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Blues hold serve, will select 16th in 2024 NHL Draft

Tue, 05/07/2024 - 6:19pm

ST. LOUIS -- There were no surprises when it came to the NHL Draft Lottery, including that for the St. Louis Blues.

The NHL Draft Lottery was held late Tuesday afternoon and the San Jose Sharks won the lottery, which means they will likely make Macklin Celebrini out of Boston University as the No. 1 overall pick at the 2024 NHL Draft, which will take place at The Sphere in Las Vegas June 28-29.

View the original article to see embedded media.

The Blues positions did not change for any of the 16 participants, including that of the Blues, who remained at No. 16; they had a 0.5 percent chance at winning the lottery.

Last season, the Blues, who will have a first, two seconds, two thirds, a fourth, a fifth and two seventh-round picks in this year's draft barring any trades, had three first-round picks and took center Dalibor Dvorsky at No. 10, center Otto Stenberg at No. 25 and defenseman Theo Lindstein at No. 29.

Aside from last season, it's the highest the Blues will pick since taking Zack Bolduc at No. 17 in 2021.

Drew Bannister named 27th coach in Blues history

Tue, 05/07/2024 - 1:19pm

ST. LOUIS -- Drew Bannister exuded the necessary confidence when the St. Louis Blues were conducting their exit interviews three weeks ago.

It had nothing to do with arrogance; it was just a simple task of feeling good about the job Bannister did as interim coach that ultimately removed that tag from his job title on Tuesday when the Blues announced Bannister was hired as the 27th coach in franchise history, getting a two-year contract.

Bannister, who was 30-19-5 after taking over for the fired Craig Berube on Dec. 12, 2023, spoke in terms of 'we' and 'us' when speaking about the future of the Blues, as if he knew, or at least had the confidence he would ultimately land the job.

In the end, even after general manager Doug Armstrong said Bannister was a finalist for the job, the 50-year-old got the job.

"I believe in myself and the process that I've gone through for almost nine, 10 years now as a coach and continue to grow and continue to be better," Bannister said on Tuesday. "When I talk about 'we' and 'us,' I think it's important for a coach to at the end of the day, we're a little bit in the background for the coaches and the staff and it's about the players and it's about the organization, it's about the fans. It's not about me. It's something that I learned not only as a player but as a coach. I think it's important to point out the fact that it is 'we' and 'us.' That being said, for my development and process, I'm proud of where I am, but certainly there's a lot of work to be done moving forward and I continue to grow as a coach."

Armstrong had a short list of candidates and even said he wanted to hold off on naming Bannister immediately for the chance to speak to everyone on that list, including some that were still employed due to being in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It is believed that one of them would have been Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, who even with one year remaining on his contract there, could have been let go had the Bruins blown a second straight 3-1 series lead in the opening round. But the Bruins won Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs this past Saturday and quite frankly, ended that speculation.

Montgomery was an assistant coach in St. Louis under Berube before being hired as Bruins coach in 2022.

"When Drew got here, I hadn't really worked with him a lot in the American Hockey League and then getting to watch him, how he runs a practice, how he treats and commands respect from the players in general, how our team played a little bit differently and then you're just looking to say, 'Is there anything better out there? Is there something different that we're missing,'" Armstrong said. "We just came back to our group that Drew had done what we asked him to do. We see progression. We see someone that's earned the right to take the reigns and we move forward.

Bannister met with several of Armstrong's inner circle in management, including Alex Steen, Scott Mellanby and Peter Chiarelli.

"That process was over a day, about a seven-hour interview with all those three people and the continuing conversations with myself and Doug over the last month or so leading up to the offer of the job," Bannister said.

"Doug and I have been talking over the last week or so when he was over in Europe and this past weekend," Bannister said. "He had offered me the job. Obviously for me, an exciting moment. Something that I had been working towards and something that I wanted for myself, for my family moving forward, and certainly to be a part of the Blues organization. When I came in and took over on an interim basis, that was something for me, not only having success while I was there in an interim basis but also the process of going through that process and giving myself the opportunity to be interviewed and looked upon as the head coach of the St. Louis Blues."

Under Bannister, the Blues climbed from 23rd to 12th in goals-against per game (2.87), 31st to 13th in power play (22.8 percent) and 20th to 13th in penalty kill (79.4 percent),

The Blues finished 43-33-6 this past season, good for 92 points, an 11-point improvement from a season ago but missing out on the playoffs for the second straight season.

"When you come in under the circumstances I did, it can be difficult," Bannister said. "I felt I managed that very well. Luckily for me, I did have relationships with a lot of the young players that I continue to build on. Certainly building relationships with the veteran players, the leadership group was a key part for me. Moving forward, that's going to be a big part of my summer plan is reaching out to those guys and continue to build on those relationships. That's extremely important as a coach to have those relationships with your players, with your leadership group. I think that's the main focus for me right now. Obviously tactically, we're going to sit back here and watch the playoffs, and I think it's important to be able to digest that while it happens. I look at our deficiencies within our game, thinks that we can continue to improve on. We'll meet back end of June, early July and start to get to work on those things that we find out."

When Berube, who was the interim coach when the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019, was fired following a 6-4 loss against the Detroit Red Wings, the Blues' fourth straight loss dropping them to 13-14-1. Bannister was brought up from Springfield of the American Hockey League and implemented his style as best as he could, and Armstrong said after the season the 50-year-old "was expending on his resume."

"I would say the last couple days, since the season ended, I got with my inner circle of guys that I make these decisions with," Armstrong said. "We talked about different people, to different people and came back to Drew as being the proper candidate to move forward with. We're excited to have him here. I thought he did a good job in a difficult situation last year and now having a full training camp and two-year term to put his stamp on this team, we're looking forward to that."

As for assistant coaches Steve Ott, Mike Weber, David Alexander and Michael Babcock are all expected to return.

"When I was going through this process with Drew, he told me he was excited about working with these guys again, and all indications are they will all be back," Armstrong said. "That's his recommendation to me, and that's my goal. They all have contracts, so that's going to be easy to do. I did say that we're open to adding someone if he wants. I want him to work with his staff and know exactly what he needs. We want to bring the right person in if we add somebody, and that's something he and I can work on now moving forward.

"Again, you want to do things in the proper, chronological order. One was to hire the head coach and now the next thing is, he likes his co-workers, and if he wants to add to that, we're certainly open to that as an organization."

Bannister named 27th coach in Blues history

Tue, 05/07/2024 - 9:43am

ST. LOUIS -- The interim tag no more belongs to Drew Bannister; he is now the coach moving forward of the St. Louis Blues.

The Blues announced Tuesday morning they have signed a two-year contract with Bannister to make him the 27th head coach in franchise history.

The 50-year-old was originally named the interim head coach on Dec. 12, 2023 after Craig Berube was fired following a 6-4 loss against the Detroit Red Wings, the Blues' fourth straight loss dropping them to 13-14-1.

In 54 games, Bannister led the Blues to a 30-19-5 record, which was the 12th-best points percentage in the league, including 18-9-2 record at Enterprise Center.

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong will speak at 11 a.m. today, followed by Bannister at 11:15.

Stay tuned for more ...

Hayes, Kessel named to USA roster for 2024 IIHF World Championship

Sun, 05/05/2024 - 10:36am

ST. LOUIS -- USA Hockey announced on Sunday St. Louis Blues forward Kevin Hayes and defenseman Matthew Kessel have been added to the United States roster for the 2024 IIHF World Championship.

The tournament will take place May 10-26 in Ostrava and Prague, Czechia.

Hayes, from Dorchester, Massachusetts, will be making his third appearance for Team USA at the World Championships; he also was a member in 2014 and 2017.

View the original article to see embedded media.

Last season with the Blues, Hayes had 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) in 79 games.

Kessel, from Scottsdale, Arizona, will be making his Team USA debut after playing in his NHL rookie season; he had seven points (one goal, six assists) in 39 regular-season games for the Blues.

Kessel was originally drafted by the Blues in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft.

They will compete, should the countries face one another, against Blues teammates Jordan Binnington, Colton Parayko and Joel Hofer, each who was named to Canada's roster on Friday.

St. Louis Blues free agent wish list: 2024

Sun, 05/05/2024 - 9:00am

ST. LOUIS -- With the St. Louis Blues needing to make improvements to their roster in order to make the next step in order to reclaim a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they're going to stick to their process of mainly building from within.

But in order to try and perhaps expedite that process, they can do it by targeting free agents when the shopping period opens on July 1.

Free agents the St. Louis Blues could target for 2024-25 (5:08)

General manager Doug Armstrong made it perfectly clear at his exit interview with the media at the conclusion of the season that, "We can look to be prudent in the free agent market."

In other words, they won't spend lavishly. But the Blues are expected to gain roughly $9 million in cap space with the departure of their UFAs, none of which are projected to be retained, and depending on how much the salary cap rises, and the going word is it will increase roughly $5 million, there will be some money to be spent wisely at their disposal.

Of course there's also potential trades to consider that could affect what cap they have, not there will be funds available.

Everyone would love to pull put their rod and reel and set the hook on Jake Guentzel and/or Sam Reinhart, and there are others that the Blues, who were 43-33-6 this past season, would love to make but simply won't be able to afford, but let's take a look at some of the free agents that could be appealing to what they're trying to accomplish (of course, this is pending they don't re-sign with their current clubs):

* Jake DeBrusk, RW, Bruins:

If I'm the Blues, I'm all in on DeBrusk.

The Blues could use a scoring winger in their top six. DeBrusk, 27, fits the bill.

A left-handed shot the plays on his off-wing, one that drives the net, goes to the scoring areas, has bite to his game, forechecks, plays the net front on the power play.

He would be an excellent complement to Jake Neighbours in some of those areas.

DeBrusk is in that age that falls right into the Blues' lap. He's played seven seasons, and in each of those full 82-game schedules outside the 2020-21 COVID season, DeBrusk has put up at least 16 goals; he had 19 goals and 21 points this season after going for a career-tying high 27 goals, 23 assists the previous season.

DeBrusk's two-year contract paid him an average annual of $4 million. He falls into the Brayden Schenn department as far as potential term, but my projection is 5-6 years at $5.5-$6 million, it could be the biggest fish for the Blues to haul in.

DeBrusk is listed at 6-foot, 188 pounds and would be a perfect fit.

* Elias Lindholm, C, Canucks:

OK, this one might be a stretch considering what Lindholm will likely get on the open market, but I've maintained for the past two seasons now: when you have to move Pavel Buchnevich to the middle to make your top six work, you have a sizeable hole.

The Blues could use a second-line center behind Robert Thomas, and Lindholm would more than fit the bill.

Lindholm is coming off a rather down season (44 points; 15 goals, 29 assists) in 75 games with the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks but just two seasons ago, he had career highs in points (82) and goals (40). He's exceptional in the face-off circle (55.5 percent in 49 games with the Flames, 58.7 percent in 26 games with the Canucks), including 53.5 percent for his career and is also very well-respected defensively.

Lindholm is in that Buchnevich range for a contract, and the 29-year-old (6-1, 195) is coming off a six-year contract that paid him $4.85 million AAV.

There's a risk at giving Lindholm seven years, especially on the back end of it, and at the AAV he's likely to command ($7-$8 million) but this would solve a lot of the Blues' issues down the middle.

Like I said, this one is a stretch, but let's not rule it out, and after all, he's a Swede, and Alex Steen is helping the Blues corner the market on his fellow countrymen.

* Sean Monahan, C, Jets:

Monahan would be a more realistic scenario for a 2-3 center for me, if the Blues were to go down that road.

He'll be 30 when the new season starts, but unlike Lindholm, you could probably fetch him for two, perhaps three years, maybe four if you want to stretch it, at, say, $3-$3.5 million per season.

Monahan is coming off a one-year, $2 million contract he signed with the Montreal Canadiens before being traded to the Winnipeg Jets; he scored 26 goals, the most since scoring 34 with the Flames in 2018-19, and had 59 points in 83 games (49 with the Canadiens, 34 with the Jets) after two tough seasons, one in Montreal and one in Calgary.

Monahan also plays with some bite in his game along with the scoring. At 6-2, 202, he fits the bill of a scoring center with size, and he's another exceptional face-off guy (54.7 percent with the Jets, 55 percent with the Canadiens), 51 percent for his career.

This falls in line more so with the Blues could do if they allocate their funds wisely rather that swing for the fence with Lindholm.

* Chandler Stephenson, C/LW, Golden Knights:

I like this player, simply for his versatility of being able to play center or the wing, in the mold of a Schenn.

Stephenson is 30 and has really come into his own since being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights by the Washington Capitals in 2020.

Stephenson has scored 67 goals in four seasons in Vegas, including 15 goals, 35 assists in 75 games this season. I like his size (6-0, 208) for the position, his ability to check, also good in the circle (52.6 percent this past season, which also happens to be his career number in nine seasons).

Stephenson's four-year contract paid him $2.75 million AAV and could probably be had in the 3-4 year range for ... $3.3 million, give or take? Might be worth a flier.

* Dakota Joshua, C/LW, Canucks:

A Dakota Joshua reunion in St. Louis? Why not.

When the Blues acquired Joshua from the Toronto Maple Leafs for future considerations in 2019, it took some time, but once he made an imprint on the NHL club, you could see the size, physicality, grit and sandpaper Joshua brought to the table. He needed to get a chance at a regular role, which he has most definitely gotten with the Vancouver Canucks since signing a two-year contract for $1.65 million AAV two years ago.

But something Joshua, 27, learned after leaving St. Louis was how to score; he posted a career-high 18 goals, 14 assists and 32 points in 63 games this season. So not only did Joshua continue his forechecking, physical nature when he went to British Columbia, but he found a scoring touch up there, scoring 32 goals in two seasons.

Joshua could fit into a bottom-six role again, playing more of a third-line role. He will be paid this offseason after putting up career numbers. Would Joshua interest the Blues if they could get him for 3-4 years at $2.5-$3 million per season, I'd think they would have to look at that.

Joshua would most definitely not turn down a reunion in St. Louis. After all, the Blues are the ones that gave him his shot, but the Canucks would be foolish to let him get away. We'll see.

* Tyler Bertuzzi, RW, Maple Leafs:

As far as free agents are concerned, I would see Bertuzzi, 29, as a secondary or even a third option behind DeBrusk as far as the Blues would be concerned.

Bertuzzi, a left-hand shot that plays the right side, would fill a number of the needs of a top-six winger, power play player, scorer, forechecker. He had 21 goals and 22 assists in 80 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season after signing a one-year, $5 million contract.

I would walk away if Bertuzzi's contract demands were anything more than 4-5 years; he took a one-year, prove-it contract in Toronto this season after a tough go of it splitting last season with the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins.

This player is only two years removed from 30 goals and 62 points in 68 games and could help a Blues middling power play.

If Bertuzzi would take 4-5 years at, say, $5.5 million AAV, I'd be inclined to look.

* Brett Pesce, D, Hurricanes:

Love, love, love the way this guy plays the game.

He's not going to get you gobs of points from the blue line, but he defends and prevents pucks from going into your net.

Going after this player would be predicated on if the Blues are able to move one of their defensemen via trade, otherwise you can forget about him. But as a right-handed shot, wouldn't someone like this be a terrific safety valve for someone like Torey Krug?

