It’s been a few weeks since the 2023-24 season ended for the St. Louis Blues. They finished 43-33-6 with 92 points, which was six points short of a playoff spot.
There were some great moments this season and a few players who played well, but there were also disappointing parts of the season that contributed to missing the playoffs. Let’s get into some team awards to wrap up the season before the real offseason begins.
Disappointment of the Year: Depth Scoring
The Blues had six 20-goal scorers this season, which is great. However, no player outside of those six reached 15 goals and only one player reached 30 goals (Jordan Kyrou). The Blues finished 24th in goals scored with a total of 234, which is considerably worse than the total from last season (260). They were a much worse team last season and their goals-against numbers from last season to this season are flipped. They allowed 248 goals this season, which ranked 16th in the league. Last season, they allowed 298 goals, which ranked 27th.
Despite quality goal-scoring seasons for multiple players, there were a bunch of disappointing performers. Players like Kasperi Kapanen, Kevin Hayes, Sammy Blais, and others didn’t score enough. That’s the bottom line. Those players needed to be better and the power play was a problem here for a couple of months as well. So, the disappointment of the year for the Blues is depth scoring.
Triumph of the Year: Bannister’s Record
The team fired head coach Craig Berube in December after a 13-14-1 start. They brought in American Hockey League (AHL) head coach Drew Bannister as the interim. He was coaching the Springfield Thunderbirds before this move and had been in the AHL since 2018-19 in the Blues organization. I don’t think he changed the franchise’s trajectory, but he did a solid job. The club went 30-19-5 and was in the playoff hunt until the last week of the season.
I still think general manager Doug Armstrong needs to bring in a new voice when hiring the next permanent coach, but Bannister is rightfully still in the mix.
Rookie of the Year: Joel Hofer
The Blues needed backup goaltender Joel Hofer to step up in his first full season and he did. He appeared in 30 games and took a big leap from last season. It was impressive to watch, especially for a 23-year-old. He had a save percentage of (SV%) of .913 and a goals saved above average (GSAA) of 8.2, which ranked top-20 in the league and was amongst the best for full-time backup netminders.
He had an incredible season and definitely exceeded the expectations overall. This should give Armstrong plenty of confidence in Hofer moving forward. What makes it even more impressive is the lack of defense in front of him. The blue line was slightly improved this season, but it still wasn’t great. He got more reps this season and improved in every category. He earned this team award.
Breakout Player of the Year: Jake Neighbours
This is the easiest pick of them all. The Blues’ breakout player of the year was won by Jake Neighbours in a runaway. He was one of the most important players on the team. He scored a boatload of big goals all season. At 22 years old, he took a big step forward in his development and earned the extra opportunity he received. I think the coaching staff did an excellent job in how they used him this season as well.
Neighbours scored 27 goals in 77 games and four of those were game winners. He’s also a terrific net-front presence and tallied eight power-play goals as well. He cemented himself as a top-six winger and important power play piece for the next several years to come. I expect his numbers to improve next season as well. It wouldn’t surprise me if he netted 30 goals and had over 20 assists. What a terrific season for Neighbours in 2023-24.
MVP: Jordan Binnington
I’d be wrong to not also shout out Robert Thomas here as well. He was phenomenal this season, but the most valuable player has to be Jordan Binnington.
Related: Blues’ Binnington Deserves Vezina Consideration
He had a .913 SV% and 2.84 goals against average (GAA) with a record of 28-21-5. He improved a lot from the last two seasons, where he really struggled. He had three shutouts this season for the first time since 2019-20. In winning 28 games, he’s two short of his career-high of 30, which came in 2019-20. Both Binnington and Hofer were the biggest reasons why the club was even close to a playoff spot. Another staggering stat is Binnington’s 16.6 GSAA ranked fifth in the league behind elite netminders like Connor Hellebuyck, Thatcher Demko, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Joey Daccord.
Overall, the Blues slightly outperformed the expectations, but missing the playoffs for a second straight season and firing Berube leaves a sour taste in everybody’s mouth.
