ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Since winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup in 2019, the team hasn't made it past the first round of playoffs. Experts aren't giving this year's team much of chance to do better.
With the Blues' season set to begin on Saturday in Colorado, we talked to Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest, KFNS and “The Cam and Strick Podcast” to preview what the biggest storylines and questions will be for this team. Here are five major questions he raised in the interview:
Are newcomers Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich "too good to be true" fits?
If you listen to Blues coach Craig Berube, you'd think these guys were born to play the exact style of hockey he preaches: 200-foot player, protect the puck, score off the rush, etc...
"Saad I think can play with pretty much any group in the league. He plays a pretty simple game. Although he's got more dynamic skill and offense ability than I think people realize ... He's pretty crafty out there. He he do these little cross-ice passes that come out of nowhere."
"Buchnevich is a guy who is going to improve the Blues' overall play, specifically off the rush. Last year in New York, he scored a lot of goals off the rush, he loves to one-time the puck off the rush ... Even the (Blues) coaching staff is a little surprised in how well he shoots the puck."
Can Blues survive without "alpha-male" top line?
Although St. Louis may lack a super-star line that can compete with top lines packed with All-Stars like Colorado, Boston and Vegas, they may end up with some of the best second and third lines in hockey.
"The Blues as a team kind of have three second lines. I don't think they have an alpha-male top line when you look at the way that they're built ... It's not just about the depth that they have offensively, but I think it's that balance that's going to carry them and allow them to put up a lot of points and win a lot of games."
How will Vladimir Tarasenko situation shake out?
Cleary, moving No. 91 wasn't an option, as there was either no interest or not enough of return available for St. Louis to trade him. But maybe he is now finally healthy after a third shoulder surgery and can be "that guy" again.
"If he wants to get moved, he needs to create a market for himself ... In terms of his presence in the dressing room and on the ice, I don't think whole lot will change. He appears to be in great shape. He's smiling a lot. I've have a few chances to be around him over the past few weeks to have conversations with him and he really is in good spirits."
But what if he starts to struggle? What if he losses his spot on the No. 1 power-play unit (which was something that upset him last year)? Strickland says that will be a "game-by-game approach."
Is James Neal for real?
He led St. Louis is scoring this preseason with four goals in five games. The 34-year-old scored just five goals in 29 games for Edmonton last season.
"Some people are saying 'pump the brakes' on Jake Neighbours (we'll get to him in a second). I'm more about pumping the brakes on James Neal. He's a natural goal scorer, the puck finds him. If you watch him in the preseason, he's always around the puck. He's not a perfect player by any means, his skating isn't what it once was earlier in his career. But again, he's earned the spot his in right now on the third line ... I think he's not going to hurt the team, he's only going to help. But how much offense can you expect from James Neal? We'll have to wait and find out."
What's a fair expectation of Jake Neighbours?
Here's the deal with the 19-year-old who was drafted 26th overall by the Blues in 2020. He's got nine games to either prove he's an NHL player (not just the first nine games of the season, but the first nine he plays in). Then St. Louis must either keep him or send him back to major juniors in the Western Hockey League.
"He is mature beyond his years and he does brings those special qualities that you want to see a young player. The Blues haven't had too many of these guys to pop up. He's got sneaky skill, he's always on the puck, he's on the forecheck, he wins battles. And when I say sneaky skill, it's the small-area plays he's able to make. The five-foot passes, the 10-foot passes."
Strickland says he's also, obviously, won over this front office, coaching staff and even veteran teammates who he believes are slightly included on the decision to keep a guy like Neighbours around.
"For them to give this guy at 19-years-old of age says a lot. The way Craig Berube describes him, it's almost like he's a future captain in the making. You don't hear coaches describe 19-year-old players like they describe Jake Neighbours."
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