St. Louis Puppy Chow

I know what you're asking. Why post this picture above? Some backstory is needed if you're unfamiliar, the St. Louis Blues were under ownership of Ralston Purina in the early 1980's. That ownership group attempted to move the Blues to Saskatoon, SK, in that time period except that the NHL blocked that move. Ownership threw a fit and it created more issues for the Blues to the point where they don't even participate in the 1983 NHL draft, where they could have had any of Pat Lafontaine or Steve Yzerman.

What's the point here? The 2017-18 season is just another in the long line of the Blues taking their lumps, as they began the season with great expectations, at one point, leading the league. They say it's not how you start, but how you finish. Unfortunately, the Blues finished just outside the playoff window, as they laid another egg in a must-win game last night at Colorado. A 5-2 loss in regulation means the Blues will be watching from the golf links. So, how did it come to this?

• The Blues at times, resembled a MASH unit, as key players were out for stretches of time, with the blue line taking the most damage. The lack of consistency as far as who was in the lineup, especially late in the season, meant there wasn't any chance of players getting chemistry built up.
• In turn, the injuries exposed a lack of depth that the Blues couldn't address adequately during the season. Even Vladimir Tarasenko missed time to injuries, and that meant others had to step up. Unfortunately, only Brayden Schenn could answer the bell here.
• Special teams were rather ordinary, at best. The less said about the power play, the better. On the penalty kill, for a defensively sound team, this was not quite as good. Of course, this part does go back to the lack of chemistry on the back end.
• Do the Blues have a number one goalie? Jake Allen may not be the answer, as he's been inconsistent the entire time he's been in the league, and he's been unable to beat out Brian Elliott then, and maybe now, Carter Hutton. Don't forget that Ville Husso is lurking in the minors.
• The lack of depth is especially true up front. Despite underachieving in his time in St. Louis, Paul Stastny was as close to being a true second line center. When he was traded, that meant the Blues were suddenly without any true second line options anywhere. Even the grinders took a bit of a downgrade, as Ryan Reaves was shipped out and Chris Thorburn wasn't even close to being the same player. Where St. Louis needs to find out soon is just how well they develop players. Jordan Schmaltz hasn't developed as the Blues have hoped, as he's yet to crack the NHL roster, Robby Fabbri may be made of glass, and there isn't a future superstar in the wings anywhere in the pipeline. There's a lot of middle six forwards, but no real top line players.

It's going to be another long off-season for the St. Louis faithful. They have problems to fix that may add another few years of Cup-free hockey if they don't address them soon. At least they have baseball, oh wait, the Cubs and Royals have won World Series more recently than the Cardinals.