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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 end of season Q & A with Jordan Binnington

Thu, 04/25/2024 - 9:00am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- For those that know Jordan Binnington since he first donned a Blues jersey on what will always go down as historic day on Jan. 7, 2019 know that the St. Louis Blues goalie lives in the moment and doesn't give a lick what anyone else thinks or says about him.

It's what has molded him into the goalie he is today, always having to fight for himself from the moment he decided to become a professional hockey player. The 30-year-old's been fighting the odds since he left Owen Sound of the Ontario Hockey League in 2013.

Q & A with Blues goalie Jordan Binnington (6:54)

And after leading the pack for the Blues in their Stanley Cup-winning title run in 2019, there have been detractors that Binnington was a one-hit wonder, once again downplaying his abilities.

The numbers supported the naysayers, going from a 1.89 goals-against average and .927 save percentage his rookie season to a career-worst 3.31 GAA and .894 save percentage last season despite the lackluster play by Blues defensive unit.

And as good as Binnington was in the Cup run, going 24-5-1, then setting the record for rookie goalies by winning all 16 games in the playoffs, this, the 2023-24 season may have been Binnington's best yet.

Sure, the numbers may look ordinary (28-21-5, 2.84 GAA and .913 save percentage) but consider the fact that the Blues, who went 43-33-6 (92 points) probably had no business being in the playoff race as long as they were, getting all the way to Game 80 before being eliminated, their goaltending -- led by Binnington and Joel Hofer -- was the top reason why they were relevant as long as they were.

Binnington was in the top 10 in many stat keepers who track goals-saved above average/expected goals against, including first in the NHL in xGA according to naturalstattrick.com (178.64) and he had a 16.35 in GSAA, which was good for sixth overall, fifth for goalies to play in 50 or more games.

The goalie spoke at the end-of-season media session last week and discussed why the Blues fell short, how he felt his season went, the relationship with Joel Hofer, and a host of topics:

Looking back on the season, great goalie numbers, multiple 25-goal scorers, d-men blocking shots, are you thinking you should still be playing?

That's the goal. There are some guys who had some good years and some young guys who had some good years, guys who took steps. It's on us to continue that and have a good offseason here and carry that into next year and hopefully have a better outcome in the season.

How do you evaluate your season?

I felt I was present throughout. I checked in pretty often and put my best foot forward every day. So I feel good about that and definitely some evolution, some growth. Lots of things to take away and more experience.

What was it like working with Joel Hofer and seeing his progression?

It was a lot of fun. He's a good kid, good guy and he's a good goalie. It was fun working with him. He's getting me playing with the puck more in practice handling pucks. I learned a little bit from him too just watching him play and on a day to day basis. You can take stuff from everywhere. It was fun being partners with him this year.

When you get close to making it, what in your mind kept you from making it to the playoffs?

I think the urgency level from an earlier point in the season. I think even though it's early on, those points are important, those games are important. It all adds up. Just finding another level right from the get-go, an intense training camp all the way through the end of the season I would say.

What allowed you to be so consistent this year and electric on a lot of nights?

I think just experience and knowing myself and knowing what I need. I felt a great relationship with the coach, Dave Alexander here. It was very smooth in sync, which definitely helped. Just piecing things together as I go and I'm enjoying it and I think that's important to just have that vision for myself and enjoy it along the way.

Does it feel good that national people recognize how good you were, feel good about that?

Yeah, when you break it down, the thing I'm most proud of is my craft in the net as for hockey goes. Definitely I'm appreciative of that.

How do you compare where the team was defensively last year to this year; what kids of strides did you see?

I'd say improvements for sure. Just being more in sync and killing plays is a term we use here, making reads and being aggressive to retrieve pucks and in turn, I think that turns into offense. That's how the game works and that's how you're successful in this league. Some guys in the back have had some great years and you look at guys like Toropchenko, Walker, 'Kapi,' guys are blocking shots and doing what it takes to win. There's signs of all that. Hopefully it's just carrying that with us and having a great offseason, taking steps, whether you're a young guy, just learn as much as you can this year and take that forward. If you're a mid-20 guy, it's time to take a step to be that veteran presence that we need and competitive player day in, day out and just agree to do what you can what the team needs to win.

How tough is it to have to sit and watch the playoffs for the second year in a row?

It hurts this year for sure. You just figure hopefully last year's a one-off, but it's why we play, right? Just to be a competitor. You don't play this game forever. You want to be in that action and even just playing in Dallas last night and how loud the rink was and how excited the fans were to cheer on their team, that's something that's earned and I think we're our path back to earning that feeling.

If you could describe the season in one word, what is it and why?

I don't know. Personally ... as a team, I guess the same thing: evolution. Just growing as people and players and as a team. I think the biggest thing is growth as a team. Just coming together. We had a lot of big meetings, broke some barriers and talked about different things. I think moving forward, that will be a strong suit for us.

Are days like this tougher because roster likely won't be the same?

That's the game and I think that's what guys need to realize that you've got to make the most of all these moments, opportunities and seasons. You have great friends you play with and then you don't play with them, maybe never again so you've got to enjoy that. The most fun you'll have and the most times you'll be remembered is by being successful. I think that's the key thing to take away.

How close will you pay attention to the coaching situation and how do you feel about the job Drew Bannister did?

I think 'Banny,' it's not an easy situation to come into. He had a good record and he did a good job. I think he put his best foot forward every day. He held good meetings. He put himself out there, he was intense, he brought energy for us to rise up. I think a group like us needed that sometimes to get us motivated for whatever reason. It's not really in our control, per say. I'll just kind of see what happens with that and if I get asked any thoughts or opinions, I'll be able to speak freely.

The Hockey News Archive

Neighbours leads the pack of promising Blues young players

Thu, 04/25/2024 - 8:55am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- There's plenty to like about the St. Louis Blues and the prospects they have on the horizon.

But in looking at some of the future that's been part of the Blues roster already, look no further than forward Jake Neighbours.

Jake Neighbours breakout season leads way in hope for future among Bluesyoung players/prospects (3:42)

In just his third NHL season, including his first full season in 2023-24, the 21-year-old, who was the 26th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, sprung into action quite nicely.

In his first two seasons, which covered 52 games, Neighbours totaled seven goals and five assists and set himself up nicely to be a regular on the roster this season.

Not only did Neighbours put up strong numbers (27 goals, 11 assists) in 77 games, he even exceeded his own expectations, especially in the goal-scoring department, which tied Pavel Buchnevich for second on the team behind Jordan Kyrou (31).

"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," Neighbours said. "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."

Neighbours has made it a point to be the next net front presence the Blues have craved since the departure of David Backes in 2016.

Of his 27 goals, 20 of them came from the slot or crease area for Neighbours according to NHL Edge stats, who matched the goal total he had in 2016-17 as a 14-, 15-year-old playing for Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna U15P of the CSSHL U15.

"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," Neighbours said. "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."

Just think, Neighbours began the season as a fourth-line winger and eventually build his game up to be a top-six forward, many nights playing with Robert Thomas on the top line.

"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," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. "... 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."

Neighbours was on track to play in all 82 games before suffering a head injury April 6 against the San Jose Sharks.

"I feel pretty good," Neighbours said. "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."

Neighbours, along with forward Zack Bolduc, forward Zach Dean who played some games down the stretch and defenseman Matthew Kessel all are setting their footprints in this organization, and with Dalibor Dvorsky, Theo Lindstein, Otto Stenberg and others on the horizon, there's plenty to look forward to.

Of Jake Neighbours's 27 goals, eight came on the power play and four of them were game-winners this past season.

Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

"It's nice to see, right," Neighbours said. "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."

This kind of season only makes Neighbours crave for more.

