Was this pre-season a sign of things to come? Will the St. Louis Blues ultimately miss the playoffs again and have to make more bold moves in the next off season to try and "re-tool" yet again? Will Robert Thomas enter super star status in the eyes of the league? Will a solid goalie tandem be enough to break through and give the city of St. Louis some post season hockey?
All questions that can't be answered yet, so let's dive into how things may shake out in the Blues' 24-25 campaign. First things first; GM Doug Armstrong invested nearly 200 million over recent seasons into the forward core of Thomas, Kyrou, and Buchnevich. It's going to be on those 3 to carry the offensive load this year. If any of them miss time or regress in play, Blues' fans could be in for a long year.
Additions, veteran and young alike, should help bolster that core though. Dylan Holloway and Alexandre Texier should present energy while steady play from Mathieu Jospeh should key a bottom six looking to make an impact in the points race. One thing seems certain though, like last season, the Blues roster still seems to be missing that elite player to rely on. Could it be that Robert Thomas is ready to ascend into the top of the league scoring wise? If that's the case, then perhaps the Blues will be back into contention.
A solid group of blue-liners headline a team looking to be the back bone of a stout and hard to play against unit. Colton Parayko will again be the player that the team looks towards to shut down an opposing team's 1st line. Will Philip Broberg, Scott Perunovich, or Matthew Kessel improve enough to strengthen the three defensive pairings to mitigate the loss of veteran Torey Krug (out for the season)? This could be one of the key question marks in determining how the team fairs.
Lastly, the goalie tandem of Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. Is this a top ten tandem in the league? It appears at least like it certainly could be and that alone should keep St. Louis in the playoff hunt all season long. Add in a coach that is getting his full chance at sticking in the league as a top tier leader (as evidence by his finish at the end of last season) and this season could be in favor of at least a playoff run.
Ultimately though factors must be taken into account, namely that they are in what looks like to be a very competitive and improved division. Playing against such teams could wear on a team like St. Louis that does have it's question marks (as pointed out above). When it comes down to it, the most likely outcome looks like this team will fair much the same as it did last season (where they finsihed 16th out of 32 teams). Will that likelihood present an opportunity to make the playoffs or will it again be the Blues who are on the outside looking in. Either way, it's going to come down to three factors:
1. Robert Thomas staking claim as one of the leagues best players. In order for this team to reach the playoffs, it's going to come from his leadership, point production, and ability to bring the best out of his teammates.
2. A healthy and productive goalie tandem. This is a clear strength of the team and one that it should rely upon all season. Without one or the other (health or play wise) though and the season could quickly come out of hand.
3. Will some of the young defenders step up in Torey Krug's absence? The mentioned players need to step in and step up so that this aspect of team play doesn't falter when the game is on the line.
Bleedin' Blue's final prediction:
More of the same. This season could play out in the 85-95 point range and it could hinge on any one of the above factors in which direction it ends up. A stretch of good play by the young blue liners, a step up in point production by Thomas, and a healthy season from Hofer and Binnington and St. Louis could figure into one of the those last three playoff spots. Without those narratives playing out though and it's back to the lottery.
Let's drop the puck.