News has been very slow on the Blues front as of late. Not many rumors to discuss besides Eklund’s Jonathan Drouin to St. Louis rumor. I don’t know how much truth there is to that and I honestly don’t see it happening. The price Tampa would be asking would not help this team by just adding Drouin to the mix. He’s going to be a very good, if not great, player. Trading Patrik Berglund, Robby Fabbri, and a pick isn’t the answer that Tampa would be looking for, but what do I know? Tampa isn’t in dire need of changing much. Kevin Shattenkirk could help them, but there’s not many players I would trade him for right now.


That brings me to look ahead to the opening day roster and forward lines. I don’t think we see any more significant moves this offseason. Ken Hitchcock says that the lineup will look quite different this season. Paul Stastny will play in the number one center position. His wingers look to be determined between either Alexander Steen or Jaden Schwartz on the left. The Right Wing slots in the top 6 have a lot riding on whether Fabbri, Ty Rattie, or Dmitrij Jaskin are ready to play in a top 6 role. According to Hitchcock, if none of them are ready, then Backes will play the wing. If not, then Backes will be slotted in at third line center between Berglund and newcomer Troy Brouwer.


The second line, or line 1A, will have Jori Lehtera at center and Vladimir Tarasenko to his right. Either Steen or Schwartz will play the left side. The top six is again loaded with talent and scoring ability. The question is..will more than two of them perform when it really matters? Assuming one of the kids is ready for a top six role and Backes plays third line center, it could become a very versatile line. All big bodies with enough skill to produce in the offensive zone. All are good on the defensive side of the puck and would be expected to shut down the opposition’s top players. I think it is more than capable of doing so.


The fourth line will consist of Steve Ott, Kyle Brodziak, and Ryan Reaves. As for Reaves, he has become a very solid fourth line player since beginning his time with the Blues. He’s much faster than people think, good at protecting the puck on the half wall and down low, and in my opinion, has improved greatly since the days of just getting ice time to fight. Brodziak should bring an upgrade over Maxim Lapierre/Marcel Goc from last season. He’s a big body that can be moved throughout the bottom six. He also has a good work ethic and goes to the dirty areas. Steve Ott, there’s worse fourth liners out there. He will run his mouth all game and as much as I used to hate him, it entertains me pretty well now. He may take a dumb penalty here and there and it will be aggravating, but I think his game has cleaned up quite a bit since he has been here.


The forward lines will have scoring and defensive responsibility on both top six groups. The third line looks like a beast of a shutdown line and the fourth line will also score more this season in my opinion. Is there always room for improvement? Yes, but I believe that this team has what it takes to be a Cup winners. They just have to be clicking at the right time. I’ll be back later with a breakdown of the defensive pairs. Although, they should be a little more straight forward.

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