"Yeah for sure. It's all about progress, right," Neighbours said. "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."

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Pavel Buchnevich

Wed, 04/24/2024 - 10:37am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- By his own admission, Pavel Buchnevich was his own worst critic.

The St. Louis Blues forward went through stretches of games where things could have gone much better for him, and when asked, he wouldn't hesitate letting it be known that he could have, and should have been better.

Q & A with Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich (6:13)

But in the long run, it was still another solid season, his third in St. Louis, for Buchnevich, who for long swaths was the subject of trade rumors with the Blues teetering on the edge of being in or out of the playoffs and just one year remaining on his contract.

Buchnevich finished the season tied for second in goals (27) with Jake Neighbours, trailing only Jordan Kyrou's 31, and his second-best goal output of his career (30 in 2021-22); and he was third in points with 63 in 80 games and again filled a role as second-line center, just as he did towards the end of last season, when the Blues needed someone to fill a need.

Buchnevich will be going into the final year of a four-year, $23.2 million contract ($5.8 million average annual value) he signed upon being acquired from the New York Rangers in 2021, and there seems to be interest in the two sides about an extension after making it through the trade deadline on March 8.

The forward spoke at the end-of-season media gathering about the season in general, why the Blues missed out on the playoffs for a second straight season, his time in St. Louis and if he's open to staying long term:

How do you look at the season overall?

Disappointing of course. We make a good push last month and losing (games) that we kind of should win. That kind of takes away chance from our games. But it's still a good experience and hopefully we learn from that and build something for next year.

Why was this team better this year?

I feel like it's more structure how we play. We now kind of dig into our system and more responsible defensively. We don't give up like many chances, even against good teams. Carolina, those top teams. We play well against them. I feel like last couple months, we show how if we play as a group and dig into the system and don't make too many bad turnovers, we can play against anybody. It's a disappointing season because we lost like Columbus, San Jose, Chicago, those types of games is like 16-18 points. That's why we're here.

Is there anything you can change so you don't have those issues against bottom teams?

I guess have to be ready. All three games (against) San Jose, it's like same type of scenario. We got so many changes first period, we don't score. Then it's boom, boom 2-0 and we do nothing and we couldn't find back of the net. We just have to be better with our scoring chances early and win the game earlier than rely on skill later.

All the San Jose losses was the difference:

We don't play great against them. I think not just those games. I think we've got to play better against teams we should win(against). It's cost us our season.

Do you agree with Brayden Schenn saying you're closer than some think? If so, why?

In my opinion, yeah, we're closer because we've got great goaltending day in, day out and we show how we can play against good teams structured hockey and don't give up many chances, Grade A chances. Like I said, we've got great goaltending. We've got to fix our special teams problems (from) earlier this season and we will do better.

On possibly signing extension this summer, how do you handle that?

Positive of course. You don't know what's going to happen. You see rumors. You guys trade me for like two months. A little bit stressed moment, but deadline done, stress relief and I have a good talk with Doug [Armstrong]. He say he going to talk to my representative in the summer and we'll see how it goes. I like it here. After Rangers trade here, kind of my hockey career change. More play big minutes, play big role here. This season, not as great as previous ones but last couple years, previous ones, I think I prove I can be good player.

What would determine if you sign an extension this summer?

A lot of things. I don't want to (say) what's going to determine it. Like I say, I like it here. We'll see what's going to happen.

The Hockey News Archive

Brayden Schenn will benefit moving forward having gone through first season as Blues captain

Wed, 04/24/2024 - 9:00am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Brayden Schenn couldn't have been happier at the time.

It's not every day someone is bestowed the honor wearing the captain's 'C' as the ultimate leader on Sept. 20, 2023, something that doesn't come lightly, especially in the NHL.

Now that he has a year under his belt, there were plenty of learning curves, ups and downs, pressure to perform, pressure to right the ship when things didn't go well.

And most importantly, the 32-year-old learned, "a lot," Schenn said.

Thoughts on Brayden Schenn's first season as Blues captain (6:07)

There's more responsibility than just wearing a 'C.' And Schenn felt the burden of it, especially early in the season. He first went through the longest stretch of his career without scoring a goal, going 16 games (Dec. 2, 2023-Jan. 9, 2024), then if things wouldn't get worse, they would. Schenn would endure an 18-game goalless drought (Jan. 30-March 16).

"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," Schenn said. "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."

But in the end, even going 34 games without scoring in two stretches, Schenn would finish with his eighth 20-goal season this year, finishing with 46 points (20 goals, 26 assists) while playing all 82 games for the second straight season, third time since joining the Blues seven seasons ago and fifth time in his career.

"I thought the second half of the year, you kind of just relaxed a little bit and played hockey," Schenn said. "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."

Schenn had quite the cast of teammates to lean on, as he mentioned, including Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, and Robert Thomas among those that wore letters. But even having such a quality group to lean on, when the Blues were not having the success they wanted early in the season, the top leader feels he's failing everyone.

"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," Schenn said. "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."

The Blues improved from 82 points past season to 92 this season with a stronger finish. And when management and coaches told Schenn not to take so much responsibility upon himself, things began to click.

"I thought he did a really good job," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. "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."

Schenn came into the season as captain of a Craig Berube-coached team, then had to transition to Drew Bannister, who took over for Berube when he was fired Dec. 12.

"I think being a captain at any level for the first time is tough, and I've been through that," Bannister said. "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."

Schenn, whose point output was his lowest in a non-COVID season since he had 41 with the Philadelphia Flyers in his third full season in 2013-14, knows now the responsibility as captain doesn't have to be a one-man show and that he is able to lead on a a solid support group.

Blues first-year captain Brayden Schenn scored seven times the last 16 games of the season to reach the 20-goal marker for the eighth time in his NHL career.

Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

But one thing that will never change, and that's Schenn will lead by example, on and off the ice and that being captain wasn't everything he thought it would be. There's plenty more to it.

And as far as Blues history lore goes, he's following in the footsteps of Ryan O'Reilly, Alex Pietrangelo, David Backes, Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger, Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, Bernie Federko, Brian Sutter and others.

"It's a good question. I don't know if "different" is the right word," Schenn said. "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."

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Joel Hofer

Tue, 04/23/2024 - 10:51am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- The 2023-24 season wasn't Joel Hofer's first rodeo in the NHL.

Sure, the goalie's dipped his toes in the league's waters before, eight games the past two seasons before, but this was his first full season and easily his best.

The 23-year-old proved he belongs in the league and helped form one of the best tandems with Jordan Binnington to give the Blues, who were 43-33-6 this season, a terrific 1-2 punch moving forward.

Q & A with Blues goalie Joel Hofer (5:01)

Hofer was 15-12-1 with a solid 2.65 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and first shutout in his second game this season, Oct. 26, 2023 against the Calgary Flames, in over 1,628 minutes of action.

Hofer talked about a variety of topics in his end-of-season press conference following the conclusion of the season and touched on these topics and others:

What did this season, your first full season in the NHL, mean for you? What did you learn about yourself?

That I can play at this level. It was obviously a good year for me. Obviously not the result we wanted as a team, obviously you want to make the playoffs. First time not making the playoffs for me. It sucks. I'm a competitor, I want to compete and I want to win. It definitely hurts and got to try to find a way to get better.

What was it like working with Jordan Binnington?

It was great; he's amazing. It really is amazing watching him every night. The average person, when they watch him, they don't really see the little things he does. As a goalie, I can see those little things. He makes things look easy. He's great and I had a lot of fun working with him.

How was your relationship in practices, learning from one another and making things off each others' games?

It's fun. Obviously practice, everyone's trying to get better. That's just something we like to practice a little bit is just shooting pucks back and forth. Just little things to keep it loose and something to get better at.