Pesce (6-3, 206) is 29 and will turn 30 early next season and he is a little longer in the tooth as far as experience (nine seasons, all with the Carolina Hurricanes), and he has averaged 20 or more minutes average per game in each of the past eight seasons, but he comes from a winning organization

Pesce finished up a six-year contract that paid him $4.025 million AAV and if you are to trade one of your blue liners and get him for 5-6 years at $5.5-$6 million per season, the Blues should be interested.

* Sean Walker, D, Avalanche:

Also love this guy's game, and he's probably more reasonable to sign that Pesce is.

Considered a little undersized (5-11, 196) but he hardly plays like it. Physical, strong, can contribute offense (10 goals, 19 assists in 81 games with the Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche) when needed.

I like the fact he can play both the left and the right side despite being a right hand shot.

Again, all predicated on the Blues moving a blue liner, which proved to be hard last summer.

Walker, 29, turns 30 early in the season and is coming off a very reasonable $2.65 million AAV and will want a longer-termed contract than the two years he just got. He'll get it, but if I'm the Blues, I'd be very interested if you can have him for 3-4 years at $4-4.5 AAV per season.

* Joel Edmundson, D, Maple Leafs:

Another reunion? Why the heck not?

The Blues know Edmundson, he knows the Blues. We all know what he brings: physicality, strong on pucks, strong stick. The Blues have missed his presence since he was traded to Carolina in the Justin Faulk deal in 2020.

My only concern is Edmundson, a left-handed shot who could replace Marco Scandella, has been injury-prone the past four seasons with various elements, but that's the nature of it considering the way he plays.

Edmundson, drafted in the second round of the 2011 NHL Draft by the Blues, is 30 now and I'd be included not to take a flyer if he's looking for 5-7 years on his next contract, but at 3-4 at say, the AAV ($3.5 million) or slightly higher he thinks he's going to get, I'd look into it. Otherwise, best of luck.

* David Perron, RW, Red Wings:

Really? A fourth reunion? A fourth?

It's like the 35-year-old marries and divorces the same woman multiple times, only to get it right the fourth time!

But you know what, this is more than just a sentimental signing for me. Perron, who turns 36 on May 28, would instantaneously be a leader in this locker room. He knows many of the players, knows the systems and simply put, knows St. Louis. Period.

I still to this day don't think the Blues should have let him go two years ago ($4.75 million AAV) because he still produces (17 goals, 30 assists in 76 games), and produces on special teams (seven power-play goals, 17 assists), something the Blues have lacked since he left.

I could picture Perron still being effective as a third-line forward, second line if needed, still in top shape, still play an effective role. You can never have enough leadership, and he would most definitely provide it.

What would it take? The Blues didn't go two years like the Red Wings did two years ago. Would they do it now? I don't think it's unreasonable but probably not at the AAV he got. I would go $3-$3.5 million per season.

I can only imagine Blues' fan reaction if there was this possibility again.

* Pat Maroon, LW/RW, Bruins:

Another reunion? Bring the 'Big Rig' home for the final time? I say yes from a couple perspectives: leadership and physicality.

The Blues don't have an enforcer, per say, and could use someone with those tendencies.

At 36, is Maroon going to be a difference-maker? No. But will be bring intangibles that galvanize a room, galvanize a team? Most definitely.

The Boston Bruins acquired him late in the season from the Minnesota Wild just for those very reasons.

Maroon made $1 million in each of the past two seasons on his expiring contract and won't want more than that (well sure he'll take it if you offer it), and if you can fetch him for another 1-2 years around that price, why not if he can get you 10-20 points and eats up 8-12 minutes ice time on a fourth-line role.

* Patrick Kane, RW, Red Wings:

OK, hold on, just hear me out on this. There's a caveat.

I'm only including the 35-year-old Chicago Blackhawks villain here under one condition: only, and only if, the Blues were interested in hiring Joel Quenneville as the head coach, don't you think one of the best America-born players would be intrigued by the thought of being reunited with the bench boss Kane had in winning three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks?

Listen, first of all, Quenneville still to this day hasn't been reinstated by the league and may not, so then it all becomes a moot point. But if he does, and if there's mutual interest by both sides here in St. Louis, don't you think Quenneville would want Armstrong to jump at the chance of getting one of, if not the greatest players he's ever coached?

Yes, Kane is 35 and turns 36 in November, but when he signed the one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings and played in 50 games, he still averaged nearly a point per game (47 points; 20 goals, 27 assists). He still plays high minutes (averaged 18:22 this season), scored seven game-winners including three in overtime and would most definitely be able to play in the top six and be a big factor on the power play.

I'm OK offering Kane, even at his advanced age, two years in the neighborhood of $4.5-$5 million.

Now if the Quenneville stuff dies down and he doesn't get hired here, then toss this all in the waste basket. But if he does, can you imagine this scenario? Kane wearing a Bluenote? That would be one helluva sight, wouldn't it?

* Steven Stamkos, RW, Lightning:

OK, this is such a longshot, but you know what, I'll throw the longtime Tampa Bay Lightning captain's name in the ring.

This dude, at 34, can still play at a high level. He just scored 40 goals and had 81 points in 79 games for Tampa this season. Can you imagine that one-timer in the left circle with Robert Thomas feeding him? Can you imagine that shot with either Thomas or whoever is the No. 2 center next season?

I've always been a big Stamkos fan, and I still think the Lightning keep him there for the duration of his career, but if he hits the open market, I can see him getting 3-4 years at $6-$6.5 million after wrapping up an eight-year, $68 million contract ($8.5 million AAV).

Lot's of possibilities here, still a guy that produces at a high level. I don't see a sliver of optimism of this happening here, but it's OK to daydream about it, isn't it?

* Matt Gryzelcyk, D, Bruins:

Another left-handed defenseman that has some bite to his game that the Blues could use, and another one that would be predicated on the Blues moving some real estate out of their stall.

The 30-year-old, who faced the Blues in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, plays a very steady-sound game from the left side and doesn't cost a ton.

Gryzelcyk made nearly $3.7 million AAV and won't command much more than that, say, $4-$4.5 million per?

His offense slipped last season to 11 points, but the Blues wouldn't be bringing Gryzelcyk here to become the next Bobby Orr.

* Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Panthers:

Now this would be an addition to the blue line that's primary focus is on improving the offense through its defense.

OEL is 32 and would be a risky signing for long-term years, but after playing out his eight-year, $66 million ($8.25 million AAV) contract, perhaps OEL wouldn't be as inclined to follow the money around and take a friendly deal with a winning team, say for three seasons for $3.5 million, I'd do it.

OEL, who had nine goals and 23 assists in 80 games, is still a dangerous offensive-defenseman with a left-handed shot. And he's another Swede Alex Steen can corral.

There are others I could have included on this list, but realistically felt they'd be out of the Blues price list.

Trades and those sorts of things will also play a role in how the Blues go in attacking free agency, but this is a premise of some targets the Blues could look at. Keep in mind, the Blues may not have access to any/all of these players should they re-sign before free agency. Stay tuned.

Binnington, Parayko, Hofer named to Canada's roster for 2024 IIHF World Championship

Fri, 05/03/2024 - 2:53pm

ST. LOUIS -- Hockey Canada announced on Friday it has added a trio of St. Louis Blues to their roster, goalies Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer, and defenseman Colton Parayko, its roster for the 2024 IIHF World Championship.

The tournament will take place from May 10-26 in Prague and Ostrava, and Czechia.

Binnington, from Richmond Hill, Ontario, will be making his second appearance for Team Canada. Hofer, from Winnipeg, returns for a second straight season (third overall) to try and help Canada defend its gold medal, and Parayko, from St. Albert, Alberta, is making his third appearance.

View the original article to see embedded media.

Last season, his seventh with the Blues, Binnington made 55 starts and finished 10th in the NHL with 28 wins (28-21-5) and 14th with a .913 save percentage among goalies with 20 games played. Currently ranked third on the franchise’s all-time wins list, he has a career record of 145-94-31, a 2.79 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.

Last season was Hofer's rookie season in the NHL; he was 15-12-1 and ranked second among rookie goalies in save percentage (.914) and third in goals-against average (2.65) among those with a minimum 10 games played.

Jordan Binnington (50) and Joel Hofer (right) will team up once again for Canada at the IIHF World Championship in Prague ad Ostrava, Czechia May 10-26; they will be joined by Blues teammate and defenseman Colton Parayko.

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Hofer is a two-time gold medalist with Canada, including the 2020 World Junior Championship and the 2023 World Championship.

Last season, Parayko's his ninth with the Blues, he dressed in all 82 regular-season games and tied a career high with 10 goals (26 points).

Parayko was part of the silver medal-wining squad with Canada at the 2017 World Championship.

The Hockey News Archive

Grading the 2023-24 St. Louis Blues

Thu, 05/02/2024 - 9:00am

ST. LOUIS -- Remember these words from a season ago when the St. Louis Blues sustained a major dip in point-production from one season to the next:

How the mighty have fallen, and the Blues, who recently completed the 2022-23 season at 37-38-7, a 28-point fall from 109 points to 81, out of the playoffs and left talking about how the culture needs to get back to what it was after feeling like it slipped.

2023-24 St. Louis Blues Report Card (3:31)

Yeah, there were some players that spoke publicly that didn't like not only the fall from grace of being among the playoff teams in the Western Conference, but also from the culture that had failed them. There was major work that needed to be done.

The objective from management was simple: they were equipping themselves for a retool all the while trying to remain relevant, ingratiating their prospects and next generation of players in with the current veterans.

It worked to a extent. They improved from 81 points last season to 43-33-6, good for 92 points this season and being eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention after Game No. 80.

The culture in the room was improved, under the leadership of new captain Brayden Schenn and the leadership group, a number of players improved their play from a season ago and the Blues, who fell to the bottom third of the league a season ago, trudged their way back into the middle of the pack, now have to keep climbing that hill they fell down last year.

So with the 2023-24 season now in the books, I'll offer my grades for this season's Blues, including Doug Armstrong and Drew Bannister (thanks to hockey-reference.com for the numbers), the coaching staff and management (and I won't delve too deep into these capsules!):

Forwards:

Robert Thomas -- OK, this finally became Thomas' chance to be THE GUY. With the trade of Ryan O'Reilly and the sides not coming together on bringing the veteran back last summer, Thomas was the clear-cut No. 1 center on this team and he thrived by putting up career-highs in goals (26), assists (60) and points (86) in 82 games, becoming the first Blue since Craig Janney (68) to put up 60 or more assists in a season when Janney did it in 1992-93; he also had the most points by a Blue since Pavol Demitra had 93 in 2002-03. He had one of the best Corsi percentages (50.7) among forwards and considering he was facing teams' top-flight players on a nightly basis, the fact he was over 50 percent on a team that was not good 5-on-5 says a lot; his Fenwick-for (1,011) was tops among the forwards. His ability and willingness to defend the top players, and do it well, was promising, while playing the most minutes per game of his career (20:57) and winning his draws (53.1 percent); his 2.6 DPS (defensive point shares) was tops on the team. Thomas finally broke out and scored the kind of goals we all saw the potential of earlier in his career by shooting it plenty more, but I still think he can shoot more pucks. He did have a stretch of games in late February-early March when he was not putting up the production, but playing through illness had something to do with a good stretch of those games. It's hard to argue impact he had, no matter who the linemates were, Thomas was able to produce for most of the season. It was a good one to build off of, and the potential to be the first Blue since Brendan Shananan to put up 100 or more points is on the horizon.

My grade: A

Jordan Kyrou -- OK, let me first preface Kyrou by saying that for him to be a better player, Kyrou had to improve his overall game in this space last season. A lot of that was meant on the defensive side. It most definitely got better. Watching him play this season, there was much more of a mindset of playing the other side of the puck. And when he did, the results were quite positive. But in doing that, there were stretches of his most dangerous side (his offensive prowess) that dipped -- until late in the season. He finished with 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) in the final 16 games to give him 31 goals for the season, tops on the team, and 67 points, which was second to Thomas, in 82 games. His plus-minus went from a team worst minus-38 a year ago to minus-12, much better; not great but a lot better, while averaging a career high 18:19 time on ice per game. By his own admission, Kyrou lacked confidence at times, not good. He's going to be in positions to shoot pucks quite often, and I thought for whatever reason either he was hesitant or simply missed nets too often. His Corsi-for percentage (52.3) was second on the team, and the fact he had the best Fenwick percentage (52.3) means the Blues did have the puck more often when he was on the ice. That's good. That's what you need from your best players. I still felt like at times he turned pucks over in the neutral zone more often that one wants to see, and that was a result of trying to make an individual play, but that will continue to grow over in time; he had more giveaways (53) than takeaways (51). But the point production has gone down in each of the past two seasons since totaling a career-high 75 two seasons ago. Kyrou is hitting the peak of his career, and those numbers need to be reaching into the 80s, not dipping into the 60s. I was harder on him last season, and rightfully so. The year this year got better. That trajectory needs to start climbing again. He's paid to produce, first and foremost, but the willingness to at least attempt to be more of a 200-foot player is encouraging.

My grade: B

Pavel Buchnevich -- I've spoken glowingly about Buchnevich in his first two seasons with the Blues. Scores, contributes offensively, mindful defensively, plays hard, aggressive, physical when needed, willingness to move to the center position (again). But I saw inconsistent play this season, and there were times following media sessions that the 29-year-old would lament his play. He did finish with 27 goals, which was tied for second on the team with Jake Neighbours but his points (63) dipped for the second straight year after putting up a career-high 76 in his first year with the Blues in 2022-23. Well, his 52.0 Fenwick-for percentage meant the Blues did have the puck more often than the opposition, and it was second on the team behind Kyrou, and Buchnevich had the highest Corsi-for percentage on the team at 52.8 percent. Those are solid numbers. But I can seem to recall on a number of occasions though the uncharacteristic amount of times Buchnevich would turn pucks over, and in big moments. He's his biggest critic and for the player of his caliber, it just seemed to out of touch. Was he putting pressure on himself with trade talk swirling around him for log swaths of the season? Probably. But it didn't deter him from doing what was necessary to play the game, whether it be killing penalties, making something happen on the power play, 5-on-5, whatever. Unfortunately, the special teams play ad 5-on-5 wasn't enough to lift his grade this year. Doug Armstrong likes Pavel Buchnevich. The organization likes Pavel Buchnevich. He's going into the last year of his contract. Does he get, or deserve, an extension? Time will tell.

My grade: B

Brayden Schenn -- I'll start this one off by saying the captaincy belonged to him. Period. This guy bleeds blue, a heart and soul player, leader by example, all of the above. You name it, he's got it. So the Blues got this one right. But perhaps, especially in the first half of the year, the added role of being the leader affected Schenn's play, particularly offensively. The good news is he finished with a bang, 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in the final 16 games to finish with his eighth 20-goal season in the NHL. By his own admission, he felt he played looser towards the end of the season, when the games mattered most. But unfortunately for Schenn, he went through his two longest goal droughts of his career, first 16 games, then another one at 18, so think about it, that's nearly half of a season without scoring but still to finish with 20 goals is pretty darn good. Unfortunately, Schenn's Corsi percentage (45.8) and Fenwick percentage (46.5) were each below the 50 percentile number, so when he was on the ice, the Blues were chasing the puck more so than possessing it. I've stated before I don't take too much into a plus-minus because that is such a flawed stat, but you have to take notice he was a minus-22 and now minus-49 the past two seasons; his ice time per game (17:46) was his lowest 2015-16; he did shoot the puck much more (170), his highest number since his first season with the Blues in 2017-18 and his face-off percentage rose nearly three percent (49.3) from last season but his points (46) was the lowest in a non-COVID season since 2013-14. I liked the finish at the end, and Schenn can always be counted on as someone the coaching staff can rely on at both ends of the ice, and he continues to be more than willing to drop the gloves when needed. There was good. There was not-so-good. The grade is reflective. I continue to like the intangibles, including playing a second straight full 82-game season and having 169 hits. The offense, as a top six forward, had to be better.

