St. Louis Blues 2014-15 Season Primer

The St. Louis Blues thought they were in a good position last year to make a run after their trade deadline additions, but they ran into the Blackhawks and were sent home early. They were able to sign the top free agent center in Paul Stastny, adding to an already impressive cast of forwards.

Use the below Tabs to view Blues info for this upcoming season, as well as some numbers from last year.

2013-14 Record: 52-23-7, 111 points
Where they finished: 2nd in the Central; 3rd in the Western Conference; 4th in the NHL

Player Salaries: $64,975,000
Cap Payroll: $66,216,667
Bonuses: $850,000
Bonus Overages: $700,000
Cap Space: $2,783,333
Forwards: $36.23 million (13)
Defensemen: $25.99 million (8)
Goalies: $3.3 million (2)
Source: CapGeek.com

In: Benn Ferriero RW, Brent Regner D, Carl Gunnarsson D, Chris Butler D, Jeremy Welsh C/LW, Joakim Lindstrom LW/RW, John McCarthy LW/C, Nate Prosser D, Paul Stastny C, Peter Mueller RW

Out: Adam Cracknell RW, Alexandre Bolduc LW/C, Brenden Morrow LW, Derek Roy C/LW, Keith Aucoin C, Roman Polak D, Ryan Miller G, Taylor Chorney D

2014-15 Team Outlook:

The Blues were one of the league’s elite teams during last year’s regular season, but after acquiring Ryan Miller they tailed off towards the end of the season.

The Blues still finished 2nd in the Central, but they choked up the division lead to Colorado and drew the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round instead of Minnesota.

After taking a 2-0 series lead against Chicago, the Blues went on to drop four consecutive games en route to a first round exit.

St. Louis lost Ryan Miller, who isn’t much of a loss when you consider how he played for them last year, and some aging depth in Brendan Morrow and Derek Roy, but they more than replaced that depth.

The Blues were able to land Paul Stastny in free agency, which should make an already elite possession team even better in that regard. They also took a flyer on Peter Mueller and Joakim Lindstrom in hopes of adding even more depth and offensive punch to the lineup.

Blues GM Doug Armstrong also added more mobility to an already mobile backend, as he traded possession anchor Roman Polak to the Maple Leafs in exchange for Carl Gunnarsson, who has more speed and puck moving ability in his game, and seems a better fit for their system.

St. Louis’ roster is among the best on paper in hockey, and their only question mark is in goal. If Brian Elliott and Jake Allen, who was excellent in the AHL last season, can hold up, the Blues should be elite once again.

Written by Todd Cordell, who can be found on twitter @ToddCordell.

The depth chart listed below was taken from NHL.com’s 30-in-30. 

FORWARDS
Alexander Steen – Paul Stastny – T.J. Oshie
Jaden Schwartz – David Backes – Vladimir Tarasenko
Magnus Paajarvi – Jori Lehtera – Patrik Berglund
Peter Mueller – Steve Ott – Maxim Lapierre
Joakim Lindstrom – Ryan Reaves

DEFENSEMEN
Alex Pietrangelo – Jay Bouwmeester
Barret Jackman – Kevin Shattenkirk
Ian Cole – Carl Gunnarsson
Jordan Leopold

GOALTENDERS
Brian Elliott
Jake Allen

A look at the St. Louis Blues top prospects heading into this season. Each source may use different classifications as to if a player is deemed a prospect or has graduated on from a prospect.

* Dobber Prospects – Prospects based on relevance in a fantasy-hockey keeper league, not actual talent on the ice.

St. Louis Blues Draft History from the past five years

Performance and Usage Charts for the St. Louis Blues from last season, from Extra Skater.