Were your numbers and year even better than you thought they could be?

It was good. I learned a lot, that's for sure. I learned it's a tough league. There's great players in this league. As soon as you think you've got a piece of the league, it'll bite you back, but yeah, it was good. I learned a lot and just looking forward to the next couple years.

From your perspective, why did the team fall short this season?

I think everybody can say we lost against teams lower in the standings and things like that. I think that's probably one of the bigger things. I'm sure there's more that goes into it, key games that we can win, but then again, we also showed that we can play against the best teams. We've beaten the best teams. It's definitely something to focus on going into next year.

After having a solid season, do you get more optimistic about where your game can go to next?

Yeah for sure. Always want to get better. That's the biggest thing for me. Not being too satisfied, I think that's where some guys can get themselves in trouble thinking that it'll come easy. The work's just going to get harder. I just want to get better and strive to make the playoffs next year.

What were some of the strides Jake Neighbours, a close friend, made this year?

Yeah, he was great. He drove this team for the most part. Obviously scored a lot of goals for us, which was big, found net front on the power play, which he was really good at. He was great for me and obviously all the boys. He was good and I'm sure he'll have a lot of good years to come.

On if Neighbours seems like a guy that's pretty even-keeled:

Yeah, he's good. He's definitely a true pro. It's been fun watching him and I obviously live with him. We've got a good bond growing. It's been a lot of fun for sure.

Are the worlds in the cards for you again if you get asked?

I'm not sure. We'll have to see. I had a lot of fun last year and we obviously won the gold, which was the most important. Time will tell.

Moving forward, Blues know they have a backbone; it starts in goal with Binnington, Hofer

Mon, 04/22/2024 - 6:09pm

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- When laying out a blueprint and foundation for success, the St. Louis Blues have a very good understanding of where it all begins.

It most certainly starts and to a degree, stops with Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer.

The Blues, who were 43-33-6 this season, good for 92 points, which was an 11-point improvement from 2022-23, had arguably the best goalie tandem in the league this past season.

Jordan Binnington's 28 wins this season were second-most in his career (30; 2019-20).

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone knows the pedigree that Binnington, 30, brought from his experience going back to his Stanley Cup-winning rookie season in 2019 before taking a dip in numbers the next two seasons before having arguably his best full-season of his career. But then there's Hofer, 24, playing in his first full season. Nobody knew what to expect. But all he did was aid in a tandem with Binnington to provide a solid combined goals saved above expected (24.54) according to naturalstattrick.com, which was sixth-best according to their charts, and save percentage (.913).

Binnington was 28-21-5 with a 2.84 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage and was sixth according to naturalstattrick at 16.35 goals saved above expected. The save percentage was his best since the Cup-winning season when it was .927.

"I felt I was present throughout," Binnington said. "I checked in pretty often and put my best foot forward every day. So I feel good about that and definitely some evolution, some growth. Lots of things to take away and more experience."

There's one area the Blues need no improvements from moving into 2024-25: goaltending (3:28)

Hofer went 15-12-1 with a 2.65 GAA and .914 save percentage with a 8.19 GSAx and proved something very valuable to himself.

"That I can play at this level," Hofer said. "It was obviously a good year for me. Obviously not the result we wanted as a team, obviously you want to make the playoffs. First time not making the playoffs for me. It sucks. I'm a competitor, I want to compete and I want to win. It definitely hurts and got to try to find a way to get better.

"It was good. I learned a lot, that's for sure. I learned it's a tough league. There's great players in this league. As soon as you think you've got a piece of the league, it'll bite you back, but yeah, it was good. I learned a lot and just looking forward to the next couple years."

There's no doubt this area of the game will get better for the Blues. This area is the least of their worries moving forward. It's other areas of the game that need improving, but knowing that this is a tandem that will give them a chance to win on a regular basis is so gratifying and makes the Blues thirst for higher goals moving forward.

"You need really good goaltending in this league to win or even compete," Blues center Robert Thomas said. "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."

The Blues have had some of the best goalie tandems in the league in the past decade. Most recently, think Binnington and Ville Husso, Binnington and Jake Allen, Allen and Carter Hutton, Allen and Brian Elliott, Elliott and Jaroslav Halak, who won the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals during the regular season in 2011-12.

Hofer still has plenty to prove, but one thing's for sure: he and Binnington have a good relationship and push each other in the right areas.

"It was a lot of fun. He's a good kid, good guy and he's a good goalie," Binnington said of Hofer. "It was fun working with him. He's getting me playing with the puck more in practice handling pucks. I learned a little bit from him too just watching him play and on a day to day basis. You can take stuff from everywhere. It was fun being partners with him this year."

Hofer felt the same.

"It was great; he's amazing," Hofer said of Binnington. "It really is amazing watching him every night. The average person, when they watch him, they don't really see the little things he does. As a goalie, I can see those little things. He makes things look easy. He's great and I had a lot of fun working with him."

Not only did the two goalies put up solid numbers keeping the Blues alive in many games, they're also two of the best puck handlers in the game, which makes preparing for the Blues so much tougher knowing you can't just dump pucks in hoping they don't play it well.

It was such a luxury for the coaching staff to have.

Joel Hofer's first full season in the NHL provided 15 wins in 30 appearances, including 27 games started.

Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

"I have relationships with both 'Binner' and Joel," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "'Binner' and I had a conversation (recently) 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 [Hockey] 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."

If the Blues are able to get a couple other areas of the ice shored up, this could get interesting heading into 2024-25.

"To me, both [Binnington] and Joel are probably one of the best tandems, if not the best tandem, in the NHL right now," Bannister said. "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."

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Despite missing playoffs for second straight season, Blues feel they're "closer than what people think"

Mon, 04/22/2024 - 9:00am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Yes, facts are facts, and the St. Louis Blues failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season.

But when you ask Brayden Schenn if there was more doom and gloom, his answer might surprise you.

Are the Blues closer to making the playoffs than people think? (6:57)

"I just think we're closer than what people think," the Blues' captain said.

Really?

Yes.

Why?

"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," Schenn said. "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 [Connor] McDavid and [Nathan] 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' [Zack Bolduc] 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."

This wasn't the mood in the locker room after the Blues finished 37-38-7 last season and out of the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18. No, this was improving from that 81-point season to 92 this season with a 43-33-6 record.

They started to plant some seeds for moving forward, and that has players, management and coaches -- whoever they maybe -- excited.

"This season was one of change, one of looking towards the future," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. "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."

So what kept the Blues out? Well, it wasn't their inability to beat good teams. It was their inability to beat those teams below them in the standings, particularly those that lived in the basement.

"Just not getting points against teams that you expect to get points against," Neighbours said. "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."

Precisely what Jordan Binnington said. Not so much the inability to beat the Sharks or the Columbus Blue Jackets, even losing a game to the Chicago Blackhawks, but there was too much inconsistency and lack of intensity to games early in the season that got a coach fired [Craig Berube] and lost ground too soon.

"I think the urgency level from an earlier point in the season. I think even though it's early on, those points are important, those games are important," Binnington said. "It all adds up. Just finding another level right from the get-go, an intense training camp all the way through the end of the season I would say."

It is a bitter pill to swallow, missing out on the playoffs by six points knowing the Blues left 11 on the table against the Sharks, Blue Jackets and Blackhawks, but it beats the alternative when veterans at this time last year were calling out commitments of the team and saying guys were not committed to a team concept and only worrying about themselves.

None of that is even remotely evident this time around.

"I wouldn't say culture change. I would say kind of like a rejuvenation, if that's the right word," said Blues center Robert Thomas, who led the team with 86 points (26 goals, 60 assists) this season. "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."