My grade: C+

Brandon Saad -- Any time I think of this player, I think of the most below-the-radar, underrated skater on the ice, year in, year out. But you want to talk about streaky, Saad is it. When he was on, he was really on. When he was cold, he was ice cold. But he finished with 26 goals, his most since scoring 31 with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2015-16, and when he did score, did he score some big-time goals or what? Fourteen of his goals either gave the Blues the lead (nine) or tied the game (five). Those are big-time, clutch goals. He did get off the a slow start this season, playing up and down the lineup, with just three goals in the first 21 games, so the rest of the season, he did score 23 in 61 games, which is a little better than once every three games. Not too bad. Saad's Corsi percentage (43.9) wasn't good, neither was his Fenwick percentage (44.8), but he never seemed like the puck possession kind of player to me. But when he got it, there was always a very deceptive speed factor in his game. When he got it, he was gone, and the puck was off his stick fast. Saad's points (42) were a slight uptick over last season (37) but the assists (16) were down. He shot the puck more (144) and scored seven game-winning goals, but the minutes per game (15:30) dropped by over a minute from last season. Saad has been a bang-for-your-buck kind of player since the Blues signed him. I thought his season was good. If they can continue this kind of production for the two years at $4.5 million AAV, the Blues will be quite happy.

My grade: B+

Jake Neighbours -- Well, who saw this one coming? If you did, go get that lottery ticket, because you may just hit the jackpot. First full season from Neighbours and 27 goals? Are you kidding me? Well, for those that watched his game evolve this season, from starting on the fourth line to being a first-line winger, will understand where I'm coming from. Playing in 77 games this season (unfortunate not to play in all 82 due to a late-season head injury stemming from a check against San Jose April 6), Neighbours developed his craft into a net front presence. You won't see his goals on the highlight reels or on anyone's Top 10 list, and that's OK with him, because the Blues haven't had this kind of player since David Backes. Neighbours had just 10 points (six goals) in 43 games last season getting his first extended taste of the NHL. He scored eight power-play goals this season, four game-winners, nearly tripled his shot output (145) and averaged 15:42 of ice time. For those that live and die by the plus-minus, should we hold Neighbours for having a minus-16? I'm not. He didn't have good puck possession numbers either (45.1 Corsi-for, 45.4 Fenwick-for) but he's not the puck possession type of player. This guy is as blue-collared as blue collar can get. Skates hard, checks, grinds, kills penalties, responsible on the other side of the puck. He is the epitome of what the Blues are trying to do by developing young prospects while retooling the roster. There's something to build on here. I would like to see Neighbours in on more points (38), so the assists need an uptick, which means he could get involved a touch more, but for the first full year, what's there to complain about? Nothing.

My grade: A

Kevin Hayes -- When the Blues made this acquisition at the NHL Draft last year, I thought it would work out to be an adequate move. When O'Reilly signed with Nashville, the Blues were in need of a center, and Hayes was originally supposed to be part of a larger scale trade with the Philadelphia Flyers but was picked up for a sixth-round pick and 50 percent salary retained; not too shabby. Hayes is a good guy, and on a personal level, you have to feel bad for him after losing his brother Jimmy. I've heard all the right things about him being a good locker room guy, teammates love him and a good voice leading the way. As for the production, he went from 18 goals, 36 assists last season to 13 goals, 16 assists in 79 games this season. Hayes' top attribute is puck possession and holding onto it, but he was just 46.2 Corsi-for percentage, 45.7 Fenwick-for percentage; that's not good enough for a puck possession guy. But what really stood out, or lack thereof, was the limited amount of skating speed. Hayes does not have any of it. His 14:28 ice time was his lowest since the second year of his career with the New York Rangers in 2015-16, but I will give Hayes his dues for being effective on the dot. He won a career-high 57.0 percent of his face-offs this season, which was among the league leaders. But other than that, even at a $3.571 million cap hit for two more seasons, this trade did not give the Blues the bang for their buck. Not even close. If not for the leadership abilities and face-off effectiveness, this grade would have been lower. If I can find a taker, even if the Blues have to eat salary from the half-eaten salary already, to take Hayes off their hands this summer, I'd do it if I'm the Blues.

My grade: D-

Kasperi Kapanen -- When the Blues got Kapanen off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins late last season and he put up 14 points, including eight goals, in just 23 games, I felt maybe they got someone who could be a wild card sort of player that just needed a change of scenery. Yikes, was I wrong (Part 1; see below for Part 2). I'm not going to play the stats numbers game with Kapanen here. He was right there with Schenn as far as the possession numbers were concerned, since the two played together a lot this season. Did anyone see just six goals and 22 points in 73 games? No? Well me neither. Look, Kapanen can skate, he defends well, blocks shots, he actually has a really good shot (when he uses it, and/or hits the net) but producing was a huge issue this season. Even by his own admission, Kapanen said it may have been his worst season of his NHL career. I like the guy and think there's some untapped talent there. Effort was never an issue. Execution was. The Blues needed more, lots more. He's a UFA and will likely be seeking employment elsewhere, and not nearly at the $3.2 million AAV he was making.

My grade: D-

Alexey Toropchenko -- Hustle, grit, relentless, tenacious. I'm someone who covers the team, so I will only speak in a bon-biased voice, but if I were a fan, watching his effort would be the price of admission alone. No matter the situation, no matter the score, this guy's motor is always on high octane, in all three zones. He topped his 10-goal output last season with 14 this season in 82 games and finished with 21 points. Not bad for a predominantly fourth-line winger. Again, I hate the advanced stats, because those that look at them without knowing the player would think Toropchenko is terrible because his Corsi-for (40.0 percent) and Fenwick-for (40.9 percent) were not good. But his game is not predicated on puck possession. Does he chase the puck a lot more? Sure. But his pursuit and ability to forecheck and win pucks back quickly and efficiently are qualities that are strong. Toropchenko will also hit, 165 of them, which is third on the team. Coaches rewarded Toropchenko by upping his ice time per game to a career-high 12:31, played him in a top-six role at times for his hard work and dedication. I'd still like to see him finish off some plays more effectively (although one of my posts on 'X' got me in trouble when I questioned Toropchenko's hands right before he scored a hands-like highlight-reel goal in Montreal). I'd like to see him in a more of a net front presence role. He tended to play outside the dots a little too much, but again, that will come with coaching and opportunity. This kid gets it (again). He had himself another well-rounded season.

My grade: A

Oskar Sundqvist -- When the Sundqvist signing was announced last summer, and at the league minimum, I thought it was a perfect fit: a player that wanted to come home, needing to prove himself all over again, and a team getting a quality human being, a good veteran leader and someone they knew and trusted and knew what he could bring to the table. And Sundqvist knew his role: be the motor as the fourth-line center, bring energy and passion to the game, pull your linemates into the battle and pop in the occasional offense when called upon. He was doing that and when the trade deadline approached, general manager Doug Armstrong and Sundqvist talked; the veteran was asked if he wanted to go to a contender. He didn't, got himself an extension to stay home, and then it happened again, another knee injury, another torn ACL ended his season prematurely. It'll be another grueling off-season of recovery and rehab. But Sundqvist finished with six goals and 21 points in 71 games. His advanced stats of puck possession were not high either (38.8 Corsi-for, 40.0 Fenwick-for), face-off percentage was not good enough (41.9 percent). Underlying numbers weren't great, but for what the Blues needed to utilize him for, I thought he handled himself adequately. The real test now comes trying to come back from another devastating knee injury.

My grade: B

Nathan Walker -- Another player in line with Toropchenko: relentless, gritty, tenacious, willing to play in whatever role given, whether on the wing or at center, move up in the lineup but mostly play a depth, fourth-line role, Walker was good at it. He put up a career-high 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 45 games after being called up from Springfield. He would never go back down. Walker is another well-liked player in the locker room, someone who stands up for himself and his teammates all packed into his compact 5-foot-9, 187-pound frame. Believe it or not, Walker's possession numbers (43.9 Corsi-for, 44.2 Fenwick-for) were better than most of the other bottom forwards; not great, but better. But given that he only averaged 10:48 of ice time, what more could you expect? Walker wasn't one of those players that vastly improved your chances for winning but he also wasn't one that hurt the team either. Was he great? No. Was he poor? No. Just based off his tenacity and determination to play the 200-foot game made him better than an average player.

My grade: B

Sammy Blais -- Another player I had high hopes for here. Blais got himself a new lease on his career when he was traded back to the Blues that sent Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers near the trade deadline, and all he did was erupt for 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 31 games after just five assists with the Rangers in 40 games. Blais earned himself a new one-year, $1 million contract and the Blues had high hopes that he could revive his career after also tearing up his knee in 2021. The good news out of the 53 games Blais played in this season is he led the team with 194 hits. But that's it. He had one goal and six assists, and it seemed like the only time you heard his name or saw his number was when he was making a hit, or taking an ill-advised penalty (31 penalty minutes). He also didn't drive offensive possession (43.6 Corsi-for, 41.7 Fenwick-for). I had a hard time even knowing when he was on the ice most nights, and Blais was a frequent healthy scratch throughout the season. I don't know what happened to his game, but it got lost somewhere. Other than the hits, it just wasn't there whatsoever. Highly disappointing. He's an unrestricted free agent and I don't see the Blues bringing him back.

My grade: F

Nikita Alexandrov -- I can remember at the end of training camp last season when Alexandrov was the talk -- and surprise -- among those that were trying to crash the door in to trying to make the NHL club out of training camp. Craig Berube spoke so glowingly of Alexandrov that there finally might be something there of the 2019 second-round pick. Well, he spent mostly the entire season in St. Louis, played in 23 games and produced two assists and was a minus-4. Maybe I'm in the minority -- I don't know -- but I just don't see it. There's just nothing there that tells me this player can be an effective NHLer. He doesn't play physical (29), he doesn't shoot the puck (15) and he can't win face-offs (40.7 percent). As a center iceman, that's one quality that needs to be near the 50 percentile to be effective. This felt like an entirely lost year of development for Alexandrov, who is only 23 and will be a restricted free agent. Again, I may be in the minority, but I'd cut the cord on this one. I just don't see it.

My grade: F

Zack Bolduc -- Now as far as Bolduc is concerned, I see it. I see a player that's willing to do what it takes to succeed at this level, and in the 25 games (five goals, four assists) Bolduc played in this season, he was a fast-riser. His shot is precise and will get better. Impressive that he's already leaning on utilizing that tool wisely. But what impressed me most about Bolduc is something Berube talked about: Bolduc needing more pace in his game and being more responsible defensively. I think the kid took all those constructive criticisms to heart and fulfilled those obligations, at least in the early going of his NHL career to heart. Bolduc got to play on the top line with Robert Thomas and wasn't awestruck by the moment. It's a small sample size, but I'd like to seen Bolduc have a better possession rate (43.1 Corsi-for, 44.4 Fenwick-for) for someone who has really good skating ability. That will come with time. There's plenty of upside here. I like the player. I thought he showed himself well in his little more than quarter of a season.

My grade: A-

Jakub Vrana -- Simply put: an unmitigated disaster (here is Part 2). When Vrana was traded here, from the Detroit Red Wings, and scored 10 goals in 20 games last season, I saw speed, I saw a terrific shot, I saw someone hitting the prime of their life that could also benefit from a change of scenery and deliver. I saw a player who, int he right situation and right circumstances, could score 30-plus goals this season. Whoops. He played in 21 games, had two goals, seven assists, was a minus-7 and was banished to Springfield. I remember a game in Chicago, where it seemed like the beginning of the end for Berube, when Vrana was responsible for two giveaways and lapses in judgment, lacking effort on both plays. The Blues were down 2-0 just in a snap, and it also sort of signified the end for him here. Again, for whatever reason, he got lost this season. He was put on waivers after the Blackhawks game, went to Springfield, came up, played two more games, was a minus-3 in a loss to Florida and was sent down for good again. There were no advanced stats that could justify keeping him here. The Blues got Vrana on the cheap ($2.625 million AAV), they gave it a shot and it was a major bust. He's a UFA, move on.

My grade: F

Forwards Zach Dean, Adam Gaudette, Mackenzie MacEachern and Hugh McGing all receive incomplete grades.

Defensemen:

Torey Krug -- Krug seems to be a lightning rod for Blues fans. Some like him, a lot. Some hate him with a passion (I have no clue why), and some -- not many -- are just impartial. I get tired of hearing how this is the player the Blues got to "replace" Alex Pietrangelo. For the last time, no, it isn't. They're two different players that play two different styles of game. And Krug's 2023-24 season, or the summer prior to it, got off to a rocky start when the Blues asked him and his camp to waive a no-trade clause to Philadelphia. He refused. He wanted to stay in St. Louis and make things right after last season. I give the veteran credit for that. It was his right and he chose to act on not invoking the NTC. In 77 games, a relatively healthy season, he finished tops among the d-men with 39 points but just four goals. I get a lot of scoffs about Krug's play on social media, but to be honest, I didn't think he was bad. I actually thought his season was decent. Not great but decent. And again, I get it: well, he was a minus-31, rah, rah, rah, rah! Again, stop it. You're on the ice in sixth-attacker situations that contribute to this. For someone that's 5-9, 194, Krug played with lots of bite in his game. He won't shy away from contact, I thought his outlet passes for the most part were crisp that contributed to lots of odd-man rushes, but there were also a number of puck mistakes that would up in the back of the net, and for the bullies that say he needs to clear his crease better. Trying to move 6-5, 220-230 bodies isn't the easiest thing for a 5-9 guy. A guy that quarterbacked the power play needed more production from him there, that's for sure; he averaged 21:57 ice time, the most since his first season in St. Louis. He did shoot the puck plenty (162), the most since 2017-18 with the Boston Bruins, but the puck needs to go in the net more than four times. His puck possession percentage (48.0 Corsi-for, 47.6 Fenwick-for) was second-best among Blues defensemen (Scott Perunovich). I just didn't see all the doom and gloom that some of you all did. Was it perfect? No. Was it that bad? No.

My grade: C+

Justin Faulk -- As good as Faulk was last season, his best in my opinion since he arrived in St. Louis via trade in 2019, I was thinking if he could duplicate or top it. Injuries did hamper things, but something just seemed off with Faulk this season. He's been so fundamentally sound defensively throughout his career, I saw things this season that were so uncharacteristic. Getting beat at the net front, bad positioning, losing puck battles in the d-zone, things that he's been so good at. I just didn't see the same bite in his game as I saw last season, and again, an ankle injury was a contributor of that. The offense drastically fell off (11 goals, 39 assists last season) to just two goals, 28 assists in 60 games this season. Like Krug, a puck-shooting defenseman, Faulk just didn't contribute on that side of the puck as often as I thought he would. Puck possession was OK (47.2 Corsi-for, 47.0 Fenwick-for) and he did have 104 blocks this season, but the hits (83) were down for a well-built d-man that doesn't shy away from physicality. Maybe this was just a one-off for Faulk, because I've certainly seen much better. The Blues will need, and they'd like for him to recapture his season of last year, because this one was not up to his standards.

