NHL division previews: 2017-18 Central Division
2nd in 2017-18 Central Division – St. Louis Blues
St. Louis is going to be a team that can surprise people. Everyone expects them to be a playoff team, of that there is no doubt, but not many believe they are a serious Cup contender. The numbers point to the fact they are.
Just about every area of this Blues organization is solid, or well above average. They are an above average possession team, have good enough goaltending to make a deep playoff run, have good forward depth and their defensive corps is solid, even despite losing Jay Bouwmeester for 5-6 months with a fractured ankle.
When you have one of the premier goal scorers in the league on your team in Vladimir Tarasenko, all that’s left to do is surround him with solid linemates. The Blues have done just that, having players like Paul Stastny, Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Sobotka, Dmitrij Jaskin and newly-acquired Brayden Schenn in their top six.
The bottom six has players like Ivan Barbashev, Tage Thompson and Beau Bennett in it, showing even their bottom six has solid attributes to it. If they can shoulder the weight of adding some bottom six scoring, St. Louis is going to be among the best offensive teams in the league in 2017-18.
Alex Pietrangelo is the star of the defensive corps, followed by a very promising Colton Parayko. After that there are multiple names that can roll between pairing with Parayko and filling in on the third line, it’s just a matter of finding a solid second pairing partner with Parayko. Regardless, the defense is sound.
Who the Blues now pair with Pietrangelo on the first pairing and Parayko on the second pairing is the biggest question.
As for the goaltending, Jake Allen is a solid option and should see the vast majority of the starts this season. The Blues will hope that Carter Hutton can be a reliable backup.
Player to watch in 2017-18: Brayden Schenn. Schenn is going to slot in nicely in the top six, and the Blues will be looking for some production from him when in even-strength situations. The good thing is that Schenn is a power play specialist and will help fill the void left by the departure of Kevin Shattenkirk.