The roster won't look the same. We all know that. There are unrestricted free agents that likely won't be back. Armstrong will attempt, through trade or free agency or from his words, improve from within, to try and improve the roster.

It leaves a hunger that makes players look forward to getting back in September, not wonder if they're the ones that need to look in the mirror after last year's exit comments.

"That's the game and I think that's what guys need to realize that you've got to make the most of all these moments, opportunities and seasons," Binnington said. "You have great friends you play with and then you don't play with them, maybe never again so you've got to enjoy that. The most fun you'll have and the most times you'll be remembered is by being successful. I think that's the key thing to take away."

As Parayko, who led the NHL with 218 blocks this season, would say, "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."

Now that junior season is finished, Dvorsky has best chance among prospects to make jump to NHL next season

Sat, 04/20/2024 - 9:18am

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Now that Dalibor Dvorsky's first season in junior hockey has disappointedly come to a finish after being swept in the second round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs, the next looming question for the 10th pick in the 2023 NHL Draft is what's next?

Dalibor Dvorsky

Dvorsky, who began last season playing for Oskarshamn IK of the Swedish Hockey League (zero points in 10 games) before being whisked out of there to join the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL, capped off an incredibly strong season with 88 points (45 goals, 43 assists) in just 52 regular-season games and 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in nine playoff games. He had just a goal and an assist in the second round, a four-game sweep at the hands of the North Bay Battalion.

It would up being the best move for the 18-year-old's career coming to North America, and his season was so good that Blues general manager Doug Armstrong even indicated at the season-ending press conference on Thursday that Dvorsky has the best chance of any of the prospects to perhaps start the season in St. Louis.

Where will Dalibor Dvorsky play in 2024-25? (3:19)

"The one player that looks like he's going to push for a really good look in training camp is Dvorsky," Armstrong said. "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 [Zack] Bolduc and that's for [Zach] Dean and that's for [Matthew] 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."

Dvorsky could be the next exception to this thought process though. He did have six points (three goals, three assists) in five games playing for Slovakia at the World Junior Championship in Sweden earlier this year, and then continued to light it up playing for the Wolves in Ontario.

And after the experience of what turned out to be a disaster in Sweden, then coming to play in the OHL, wound up being the best move the Blues could possibly make for the center.

"I thought it was a great benefit," Armstrong said. "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."

Dvorsky will be eligible to join Springfield of the American Hockey League if the Blues feel he's ready to go there and not to the NHL, or he could return to Sudbury.

Regardless of where he winds up, Dvorsky will get a shot in the NHL come September.

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

Blues interested in signing Pavel Buchnevich to contract extension

Fri, 04/19/2024 - 2:38pm

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Doug Armstrong had no intention of trading Pavel Buchnevich at the March 8 NHL Trade Deadline and it was clearly obvious why: the St. Louis Blues general manager is interested in keeping the forward in St. Louis beyond the end of his current contract.

Thoughts on a Pavel Buchnevich contract extension (7:09)

Buchnevich, who signed a four-year, $23.2 million contract ($5.8 million average annual value) after the Blues acquired him from the New York Rangers on July 27, 2021, has one year remaining on his contract, and talks of an extension apparently will take place at some point in the near future.

"Yeah, we'll approach him. We'll approach him," Armstrong said Thursday. "I'm a big Pavel fan."

Many wonder if Buchnevich would want to play out the season and have all options available nextsummer, which is possible, but the forward, who had 63 points (27 goals, 36 assists) in 80 games this season, shares his sentiments towards the Blues and playing here.

"I like it here," Buchnevich said.

Buchnevich has grown his game since his arrival. He has 206 points (83 goals, 123 assists) in 216 games and helped the Blues reach the playoffs in 2021-22. He's been used in all roles and situations, including taking on a role as a center the past two seasons.

"After Rangers trade here, kind of my hockey career change," Buchnevich said. "More play big minutes, play big role here. This season, not as great as previous ones but last couple years, previous ones, I think I prove I can be good player."

The Blues would likely have to make an investment of a minimum 6-8 years in term and the neighborhood of probably $7-$8 million in AAV give or take to get a deal done.

Armstrong doesn't seem to be concerned with the fact Buchnevich would begin a new contract until he turns 30 and would take him to 36-38 depending on the length. He likes the player and feels the player can be a good commodity for a number of seasons.

"Again, with free agency, it's a two way street," Armstrong said. '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."

Buchnevich said he will take every thing, "Positive of course. You don't know what's going to happen. You see rumors. You guys trade me for like two months. A little bit stressed moment, but deadline done, stress relief and I have a good talk with Doug. He say he going to talk to my representative in the summer and we'll see how it goes.

"I don't want to (say) what's going to determine it. Like I say, I like it here. We'll see what's going to happen."

Drew Bannister to be among final candidates for Blues head coaching position

Thu, 04/18/2024 - 6:22pm

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Drew Bannister sat at a podium on Thursday answering questions regarding the St. Louis Blues speaking of the past, present and ... the future.

Bannister, the Blues' interim coach since taking over for Craig Berube on Dec. 12, doesn't have any clarity yet on if he will become the permanent head coach, but the 50-year-old feels he's put his best foot forward after the 2023-24 season ended on Wednesday night.

Thoughts on Drew Bannister, coaching situation (9:46)

"I've been very lucky with the opportunity that the ownership here and Doug [Armstrong] and the rest of the management have given me," Bannister said. "Not only coming here mid-season but giving me my first opportunity to coach pro hockey in the American Hockey League.

"I'm proud of the way these players have conducted themselves since I've come in. I'm certainly a better coach because of the group that is here. Without that opportunity that Tom [Stillman], the rest of the ownership and Doug have given me. I certainly wouldn't be sitting up here in front of you guys today. I'm very appreciative of that."

Armstrong, the Blues' GM, announced Thursday that Bannister is a finalist for the job, and that the list isn't as extensive as it once was, but he did not say yet who will get the job or when said person will be announced.

"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," Armstrong said. "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."

Bannister closed out this season 30-19-5, good for a .602 winning percentage, which would be 10th-best in the league since and fourth in the Western Conference. In the grand scheme of things, being told immediately, or even prior to addressing the media on Thursday that the job was his would be the most ideal situation for Bannister, but he understands the scenario.

"I understand the process and what they're going through," Bannister said. "When I first came in, there were no promises made. There was 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 know we had to get better at to start to have success. I'm proud that myself and our coaching staff and the players bought into that. I think we saw a lot of good things happen that we can build on for next year."

Sounds like a coach that's confident that he will be retained, but Armstrong said some of the candidates he has his eye on haven't had their seasons end as of yet, and they do have an idea when one will be implemented.

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong has reduced the head coaching candidates down to a smaller number, and it includes current interim coach Drew Bannister, who went 30-19-5 since taking over for Craig Berube, who was fired Dec. 12.

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

"I think we have a good pulse," Armstrong said. '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 and 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."

When asked about one familiar name, former Blues coach Joel Quenneville, who is currently out of hockey after resigning from his post as Florida Panthers coach in 2021 following the chain of events regarding the situation in 2010 with Chicago Blackhawks prospect Kyle Beach, Armstrong would not comment.

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

This will be, in short term, the most pressing order of business as the Blues plan for their offseason, so stay tuned.

Blues-Stars takeaways: in a meaningless season-finale, Jordan Binnington once again showed the Blues why he is the most important player on this team now, moving forward

Thu, 04/18/2024 - 1:23am

If there was any doubt who the most consistent and most important player for the St. Louis Blues was in their season finale on Wednesday night, that doubt should have been put in the waste can.

It should have been there a long time ago, but a 36-save performance in a 2-1 shootout loss against the Dallas Stars closed out, in my opinion, Jordan Binnington's best full season in the NHL on Wednesday at American Airlines Center.

