With the puck dropping on the 2023-24 NHL regular season this month, teams are starting to cut their rosters down in order to put their opening night lineups together. That’s no different for the St. Louis Blues, who made very few roster changes from last season and despite that, their lineup will still look different. The Blues season begins on Oct. 12 against the Dallas Stars and here is the lineup that they could roll out.
The Forward Group
The Blues’ forward group was a major strength of theirs in 2021-22, but it regressed last season and finished 16th in goals scored. The Blues are smart to assume a bounceback can happen with the level of overall talent within the group. They didn’t make any huge changes from last season and it’s clear when seeing what the lineup could look like.
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Pavel Buchnevich | Robert Thomas | Jordan Kyrou |
| Jakub Vrana | Brayden Schenn | Kasperi Kapanen |
| Brandon Saad | Kevin Hayes | Sammy Blais |
| Jake Neighbours | Oskar Sundqvist | Alexey Toropchenko |
The first thing jumping off the page is how great the first line could be. The passing ability of Robert Thomas alongside the scoring skill of Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou should be great to watch. It wouldn’t be a surprise if either Buchnevich or Kyrou score 40-plus goals if they stay healthy this season.
The second line presents intrigue as well with Jakub Vrana and Kasperi Kapanen entering their first full seasons in St. Louis. It’s also Brayden Schenn’s first season as the Blues captain, so he’ll be looking to play even better. When right, Vrana and Kapanen are fast skaters with a lot of shooting ability. The third line is the size line with all three players being above six feet tall. It’s the first season in St. Louis for Kevin Hayes after being traded over the summer, while Saad will try to bounce back from a tough 2022-23 season and Blais is back for his first full season with the Blues since before the Buchnevich trade that landed him with the New York Rangers.
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The fourth line could end up being different from this, but it would stun me if Alexey Toropchenko, Oskar Sundqvist, and Jake Neighbours weren’t all in the lineup when the season starts. This could be the Blues’ strongest fourth line since their Stanley Cup run in 2019. That line featured Sundqvist, Ivan Barbashev, and Alexander Steen. There is no doubt that this forward group must be a major strength if the Blues want to make the playoffs in 2023-24.
The Defensive Unit
The Blues’ defensive unit has been rightfully criticized over the past few seasons. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong made plenty of mistakes when constructing this unit, none more than the many no-trade clauses handed out. With a new coach running the unit, assistant coach Mike Weber, the Blues hope for better defensive play this season.
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Nick Leddy | Colton Parayko |
| Torey Krug | Justin Faulk |
| Scott Perunovich | Robert Bortuzzo |
This projection leaves Marco Scandella and Tyler Tucker out of the mix, but they’ll both play at some point during the season. While the defensive unit as a whole has been poor the last few seasons, they need the forwards to pitch in more and keep things in front of them. If Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk can show glimpses of what they’ve been in the past, that’s a subtle improvement for the entire unit. Although Torey Krug and Scott Perunovich lack proper defensive ability, they’ll hold down the fort with their passing brilliance on the power play.
There are a lot of questions to be answered for this unit. With a new voice in the room like Weber, I expect them to improve a bit from last season, but they still won’t be one of the league’s best units.
Goaltenders
Blues goaltenders have been hung out to dry by poor defensive play from the forwards and defenders over the past few seasons. However, that doesn’t leave them blameless in their lack of production. Continuity matters to a certain extent and that should help their goaltending, but how much better can they actually be?
| Starting Goaltender | Backup Goaltender |
| Jordan Binnington | Joel Hofer |
Between Jordan Binnington, Thomas Greiss, and Joel Hofer, Blues goaltenders had a combined save percentage (SV%) of .895 and a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.36. The numbers were not good and it’s been a trend for most Blues goaltenders outside of Binnington’s first couple of seasons and Ville Husso in 2021-22. I believe that Hofer will have a great rookie season and push Binnington in the same way that Husso did in 2021-22. If this happens, Binnington will play better than he did last season, but it’s hard to hold out hope for that.
Blues Lineup Should Be More Productive in 2023-24
It would be hard for this group to not be more productive than last season. The Blues ranked 16th in goals scored and 27th in goals against last season, but it won’t be that way this season. I don’t know if this is a playoff team, but they will be closer than they were last season at the very least.