My grade: C-

Nick Leddy -- Again like Krug, I don't get all the Leddy hate from this fan base. If anyone made a huge leap from his play a season ago to this one, Leddy fits the bill. I saw a player who fit in well with partner Colton Parayko. I remember last season fans wanted to take that pairing and throw it into a fire pit. I thought they played really well together this season all things considered. Leddy made some really sound passes out of the d-zone this season that I was like, "Wow!" And most of the time, his ability to transport pucks from 'D' to 'O' smoothly was exceptional. Leddy's average ice time (22:21) were the most since 2017-18 with the New York Islanders and his plus-14 was the best on the team. As an upper-pair guy, can he do better offensively (three goals, 25 assists)? Sure. I didn't see some of the glaring mistakes that I saw with him last season when I have Leddy a D. He was second behind Parayko with 127 blocks and his 5.2 DPS and 5.9 points share were tops among all Blues defensemen. I know everyone's screaming that Leddy's not a top pairing guy, and he's more suited as a second-pair guy, but for what the Blues had, I thought he handled himself very well.

My grade: A-

Colton Parayko -- I remember all the fair-weathered fans that wanted Parayko gone two years ago, when they didn't realize the big man (6-6, 228) was playing with a herniated disk in his back. Aren't you glad the Blues held onto him? Like Leddy, two players that fed off each other well, Parayko was exceptional most nights with his ability to break up plays, defend the top players and limit their production, skate with the puck out of a phone booth and sacrifice the body (218 blocked shots, which led the NHL). Parayko tied his career high in goals (10) and had 26 points in 82 games and was a plus-4 while averaging a career-high 23:51 per game. Offensively, I like how Parayko filters himself into the play, but that's where I think he can be more effective and contribute more, and on the defensive end, I think he can clear the crease with more regularity, using that big body. There weren't too many nights coming away thinking Parayko's game was bad. He was second to Leddy in DPS (4.8) and PS (5.8) while delivering the most hits (113) among defensemen. Parayko is 30, and people were (are) worried about the length of his contract, but I say as long as he stays healthy, the Blues have themselves a good one.

My grade: A

Scott Perunovich -- This was a tough one for me, because I like the kid as a person, and I'm sympathetic to the injuries he's had to overcome, but I've got to be as objective as I can on the season Perunovich had. Let's get the numbers up first: 17 points (all assists) in 54 games, averaging 15:16 ice time. Perunovich, when on, was the best of the puck-possession numbers among the d-men (48.2 percent Corsi-for and 48.7 percent Fenwick-for). When the puck was on his stick, or when he was able to go and retrieve it cleanly, good things usually happened. But two of my biggest flaws with this kid: his unwillingness to shoot the puck and his defensive game (particularly his positioning) had some alarming flaws; he's got a lot to learn on the defensive part of the game. I had to go back and watch some of the tape on him when in college, and Perunovich scored 20 goals in three years. Not eye-popping but pretty good. And he had 85 assists. The Blues have given Perunovich plenty of leash this season, playing him on the power play, playing him in a top four role, even playing him with Parayko down the stretch. One comment that stuck out to me from Doug Armstrong's season-ending presser is when he said regarding Perunovich, "Now we know what we have." I just can't get that comment out of my head. It almost says to me the Blues know what they have and it isn't what they thought they'd get. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my gut on this. I just thought Perunovich would deliver much more than he did. He's a restricted free agent this summer; the Blues made sure of that when he reached his games played quota. Do you sign him or use him as a trade chip? Something to decipher. As for this past season, I was looking for much more.

My grade: D+

Marco Scandella -- I've come to learn with Scandella at his age and experience: what you see is what you get. He played a full season this year and got into 65 games (two goals, six assists) after hip surgery last season. Scandella only averaged a career-low 12:28 per game this season but he's not going to give you the flash and dash. He was positionally sound for the most part, was physical when needed and complemented the third pair unit adequately and was an effective penalty killer. Scandella was a plus-2 on the season and is set to be a UFA and we've all but likely seen the last of him in St. Louis, his fourth-plus. Have we seen the last of the 34-year-old for good? Maybe. But his last season with the Blues was handled like a pro after being made a healthy scratch a number of times down the stretch so the Blues could evaluate their younger d-men.

My grade: C+

Matthew Kessel -- Kessel got a taste of the NHL, albeit a brief one, last season with two games, but when he was called up from Springfield on Dec. 30 to play against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins when Faulk was injured the previous night against the Colorado Avalanche, it changed the right-handed d-man's career. Kessel was thrust into the every day life of NHL and not just given glorified limited minutes but he was paired with Krug in a top four role and immediately began to thrive. Kessel played 39 games and had a goal and six assists and was even on the plus-minus, playing 16:47 a night. What impressed me about Kessel's game is how poised he was with the puck, making simple plays and not being overwhelmed by the speed and physicality of the game. He did make mistakes, which is natural, and some of them were costly, both with the puck and positioning around the net, but he's just getting his skates on the ground -- or the ice -- and running. The Blues were so impressed with Kessel's rapid development that they wasted little time inking him to a two-year, $800,000 AAV one-way contract. For a first-year player, Kessel's possession numbers were OK (45.7 Corsi-for, 46.3 Fenwick-for), they could be better and with time and reps, likely will. I didn't see the glaring puck errors that some of the numbers may indicate. Would have liked to see a little more of a shot-blocking mindset (65) and hits (40) but that will also come with time. There's a lot to like here, and it was a solid start to his NHL career.

My grade: B+

Tyler Tucker -- This is another one that's tough to evaluate simply because of the amount of games played (26) for the second straight season. Tucker had a goal and an assist and was a plus-1 this season, but he's not judged on goals and assists, he's judged on defensive play and the way he handles himself. When Tucker is on, he was physically engaged, he separated players from the puck using his size and he effectively broke up plays. I saw those qualities, especially down the stretch when he played in the month of April. Tucker played 12:27, which was down from the 14:38 he averaged a season ago. A lot of that had to do with how much he sat this season, like Alexandrov, and when he did play and wasn't effective, he got exposed getting beat, especially around the edges. Tucker averaged roughly 2.5 hits per game (64) and blocked 27 shots; those numbers needed to be higher for the way he plays. You like his ability to drop the gloves, which he did this season when called upon. Those are some of his attributes, but we didn't see them consistently enough, or else he would have seen more games. Tucker has one more year left on his current contract. One would think he has to make the most of it before becoming a RFA.

My grade: C

Defensemen Robert Bortuzzo and Calle Rosen each receive an incomplete grade, but I would like to offer Bortuzzo an honorary 'A' simply for being one of the good people to deal with in the locker room since 2015. He was funny, witty when keeping the mood light, informative when needed to be and a willing participant to the media when asked for. One of the good guys to deal with.

Goalies:

Jordan Binnington -- Finally, those outside these city walls, and what those that have been watching the Blues on a regular basis, saw this season. And that's a goalie that played above and beyond his potential. Look I get it, the black and white numbers (28-21-5, 2.84 goals-against average, .913 save percentage) don't exactly reek Hall of Fame record numbers but considering how lousy the Blues were in their overall special teams and their 5-on-5 play, the fact that they were eve sniffing around the Western Conference wild card race in Game 80 was in large part to Binnington. So much so, that one could make the argument he should have been a Vezina Trophy finalist. Hockey-reference.com had Binnington's goals-saved above average at 16.6; a number of other stat keepers had him in the top five among qualified goalies. Also, hockey-reference.com had Binnington with 33 quality starts for save percentages above his season save percentage, which is 60 percent. The league average is 53 percent. Playing with Hofer, he is a terrific puck handler, which is something the Blues need with the type of defensive transporters of the puck they have, guys that nneed it smoothly, cleanly and seamlessly. Maybe I'm missing another one or a couple, but there were only two games I can recall Binnington not being at his best: Dec. 19 at Tampa and April 4 at Nashville. He seemed to always keep the Blues in the game on most nnights, even those when the team in front of him stunk. Of course this season wasn't what his rookie campaign was, and his GAA and save percentage steadily climbed each season from that 1.89/.927 he carried in the Stanley Cup-winning season, but Binnington drastically improved his GAA and save percentage from the past couple seasons, and I would argue this was his best full season in the NHL. Full marks for a terrific campaign.

My grade: A

Joel Hofer -- Hofer made the most of his first full season in the NHL, and he even said after the season he proved he can play at this level. He's right. He can. Tandemming with Binnington formed one of the better goalie duos on the NHL this season, and Hofer finished with a respectable 15-12-1 record with a 2.65 GAA and .914 save percentage. Of Hofer's 27 starts, 16 were considered quality starts, just a smidge under Binnington's .600 percentage at .593, which is still really good. His 8.2 GSAA is not bad either. Hofer's record was hurt by a couple bad losses against San Jose and one against Columbus, but he also beat some excellent teams (Boston, Dallas, Florida). Hofer is a big guy (6-5, 179) and uses his size to his advantage and is an exceptional puck handler. The Blues have a good tandem built up in the organization, and goaltending --unlike several organizations -- isn't a problem here, nor should it be with a couple good ones in the pipeline. Hofer plays a confident game and at 23, he will only get better.

My grade: B+

GM/HEAD COACH:

Doug Armstrong -- Armstrong said at the end of last season he felt he let the fans down by not making that Blues team competitive enough on a more consistent basis. Not reaching the playoffs was a culture shock and having a fan base fume at the GM for dismantling a Cup-winning roster just four short seasons ago. He tried to shake up the roster last summer by trading Krug to the Flyers, only to be rebuffed by a no-trade clause he handcuffed himself with with a number of his players, including Krug, Parayko, Faulk and Leddy. So in a sense, he had to virtually run the same roster back aside from a couple changes that went 37-38-7, which was a 28-point drop-off from the previous season. Armstrong did bring in Hayes from the Flyers in a lesser deal in the end, but that trade proved in the end to be fruitless. He banked on Kapanen, a waiver-wire pickup, and Vrana, a late-season acquisition last year, would be diamonds in the rough. They only proved to be fool's gold. Hofer was brought in from within to help solidify the goaltending; Blais was re-signed and Sundqvist was the other acquisition to bring new blood to the roster. Armstrong said all along and he's sticking to his guns that the Blues are building mainly from within. And the team did improve by 11 points to 92 (43-33-6). He really didn't do much to improve the roster, the roster that was already here improved itself for the most part. He also made no changes at the trade deadline March 8 to try and solidify the roster that was still in the playoff chase, nor did he acquire any future assets for current players. He allowed the roster to take its course and see how it did, falling short in the end. Armstrong's signing of Sundqvist was solid for the price, but trading for Hayes backfired. So in the end, he didn't do anything to deter this year's team, but he also didn't do much of anything -- other than Sundqvist -- to improve it either.

My grade: C

Craig Berube -- I said it before and I'll stick to my feelings on this, 'Chief' was made the scapegoat of the team's shortcomings before getting fired following a 6-4 loss against the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 12. Berube likes his teams to play a certain style, and with the Blues transitioning more into a younger group that likes more rush attack than the ground and pound, chip, chase and forecheck style Berube was successful with in winning the Cup in 2019, he was doomed after last season missing out on the playoffs, a four-game slide and special teams that got off to a rotten start (8.4 percent power play, 31st in the NHL; 78.5 percent penalty kill, 20th in the league). The Blues were 26th in scoring (2.82 goals per game) and 23rd in goals-against (3.32) while giving up the sixth-most shots per game (32.4). Whether players were tuning him our or not, which always seems to be the excuse throw out there, is debatable. Berube was 13-14-1 when he was fired, an average record for an average team at the time.

My grade: C-

Drew Bannister -- It's never an easy situation when the coach gets fired in-season. But when Drew Bannister took over for Berube on Dec. 12, he already had a foot in the door with many of the guys on the roster in St. Louis, having coached many of them with the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League. Some of the things that stood out to me about Bannister was his willingness to hold players, especially veterans, accountable for poor play. You like to see that, but I thought he could have actually done it more often. Bannister's biggest challenge was getting on the same page with the veterans, and all things considered, I thought it went fine, which resulted in going 30-19-5, which was good for 13th in wins and points in that span. Bannister helped the Blues improve on the power play, hitting at a 22.8 percent clip, good for 13th, and the penalty kill was 79.4 percent also 13th in the league. They also were 12th in the league in goals-against at 2.87 per game. But the team really didn't get better 5-on-5, where they were 28th in goals scored (95) and 24th at 2.87 goals per game. The Blues haven't made a decision yet on a permanent coach moving forward, and Bannister's interim label is still in limbo, but he is a finalist, and rightfully so, for the job. Based on the job he came in and did after taking over, the team responded well with a .556 winning percentage. All things considered, Bannister did more than an good job. Not sublime, but a solid job.

My grade: B+

Stenberg latest 2023 first-round pick to sign entry level contract

Wed, 05/01/2024 - 4:27pm

ST. LOUIS -- All aboard the Swedish train.

That's what the St. Louis Blues are doing, when they signed their fourth Swedish prospect in the past two days, this time announcing Wednesday afternoon they have signed forward Otto Stenberg to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Stenberg was was the 25th pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, the second of three first-round picks the Blues had in Nashville last summer; he now joins forward Dalibor Dvorsky (10th pick) and defenseman Theo Lindstein (29th pick) to sign entry-level contracts within the past year.

View the original article to see embedded media.

The 18-year-old Stenberg played in 31 games for Frolunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League this past season and had six points (three goals, three assists).

Stenberg also had nine points (five goals, four assists) in seven tournament games at the 2024 U-20 World Junior Championship, helping lead Sweden to a silver medal.

On Tuesday, the Blues have signed Marcus Sylvegard to a one-year, entry-level contract and defenseman Samuel Johannesson to a two-year, entry-level contract and earlier Wednesday, they signed 2021 third-round pick Simon Robertsson to a three-year, entry-level deal.

Overall, Stenberg has spent parts of the past three seasons in the SHL, totaling nine points (four goals, five assists) in 54 regular-season games. He also medaled with Sweden three other times, including gold at the 2022 U-18 World Championship and silver at both the 2023 U-18 World Junior Championship and 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Each of the recently signed players are projected to be at prospect camp in early July.

Blues sign prospect Robertsson to entry-level contract

Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:03am

ST. LOUIS -- The Swede train continues its route to St. Louis.

Just 24 hours after inking a pair of players from the Swedish Hockey League to entry-level contracts, the Blues on Wednesday signed forward Simon Robertsson to a three-year, two-way entry-level contract.

Robertsson, 21, was selected by the Blues in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft.

View the original article to see embedded media.

The signing comes in the heels of the Blues signing forward Marcus Sylvegard to a one-year, entry-level contract and defenseman Samuel Johannesson to a two-year, entry-level contract on Tuesday.

Robertsson played in 27 regular-season games for Skelleftea AIK in the SHL last season and helped them win the SHL championship; he had four points (two goals, two assists) and another two points (one goal, one assist) in 15 postseason games.

Robertsson, who has spent the past five seasons in the SHL (20 points; 14 goals, six assists) and played in 121 regular-season games, played for his native Sweden at the 2023 U-20 World Junior Championship, collecting one goal and one assist in seven games.

The Hockey News Archive

Blues sign prospect Robertson to entry-level contract

Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:03am

ST. LOUIS -- The Swede train continues its route to St. Louis.

Robertsson, 21, was selected by the Blues in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft.

View the original article to see embedded media.

