St. Louis Blues: 3 Keys To Success in 2017-18

The St. Louis Blues have all the right pieces to win a Stanley Cup in 2017-18, but their success will rely on how they work together

The St. Louis Blues have what it takes. They can match up with any team in the NHL right now and have a solid chance at winning a seven-game series. The Blues have a good young goaltender, an outstanding defense, an elite sniper and an experienced supporting cast of forwards who have been there and done that. But in the last couple years, they have fallen just short of stardom.

Former head coach Ken Hitchcock had the right idea when he and general manager Doug Armstrong designed a team build to last. The Blues arearemade for playoff hockey. Regular season hockey is one thing, but everybody knows the rink gets a lot smaller come April. The Blues have the grit, determination, and defensive strategy to grind out wins when they matter.

But those days are over.

Captain David Backes is gone. Hitchcock is gone. Badboy Ryan Reaves is gone. The Blues are still a hard team to play against, but they have curbed their physical angst. They know that they need to play hard, but also play smart. Alex Pietrangelo is the perfect captain to lead the Blues because he is a solid defenseman who wants to win, but isn’t going to put his team at a disadvantage.

Going forward, the St. Louis Blues, like many other teams in the league, are trying to get younger. Their decision to part with defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk at the trade deadline gave them the opportunity to draft another pick in the first round. At the same time, players like Paul Stastny and Jay Bouwmeester are in their early 30s and are becoming injury prone.

Next, let’s go over the three keys to success for the Blues in 2017-18.

1. Mike Yeo Must Lead By Example

More from Puck Prose

Head coach Mike Yeo did a great job last year when he was tasked to take over for Hitchcock, who was let go form the Blues organization mid-season. After he took over as head coach, Yeo led the Blues to a record of 22-8-2 and they made the playoffs only to lose in the second round. It’s not everyday when you see a team sell at the deadline and also make the playoffs. It’s quite an amazing feat.

Entering his 2nd position as head coach, Yeo has proven he can win games in the NHL. Yeo led the Minnesota Wild to the playoffs three straight years from 2012-2015, but was let go after the team couldn’t get past the 2nd round. He also made the news in 2015 when his coaching antics went a little too far.

Overall, Yeo is definitely qualified for this position and he most likely learned from his mistakes back in Minnesota. In fact, he probably knows this division better than most coaches. But entering into his 17th season as a hockey coach, Yeo knows what he has in the St. Louis Blues and will need to push them so they can go from a good team to a great team. And that must start with his leadership.

2. Add Another Goal Scorer

The Blues defense is elite, we all know that. Their problem has been putting the puck in the net. The Blues seem to live and die by close games, and that’s not a recipe for success. Forward Vladimir Tarasenko is a top player in this league, but he can’t continue to do it all by himself. Teams have him circled in their game-plan every night. It also doesn’t help that he gives up high-quality chances to get others involved. When you’re the only one on your that can finish, you may want to consider being more selfish.

The Blues 2016-17 goal scoring went like this.

Tarasenko – 39
Berglund – 23
Schwartz – 19
Perron – 18
Stastny – 18
Steen – 16

First off, the gap between the first and second leading scorer is pretty big. Also, the lack of players in the 20 goal range needs to be much higher. While the Blues had a lot of injuries and their defense takes a lot of shots from the point on special teams, at least two more guys should be in the 20 goal range.

The addition of Brayden Schenn should help a lot. The last two years with the Flyers, Schenn scored around 25 goals which will help a team like the Blues immensely. Schenn is on a 3-year deal with an average salary of $5.125M per year and if he does well, he will probably take over for Paul Stastny who is unlikely to return after this season unless he takes a pay cut.

3. Blues Must Stay Healthy

The Central Division isn’t getting any easier, especially with each passing day where Patrik Laine gets older and wiser. But the Blues have a few players in their prime and some young players coming up who are ready to contribute so why not now? The Nashville Predators came into last year’s playoffs and had an unforgettable run after starting as a wild card, but it’s questionable if they can do that again. A lot of things had to go right for the Preds and they did a great job riding that wave all the way to the Stanley Cup.

It’s not a great start to the season with a handful of guys on IR and Robby Fabbri re-injuring his knee, but the Blues have some time to get back to 100%. If they can take care of business and win some division games, the Blues can do some damage in the playoffs this year, even if they sneak in as a wild card.

Fabbri is a huge loss if his evaluation is that he can’t go this season. His high energy and top six abilities are really needed so hopefully he can find a way to come back this season. I’m not generally a promoter of the NBA, but they do know how to hack a championship.

Next: Blues Season Preview

The Cavs and Spurs are notorious for sitting their players to give them rest for the playoffs, and maybe the Blues can go about the playoffs the same way. I’m not saying hold guys out of regular season games, but give their vets as much time as they need to recover without risking missing the playoffs.

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