined any player in the 2018-19 season.
It should be taken into account that the argument might not hold any weight since the playoffs did not materialize.
Nevertheless, there are reasons to be encouraged. The average age of the 2019 squad was 27; now, it is 26.
Likewise, some holdovers exist. Players such as Brayden Schenn and Colton Parayko know what it takes to win, and their leadership and veteran presence could be more useful than ever before.
Don't throw in the towel, Blues fans. The current squad deserves more credit than they get.