The signing comes in the heels of the Blues signing forward Marcus Sylvegard to a one-year, entry-level contract and defenseman Samuel Johannesson to a two-year, entry-level contract on Tuesday.

The Hockey News Archive

Blues sign Sylvegard, Johannesson to entry-level contracts

Tue, 04/30/2024 - 12:33pm

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues announced on Tuesday they have signed forward Marcus Sylvegard to a one-year, entry-level contract and defenseman Samuel Johannesson to a two-year, entry-level contract.

Sylvegard, 24, played in 51 games for Vaxjo in the Swedish Hockey League last season and had 41 points (23 goals, 18 assists); his 23 goals were second on the team.

View the original article to see embedded media.

Sylvegard has spent the past nine seasons in the SHL, including six for Malmo, and has 140 points (68 goals, 72 assists) in 320 games.

Johannesson, 23, played in 43 for Orebro in the SHL last season and was the leading scorer among their defensemen with 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists).

Johannesson, a sixth-round pick (176th) in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets, has spent the past seven seasons in the SHL, including stints with Brynas IF Gavle and Rogle BK Angelholm and had 81 points (22 goals, 59 assists) in 239 games.

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Doug Armstrong

Tue, 04/30/2024 - 9:00am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Doug Armstrong wants St. Louis Blues fans that he's staying true to his word.

Even if the general manager isn't a popular figure among those hockey fans these days, the same fans who have been spoiled with playoff appearances on a regular basis, the same ones that were hoping that last season was a one-off.

Q & A with Blues general manager Doug Armstrong (3:39)

When Armstrong began floating the word 'retool' around, it's not exactly something the fan base here took him for his word.

But then when the Blues failed to make the playoffs in 2022-23 with just 81 points, a dose of reality settled in.

The Blues didn't make the playoffs once again in 2023-24, but they did make a vast improvement (43-33-6, good for 92 points) and they did keep everyone involved and interested until they were eliminated from postseason contention in Game No. 80 while giving a number of the young prospects a taste of life in the NHL, allowing them to thrive in it.

Armstrong fired a Stanley Cup-winning coach [Craig Berube], replaced him with Drew Bannister in mid-December and the team improved record-wise.

Armstrong outlined a variety of things at the season-ending presser, including his expectations for this past season, how he thought it went, the process of the retool, the head coaching position, players' performances and a variety of topics:

Introduction:

This season was one of change, one of looking towards the future. We saw some positive things in that direction. We learned a lot about ourselves personally and professionally, positive and negative on things we can improve on. All in all, it's unfortunate that we're not continuing to play and we have to find a way to push forward this summer to get back to work in September.

Saying third would be nice last September, how does season compare to how you thought it would go:

I think when I look back on those comments, it was more where we fit in other teams' growth process. I think I might have said Dallas and Colorado might be half a letter grade or a full letter grade ahead of us. I've got to be honest with you, at that time, I thought Winnipeg was going to trade Scheifele and Hellebuyck and they went a different direction and that obviously changed the outlook on what they were looking to accomplish this season and moving forward. But when I look at our team, I was probably a little too honest on where I thought we were going to be. I was trying to give everyone a look into how I viewed things. It was brought up on a few different occasions that I didn't believe in this team or I didn't trust this team and that wasn't what I was trying to say or get at. But I thought the guys played well. I thought we're right dead smack in the middle of the league. If we were in the other conference, we're still playing, but we're not. We're in the West. I had a meeting with our pro scouts today projecting what it's going to take next year. I think the reason there's a less point total in the Eastern Conference is because you look at the teams that have been rebuilding or retooling, they're six, seven, eight years into it and they all had about the same amount of points that we did, maybe four or five less, maybe some 10 less, but the Western Conference has teams earlier in the rebuild process which means there's more points needed to get there because they're distributing more points through the Western Conference because they play more often. With our team, I thought we saw some really good things. I was extremely proud of the way the guys played against the top teams, and we have to grow and learn why we can play at a certain level against a certain group of player and organization and team, what we have to do to prepare and to execute better against a team that maybe we don't have that fear factor in. I'm hoping that those are learning things that we're going to pick up.

On the head coaching situation:

I talked to Drew in the last week or so and told him that he's going to be a candidate for the head coaching job. I feel that for the process it's necessary to interview a few people, but what I told him is when we made the coaching change, I was creating a list and the list was deep and extensive and as I watched him perform and I watched our team perform, I started to cross names off that list, and now Drew is one of a very small number of people I want to talk to about moving forward. I thought he did a very good job. I thought he was able to put a balance of pushing and prodding to get the best team on the ice every night with also throwing a little bit of hope out there and a blind eye to putting young players in situations they haven't been in and living with the results. I think that's how you grow. We had some young players do some really good things and we had some young players make young mistakes that cost us. That's part of growth, and that's what I thought Drew did a great job of doing. To answer that question, Drew is a finalist for the head coaching position and that list isn't extensive.

Do you want to make this decision quick and do you have a pulse on which direction you want to go:

I think we have a good pulse. I'm fortunate to have an inner circle of people in our organization that I trust and have a lot of experience. We've been talking about this for a number of months on where we want to go to and as that was going, Drew was expanding his own resume. It's not something I think is going to happen over the next four or five days. I'm not going to give specific names, but some of the names that I want to talk to aren't available. Their teams are playing and some of the names I want to talk to I'm going to give a little time to. We certainly will have a head coach well before the draft. I'm thinking well before June 1st, but I'm not putting a timeline on it in that because it's not an extensive group. I think when maybe you look at some of the coaches, the people in this situation, they're just starting the process ad they might have 15 names and might want to talk to eight or nine. I've whittled that down to as I said, a very, very small number.

Would you consider consulting with the league to find out about about Joel Quenneville's status?

I'm not going to get into any individual names on what we're going to do on anyone quite honestly.

What's the criteria you're looking for in a coach?

I think it's someone that understands where we are in our maturation process that wants to push and build and create a foundation that can stand the test of time, wants to have the respect of the veteran players but the ability for the younger players to express themselves and grab a bigger role. That's a difficult task. I think when you can go to a certain coach and you know what their mindset is, I have the team that can win the Stanley Cup and here's the guy that I think can get us over the next three or four percent ... I believe in our team but we're not at that level quite yet. That removes a coach that would fill that criteria. This coach we want to come in has an understanding of pushing and prodding and expectations of a fan base that should have expectations but also knowing that we are in the process of doing something sustainable and allowing and learning and growth to happen.

On team to be competitive but also focus on future, still feel that's best plan for organization and sustainable for next couple years:

Yeah, only because you can do what we're doing or you can get committed to one of the other two ways. Getting committed to winning the championship is trading those players that we've acquired, getting into that market and trying to push with a group that we believe is in our core and our prime and is going to push for it. I'm not sure our fan base, and I'm not sure I can handle it, take 15 more losses off of this season and do that for five more years, I'm not really sure we want to have a point total in the 50s and 60s for four or five more consecutive years to build something that might be good in 2035. We're trying to do something that's difficult, which is stay competitive and find good players and make good trades and win a championship. But my personal belief is that going the other way and being a 50-60 point team until 2029 to gain those assets, you look at Pittsburgh and they're at the tail end of what they did with getting Malkin and getting Crosby and getting Fleury and getting a Whitney, that's four years. That's four years of top picks. Toews and Kane, there's pain that goes into those things. I'm not in the position to think that that's the direction the St. Louis Blues should go in. Obviously I make recommendations or a game plan and I filter that upstairs, and I do show them the three different categories. One is to move our first-round picks, to move our top prospects, to get into a market and get a player, and the other one is to move anyone with any value or high value and replace them with American League players, because if you took our top four players, I'll let you pick whoever they are, if you took our top four players and traded them, and you got young assets and futures and you replaced them with American Hockey League players or less, we can get to 50 points. I can get us there. Trust me. It's getting us out after is the hard part. But I just don't think that's where we need to go. That's a long, long answer to a simple question. We're going to stay with the path we're on.

How much change can you expect to the roster for next year with so many locked in, and if there's not a lot of change, how can you improve to be a playoff team?

Well, it's going to come from internal growth. ... I was probably too open a year ago on a time length of retooling or what it's going to take. In 2022-23, I thought we were a good team that underperformed, but I thought 23-24 was going to be the first year of the next wave because if we had performed to the maximum of our ability, they would have gone on a playoff run last year and then they'd be free agents and they'd be gone. So this was Year 1 of something that's not going to be finished after Year 1. We can look to be prudent in the free agent market. We need internal growth. We need some of our players, veteran players to play better, some of our younger players to grow a little bit, the coach has to get better, the manager has to get a little bit better. We're not going to reinvent the wheel. There is a plan in place and I'm willing to stick through that plan. One of the things we talked about in September is, 'How do you judge a good season?' I understand our fan base and I do understand they want to see 'W's. They don't want to see the old college try. But when I evaluate it, I see a lot of positives. I saw a young player like Jake Neighbours go from a call-up player to a fourth-line player to almost a 30-goal scorer. I saw Joel Hofer go to his first year in the NHL and looks like a pretty good goalie. We saw Scott Perunovich play and now we know what we have, and closer to what we have. I found positive things outside wins and losses that I think we can build off of.

Do you think the roster will be much the same?

I don't want to say something that's going to come back that I'm going to answer to in September. I just think that we're on a path and we're willing to stick to that path and if we can improve our team under the guidelines that we think gives our long term outlook and our long term goals the best chance to have success, we'll do it.

On Jordan Kyrou's season:

Another 30-goal season. I thought he went through stretches this year where the puck didn't go in for him at the start of the year. I think if you look at all the fancy stats, he had a lot of chances and they weren't going in and they started going in and everybody gets off his back a little bit. I think consistency maybe is something, but he's a game-changing player and a game-breaking player that has become a lightning rod for whatever reason, but I sat up here, I'm going to say in 2017, and Jay Bouwmeester was a lightning rod and everybody hated him, and then he left our franchise and everyone thought how are we going to live without Jay Bouwmeester. These are ebbs and flows. A year ago, Colton Parayko and Jordan Binnington were finished and now they're not finished. I can't get sucked into this daily he's a good player, he's a bad player thing that's there. I have to have a longer term approach. If you want to have a relationship with someone, you better be willing to go through tough times if you want to go through good times with them. If you're only committed to someone through the good times, it's going to be a difficult relationship for you to be happy in.

On Brayden Schenn and his first year as captain:

I thought he did a really good job. I think the one thing when I looked back on him and I talked to him is that, 'Breathe, enjoy the process and don't put too much of this on yourself.' He cares so much about the team and so much about every individual that it's hard to do all that and still be the best that you can be on the ice and I thought he did a great job at it. I think next year he's going to be able to pick his battles a little bit more, pick his battles with the manager, pick his battles with the coach, pick his battles with his teammates a little better, and that just comes from maturation. A proud player and a Stanley Cup champion that's asked to be the captain of a team that's going through a transition, it's difficult, and then you throw in a coaching change mid-season, it's not like I made this easy on him. It wasn't like, 'Let's name 'Schenner' captain and see how hard I can make it on him.' But I'm not surprised that it ended up where there was a lot of turmoil that he had to deal with. I thought he did a really good job and I think quite honestly with the support of Robert Thomas and [Colton] Parayko and [Justin] Faulk, that eased that for him and I think they've all grown and they're all going to get better at it, and next year's going to be way easier for them than this year was. That's growth.

On Bannister holding players accountable:

I thought he did a nice job at that. Last time I was sitting in here we were talking about the coach and it was a coaching change. Then I reflect on what was said after that. Change came because there was a feeling that the message wasn't getting through and it was frustrating to hear that because of how much respect I have for Craig. But I think also that change made everybody a little more laser-focused in every area, made the manager get more focused, it made the players get more focused. I thought those were natural byproducts of competitiveness and opportunity, and I thought Drew provided both of those things, and I thought he did a good job at that. I did think that accountability was taken up, but I think that was regardless. It wasn't really Drew that took it up, it was the players that understood that they let a guy that everybody in this city loved, and they loved playing for and I loved working with, we let him down. But that's evolution of sport. That's not new to any one organization. I thought the players did a great job of seizing that. I think we might have been 11 games over .500 with Drew, and that's good coaching, but that's also laser-focused of players wanting to be different than they were before.

On the defense, how do you evaluate them this year and will it look different:

It looked a little different because Scotty [Perunovich] was healthy and we got him a lot of games and we saw what that looks like. We're going to look to see if we can push and prod and improve. But there was an improvement back there. I think some of the improvement came from how our No. 1 defenseman was perceived at the end of last year and the way he's perceived now, assume it's different. The questions are different, at least. I think [Tyler] Tucker showed us that he can help out a little bit. I think [Nick] Leddy and Parayko looked like they can be a good pair. I think I was really excited for [Matthew] Kessel's growth and improvement, a player that we weren't talking about at the start of last year and came in and looks like a legitimate NHL player. So there's going to be internal growth and if we can improve it other ways, we'll look at doing it. Again, I don't want to say anything that I can't back up on change.

Will you remain a cap team next year?

It's not a goal not to be and it's not a goal to be. If there's a player and if there's a situation that I can take to Mr. Stillman and he signs off on a player that adds an X-amount of millions of dollars that takes us to the cap, I'll do it, but I'll get no benefit of spending money poorly so I can next year (say), 'Look, we're at the cap.' Trying-stupid isn't trying. That's just being stupid. The owners have never said, 'No, you can't spend.' My job is to provide a road map where it's spending wisely.

Any of the prospects have years this year where they could expedite the process of getting here:

Bolduc and Dean and Kessel are here now. They finished here, so I want to exclude those guys. I can talk about them after if you want, but last year's draft was really the first draft of whatever, working in the next generation. The one player that looks like he's going to push for a really good look in training camp is [Dalibor] Dvorsky. Partly because he's in North America and the other guys are in Sweden. But Dvorsky, what I saw what he did at the World Junior, what we see him doing against his peer group in the Ontario Hockey League and how we've seen players that do what he did in the Ontario League progressed in the NHL, there's a path there, but that path won't be rushed. We can say that we have young players in the NHL and that's for Bolduc and that's for Dean and that's for Kessel quite honestly, they ended the season here. The only way they guarantee they start it here next year is to have a great summer and a great training camp because we have to push them to be better than they were when we ended the year, and it's up to them to do the work. I have the utmost faith they're going to do it, but this isn't a charity case that we're running here in the sense that ... to show growth, we have to put players in the NHL that aren't ready for it. The NHL fails as many players as players fail the NHL and I don't want to fail these guys.

Snuggerud decision affect next year's plans?

He would have been in the mix to the level that Bolduc and Dean are that there's a expectation that they're going to give ... there's not a hope they make the team, there's an expectation they're going to give every opportunity to. He would have been in that group ahead of the [Otto] Stenberg, [Theo] Lindstein where they're a year or two away. Snuggy's going to be in Minny this time next year one way or the other and the Final Four is in a Blues uniform.

Is hiring an NHL coach with previous experience a prerequisite?

No.

Did Dvorsky benefit from leaving Europe to going to play junior?

I thought it was a great benefit. You never know how it's going to work. The one thing that concerns you is Dvorsky has had five different coaches in the last five years and five different cities in five different leagues. This kid's had no stability and it's because he's better. He gets better every year. He went to a situation he thought was going to be really good and Sweden was really bad. So you're hoping it's better when he gets to the OHL, and he made it a great situation. The way that he was perceived in his draft years as a top player, top ten pick, that's where we took him, they usually have good years in the OHL, and he certainly didn't disappoint. I think there's going to be debate, if the draft was held again this year, where would he go? Probably, in our opinion, maybe a little bit higher, but certainly no lower.

