The St. Louis Blues - Mmmm, Playoffs

(Editor's Note: Doing these long writeups every day, I kind of feel like Homer Simpson eating 64 slices of American cheese. Sure it starts off great, but eventually you just kind of feel sick and full and empty at the same time. God bless any of you who are still reading all of these.)

St. Louis Salaries


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TJ Oshie and Patrik Berglund Are Going To Be Awesome, If They Aren't Already: TJ Oshie had 39 points in 57 games in his rookie season, and Patrik Berglund notched 47 in 76 games. They may have a little backsliding this year, but going forward both may be stars.

The Blues Are Really, Really Well Set Up for 2010-11: 10 forwards and 5 defensemen already 'under contract' and only at 32 million leaves the Blues an absolute ton of room.

Projected Lines For 2009-10

Kariya-McDonald-Boyes
Tkachuk-Berglund-Oshie
Perron-Steen-Backes
?-McClement-Crombeen

Brewer-Jackman
Johnson-McKee
Polak-Colaiacovo

Mason
?

Future Watch

Forwards: No one on the immediate horizon.

Defensemen: Alex Pietrangelo got a look with the Blues last season - he is now 19 years old, and St. Louis thinks he is a future star. They're probably not wrong.

Goalie: Ben Bishop and Marek Schwarz both played for the Blues last season, but both had sub-.900 save percentages at the AHL level.

Trades

The Blues have a lot of depth - players like Jeff Woywitka, Carlo Colaiacovo, B.J. Crombeen, etc. may be rather desirable to other clubs. The Blues could move these players for younger, depth-type prospects if they try to nab a top free agent. However, with the Blues in an insanely favorable position for 2009-10, they may just sit on their hands this season. Eric Brewer and Jay McKee might be fobbed off if the Blues are really looking to make a free agent splash. With almost $10 million in room under the cap, the Blues can make bad contracts disappear (for a price). It's an excellent time to be a Blues fan.

Free Agency

Money To Spend: 10.2 million dollars
Holes to Fill: 2

It's really hard to know what the Blues want or need in free agency. They can certainly fill out their roster - so they have no 'pressing' needs. They could even be a player for Bouwmeester - history suggests the Blues love their free agents. Ideally, the Blues strategy should be to simply jump on a free agent whose price has slipped due to lack of demand. There's no need for them to nose into the game when prices are high early in July - wait until late July or August to pick off a guy without a home.

It's also worth noting that the Blues are one of the very few teams who could sign an RFA to an offer sheet this off-season - it may make sense for them to do it.

The Blues are also in need of a backup goalie - may one land safely in St. Louis

Conclusion

The Blues shocked everyone in the NHL by making the playoffs despite season-ending injuries to Kariya, Johnson, and McDonald. All three of those players should be healthy this year, so it will be interesting to see how St. Louis fares. Going forward, they have a ton of salary cap room, so Ilya Kovalchuk is a definite possibility next season, and they could even be players for Marian Hossa or Jay Bouwmeester if they want to kick off the deep playoff runs early. The window is so short in today's NHL - they just might see fit to do that.

Outlook

The Blues may not make the playoffs next year, but it will be surprising if the St. Louis Blues don't make at least a Stanley Cup Final in the next 7 years.