The 2023-24 season gets underway on Oct. 12 for the St. Louis Blues with a matchup on the road against the Dallas Stars. With the season approaching quickly, Blues Weekly is back and it will be up every Wednesday during the season.
In today’s edition, we will get into the Blues’ preseason games thus far, why this is a crucial season for head coach Craig Berube, and more. Without further ado, let’s get into the first edition for the 2023-24 season.
Blues Preseason Games Are Underway
The Blues beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 last night in their first non-split-squad preseason game of the year after playing two games on Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes. The Blues had a lot of their lineup players playing last night, but players like Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich, and a few others didn’t suit up. Goaltender Jordan Binnington saved 10 of 11 shots in one period, while Malcolm Subban played two periods and saved 20 of 21 shots faced. Jakub Vrana and Oskar Sundqvist both scored goals for the Blues, while Brayden Schenn, Kevin Hayes, Brandon Saad, and Nick Ritchie had an assist each.
Related: Blues News & Rumors: Schenn, Krug, Training Camp & More
The Blues have five preseason games left, including three games on the road. It’ll be interesting to watch players like Ritchie, MacKenzie MacEachern, and Isaac Ratcliffe as they fight for roster spots. Even with five preseason games to go, Ritchie has been wildly impressive with the Blues, so I think he’s got a legitimate chance to make the roster. The next five games will go a long way in the Blues’ decision-making for the final spots on the roster to start the season. There are a lot of options and decisions to make.
Krug Speaks to Media For First Time Since Offseason Drama
Defenseman Torey Krug spoke to the media for the first time since denying to waive his no-trade clause to go to the Philadelphia Flyers. When the Blues first tried to trade for Hayes in the offseason, they wanted to move Krug to the Flyers as a part of the original deal. After Krug decided to not waive his no-trade clause, the Blues and Flyers reworked the deal and got it done anyway. Krug used his contractual right to stay in St. Louis and it’s clear that he is eager to move forward from this. He signed a seven-year deal with the Blues prior to the 2020-21 season and has every right to not waive his no-trade clause if he doesn’t want to.
It also seems fairly clear that the Blues players like him as a teammate, so I don’t expect this to affect the locker room this season. Blues captain Schenn had this to say about Krug, “We’re happy to have ‘Kruger’ back. He’s an unbelievable teammate. He’s a heck of a player, a guy that has some fire in his belly this year and wants to prove people wrong, so we’re happy to have him back on our side. He didn’t want to go to another organization or team where he felt he had a less chance to win, put it that way. … We’ve got good pieces in the locker room and he wanted to be a part of it. … Honestly, we’re lucky to have him. He’s a top power-play defenseman in the League, he’s a great teammate and we’re happy he’s on our side.”
Even though Krug suffered a right foot injury while training a few weeks ago, he expects to be back for the regular season opener on Oct. 12. The Blues need him to be healthy and productive this season to run the top power-play unit and move the puck to generate offense. It remains to be seen what happens with Scott Perunovich if Krug is healthy, but the Blues will need both of them to be on the ice.
Berube Enters a Crucial Season With Blues
This is the fifth full season for Berube as the head coach of the Blues. He replaced Mike Yeo in Nov. 2019 after the Blues got off to a slow start. Berube did a phenomenal job and led them to a Stanley Cup in 2019. Since that season, Berube has a record of 155-99-37 in the regular season and an 8-17 playoff record. The Blues’ roster isn’t quite as good as it was when he took over, but they have a chance to make the playoffs this season after missing last season.
I don’t expect Berube to be fired or on the hot seat during the season, but Blues general manager (GM) Doug Armstrong has a decision to make if the Blues have another bad season. Outside of last season, Berube has led the Blues to some terrific regular season records. They have struggled in the playoffs, but two of those series losses since 2020 were against elite Colorado Avalanche teams. Either way, this is a big season for Berube behind the bench in St. Louis.
The season is approaching quickly and Blues season preview content is going to keep flowing here at The Hockey Writers. Stay tuned for more content as the season creeps closer.