Do you even consider buyouts?

I consider it every year. This isn't an ego thing where we don't buy somebody out. It has to make economic sense. Not just economic sense, there has to be a plan to have a better team because you're doing it, and it's and it's my fault because I do make statements and then I don't retrack them or I don't change it. It's like, well, we don't offer no move clauses. Well, that's a lie. I don't like to do it, and we don't offer a signing bonus. Well, that's a lie; we've done it. So we've done it in the past. When I say that's not our first preference to do these things. So it's not our first preference to buy players out. Maybe this is the ego part. It is a business, and it's hard. I don't know, it's just like my kids just say, like, 'Give me $1,000. I want to burn it.' I'm like, 'I'm not gonna give $1,000.' And when you buy a player, it's like burning money. So I have an obligation to make sure it's the right thing to do, but no, that nothing is off the table.

Is Dvorsky eligible for the AHL next year?

Yes.

Would that be a logical step for him if he's not here in St. Louis?

He thinks he's going to be here in St. Louis and I'm not going to dash that dream, but if it's not, we'll find a nice home for him.

What about plans for Pavel Buchnevich? Approach him over the summer about an extension?

Yeah, we'll approach him. We'll approach him. I'm a big Pavel fan. Again, with free agency, it's a two way street. He just turned, I think, 29 yesterday. If I was Pavel, I would want to sit with the manager and talk to him. He's at the age now where he should ask me hard questions about the direction of this organization because he's at the age now ... I assume winning is going to be very important, and he wants to know how quickly we can win because he's going to get his money. He's good enough, he's going to get his money. I would like him to be here. I have to sell him on why, and then we have to sell each other on why we can be comfortably uncomfortable with the financial deal that we make. But I'm a big Pavel fan.

What did you think was missing from the 5 on 5 numbers this season?

The one area where I'd like to see us get more comfortable at is putting pucks on the net from high scoring areas. I think, as you guys that follow us closely, you'll see us get the puck in to a high scoring area and then pass out of it for a better play. This league isn't always about a better play. And the other area where I think we can improve, and we saw it, with Jake Neighbours and [Alexey] Toropchenko took it to a level, you've got to go to the hard areas to score like Jake Neighbours, what did he get? How many goals, 27 goals, from me to this microphone away, total distance. He goes to the areas to score that are hard. And so those numbers, I think if we put pucks at the net and go to that net with greater urgency and frequency, that's going to improve. I don't think possession time ... possession time is important, but if it's possession time without any results, it's just hanging onto the puck longer before you give it away.

Would those be the types of players you look for in free agency?

Well, we want to get out of our own players first, but yeah. I think you know what we talk about and people are going to say this is a good a good stat or a bad stat since '08, I don't think you know that we have one Hall of Famer in our group, but we've had a lot of wins. I know how the St. Louis Blues are built. I know how we have to be built to have success. Unless we want to go to the bottom for a number of years, that's sort of where you get your Hall of Famers from. You have a much greater likelihood to get a Hall of Famer for there. So we need strength in numbers and strength in numbers comes from Bobby Plager playing for the jersey, or the crest on the front and the name on the back. That's always been the identity of the blues since I've been here. That's how we've had our success and that's the path I hope that we take moving forward because, as I said, I'd love for Dvorsky to be a Hall of Famer. I'd love for Robert Thomas to be a Hall of Famer. I love for whoever to be. Just the reality is that it usually comes like from one, two or three in the draft. And I don't want to pick that guy. Now, I'm not afraid of winning the lottery if they wanted that part of it, but I don't want to earn it. How's that?

After signing Theo Lindstein, what's the path for him?

I would see most of those guys going back to Europe and continuing to grow there. There's is an agreement in the IIHF that they have to go over or they can go back, they will go back. We're we're not looking to rush guys. The American League's a hard league to play in. And not because it's a hard league in the sense that, there's a lot of downtime for an 18-, 19-year-old. And I just say we're talking about Dvorsky doing it. If he's not in the NHL, I think he can grow just from him and Stenberg, and that group can grow very well where they're at. Now, if they things change and they want to come over here and give it a shot, we're not going to say no. But again, we're we're playing the long game here.

How much differently do you have to evaluate the European prospects as opposed to those in North America?

I don't think any differently. The harder part is, we see all the shifts. We get their shifts every week. We watch every shift. It's harder to get to see them and it's harder to their mindset of how much they practice, how much they play is different than junior hockey. The hard part for the young top European players at 18 and 19 is they play a men's league and they don't get much ice time, and then they don't want to go down to a league to get more ice because they feel they've underperformed. It's a it's a delicate balance for those players. What we want to see is continued growth, and that's where our development staff comes in. It. The hard part, it's not the NFL where you draft them and you see them and you know they're there, and you can say that it's success or failure within a year. I projected a chart out to our ownership group, and it wasn't just our players. When the players that are drafted within 15 percent plus or minus play their 11th game, their 50th game or their 100 game, it takes a while and we're playing the long game.

The Hockey News Archive

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Drew Bannister

Mon, 04/29/2024 - 11:33am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Drew Bannister was put in a situation he'd never been in before.

Not that the 50-year-old has never been a bench boss before, but coach has never been behind an NHL bench before.

But at the time, he was guiding the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League when his time came calling. The Blues had just fired Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube following a 6-4 loss against the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 12, falling to 13-14-1 with their fourth straight loss.

Q & A with Blues interim coach Drew Bannister (6:38)

Now came the time to run his own ship, many players Bannister had already known from his time coaching them in the AHL but a different wave of veterans he had to get a message across to as well.

The Blues made a spirited push, finishing 43-33-6 on the season, or 30-19-5 under Bannister, and was in the playoff race in the Western Conference until getting eliminated following Game No. 80.

Bannister was named the interim coach then, and as of this posting, he still is the interim coach but a finalist for the coaching vacancy that Blues management needs to address at some point here in the not-too-distant future.

Bannister discusses the season, his expectations moving forward and a plethora of topics in his season-ending press conference:

How did the team perform after you took over?

I think when I look at the overall picture and certainly the circumstances that I came in under, I'm really proud of this group. No. 1, I'm proud of the leadership core -- 'Schenner', 'Faulker', Robby [Thomas], 'Pary' -- and how they welcomed me. Then, the rest of the group of the players and how they came each day, how professional they were, bought into what we were trying to do as a staff, and what the organization had asked of them after the change. And certainly with my coaching staff, how they came to work every day and how professionally they were. Certainly we're sitting here talking about a season that we're all disappointed in. We certainly want to be at this point of the year getting ourselves ready to play the first game of the playoffs. But when I look back at the year, and when I reflect over the summer about this group, I have no question in my mind, there's going to be some things that we learned that we will get better from, but I strongly believe in this group. I think at this time next year we're going to be having a press conference about who we're playing in the first round of the playoffs.

What was it like to hear Doug Armstrong say that you’re a candidate for the job and what will it be like to wait for the process to play out?

I think I've said this before. I've been very lucky with the opportunity that the ownership here, that Doug [Armstrong] and the rest of the management have given me. Not only coming here midseason but giving me my first opportunity to coach pro hockey in the American Hockey League. I'm proud of the way these players conducted themselves since I've come in. I'm certainly a better coach because of the group that is here, and without that opportunity that Tom [Stillman] and the rest of the ownership group and Doug have given me, I certainly wouldn't be sitting up here in front of you guys today. So I'm very appreciative of that. I understand the process and what they're going through. When I first came in, there (were) no promises made. There (were) no expectations other than getting this team to where we all believed it could be and starting that process with the players and working on the habits and details in our game that we all knew we had to get better at to start to have success. I'm proud of that myself, and our coaching staff, and the players bought into that, and I think we saw a lot of good things happen that we can build on for next year.

What would be your pitch to Armstrong to keep the job?

I don't know if there's a pitch. Doug knows me well enough. We've spent a lot of time together over the last four months. Previous to that, we didn't have a working relationship like we've had over the last four months. So I think there was a lot of learning and a lot of growing between myself and Doug on that process. I think now he knows me better as a person, as an individual and also as a coach. So I think he knows the coach that he's getting, and I think for me personally, the process of what I've gone through as a coach, whether it was in junior hockey, the American Hockey League or the NHL, I continue to get better, and I believe I still have a lot of growth in myself as a coach in the National Hockey League. I'm looking forward to whatever's next. Certainly for me, the No. 1 option would be to stay with the St. Louis Blues and be the head coach of this hockey club, but I understand that there's a process to go through, and I'm more than happy and proud to be a part of that process. I think there's a lot of people that got me to this point, and there's a lot of people out there that aren't up here with me, whether it's my family members, previous coaches and then certainly the coaches that I had here that worked with me day to day and made me a better person and a better coach for it.

It would have been best for you if Armstrong just gave you the job. With no promises made, were you comfortable with that situation?

Yeah, of course. There's never a perfect situation when you're a coach. For me, the situation that I came into was tough. There's no question about that, that it was a tough situation. But when I look back at it, I strongly believe that I thrived in this situation and I became a better coach and a better person from it. This was an outstanding learning experience for me. In moving forward, I'm going to be able to take a lot of positives from this experience that I've gone through with this hockey club and this organization and move forward. I'm looking forward to the next challenge.

What kind of progress did you see from Jordan Kyrou?

I think when I first came in with Jordan, we went through that tough time with him. Him and I had a lot of individual conversations. Not about hockey, just about life in itself and just man to man conversations about how we're going to get through this together, as a team, as an individual and that I was here to support him through that. Then certainly looking at parts of his game, Jordan, really, when you look at the last month and playing those meaningful games and how well he played ... we moved him around the lineup a bit and we found him a spot with 'Buchy' and 'Saader' ... I'm proud of the way that he played, and I was really excited about how he played in the last month to six weeks where it was really meaningful games. I'm excited for Jordan moving forward. He is going to be a key part of this team's success moving forward, and I think he's still got a lot to give.

You were always someone who felt this team could make the playoffs. Why do you think you fell short?

I think when you look back, there's probably a handful of games, obviously the game against Columbus (before the All-Star break), the two games against San Jose, there's six points there that would possibly make a difference. We don't know. I think the inconsistencies in our play (were the issues), but again, I go back to what I said before, those are learning lessons that we can reflect on this summer. I think it goes to show you how difficult this league is and how unforgiving it is, and how important games are, regardless of what time they are in the season, whether it's in October or November or March or April. They're all extremely important and those points matter. I think as a group, we're going to become better for it, going through those processes and understanding and identifying those games that we have to be better in.

You had to jump in on the fly when you took over. If you get the job, is there anything new you would be implementing next season?

No question. I think for myself, I've already been identifying things that we have to get better in, structurally within our team. I think any coach should be doing that, regardless of their situation. Like we've touched on, I don't know what my situation is, but right now, leaving here today, I'm still the head coach of the St. Louis Blues and it's my mandate to continue that process of getting myself ready and prepared and getting my staff members prepared for next season until we know otherwise. So most definitely, when you ask me would there be changes systematically, we would make changes. Will they be massive changes? I don't believe they'd be massive changes, but we've identified some things in our game that we have to get better at structurally. I think habit-wise, we can continue to build on our habits and our details in our game, certainly away from the puck. We saw some growth in it, but I still think there's a lot of work to be done and a lot of growth in our game in that aspect.

Where is Robert Thomas at in his evolution?

Well, I think Robby has really proven that he's an elite player in this league, obviously with the All-Star nomination. But the way he played this year, the amount of minutes he played this year, the amount of meaningful minutes he played this year against top lines and how he competed and how he showed up to play every day, I don't know what the ceiling is for Robby, but I still think we haven't seen his ceiling. I think there's a player there that's going to continue to get better, that's going to continue to grow in his role as a leader, and certainly continue to build on his game and get better because I still think there's quite a high ceiling there.

The backbone of all successful teams is goaltending. Do you have that here, and do you think you can build off that foundation?

Yeah. I have relationships with both 'Binner' and Joel [Hofer]. 'Binner' and I had a conversation today about our evolution as him as a player and me as a coach. My first coaching (job) as an assistant coach was when he was at Owen Sound as a goalie. Once I came to the American League with St. Louis, I had 'Binner' in San Antonio and then as a head coach I had 'Binner' here. I've seen the evolution of 'Binner' and I'm extremely proud of the person that he has become. I've seen a lot of growth, obviously, in him as a man, and as a goaltender. To me, both him and Joel are probably one of the best tandems, if not the best tandem, in the NHL right now. I think it's up to us as coaches to start to modify our game a little bit and tactically to make it a little bit easier on them. Certainly all teams have to lean on their goalies at times, and I have no question that these two moving forward are going to be a big part of this team's success. Joel, I've had him since Day 1 in Springfield and what an outstanding person and an outstanding competitor. For a young goalie, I'm really proud of the way he's come in. Him and 'Binner' have worked extremely well together and certainly gave us opportunities to win every night and sometimes stole some games for us. As I said before, I think this duo is going to continue to be one of the best in the league for quite a long time.

How did you see Brayden Schenn adapt to be a captain for the first time?

I think being a captain at any level for the first time is tough, and I've been through that. I think what 'Schenner' went through this year was not only being a first-year captain, but with the change in the coaching, that can be extremely hard on him. The one thing I will say about 'Schenner' and how proud I was of him, certainly in the last eight weeks, was how he played for our team in different situations, whether it was at winger or at center. I think it shows you the growth of him as a person, as a captain, as a player. I thought he played some of our best hockey in the last eight weeks here, where it was really meaningful games. I think that says a lot about the person and the character and the growth of him as a captain, and I think he's gone through a lot of the ups and downs now, and he's matured because of it, and he's a better person and he's a better captain. I think he's going to be a big, big part of the team's success next year.

The Blues had five players with 25-plus goals. Are you missing some secondary scoring, with more guys scoring 10-15 goals?

I mean, you can always sit back and say that you need more goal scoring or you have to let in the puck less in your net. I think we had a lot of excellent performances from our top players in scoring. On the offensive side, I think at times we would get too cute, and I think we have to simplify and be a little bit more direct. I think just being more direct or keeping the puck moving to the offensive zone more often can create a little bit more offense and more opportunities to be able to score. Certainly that would be something moving forward that we'd have to look at as a staff to really, really dial that into to give our guys more opportunity to create offense. But I don't think it was a personnel issue. I think it's something that we have to grow and get better at as a team.

Did Colton Parayko prove that he’s a No. 1 defenseman, and how much did the group as a whole improve?

Yeah, when I think about 'Pary', just from Day 1 when I came here, the amount of minutes he played, the matchups that he had to face, how he played, the professionalism that he came with every day ... such an energetic guy within the room and a real treat as a coach to have on your team. He just gave us a lot of stability back there, regardless of who we played against or who he was playing with. It says a lot about him and his growth. I know, last year was a tough season for him, but the character to come back and have a season like that, from Day 1 until the end of the season, tells you a lot about that player. And he's still a young player. I think you're going to see a player that's going to continue to grow and get better.

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Robert Thomas

Mon, 04/29/2024 - 9:00am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Robert Thomas could have basked in all his glory.

After all, the St. Louis Blues top line center had every right to glorify his season, which included career highs in goals (26), assists (60) and points (86) while playing in all 82 games this season.