Blues-Stars takeaways (4-17-24) (6:26)

The fact that the Blues, who are missing out on the playoffs for a second straight season and closing it out at 43-33-6, were even in this all the way up to Game No. 80 was their goaltending, and Binnington played a large role in that.

He was terrific in defeat in the skills competition, when Stars goalie Jake Oettinger one-upped him in the shootout, with the Stars (52-21-9) winning it 1-0 on a goal by Jason Robertson int he first round.

Robert Thomas scored the lone Blues goal to finish with 26 and cap off an 86-point season, the most since Pavol Demitra had 93 in 2002-03 but he also could have ended the game in overtime but somehow, couldn't beat Oettinger on a one-in-a-million desperation save (more on that later).

So the Blues close out this season 11 points better than last (92-81), they will have their exits meetings on Thursday and then the fun stuff will soon enough begin as far as what the roster will look like, will Drew Bannister have the interim tag removed or if Doug Armstrong will go after and name a more established, experienced coach. We'll know all that soon enough, but let's first wrap up Game No. 82 with these key moments:

* Oettinger plays Superman -- The Stars needed this game, or at least a point to wrap up the top seed in the Western Conference, and after a pretty sleepy first period in which each team had their moments and each had a failed power play, Oettinger mase out like Superman to rob Scott Perunovich of his first NHL goal, the second time in three games to close the season a Blues player had a would-be first NHL goal ripped from them.

Remember Zach Dean against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday when Frederik Andersen lunged back and snagged what would have been the 2021 first-round pick's first NHL goal.

Yeah, something along those lines.

It came on the Blues' lone power play at 14:04.

FLYING OTTER!!! 🦦 pic.twitter.com/RlCnIAP0OU

— z - Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 18, 2024

The Stars had the initial push, the Blues pushed back later in the period and shots ended 10-6 in favor of Dallas.

* Thomas breaks the ice -- Again, it was tightly-contested. The Blues didn't want to just step out of the way and give the Stars a game they needed, so they pounced in an opportunity, and it was Thomas who did so when he wired a lethal wrister from the right circle at 17:19 of the second to open the scoring.

It was a play in which Brayden Schenn hit Zack Bolduc with a cross-ice pass in the neutral zone, the rookie carried it into the offensive and tried leaving a puck for Thomas but was a bit off kilter.

Dallas center Roope Hintz had a chance to intercept and break the play up but basically did a fly-by, Thomas retrieved the puck, skated into the circle and beat Oettinger top shelf like you write home about.

This is how it's done. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/zZBY267X2b

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 18, 2024

* Marchment answers -- The Blues have been good all season when scoring first (33-4-1), and even better when leading after two periods (29-1-0), but Mason Marchment would tie the game on a slot rebound, beating Matthew Kessel's stick check (that's a learning moment for the rookie), spinning and scoring to tie the game 1-1 at 5:11.

Mush breaks it open! 💥 pic.twitter.com/jsmeWyEIBi

— z - Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 18, 2024

Once the Stars got the game tied, they were determined to either try and win the game when it was on the line or at least limit the Blues' would-be scoring chances as the third progressed and succeeded, getting the game to overtime.

* Binnington robs Robertson -- The Stars tried to end it quickly but Binnington would have none of it just 10 seconds into OT (sorry, apparently, nobody on 'X' clipped the save). But believe me, it was something else.

Blues goalie Jordan Binnington was terrific in a season-finale 2-1 shootout loss against the Stars on Wednesday in Dallas.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

* Thomas had chance to end it -- Call it lucky (I do, and will), call it not giving up on a play (OK, I'll bite), but Thomas could have ended the game on a winning note for the Blues at 3:19.

He had 100 percent of a wide open net, just slam it home and game over. Oettinger even thought the game was over, but the Stars goalie just extended his stick to a spot, and Thomas, inexplicably threw it right into the path of it and a save was made.

I'm still scratching my head how Thomas didn't score this. 99.9 percent open net to shoot at. LOL #stlblues https://t.co/BAYq6nlm7I

— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) April 18, 2024

They would play on, and the Blues had to kill off Perunovich's second minor of the game with 1:30 remaining for a hold. But they would and get it to a shootout.

* Robertson ends season like Stars started it -- Six shooters, only one goal. It came from Robertson, who tucked a backhand between Binnington's pads to hold up as the only goal needed by Dallas, which also beat St. Louis 2-1 in a shootout in the season-opener, coincidentally.

Schenn, Jordan Kyrou and Thomas all had cracks on Oettinger and couldn't beat the Stars goalie.

That puts a bow on this regular season. Players begin media interviews at 11:30, followed by Armstrong and Bannister and we'll hopefully at least get some clarity on where the coaching direction is going.

(4-17-24) Blues-Stars Gameday Lineup

Wed, 04/17/2024 - 12:44pm

ST. LOUIS -- Zach Dean will play in his ninth and final NHL game this season for the St. Louis Blues, who close out the regular-season today against the Dallas Stars, then have plenty of time to reflect.

It's been a small sample size for the 30th pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, acquired Feb. 27, 2023 from the Vegas Golden Knights for Ivan Barbashev, but even in the short stint of the 2023-24 season, Blues coaches have identified a specific path for the center to carve out if he is to have a successful career.

Blues center Zach Dean (left) takes a shot on Sunday against the Kraken while being defended by forward Tye Kartye at Enterprise Center.

Jeff Le-USA TODAY Sports

"I think if Zach Dean's going to have success at the NHL level, he has to be a harder player to play against and more often, not just one out of every (few) games," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "It's got to be consistently. I think for him, he has to have more jam to his game. He has to have more physicality to his game, to get inside on guys and I think once he learns that aspect of his game, that will keep him in the NHL for a long time.... I've been impressed with the way he's played and the way he's handled himself (so far).

"I don't know Zach well enough to know that he was a skilled player in junior. He's a new player to the organization, let's be honest. We've only had eyes on him here as a coaching staff for under a year. The background obviously being a World Junior hockey player would kind of say that you're a skilled (player), but I think when people watched him at the World Juniors, he was a pest, he played hard, he got under other teams' skin and I think for us, that's what we're looking more out of him from."

Morning skate report vs. Stars (4-17-24) (3:27)

Dean doesn't have a point in the NHL through eight games yet, but he's come close. Ask Frederik Andersen, who denied Dean of a sure goal, which would have been his first in the NHL, and that can be a hard thing to accept for someone who averaged more than a point per game in his junior career, specifically this one with the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

But Dean, 21, understands there's more to the NHL than just piling up points in pond hockey style, which is why his success included playing with that "jam."

"I think the way coming up through, I played with a little bit of an edge," Dean said. "So yeah, obviously as you get a little more comfortable, that's just going to come. Getting in playing eight games so far now, you're still trying to find that groove, even getting a little more comfortable every game and playing that way. I think it's good. Now that I've got some experience and stuff like that this year, you'll just feel a bit more comfortable moving forward."

To an extent, Dean is still learning his way around the NHL game, and that will extend beyond this stint, and although the speed of the game is what he said he's noticed more than anything, when the familiarity factor becomes common, the game begins to slow down.

"You try and feel it out the best you can," Dean said. "When you're coming in and you try to play that way, it's the NHL, there's a lot going on. You're thinking among other things. I still think I've been working hard, competing and stuff like that. That's my game. In that sense, just up another level and if I keep moving forward, I'm going to get more comfortable doing that.

"You realize as you get in more games, you have more time than you actually think, but it's all just an adjustment too. You get in these games, you kind of feel it out at the end of the year, and that's just going to move you forward."

