The St. Louis Blues believe they have the pieces in place to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after failing to qualify last season for the first time since 2017-18.
However, after finishing in sixth place in the Central Division with 81 points (37-38-7), 28 fewer than they had in 2021-22 (49-22-11), the question of whether a rebuild is necessary is not far off.
“I say we’re at the 50-yard line and I’m hoping to go towards the offensive zone, not the defensive zone from the 50,” St. Louis General Manager Doug Armstrong said. “I said to a couple of the players … that with [Brayden] Schenn and [Pavel] Buchnevich and [Brandon] Saad and [Jordan] Kyrou and [Robert] Thomas and [Colton] Parayko and [Justin] Faulk and [Nick] Leddy and [Torey] Krug and [Jordan] Binnington, I can’t believe it’s a total rebuild. I don’t think those guys would allow that to happen. They were a part of a snowball that was going downhill that they weren’t able to stop.”
Which is what led to some offseason changes being made, though not what could be called a major overhaul.
The Blues, who allowed 298 goals last season, their most in a season since 1983-84 (316), chose not to bring back assistants Mike Van Ryn and Craig MacTavish. They were replaced by Mike Weber, who will work with the defensemen after spending the past three seasons as an assistant with the Buffalo Sabres’ American Hockey League affiliate in Rochester, and Michael Babcock, who will be a skills coach.
Alexander Steen, who helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup for the first time in their history in 2019, was also hired as a European player development consultant.
“We’re trying to think outside of the box of how we’ve structured over the last couple of years, and we could be back in the same box, but we also could end up a little bit different,” Armstrong said.
The most notable addition to the roster is Kevin Hayes, who was acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on June 27 for a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Last season, the 31-year-old center had 54 points (18 goals, 36 assists) in 81 games and played in the NHL All-Star Game for the first time.
“They have won very recently,” Hayes said on June 28. “They have a great goalie (Binnington), a great D-corps and the nine wingers that they have in their top nine are some of the best in the League. It’s very intriguing and very exciting to be a part of that group.”
Even with the addition of Hayes, if the Blues want to return to the postseason, they will need more out of Kyrou and Thomas, who are each entering the first season of an eight-year, $65 million contract ($8.125 million average annual value).
Although Kyrou led St. Louis in goals (37) and points (73) in 79 games last season, he was also minus-38. Thomas had 65 points (18 goals, 47 assists) in 73 games.
“Obviously, you want to get better in all areas of your game,” Kyrou said. “For me, obviously I want to try and get that consistency with playing harder on the puck and maybe being a lot better defensively in certain areas.”
Binnington will also need to regain his form after he set NHL career worsts in goals-against average (3.31) and save percentage (.894) in 61 games (60 starts) last season.
But that could be easier said than done. Since he burst onto the scene and helped the Blues win the Cup as a rookie in 2019, Binnington’s goals-against average and save percentage have gotten worse each season.
“Not satisfied,” Binnington said. “In saying that, I feel I’m good. … I try not to think too far ahead. I try to stay in the present moment, and I did that throughout the season (last year) and really took things on, felt them good or bad and will continue to take that with me moving forward and just continue to evolve.”
One final point of emphasis for the Blues will be their special teams. They were tied for 22nd in the NHL on the power play and 30th on the penalty kill (72.4) last season after ranking second and fifth, respectively, in 2021-22.
“Listen, the penalty kill did not get off to the right foot,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “We actually got it going in the right direction for a long time. It’s hard to climb back up when you start off that bad, but we were really trending in the right direction. I believe that we will get that penalty kill straightened out. … Again, it’s like defense, it’s a mindset. It’s hard to do penalty killing. It’s a tough job. Defending’s a tough job. Everybody wants to play with the puck and make plays and score goals, but defense is very important, and it’s hard to win without playing good defense and penalty kill. They go hand in hand.”
All of that may sound like a lot to address, but Armstrong is confident the Blues can get it done and accomplish their goals this season.
“I’m not going to be shocked if we’re in the playoffs next year, and I’m not going to be shocked if we do damage next year in the playoffs,” he said.