He joined some great Blues of yesteryear as far as first to reach 60 assists since Craig Janney (68) in 1992-93 and most points in a season since Pavol Demitra (93) in 2002-03.

Q & A with Blues center Robert Thomas (5:15)

But Thomas, who did acknowledge he felt good about the things he did throughout the season, chose to reflect more so on why the Blues (43-33-6) did make strides from last season, going from 81 points to 92, but ultimately missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second straight season.

He also set a career high inn face-off percentage (53.1), shots on goal (170), power-play goals (eight), power-play points (27) and average ice time (20:57), among other accolades.

Sure, there was a lull in a stretch of games late in the season, but as has been outlined multiple times now, Thomas played through a stretch of illness that bogged down his production, and he still was able to take on the challenges defensively of being matched up against some of the game's best and neutralizing them effectively.

The 24-year-old discusses his season, why the Blues failed to reach the playoffs, how they have improved, what needs to be done to take the next steps, the in-season coaching change and more:

When you look back on this season, what do you think?

It's obviously disappointing. You want to be in the playoffs. You want to be fighting for a chance to win it all, so that part's disappointing. But there's a lot of positives to take. You look at last year to this year, I think we took a huge jump forward and I felt like we beat a lot of really good teams this year. We're right there and I think there's a lot of positives to take into next year.

Ever think with five guys with 25+ goals, two goalies with save percentages over 91, defensemen leading league in blocked shots that you should be playing right now?

Yeah, I mean we're right there. We were fighting until three games left in the season and had a really good chance. It was tough. Our conference, there were a lot of really good teams with good records. We were right there. I think there's a ton of positives to take. I think there's a lot of us that are really excited for next year and think we're going to take another big jump as well.

Was this year personally a big step?

Yeah, I think I took another step forward throughout my career. It gets me excited. You don't know kind of what your ceiling is. I think I surprised myself a little bit this year. I'm really excited to kind of find out how it plays out.

How was the adjustment for you to be part of the leadership group?

You've been a leader at different levels throughout your career and something you take pride in. I take a lot of pride in it. Hopefully I can continue to create an environment here that has been such a good place to play for many years in the past.

Regrets, such as no wins against San Jose. How much does that sting?

Yeah, you can always look back on things like that. Obviously frustrating. You feel like that can make a difference, but there's many games like that throughout the year that you feel like you should have won or you need to win. You can also look at some of the teams we beat consistently that are top in the league. It kind of goes both ways. Obviously there's lots of games throughout the year you wish you could get another crack at.

How much attention do the players pay attention to the coaching search? What's the feeling of the job Drew Bannister did?

The record since he took over speaks for itself. I think we did a lot of positive things. He was obviously a big part of that. Obviously it's not our decision and we're not really a part of that process, but I feel like as a group and as a team, we started to really click and find some momentum. That's what we're taking from this year.

From talking to the guys last year feeling like the culture maybe needed to change after last year, not the sense that is an issue this year; what did you do to change that?

I wouldn't say culture change. I would say kind of like a rejuvenation, if that's the right word. I don't know, just going to throw that out there, but I think you can build off a culture for so long and all it takes is for one bad season to kind of rip it back down to the studs. After the coaching change, you look at the teams we beat, our record is definitely building something and I think that's what excites everyone in this room. We kind of just ran out of time at the end of the season there. You can feel that culture coming back and that's what's exciting to be here for a long time is you see that future and you see where the team's headed and the direction. It's exciting.

As far as personal growth, what parts of your game you feel are still coming?

I would say quite a lot of things to be honest. I can still take another step defensively, face-offs. Those are two things that can continue to improve on. I think my shot was a lot better this year. Just keep on working on situations to use it. I think that'll continue to create more options to pass as well.

Describe this season in one word, what would it be and why?

One word, I feel like there needs to be many words for this year. Obviously a lot of ups and downs, but I'd say momentum would be my word. I think we started to create momentum and we've got to keep on continuing to carry it.

When you look at the whole season, what is one area the team came up short in that you can improve on going into next season?

I would say consistency. Like I was saying earlier, we beat a lot of good teams consistently. You mentioned San Jose and there's a couple other games as well. You clean those games up and you've got a different story on the year. Just consistency throughout the year. That's the main thing.

What did Jordan Binnington mean to the team this year, and Joel Hofer too? Are they the backbone?

You need really good goaltending in this league to win or even compete. We've got two guys that are quite frankly up there for top tandem in the league. That's what you need, that's what we have. You're never going to be a bad team when you've got two goalies like that.

Thomas emerged as a top-line center, ready to improve going forward

Sun, 04/28/2024 - 9:10am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- When the St. Louis Blues decided to part ways with the versatile Ryan O'Reilly, it was a changing of the guard of sorts.

Who would emerge as the No. 1 center with O'Reilly's time in St. Louis, which included fulfilling a promise of winning a Stanley Cup and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in doing so in 2019, up?

The Blues have themselves a No. 1 center in Robert Thomas (3:58)

The Blues knew who they had waiting in the wings, and they were ready to give Robert Thomas, who was a winger on the Stanley Cup-winning side learning the ropes, those keys.

Thomas had already take on the leadership role last season with an 'A' and was part of it this season with Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk, along with Brayden Schenn as captain.

But now Thomas, 24, is the anchor of the forwards. It's his time. And he showed why there's plenty to look forward to after the season he had in 2023-24.

Thomas put up a career-high 86 points on 26 goals, 60 assists, the most points by a Blue since the late Pavol Demitra had 93 in 2002-03; and he became the first Blue with 60 assists since Craig Janney had 68 in 1993-94 and became a first-time All-Star in doing so.

And it didn't matter who was on a line with Thomas, whether it was Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich, Brayden Schenn, Jake Neighbours, Brandon Saad, even Alexey Toropchenko, Thomas was able to produce.

Thomas shot the puck lots more (170 on goal), he put a career-high face-off percentage (53.1 percent) and minutes played (20:57).

View the original article to see embedded media.

On top of putting up the most points by a Blue this season, Thomas drew all the tough assignments, so having to deal with the Nathan MacKinnons, the Connor McDavids, the Nikita Kucherovs, the Auston Matthews of the world and all the other top-rated players around the league, for Thomas to be able to blossom and put last year's dip in production behind him said he's ready to accept the challenge of being the top guy.

"Yeah, I think I took another step forward throughout my career," Thomas said. "It gets me excited. You don't know kind of what your ceiling is. I think I surprised myself a little bit this year. I'm really excited to kind of find out how it plays out.

"I would say (Thomas developed) quite a lot of things to be honest. I can still take another step defensively, face-offs. Those are two things that I can continue to improve on. I think my shot was a lot better this year. Just keep on working on situations to use it. I think that'll continue to create more options to pass as well."

But if you talk to Thomas, it wasn't enough, and that's where the leadership kicks in. It wasn't enough because the Blues, who did make an improvement from 81 points to 92 point this season by going 43-33-6, didn't make the playoffs, and that's what matters most.

"It's obviously disappointing. You want to be in the playoffs," Thomas said. "You want to be fighting for a chance to win it all, so that part's disappointing. But there's a lot of positives to take. You look at last year to this year, I think we took a huge jump forward and I felt like we beat a lot of really good teams this year. We're right there and I think there's a lot of positives to take into next year."

The Blues have only had 13 100-point or more seasons in their history. Bernie Federko and Brett Hull account for eight of them; Adam Oates has done it twice; Doug Gilmour, Craig Janney and Brendan Shanahan was the latest to do so when he had 102 points (52 goals, 50 assists) in 1993-94.

Thomas has the best chance to be the next if his trajectory continues to climb.

When the St. Louis Blues faced top-tiered players, such as Auston Matthews (34) of the Toronto Maple Leafs, chances were that Robert Thomas (18) was on the ice for the Blues.

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

"Well, I think Robby has really proven that he's an elite player in this league, obviously with the All-Star nomination," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "But the way he played this year, the amount of minutes he played this year, the amount of meaningful minutes he played this year against top lines, and how he competed, and how he showed up to play every day ... I don't know what the ceiling is for Robby, but I still think we haven't seen his ceiling. I think there's a player there that's going to continue to get better, that's going to continue to grow in his role as a leader, and certainly continue to build on his game and get better because I still think there's quite a high ceiling there."

His 70 takeaways were tied for ninth in the NHL, and his 876 face-offs won were third in the league behind Sidney Crosby (1,081) and Vincent Trocheck (881). So when it comes to things Thomas wants to improve on, it's not just the points, it's everything, and that's what excites him most about the way things can shape up moving forward.

"You can feel that culture coming back and that's what's exciting to be here for a long time is you see that future and you see where the team's headed and the direction," Thomas said. "It's exciting."

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Colton Parayko

Sun, 04/28/2024 - 9:00am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Colton Parayko only had something to prove to himself, no one else.

The St. Louis Blues defenseman, who along with the rest of his teammates, didn't have the greatest of seasons a year ago when the Blues finished a game below .500; it came on the heels of Parayko playing through a herniated disk a season ago that luckily for him and the Blues, didn't require surgery.

Q & A with Blues defenseman Colton Parayko (2:37)

The 30-year-old, who has a Stanley Cup in tow after winning one in 2019, wanted -- and needed -- to get back to a high level of hockey by his standards.

Blues fans questioned his ability to be the top guy leading the blue liners when he was on a team that featured Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester, Carl Gunnarsson, Joel Edmundson, Robert Bortuzzo and Vince Dunn on it that won it all.

Not only did Parayko arguably have one of his best seasons in 2023-24, but for the second time in his career (also 2017-18), he played all 82 games and felt better than ever doing it.

Parayko and Nick Leddy were a staple pair this season and took positive strides in helping the Blues (44-33-6) improve by 11 points, only to fall short when they were eliminated in the third-to-last game of the season.

Parayko let with the media at the end-of-season session to discuss the reasons why the Blues failed to make the playoffs for the second straight season, how he felt, his season and the prognosis moving forward:

Thoughts on the season:

Obviously a lot of emotions. It's a long season. I think first off, we obviously didn't reach the goal of making the playoffs and giving ourselves a chance, but at the end of the day, I think there were a lot of positives that came out of this year and a lot of good things. We came together in the tough games, definitely against some really good opponents. A lot of good things moving forward. We've got a lot of momentum and a lot of good things to look forward to and build off of.

How difficult is it for yourself who won a Cup to now go two straight years without making the playoffs?

It's ever ideal for anybody. I think if you've won or not, I think playoffs is obviously the best time of the year for any sport in general, hockey, baseball, football. Obviously you want to give yourselves a chance to get into the playoffs and then obviously win. We obviously didn't reach the goal that we kind of wanted to but positives for sure going forward.

How good did you feel and how good did you feel about your game?

I felt good. I think this year, just continue to try to build and do whatever I can to help the team keep pushing forward and just get better. That's the biggest thing is just trying to improve my game, which I think if I do that, it will help improve the team and just move forward. I felt good, body felt good. Just happy to play in all 82 (games) this year and good to have a healthy season.

Does it take a toll on your body when you lead the league in blocked shots (218):

There's always bumps and bruises and things like that throughout a season. Just no matter what, with blocked shots, hits, just hockey in general is tough on the body. That's everybody. This team was putting their body on the line. A lot of big blocks throughout the year and big hits, etc. etc. That's just part of the fun I think of the season, the long season, ups and downs. Just fortunate to stay fairly healthy throughout the year.

How good was Nick Leddy and to have continuity with one guy lead to your success?

Obviously fortunate to play with him this year. He's an incredible player, he's been around for a long time, played his 1,000th game this year. I think being able to play with him, I learned a lot. I think as we kind of continue to play more and more together too, sort of read off each other and learn from each other a bit more. I thought we played really well together, but like I said, he's just a super, smart player, a player that can skate and get himself in great opportunities and great spots with his skating ability and the way that he thinks the game. Just lucky to play with him and he's just a great player.

What have you done to bridge some of the bad feelings guys had after last year's disappointment when players said things needed to change from within? Was it a bit of a culture shock?

I think so. First off, I think the guys in this room are committed and we have a good belief in here. I think we've shown throughout the year that we've beat some really good teams and obviously when we stay connected, when we play the way we can, we're a really good hockey team. That's exciting moving forward obviously. We know it's obviously frustrating, but this is where we're at today, so we've got to look forward to our summer and build as a group and kind of continue to regroup, if we can improve like we did this year from last year, we're going to be in a good spot. Definitely excited. It's weird to kind of say it, but looking forward to training camp already and it's the first day of offseason. It'll be a good time to come in and make a push.

Being on the outside looking in, what needs to be done to get over the top and in?

I think the season's so long, we've got to make sure we stay consistent. I think consistency would maybe be a word that comes to mind right off the top of my head I guess. Just throughout the season, we've got to make sure that we come in and we play all the games the same and as many as we can, play to the best of our ability to give ourselves the best chance to win. Like I said, we have a lot of belief in this room and we're looking forward to building us getting better.

On Drew Bannister and the job he did:

Obviously I think he did a really good job. It's never an easy situation or an easy spot to be, but just on behalf of the players, we've got to appreciate his efforts and say thanks for everything. We're just fortunate that he came in and I think we learned a lot, he learned a lot and I think he was great. Can't say enough good things. Just happy that we had the opportunity to do that and go forward.

Colton Parayko's game ascended to good places for the Blues this season

Sat, 04/27/2024 - 10:56am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Ever since Alex Pietrangelo departed the St. Louis Blues via free agency in 2020, there has always been the debate as to whether Colton Parayko could fill those shoes -- or in this instance, skates -- as a No. 1-type defenseman.

The debate will always be around, and to this day, it still is considering the ups and downs Parayko has been through, it was learned, is that much of the down time and play was the result of a herniated disk the Blues defenseman was playing with.

Is Colton Parayko a top-pairing defenseman? (4:03)

But judging by good health and strong play in 2023-24, Parayko has stated his case that he can handle the tough minutes, the challenging matchups and the leadership that comes with it.

"I felt good. I think this year, just continue to try to build and do whatever I can to help the team keep pushing forward and just get better," Parayko said. "That's the biggest thing is just trying to improve my game, which I think if I do that, it will help improve the team and just move forward.

"I felt good, body felt good. Just happy to play in all 82 (games) this year and good to have a healthy season."

After posting just four goals (27 points) last season with a rather ugly minus-19 and averaging 23:00 per game last season, Parayko matched his career-high in goals (10), also done in 2018-19 and 2019-20, with four of them as game-winners, a plus-4 and playing nearly a minute more (23:51 per game) partnered with Nick Leddy.

When the top players came calling, it was usually this pairing that would get the heavy minutes trying to shut them down. For example, Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon, all 140 points of him this season, was held to four assists in four games with the Blues and the Parayko and Leddy pairing on the ice on the ice for three of them.

"Obviously fortunate to play with him this year," Parayko said of Leddy. "He's an incredible player, he's been around for a long time, played his 1,000th game this year. I think being able to play with him, I learned a lot. I think as we kind of continue to play more and more together too, sort of read off each other and learn from each other a bit more. I thought we played really well together, but like I said, he's just a super, smart player, a player that can skate and get himself in great opportunities and great spots with his skating ability and the way that he thinks the game. Just lucky to play with him and he's just a great player."

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong put it as succinctly as possible when he said, "I think Leddy and Parayko looked like they can be a good pair."