Dean is shooting the puck more (he has eight shots on goal the past give games after zero his first three) and points will start to come; just ask Zack Bolduc. But until then, he will have to continue to show the Blues he can be of use in a multitude of ways.

"I have that grit, that competitive edge, but I also have some skill that I can put the puck in the net, I can make plays," Dean said. "Here I've had some chances too where I could have had a couple. It's not like I'm not getting any chances, I'm not creating anything. It'll come."

- - -

The Blues (43-33-5) will use the same lineup tonight, aside from Jordan Binnington getting the start in goal, that they used in Sunday's 4-1 home finale win against the Seattle Kraken, which means Jake Neighbours (upper-body injury) and Torey Krug (upper-body injury) will not finish the season.

Neighbours will have missed the last five games despite skating for three straight days; Krug has not taken in any on-ice sessions since leaving at the end of the second period of a 5-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks last Wednesday.

When the puck drops at 8:52 p.m. tonight (MAX, truTV, TNT, ESPN 101.1-FM), the Blues will have seven players finish the season having played all 82 games:

When the season ends, the #stlblues will have seven players that played in all 82 games:

Robert Thomas
Jordan Kyrou
Brayden Schenn
Brandon Saad
Nick Leddy
Colton Parayko
Alexey Toropchenko

Pavel Buchnevich (80), Kevin Hayes (79), Torey Krug/Jake Neighbours (77) were close.

— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) April 16, 2024

- - -

The NHL announced today the 32 team nominees for the 2023-24 King Clancy Memorial Trophy who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.

Captain Brayden Schenn is the Blues' nominee for the second consecutive year.

The winner will be announced at the annual NHL Awards after the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

Zack Bolduc-Robert Thomas-Brayden Schenn

Brandon Saad-Pavel Buchnevich-Jordan Kyrou

Alexey Toropchenko-Kevin Hayes-Kasperi Kapanen

Nathan Walker-Zach Dean-Sammy Blais

Scott Perunovich-Colton Parayko

Nick Leddy-Matthew Kessel

Marco Scandella-Tyler Tucker

Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.

The healthy scratch includes Nikita Alexandrov. Jake Neighbours (upper body), Torey Krug (upper body), Justin Faulk (upper body) and Oskar Sundqvist (ACL) all are out.

- - -

The Stars' projected lineup:

Jason Robertson-Roope Hintz-Joe Pavelski

Mason Marchment-Matt Duchene-Evgenii Dadonov

Jamie Benn-Wyatt Johnston-Logan Stankoven

Radek Faksa-Sam Steel-Craig Smith

Thomas Harley-Miro Heiskanen

Esa Lindell-Chris Tanev

Ryan Suter-Niks Lundqvist

Jake Oettinger is projected to start in goal; Scott Wedgewood would be the backup.

The healthy scratches include Tyler Seguin and Ty Dellandrea. Jani Hakanpaa (upper body) is out.

Neighbours open to another chance to represent Canada at World Championship

Tue, 04/16/2024 - 10:58pm

ST. LOUIS -- Add Jake Neighbours to the growing list of St. Louis Blues players who could reunite this spring representing their country.

Neighbours said on Tuesday prior to facing the Dallas Stars in the season finale on Wednesday he's open to playing for Canada at the IIHF World Championship in Prague-Ostrava, Czechia May 10-26, possibly would be joined by goalie Jordan Binnington and defenseman Colton Parayko possibly.

Jake Neighbours (63) had a career year with the Blues in his second full NHL season.

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

It would be the second straight year for Neighbours, who had a goal and four assists in 10 games for gold medal-winning Canada in the same tournament last year in Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia.

"It's been thought about for sure," Neighbours said. "I haven't really made a decision either which way, not have I been asked. If that opportunity approaches, we'll take it as it comes."

View the original article to see embedded media.

Neighbours, who will finish his second NHL season with a career-high 27 goals and 38 points in 77 games this season, will wind up missing the final five games with a head injury suffered April 6 against the San Jose Sharks. He will most likely get asked to join, since the Canadian general manager for the 2026 Winter Olympic squad who certainly will offer his input to World Championship GM Rick Nash, and that's none other than Neighbours' GM with the Blues: Doug Armstrong.

"I'd definitely have a long, hard thought about it," Neighbours said.

There's a definitely twist to it this year though.

Neighbours will be entering the final year of his entry-level contract next year and will be in line for his first bigger contract moving forward, aside from having played for Team Canada last year and into the summer the previous year with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League, there's some things to ponder.

"I've played two years in a row now pretty much into June and with the recent injury and big year coming up next year, there's a lot of things to consider," Neighbours said. "But it's definitely something think about.

"You're kind of raised that way, right? Hockey Canada is kind of like the peak of hockey almost. There's the NHL and there's representing your country in a major tournament. It's always an honor when you're considered for something like that. I haven't been asked yet. I'm not sure of that'll be on the radar. But it's always definitely an honor when you get a chance to represent."

Neighbours played last year with goalie Joel Hofer and forward Sammy Blais and could have some more Blues teammate join him if he is asked to go and decides to attend.

"I think it would be a great opportunity and why wouldn't a team like Team Canada want a player like that in their lineup," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "What he's done this year, how he's progressed in his play, the character that he brings daily in the room and on the ice. It would be a no-brainer for me and certainly if he had that opportunity, he'd want to jump at it, but for me, if I had any say in it, which I don't, but if I did, I'd certainly want him there with me.

"I think it's a great opportunity for these players to continue to play and play in meaningful games and play for their country. For me, I was lucky enough to play for the World Junior team. It's a proud moment when you get to wear those colors for Team Canada."

Neighbours, Krug ruled out for season finale

Tue, 04/16/2024 - 4:28pm

ST. LOUIS -- The good news for Jake Neighbours is the St. Louis Blues forward was back on the ice for the final full practice of the regular season.

The bad news, and in a way to protect the player, is he will not play another game this NHL season.

Neighbours was for all intents and purposes, ruled out for the regular season finale on Wednesday against the Dallas Stars with a head injury.

It was an injury sustained April 6 against the San Jose Sharks on a check by Chesterfield native Luke Kunin in which Neighbours hit his head on top of the bench doors.

Neighbours, who will finish with 27 goals and 38 points in 77 games this season, also skated on Monday but since the Blues (43-33-5) have been eliminated from postseason contention, the team decided it be best to keep him away from any potential further injury.

View the original article to see embedded media.

It means Neighbours will have missed the final five games of the season, keeping him from playing in all 82 games.

"I think he's day to day but I right now where we are in the season, we're probably best to do by him, not play him tomorrow, so I think we're going to take a very cautious approach with him," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said of Neighbours. "I don't foresee anything that changes that he's going to be in the lineup tomorrow but certainly a positive step seeing him on the ice, and he was on the ice yesterday too and feeling much better. It's a positive step for him, but I don't think at this time with him, we don't want to put him in a position where he can reinjure something.

"He's cleared to be out, he's cleared for contact, but he hasn't been in a lot of practices of late, conditioning and stuff of that, that goes into the process of getting him back on the ice. I think the player himself would probably want to play, play through it, but sometimes you have to take that out of their hands and make the right decision for the player too."

Bannister also ruled defenseman Torey Krug (upper-body injury) out for the game Wednesday.

Krug, who has 39 points (four goals, 35 assists) in 77 games, missed the third period of last Wednesday's 5-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks and will have missed the final three games.

Kraken-Blues takeaways: Let's face it, this wasn't a game St. Louis could easily get up for; they found a way with three-goal third-period outburst in 4-1 win against Kraken

Sun, 04/14/2024 - 5:42pm

ST. LOUIS -- In the end, there were smiles, but coming in, it was tough.

