After missing the playoffs last season, the St. Louis Blues are looking to get back in the mix this season. In order to do so, they need their blue line and goaltending to step up. It’ll be difficult for goaltenders Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer to step up without better defensive play in front of them.
The Blues’ blue line can’t improve without better play from big man Colton Parayko. He was once thought of as a shutdown number-one blueliner after the Blues let former captain and anchor of the defense Alex Pietrangelo depart in free agency before the 2020-21 season. After flirting with the trade market, the Blues are keeping Parayko and they need a major bounceback from him this season. It’s also clear that Parayko wants to be in St. Louis after signing an eight-year extension in 2021.
Parayko’s Last Three Seasons Have Been Tough
After the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019, it appeared that Parayko would continue his track to becoming one of the best shutdown defenders in the NHL. However, things changed once Jay Bouwmeester’s scary health incident took place, which led to his retirement. Bouwmeester was a perfect compliment to Parayko and they were the Blues best shutdown duo throughout their run to the Cup. It’s clearly affected Parayko’s play over the past three seasons, but it’s deeper than that.
Even if Parayko has the right partner, he has become a lot more hesitant in his overall decision-making with or without the puck. He had 20 goals in 144 games between 2018-19 and 2019-20. It’s been a lot worse in the last three seasons with 12 goals in 191 games. Scoring goals isn’t expected of Parayko, but he has a heavy shot and should direct more pucks at the net rather than the hesitancy he has shown over the past few seasons. Plus/minus isn’t an overly important stat in today’s NHL, but Parayko was a minus-19 last season. There’s been a clear dip in his performance on the ice and the stats back it up.
Blues Haven’t Found Compatible Partner
The Blues traded for Marco Scandella and paired him with Parayko. It worked for a month or so, but it became a clear issue in the bubble as the two struggled together. Other defensemen brought in such as Nick Leddy and Torey Krug haven’t been compatible with him either. Blues general manager (GM) just hasn’t found the right partner for Parayko since Bouwmeester. A lot of Armstrong’s decisions with blue line personnel since winning the Cup in 2019 have backfired.
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The Blues didn’t have the cap flexibility this offseason to find a new partner for Parayko. Free agents that could’ve fit include Dmitry Orlov and Ryan Graves, but they were way out of the Blues price range. Orlov signed at $7.75 million per year with the Carolina Hurricanes and Graves signed at $4.5 million per year with the Pittsburgh Penguins. They were also unable to trade Krug after he refused to waive his no-trade clause in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. They have nearly $30 million invested into their blue line this season and that makes it more important for Parayko to find his game with how limited their ability on the back end is right now.
Parayko Is Major Factor in a Better Blue Line
The most important player for the Blues’ defense is Parayko. If he bounces back and regains his shutdown form from a few seasons ago, the unit becomes better overall. It would not surprise me to see the Blues go with either Leddy or Justin Faulk as Parayko’s partner when the season begins.
Parayko needs to show aggressiveness and comfortability with the puck this season. He needs a partner like Leddy or Faulk to compliment him in all three zones, but I’m not overly confident that it will happen. Bouwmeester complimented Parayko with his defensive ability and composure. With new assistant coach Mike Weber coming in to run the defense, it could bring structure changes that help Parayko gain his confidence back.
Parayko must bounce back in a big way for the Blues to make the playoffs this season. I’m not holding out hope that it happens, but I think he is better than last season. Armstrong made his own bed with the atrocious contracts he’s given out to various blueliners. The Blues enter the 2023-24 season with the hope of a new defensive coach and mindset changing their fortunes.