That pair, according to the numbers at naturalstattrick.com, played the most minutes of at defensive pairing this season (1,539:24) in all situations. And although the underlying numbers may not match up according to how they read, the ability to kill plays and transport pucks as efficiently as Parayko and Leddy did made this season a greater improvement.

Parayko was a catalyst, and at the end of the season, he was playing minutes with Scott Perunovich. The Blues wanted to know what kind of player Perunovich is, and playing him with Parayko was the ultimate compliment as to who would draw that assignment and who could get the best out of him.

"Yeah, when I think about 'Pary', just from Day 1 when I came here, the amount of minutes he played, the matchups that he had to face, how he played, the professionalism that he came with every day ... such an energetic guy within the room and a real treat as a coach to have on your team," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "He just gave us a lot of stability back there, regardless of who we played against or who he was playing with. It says a lot about him and his growth.

"I know, last year was a tough season for him, but the character to come back and have a season like that, from Day 1 until the end of the season, tells you a lot about that player. And he's still a young player. I think you're going to see a player that's going to continue to grow and get better."

Nick Leddy (4) and Colton Parayko (55) played the most minutes among defensive pairs in 2023-24, according to naturalstattrick.com.

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Parayko, who led the NHL this season in blocked shots (218), is still only 30 and does have seven years remaining on his contract, which will take him to 37, a lot by top-level defenseman standards, but the fact he was healthy and he did take steps forward this year is good for the Blues. And that Parayko is hungry bodes well for the franchise in its quest to get back within the top eight in the Western Conference again.

"Obviously a lot of emotions. It's a long season," Parayko said. "I think first off, we obviously didn't reach the goal of making the playoffs and giving ourselves a chance, but at the end of the day, I think there were a lot of positives that came out of this year and a lot of good things. We came together in the tough games, definitely against some really good opponents. A lot of good things moving forward. We've got a lot of momentum and a lot of good things to look forward to and build off of.

"It's never ideal for anybody (to watch the playoffs). I think if you've won or not, I think playoffs is obviously the best time of the year for any sport in general, hockey, baseball, football. Obviously you want to give yourselves a chance to get into the playoffs and then obviously win. We obviously didn't reach the goal that we kind of wanted to but positives for sure going forward."

The Hockey News Archive

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Jake Neighbours

Sat, 04/27/2024 - 9:00am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Jake Neighbours would be the first to admit that he didn't see it coming.

After all, the 2020 first-round pick by the St. Louis Blues (26th overall) only reached 20 or more goals just once in his four seasons with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League.

Q & A with Blues forward Jake Neighbours (3:49)

So to think the 21-year-old would reach 27 goals, let alone 20, was a pleasant surprise.

But in doing so, Neighbours put the work into being a net front presence, scoring 20 of his 27 goals in and around the crease.

He's the perfect example of what the Blues, who were 43-33-6, are trying to do moving forward: develop young talent and hope they pan out to be bonafide NHL players. Going from a fourth-line winger to start the season to being a mainstay in the top six is proof how working hard to persevere can lead to great things.

Unfortunately, Neighbours had his season cut short by missing the final five games with a head injury that derailed his chance at playing all 82 games.

Neighbours, who finished with 38 points in 77 games, spoke at the end-of-season media session about his season, why the Blues just missed out on the postseason, the future of the Blues and more:

How are you feeling (after the injury that forced you to miss final five games)?

I feel pretty good. I think I was in a situation where if the games meant more, I probably could have played, but just being safe and cautious and not risking anything further.

If you were told you would have scored that amount of goals (27), would you have believed it?

Uh, no, definitely not, but I think it's just a product of hard work, commitment to getting better every day and also being put in a really good position by my coaching staff, the guys around me, the guys I was playing with. A lot of my goals were products of other guys doing pretty incredible things. I'm just the benefactor on the other side of it.

When so many guys put up good numbers, what do you think and why are you not in the playoffs?

That's kind of the burning question, right? I think we showed a lot of positive things this year and a lot of progress. We know we have a good team in this locker room and we know we're capable of more than what we're at right now. We showed that playing against top teams this year and obviously getting points and getting wins against them, but it's more about getting wins you're so-called supposed to win. We didn't do that enough this year. Like you said, we have a lot of really good pieces in this room, we have two really good goaltenders, a solid core of d-men and forwards that have a lot of talent. We have a lot of belief in this group still. I'm already looking forward to another opportunity next year.

When you have that kind of season personally, how excited do you get when thinking of what your next level is?

Yeah for sure. It's all about progress, right? I'm still young and still finding my way. I think I'd be silly to be satisfied with where I'm at right now. I just have to continue to progress. It does bring a little bit of belief to yourself that you are capable of producing and performing in this league. I just want to continue to build upon that and keep moving forward.

What were the biggest areas of growth for you this season?

I think just confidence and belief in myself that I am capable of being somewhat of an offensive player in this league and helping my team win games. I think I found a good role on this team this year, a role for myself and I need to build upon that. Like I said, just continue to move in an upward trajectory and continue to get better and try and improve my game.

When you are this close and you are on the outside looking in, from your perspective, what kept you guys out?

Just not getting points against teams that you expect to get points against. It's the National Hockey League. Anybody can beat anybody and you can't take any game for granted against any team. For us, it's about coming in next year and taking it game by game and trying to get ahead of the curve and putting ourselves in good positions so when we're coming down the stretch, we're not chasing and fighting to try and slip in, but more in a position to hold our spot and be a little more comfortable this time of year. I think for us, like I said, we have a lot of belief in this group. We've got a lot of good pieces. It's just about regrouping and continuing to move forward. We had a great season compared to last year and just need to keep moving in that direction.

How was Drew Bannister for you?

He was great. He came in, it's obviously a tough situation. We weren't in a great spot at the time we made the coaching change obviously. He came inn, he held guys accountable and pushed us in a great direction. I thought the players did a good job of accepting of what was going on and embracing a new coach and kind of a new way of doing things. He did a great job. He was awesome for us and we enjoyed playing for him. He was great (for me). I had him in the minors in Springfield there and I thought he handled me very well down there and did the same here. He put me in every position be could for me to succeed and I'm very grateful for that.

What was the difference in the feeling from the team from last year to this year?

We were really disappointed with last season and we obviously knew we were capable of a lot more. I think the belief of playing as a team and we're not a team that exactly has a ton of superstars, but we do believe we're deep and have players that can produce at this level and win hockey games. I think if we showed a little bit of that this year and want to continue to move in that direction.

When you were hurt, did you reflect on the kind of season you had maybe what you learned throughout the last season?

Not really, no. I was doing my best to try and get back and was kind of focused on that. Obviously over the next couple days or weeks or whatever, I'll look back on it and I'm obviously happy with my season and the way I progressed from last year to this year. I haven't really thought about it too much but just continue to move forward. I don't want to get stagnant or stay with where I'm at. I want to continue to develop and to be more of an effective player.

You became a fan favorite this year, was it harder to go around St. Louis than in the past?

I mean maybe a little bit, yeah. I appreciate all the support by the fans. It's super-cool to hear the cheers and all the things they say about you and what not. I think I'm just an honest player. I try to work hard and put my best foot forward every night and play an honest game. I think they appreciate that. I thank them for that.

What did you see in the young guys, who were once where you were, as a whole this year?

It's nice to see, right? When you get some young guys that come up in the lineup and show that they can be effective and get themselves some confidence and bring some energy to the team as well. Having some young guys that can contribute and fill roles is awesome. I thought those guys did a great job, 'Kess,' 'Boldy,' Dean, they were all great on their callups and played some real good minutes and good hockey for us. It's nice to see them translating well to the NHL level and like I said, I was in their shoes not too long ago. It's a process and they're going to continue to work at it. They're all good kids that work extremely hard. Only expect more from them moving forward.

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Brayden Schenn

Fri, 04/26/2024 - 8:55am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Playing in his 13th full season in the NHL, the challenges, and more of them, became quite different for Brayden Schenn.

Not only was he named the 24th captain in franchise history, but the responsibilities that go along with it fell on the shoulders of the 32-year-old as well.

Q & A with Blues captain Brayden Schenn (4:21)

He wasn't scoring and contributing on a regular basis, the team wasn't winning initially, the coach [Craig Berube] was fired in December and Schenn felt the burden on his shoulders.

Despite his two longest scoring droughts (16 and 18 games, respectively) of his NHL career, Schenn was able to reach the 20-goal mark for the eighth time in his career when he scored seven times in the final 16 games. But his 46 points in 82 games, his second straight season of playing a full schedule, was his lowest output since 41 points in 2013-14 with the Philadelphia Flyers.

But nothing changed as far as a skater who checked, played a responsible two-way game, played physical and fought when called upon and led by example.

The forward, through a coaching change, switching in and out from center to wing, learned plenty as the leader guiding a team through a transitional period, one in which saw the Blues, who finished 43-33-6, improve by 11 points (92-81) from last year.

Schenn's end-of-season thoughts last week reflect a veteran player who thinks the Blues aren't far from being a playoff team once again. He spoke of that, reasons falling short this season, his thoughts on what it was like being a first-year captain, the transition from Berube to Drew Bannister and more:

When you look back at the good numbers that you had, do you believe you should still be playing?

Yeah, it's not an easy league. Put it that way. There's some really good teams that obviously missed or teams that were in the playoffs last year that didn't have great years. You have to be consistent. I think what we feel good about our team is we played with the top teams, we beat the top teams all year long and I think when we played teams below us in the standings, we weren't able to find the points or win the hockey games and ultimately, that bit us in the butt at the end of the year and probably a huge reason why we're not in the playoffs right now.

Why couldn't you find the points against those teams below you?

Early on too, you look at Chicago early, I think that one game against Columbus before the All-Star break, we came out of the All-Star break not playing as good as we needed to and after the All-Star break, we kind of were chasing it after that and it's hard to do on the second half of the year. I think if you look at the past three years, even the year we went to the second round of the playoffs there, our starts haven't been where they needed to be and then we're always chasing or have to get hot throughout the course of the year, so I think that's something that we really have to focus on next year is banking points early and not chasing it towards the end of the year and try and get in the playoffs that way.

Being the captain, feel more of an onus of trying to get this right?

Oh yeah, absolutely, 100 percent. I'd be lying to you if I didn't go home some days when you're not winning and not playing the way you want, to say that I'm not thinking about it, yeah, you're always trying to find ways to get yourself to play better, the team to play better, guys to buy in to what we're kind of trying to create here. That comes from learning and that comes with talking to guys and leaning on guys around you. We feel like we are going to get this right in here. It's funny. We're not sitting here and we're saying that we're happy with the position we're in because we're out of the playoffs, but we feel like we're a lot closer than what maybe people think. We have good pieces in here. We have two stud goalies that some teams don't even have one, right? Right there alone, that gives you a chance to win every single night and that's why we feel like we can make some steps moving into next season.

What did you learn about yourself wearing the 'C' this year? Anything new?

Yeah, a lot. I felt early on, it's funny, you try and get everything to go right ... you want everything to go right and you want everything to go your way and sometimes it doesn't. I think early on, you worry about everything else that's going on around you and sometimes you kind of forget about worrying about yourself and not saying that selfishly, I'm saying that you have to be able to perform and not let certain things affect you early on, which maybe I did. I thought the second half of the year, you kind of just relaxed a little bit and played hockey. I think just through the first (year) being a captain, you definitely learn a lot, you learn to lean on the people around you, teammates around you, people from in the hockey world too. I think I've learned a lot and it's going to help me heading into next year and years to come.

Is it different than you thought it would be?

It's a good question. I don't know if "different" is the right word. I think just a lot early on. I think partially too is I got named captain a couple days before the season started, and with me not knowing it. ... You want everything to go right early and obviously it didn't. We were in a bad spot, we fired our coach and obviously you put pressure and expectations on yourself that you're a reason the coach got let go early and there's different emotions and stuff like that. Like I said, I learned a lot over the course of this year and I felt like being a leader is not always easy sometimes and you have to learn and keep on growing. It's funny when you think you know a lot or everything and you kind of realize you don't know a whole lot, you just keep on learning and that's the best part about it. I'm lucky to have guys in the organization and people inside this locker room that you can lean on and they definitely make you better as well.

If you had to describe this season and team in one word, what would it be and why?

One word ... oh man. I don't know if I can get one word. I just think like I was talking before, I just think we're closer than what people think. I think there's a lot of good pieces in this locker room that can get us to where we want to be a lot faster than what people think. You've got skill up front, you've got good goalies, a couple studs on the back end, a guy like Colton Parayko who plays against McDavid and MacKinnon and is able to shut those guys down. I just think there's a lot of pieces here where we can fix this quick and on top of it, you've got guys like Jake [Neighbours] who had a great year, 'Boldy' played well at the end of the year. That shows that he can score some goals. There's some excitement and pieces where we feel like we can get to where we want to be next year.

On relationship with Drew Bannister and the job he did, following along in what decision management goes in who they hire:

Whatever happens, that's obviously Army's decision and his (management team) that he relies on decision, but with Drew, he came in a tough spot because everyone loved 'Chief.' 'Chief' was obviously a face for the city, a face for the organization, the first coach to ever win the Cup. So when you come into that, it's hard for everyone, but I think Drew came in and did a great job. We've got a great record underneath him. Obviously it's a learning curve for him too, right? First time being an NHL coach. I think we bought into what he was doing and we came together as a group and were able to have a good record. Whatever happens there, I guess we'll all be following along and see what 'Army' and Drew have to say.

Steve Ott named to Canada's World Championship coaching staff

Thu, 04/25/2024 - 1:42pm

St. Louis Blues assistant coach Steve Ott was named to the coaching staff for Canada at the upcoming 2024 IIHF World Championship in Prague and Ostrava, Czechia, Hockey Canada announced.

André Tourigny will lead 🇨🇦 at #MensWorlds, alongside assistants Dean Evason, Jay Woodcroft and Steve Ott.

André Tourigny dirigera le 🇨🇦 au #MondialMasculin aux côtés de ses adjoints Dean Evason, Jay Woodcroft et Steve Ott.

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) April 25, 2024

Ott, 41, will join coach Andre Tourigny (head coach, Utah) and assistants Dean Evason and Jay Woodcroft. The tournament will take place from May 10-26.

Ott, who just completed his seventh season as an assistant coach with the Blues that includes the 2019 Stanley Cup champions, will make his international debut behind the bench.

View the original article to see embedded media.

As a player, Ott played in 848 NHL regular-season games with the Blues (2014-16), Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, Buffalo Sabres, and Montréal Canadiens.

Ott won bronze at the 2001 IIHF World Junior Championship and silver at the 2002 tournament, while he also represented Canada at the 2010 IIHF World Championship.

Canada, which is the defending tournament champion that included Blues players Jake Neighbours, Sammy Blais and Joel Hofer, could is likely adding Jordan Binnington and Colton Parayko to the squad this year. Hofer and Neighbours could also be part of the squad.

St Louis Blues on The Hockey News

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Bannister named 27th coach in Blues history

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Binnington, Parayko, Hofer named to Canada's roster for 2024 IIHF World Championship

Grading the 2023-24 St. Louis Blues

Stenberg latest 2023 first-round pick to sign entry level contract

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Blues sign prospect Robertson to entry-level contract

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St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Doug Armstrong

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Drew Bannister

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Robert Thomas

Thomas emerged as a top-line center, ready to improve going forward

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Colton Parayko

Colton Parayko's game ascended to good places for the Blues this season

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Jake Neighbours

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Brayden Schenn

Steve Ott named to Canada's World Championship coaching staff

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