TJ Molland: There was little patience in St. Louis to start the season. After missing the playoffs the year before, coach Davis Payne was on the hot seat and needed to prove to management he was the guy to get the job done. After a slow 6 - 7 start Payne was fired and Ken Hitchcock was brought in. The decision seemed to pay off as Hitchcock was just named the winner of the Jack Adams award for coach of the year. He lifted the Blues to the top of the Central Division for the first time since 2000, and through the final week were even in the hunt for the President's trophy. After a quick disposal of the Sharks in the first round of the playoffs the Blues met the eventual Stanley Cup champion LA Kings and were dispatched in a 4 game sweep.
Not how the Blues wanted their season to end but the building blocks that have been put into place finally look like they are ready to achieve what they were expected to. I have a real liking for what the Blues have built. I actually expected them to do much better in 2010/2011 but they let me down a little. Last year they finally proved why I regarded them so highly, and why I think this team is for real.
With lots of cap room and very few people needing to be signed the Blues won't be overly active during free agency, but they will need to sign a few key pieces. TJ Oshie as well as David Perron are restricted free agents and MUST signs. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to re-sign unrestricted free agents Scott Nichol and Carlo Colaiacovo. Keeping this great core at the reasonable price they have them will be the key to the Blues long-term success.
Kyle Reynolds: Their first playoff series win since the 2003-04 season could be the first step in long-term success for the Blues of St. Louis.
It’s hard not to admire the way they’ve built their team through the draft and intelligent signings. They’ve created quite a bit of cap space for themselves, but the Blues aren’t the type to go and spend it all in one place.
Even for a defensive-minded club like St. Louis, you’re going to have a hard time going all the way when your leading scorer finishes with 54 points. A full season from David Perron, Alex Steen, and Andy MacDonald would help. Combine that with the likely arrival of 2010 first round picks Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko and the Blues should be significantly more potent up front. If UFA’s Jamie Langenbrunner and Jason Arnott choose to sign elsewhere, maybe you scoop up a free-agent forward for the bottom 6 (Lee Stempniak fits the bill).
St. Louis may have more quantity then quality when it comes to top-6 forwards, though. Maybe GM Doug Armstrong should be kicking the wheels on a deal to get back-to-back-to-back-to-back 30-goal scorer Bobby Ryan out of Anaheim…
TJ Molland: He certainly would have the pieces to pull of the trade, and with the arrivals of Schwartz and Tarasenko sooner rather than later you have to imagine, they could boast a deep offense with some real fire power. Keep in mind they also have Ty Rattie waiting in the wings, a former 2nd round draft pick who finished third in WHL scoring last year. Lots of talented young scorers that could play a role for this team in the coming years.
If the Blues want some instant help they can trade one of those young guys to get Bobby Ryan. He would provide a shot in the arm for a somewhat weak crop of wingers. Don't get me wrong there is lots of second rate talent on this team, which is how they win games, they are just missing that ELITE goal scorer. When two of your top four scorers are defenseman (Kevin Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo) you aren't exactly threatening to teams. Be thankful you have that offense from the back-end but you cannot be relying on that many goals coming from them.
Goaltending had a lot to do with their success last year (that and allowing a league low 26.7 shots per game). Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak played fantastic during the regular season but didn't exactly replicate that success in the playoffs. Their numbers were skewed I think by Hitchcocks defense first mentality. Point in case (getting my math-hat on):
Halak had a .002 difference in save % this year, than from his last season in Montreal (11/12 STL .926 - 09/10 MTL .924). BUT he had a .43 difference in his GAA (11/12 STL 1.97 - 09/10 MTL 2.40). So what does that mean?
Halak made 2 more saves out of ever 1000 shots he saw.....and it amounted to almost a half a goal against LESS per 60 minutes of play. He faced 175 more shots this year than that season in Montreal and he played an extra game! Very similar to the D-Tipp Effect I spoke of earlier in the Philadelphia post.
Kyle Reynolds: The area St. Louis will most want to shore up through free-agency should be the blueline.
Re-signing Barret Jackman was the obvious first move. The veteran is going into his 11th season with the club, and the 31-year old is worth every bit of the 3-year, $9.5 million dollar offer he accepted and
probably more. The alternate captain has been criticized for his play in the L-A series (he finished -6 over 4 games), but the Kings aggressive forecheck got to most defensemen they faced during their
remarkably dominant run to the Cup. You won’t see him going end-to-end anytime soon (in fact, his one goal this season snapped a 150-game slump. 150!), but he’s hard-nosed; frees up Shattenkirk to roam with
his focus on the defensive side of the game; and is coming off a +20 season, tied for second on the team.
Kent Huskins and Colaiacovo – unrestricted free-agents – are both very solid contributors to the corps. I would place more value in re-signing Huskins personally; he’s more solid in his own zone and
probably cheaper. Colaiacovo is able to offer more offensively, but that’s a skill that’s covered more than adequately with the aforementioned Shattenkirk and Pietrangelo.
If one or both are lost to free-agency, one of Hall Gill or Colin White could add defensive depth and offer additional tooth length to a team that’s still pretty lacking in playoff experience. Two members of their 2007 draft class, Ian Cole and Cade Fairchild, may get the chance to compete for those spots instead.
Perhaps they could use depth in net at the minor-league level, but it’s pretty hard to complain…
TJ Molland: They are very well set up. Top-to-bottom, in ALL positions. You mention depth in net but I think they are fine. With Halak and Elliott signed for a couple more years each they won't need a goalie to push for a roster spot for a while. And then when they do they have Jake Allen who put up reasonable AHL numbers the last two years. Last year they drafted a goalie in the third round, Owen Sound Attack's Jordan Binnington, so even between the pipes they have plenty.
What St. Louis needs to get to the next level is to open up their game. They have proven they can play solid defense, the offense just has to be more aggressive. Once they start scoring at a top ten pace, they have to be considered a legit Stanley Cup contender (not that they aren't already a contender).
Kyle Reynolds: They're definitely in a nice position. If they're unable to produce the kind of offense to take them to the next level, they can package together any number of young prospects to make a pitch for a star.
If the NHLPA quashes league plans to reformat the divisions, we could be seeing a changing of the guard here... Lidstrom's retired, Kane's pulling the Blackhawks down with him, and Nashville's on the verge of
losing one if not both of their star defenseman. The Central could be St. Louis' for the taking.
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