Less than 48 hours after the St. Louis Blues were eliminated from playoff contention, they were left to play the final two regular season games, including the home finale Sunday, with nothing to play for.

How does one get up for a game in which nothing matters anymore? Well, the Blues dug deep, found a way and earned themselves a 4-1 win at Enterprise Center, sending the home crowd away happy one final time.

#stlblues salute the home crowd one final time ... pic.twitter.com/AGn1yPNfjz

— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) April 14, 2024

The Blues (43-33-5), who close the season Wednesday in Dallas against the Stars, always talk about playing for each other.

It took a while, but on this day, it was about sending 18,096 home happy.

"It's great to win the last game in front of the fans," said forward Jordan Kyrou, whose tie-breaking goal 59 seconds into the third period turned out to be the game-winner. "Pretty much why we're playing, right?

Kraken-Blues takeaways (4-14-24) (4:49)

"Obviously after last game, when we're out of the playoffs, it's tough, right? We've been working all year trying to make that. Sucks not being able to make the playoffs. It's good we can get a win, last game for them."

The Blues were eliminated when they lost 5-2 at home against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, and the Vegas Golden Knights trounced the Minnesota Wild 7-2, thus officially eliminating the Blues for the second straight season.

They still have to perform as professionals for the final two games, and come out on Sunday and play for their supporters.

"Yeah, just show them that we care," said Blues forward Kasperi Kapanen, who tied the game with a first-period goal. "Even though you're not making playoffs, you still want to play for the logo on the front and play with pride and I thought that's what we did today."

Let's take a look at some of the key moments from this one:

* Just no flow -- Not only were the Blues playing out the string, but the Kraken (33-34-13), who were eliminated last week, also know they are playing out the string, and there just wasn't any flow to this one in the early going.

Seattle, which is closing out its season with a four-game road trip, including a 3-1 loss at Dallas on Saturday, did actually bring some spring in its step at times with sustained zone time early on. But the Blues did a good enough job keeping pucks out of the middle of the ice.

* Turnover costly -- Each goalie (Joel Hofer for the Blues and Joey Daccord for the Kraken) had to make a key save early on, but the Kraken broke the ice on a beautiful shot from Jared McCann at 14:24 of the first to make it 1-0.

McCann intercepted a Marco Scandella attempted pass just inside the Seattle blue line and was off to the races before beating Hofer with a wicked wrister from the right circle.

"I felt we really didn't start getting ourselves going until probably around the last five minutes of the second period," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "I thought we started to play better at that point and that carried over into the third for us."

* But ... -- The Blues, who didn't have a ton of life, found an answer when Kapanen buried a shot from the left circle to tie the game 1-1 at 18:18.

It came after Alexey Toropchenko checked Justin Schultz off the puck along the boards inside the Blues' zone after Schultz initially fanned on a shot and Toropchenko backhanded a pass for Kapanen to break out into an odd-man rush.

Kappy made us happy with this goal that tied the game. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/CyQdBOUUmL

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 14, 2024

"I feel like throughout the year I probably would have pulled up and tried to make a pass or something else," Kapanen said. "So I thought I'd try shooting it for a change and it went in."

The Blues did an excellent job at killing off a Zach Dean double-minor for high-sticking at 18:43 of the first, limiting Seattle to one shot on goal.

* Bolduc almost -- There wasn't a ton going on in the second period either, but Zack Bolduc's bid for a goal in four straight games came so close when he took a pass and slid a backhand beating Daccord but hitting the near post.

As Bannister indicated, as did Seattle coach Dave Hakstol in his postgame presser, the final five minutes is where the Blues started tilting the ice towards the Kraken goal and they carried a 17-13 edge in shots into the final 20 minutes.

* Quick strike -- The Blues didn't waste any time in keeping momentum when Kyrou banged in a rebound for his 31st of the season 59 seconds in for a 2-1 lead.

The Blues broke the puck out and were able to get it behind and around the net to the point back to Matthew Kessel, whose one-timer was stopped but Kyrou was there to hammer home the rebound.

No need to work overtime on the weekend! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/9MlSgObxOZ

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 14, 2024

"'Buchy' and 'Saader' behind the net there, 'Buchy' gave it to 'Saader', was looking for me in the slot, wasn't open, gave it to 'Kess' and 'Kess' made a good one-timer," Kyrou said, "and the puck just kind of popped right to me."

* Schennsational 20 -- Brayden Schenn, who twice this season had lengthy goal droughts of 16 and 18 games, respectively, reached the 20-goal mark for the eighth time in his NHL career and third straight season when he converted a breakaway goal at 16:37 for a 3-1 lead.

It started with another excellent stretch pass from Nick Leddy, who had himself a terrific game, that turned into a breakaway. There was going to be a penalty on Schultz, but Schenn stayed with the play and from a sharp angle, put a shot off the top of Daccord's skate and in.

Schenner put a nice bow on this one. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/tE9bxwveyO

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 14, 2024

"I think we just tried to simplify the second period on," Kapanen said. "They were taking over the game and staying in our zone, so I think we just simplified, got pucks deep and ended up working out for us."

* Walker caps it -- Nathan Walker's 170-foot empty-netter at 19:00 sealed the win, sending the Blues into the off-season with a respectable 25-14-2 home mark and saluting the fans with the jerseys off their backs.

Saying "thank you" to some of our biggest fans and season ticket holders by giving them the jerseys off our backs 💙 #stlblues pic.twitter.com/CXC3aF3Tf3

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 14, 2024

"For me, it was all about the fans, making sure that we played for the fans tonight, getting the win so the fans can go home obviously happy," Bannister said. "I think that was the No. 1 thing for us here tonight was make sure we do the right things for the fans."

"We just wanted to play a good game today and show the fans that we're still trying and obviously missing playoffs is a disappointment," Kapanen said. "I thought throughout the year we had a lot of ups and downs, but I think just to play a good game today to kind of show them that we're ready to go back to work next year."

Kasperi Kapanen: probably one of the worst seasons in my pro career

Sun, 04/14/2024 - 4:48pm

ST. LOUIS -- Kasperi Kapanen had to catch himself momentarily.

The St. Louis Blues forward was asked to how he's tried to navigate the season for him following a 4-1 win against the Seattle Kraken on Sunday, the Blues' home finale, and Kapanen paused for a brief second and was honest.

Thoughts on Kasperi Kapanen (3:12)

"Yeah, a disappointment," Kapanen said after scoring just his sixth goal and 22nd point in his 72nd game this season. "Probably one of the worst seasons in my pro career. It's been tough, but just trying to stay positive and doing the right things. Not having been scoring or having been getting as many points as I'd like, but I think just trying to be in the moment, play the right way, play hard. I've been trying to pretty much give it my all out there every time. Can't be ashamed of that."

Kapanen, who was claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 25, 2023, needed a fresh slate and finished the season with 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 23 games last season.

The 27-year-old, in the final year of a two-year, $6.4 million ($3.2 million average annual value) contract, was hoping for rejuvenated season. When he scored 20 goals in his first full season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018-19, many thought this could be a steady 20-30 goal scorer in the league, and a new, full season with the Blues presented hope after ending last season well.

It hasn't happened.

Kapanen has been a healthy scratch at times for inconsistent play. But Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said it's not as if Kapanen hasn't put the effort in.

"I think he puts a lot of pressure on himself to create offensively," Bannister said. "With 'Kapi,' the effort's always been there. No complaints about his effort (but) sometimes I think he tries to do too much to try and create offense for himself. I think for him, what I've been impressed with is he brings an effort every game, it's an honest effort, he's very professional on what he does. He's trying to do the right things for his team. When things aren't going well offensively, he's blocking shots, I think defensively he's really tuned in on that side, sacrificed a little bit of the offensive side for the defensive side for his team. I'm sure he's frustrated offensively, but I think he was a good player away from the puck for us this year."

