St. Louis Blues hope to get back to the post-season
After a season of disappointment that saw the St. Louis Blues just barely miss out on a play-off spot, finishing ninth in the Western Conference, the club is itching the get back to the post-season.
General manager Doug Armstrong has put together an impressive young team, which sits on the cusp of regular season success. Nevertheless, in the difficult Western Conference the Blues will once again have their work cut out for them qualifying for the big dance.
Roster changes
Armstrong was busy in the trade market this off-season, executing six deals with six different National Hockey League clubs. However, two stood out among the bevy of moves. First was the acquisition of Jaroslav Halak from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for youngster Lars Eller, while the second involved trading away David Warsofsky to the Boston Bruins for forward Vladimir Sobotka.
The Blues also watched former tender Chris Mason and Paul Kariya disappear into the free agent market, while veterans Keith Tkachuk and Darryl Sydor called it quits.
Forward
Up front the Blues are oozing with potential, but in order to be successful they will need their youngsters to finally step up at the offensive end.
The first line will be familiar, with the speedy Andy McDonald at centre between sniper Brad Boyes and youngster David Perron. The second line will house centre T.J. Oshie flanked by Alexander Steen and power forward David Backes. The third unit will be comprised of Patrik Berglund, Sobotka, and Jay McClement, while the fourth line looks to be made up of tough guys B.J. Crombeen, Cam Janssen and Brad Winchester.
Defence
At the back end the Blues have a nice mix of veteran leadership and young potential, capable of surprising the West next season.
The first pairing is likely to be made up of Eric Johnson and Carlo Colaiacovo, while the second line shut-down pairing is expected to be captain Eric Brewer with Barrett Jackman. The third and final unit will house promising rookie Alex Pietrangelo and Roman p***k.
Goalie
In net Halak will be making most of the starts, as Ty Conklin stands in as back up. This will be Halak’s first time playing a full season, having previously sharing the spotlight with youngster Carey Price in Montreal. Expect Halak to get a plenty ice time, playing in upwards of 60 games next season.
Can the Blues get back to the post-season?
Up front the Blues have incredible promise, with more young potential than any other team in the league. However, last season the youngsters were not able to get it done, and the team struggled to put the puck in the net. The veteran McDonald led the team in points with only 57, and was tied with Steen for the team lead in goals with only 24. If the Blues expect to make it to the play-offs they are going to have to get better production from their supporting cast, especially youngsters, Backes, Berglund, and Perron.
On defence similar questions arise. Former first overall pick Johnson has to continue to grow, and lead the St. Louis defence, while Pietrangelo will be expected to fill a massive void on the backend, in his first NHL campaign.
In goal Halak needs to build on his incredible play-off run last season. There is no reason to expect that the 25-year-old Slovak cannot continue to post numbers similar to his last three seasons with Montreal.
The Blues have a great deal of promise, but will need it to come together in 2010-11 if they hope to be competitive. They no longer have the buffer of veterans such as Tkachuk, Kariya and Sydor, the team has been left to the next generation of Blues.
Expect the Blues rookies to find a better balance than in 2009-10, however the West strong, and they may be destined to once again end the season in ninth spot.
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