Last year was to have been St. Louis' breakthrough year as far as being perennial playoff contenders go. A funny thing happened along the way, and it was an all too familiar refrain for the Blues: injuries. The prized acquisition from last year Jaroslav Halak struggled with injuries, both personally and to his teammates around him, and the Blues ended up missing the playoffs...again. The Blues hope this year is different, and to that end, signed two players who have a lot of miles on them, as well as a few Stanley Cup rings in Jamie Langenbrunner and Jason Arnott. Both are coming off of down years, which if you were watching the New Jersey Devils last year, is not surprising, but both will provide veteran leadership that was missing when Eric Brewer was traded at the deadline and a winning mentality that was sorely lacking everywhere except in goal. What does this mean for the youngsters on the Blues? Plenty, if they want to know how to win, and given the talent potential from players such as Alex Pietrangelo, Chris Stewart, and David Backes, St. Louis has a lot of ability, but needs a way to harness that potential, and that is where Langenbrunner and Arnott, both former captains (and one of them could be named captain for this upcoming season), will figure into the equation.
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