Kapanen is an unrestricted free agent at season's end. The likelihood of him returning is marginal at best, but he's always felt like this was/is a good fit for him.

"Yeah, great situation and I love playing here," Kapanen said. "Obviously we'll see what happens next year, but I do take a lot of pride in being a Blue and putting that jersey on every night. It's been tough to not kind of ... haven't been able to carry my own weight, and I feel like I've let the team down a little bit. But that's sports, that's hockey. Sometimes you have good years and sometimes you don't. You just try to stay positive and play the right way, play hard and I think I've been trying to do that this year."

The Hockey News Archive

Blues player of the game vs. Kraken: Nick Leddy

Sun, 04/14/2024 - 4:14pm

ST. LOUIS -- Nick Leddy won't razzle and dazzle like some of the top defensemen in the league do in a nightly basis.

But when the St. Louis Blues defenseman does play fundamentally as sound as he did on Sunday in a 4-1 win in the home finale against the Seattle Kraken, you have to take notice.

Blues player of the game vs. Kraken: Nick Leddy (1:34)

Leddy led all skaters in ice time at 25:08, had another assist springing Brayden Schenn for a breakaway goal in the third period that ultimately put the game out of reach at 3-1 and was a plus-4 in the hockey game playing alongside Matthew Kessel. Leddy also led all skaters in penalty kill time at 3:07, including a large portion of a four-minute kill late in the first, into the second period.

That's now three straight games with an assist for Leddy, who is up to 28 points on the season, which is the most since he had 31 with the New York Islanders in 2020-21, and he leads the Blues in plus-minus at plus-13, his highest since he was a plus-18 with the Islanders in 2014-15.

Since Leddy arrived in St. Louis in 2022, he is a plus-20 in 179 games. He continues to be a tremendous puck transporter and smooth skater, and that was on full display here on Sunday afternoon.

(4-14-24) Kraken-Blues Gameday Lineup

Sun, 04/14/2024 - 12:08am

ST. LOUIS -- Now that they know their plight, the St. Louis Blues owe this one to the fans.

Those very same fans that have stuck with them through thick and thin in what's turning out to be a second straight miss on the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

When the Blues (42-33-5) host the Seattle Kraken (33-33-13) at noon Sunday (TNT, MAX, ESPN 101.1-FM), it will be the final home game of the 2023-24 regular season and penultimate game of the season.

Morning skate report vs. Kraken (4-14-24) (2:43)

The Blues were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Friday when they fell 5-2 against the Carolina Hurricanes at home, coupled with the Vegas Golden Knights drubbing the Minnesota Wild, 7-2, it closed the door on the Blues' faint playoff hopes.

Now they own it to their fans to go out and perform in front of them one last time.

"St. Louis fans are always great," Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. "They always come and cheer and support us. They always fill the rink for us. It's important for us. You take pride in your job, you take pride in the work of reality of winning the game or losing. You go out there and put your best effort in on the last home game. Sunday afternoon game at home, just go out there and enjoy it, have some fun and score goals and play hard.

"Still a job to do. You still take pride in playing the game the right way and putting a good performance in here on home ice."

It took 80 games for the Blues to play a game that doesn't have much bearing other than draft pick standing. They close the season Wednesday against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, the same venue they closed out last season.

Only this time, the emotions are still raw. Last year, they were eliminated much earlier than this.

Doesn't mean they go out Sunday against Seattle, also eliminated from the playoffs, and lay an egg.

"St. Louis loyal are some of the best," Blues goalie Jordan Binnington said. "Very appreciative of that. I've gotten to know them pretty well over the years. They're great running into them, the store, the streets, whatever. We're hoping to put on a good show for them to close out the year. Hopefully we can build on something for next year."

For Blues interim coach Drew Bannister, who is 29-19-4 since taking over for Craig Berube, he gets the chance, along with the rest of the coaches to decompress, although they'd rather be coaching in another pressure-type game still in the chase.

"I don't think we're evaluating anything," Bannister said after practice Saturday. "I think we've had 80 games to evaluate our team. What we're looking for is our group comes and they take pride in their hockey game and we want to make sure and people deserve a good performance here tomorrow. We have to make sure we have maximum effort when we come here and play tomorrow afternoon."

- - -

Forward Kevin Hayes will come back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch the past two games and three of the past four; he will replace Nikita Alexandrov.

Also, defenseman Torey Krug (upper-body injury) will not play Sunday, missing his second game in a row, but Bannister did not rule him out of Wednesday's finale in Dallas.

As for forward Jake Neighbours (upper-body injury), he'll also miss Sunday, his fourth in a row, and has been essentially been shut down for the rest of the season, and defenseman Justin Faulk (upper-body injury) will not play again this season.

"Neighbours, probably best to say that he's out for the rest of the year, and 'Kruger', I would imagine that he's out for tomorrow, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you that he'd be out for Wednesday," Bannister said. "There's still a possibility for him to play."

Joel Hofer will start against the Kraken, and Binnington will get the finale against the Stars.

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

Brayden Schenn-Robert Thomas-Zack Bolduc

Brandon Saad-Pavel Buchnevich-Jordan Kyrou

Alexey Toropchenko-Kevin Hayes-Kasperi Kapanen

Nathan Walker-Zach Dean-Sammy Blais

Scott Perunovich-Colton Parayko

Nick Leddy-Matthew Kessel

Marco Scandella-Tyler Tucker

Joel Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.

The healthy scratch will be Nikita Alexandrov. Torey Krug (upper body) is out and remains day to day; Justin Faulk (upper body), Jake Neighbours (upper body) and Oskar Sundqvist (torn right ACL) are done for the season.

- - -

The Kraken's projected lineup:

Andre Burakovsky-Matty Beniers-Jordan Eberle

Jaden Schwartz-Jared McCann-Oliver Bjorkstrand

Eeli Tolvanen-Yanni Gourde-Brandon Tanev

Tomas Tatar-Kailer Yamamoto-Tye Kartye

Ryker Evans-Adam Larsson

Jamie Oleksiak-Will Borgen

Brian Dumoulin-Justin Schultz

Joey Daccord is projected to start in goal; Philipp Grubauer would be the backup.

Healthy scratches could include Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Cale Fleury. Vince Dunn (upper body) is out for the rest of the season.

The Hockey News Archive

St Louis Blues on The Hockey News

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

Steve Ott named to Canada's World Championship coaching staff

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Jordan Binnington

Neighbours leads the pack of promising Blues young players

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Pavel Buchnevich

Brayden Schenn will benefit moving forward having gone through first season as Blues captain

St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Joel Hofer

Moving forward, Blues know they have a backbone; it starts in goal with Binnington, Hofer

Despite missing playoffs for second straight season, Blues feel they're "closer than what people think"

Now that junior season is finished, Dvorsky has best chance among prospects to make jump to NHL next season

Blues interested in signing Pavel Buchnevich to contract extension

Drew Bannister to be among final candidates for Blues head coaching position

Blues-Stars takeaways: in a meaningless season-finale, Jordan Binnington once again showed the Blues why he is the most important player on this team now, moving forward

(4-17-24) Blues-Stars Gameday Lineup

Neighbours open to another chance to represent Canada at World Championship

Neighbours, Krug ruled out for season finale

Kraken-Blues takeaways: Let's face it, this wasn't a game St. Louis could easily get up for; they found a way with three-goal third-period outburst in 4-1 win against Kraken

Kasperi Kapanen: probably one of the worst seasons in my pro career

Blues player of the game vs. Kraken: Nick Leddy

(4-14-24) Kraken-Blues Gameday Lineup

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