(Best E Casino) - Hold tight, St. Louis. Help is on the way.
The St. Louis Blues are in the midst of a youth movement and the club didn't want to spoil that strategy this offseason with a bunch of messy free-agent contracts.
Being patient and not throwing their hat into the ring during free agency may not be a popular decision, but for the Blues it's the right way to get back to being a perennial playoff participant.
St. Louis actually looked like a playoff team at the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign, but the club's lack of experience eventually caught up and the Blues finished 14th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference.
The Blues are in for additional growing pains this year, but at least head coach Andy Murray has a load of recent first-round picks on his roster. Unfortunately, the team's most highly-touted prospect will likely miss the entire 2008-09 season as defenseman Erik Johnson, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2006 draft, tore both the ACL and MCL ligaments in his right knee.
The injury to Johnson is a major blow to his development, but St. Louis still ha plenty of other youngsters to bring along this season.
FORWARDS - The Blues were 26th in the NHL with an average of just 2.46 goals per game last season, but that certainly wasn't the fault of 26-year-old right wing Brad Boyes.
When the Blues sent defenseman Dennis Wideman to Boston for Boyes in a mid- season trade during the 2006-07 season they knew they were getting a solid offensive player, but they couldn't have expected him to put up 43 goals in his first full season with the club.
Boyes led St. Louis with in goals last year and was tied with Paul Kariya for the team lead with 65 points. However, it could spell big problems for the Blues' offense if Boyes, a former first-round pick by Toronto, falls back to the 26 goals he scored with Boston in 2005-06.
Kariya, who was signed to a three-year, $18 million deal in the summer of 2007, was the club's top left winger last year with 16 goals and a team-high 49 assists. The Blues were happy with the overall production from Kariya, but would like to see his goal total increase this season.
The Blues acquired a top-line centerman midway through last season by packaging veteran forward Doug Weight in a deal that brought Andy McDonald from Anaheim to St. Louis. McDonald had a career-high 85 points in 2005-06 with the Ducks and had 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists) in 49 games with the Blues last year.
At 31 years old, McDonald is by far the oldest centermen expected to make the Blues out of training camp. Patrick Berglund, 20, and Jay McClement, 25, as well as Yan Stastny, who will turn 26 just before the season begins, all have a good chance to see significant playing time in St. Louis this year. Berglund is the best prospect of the three, having been picked with the 25th overall selection in the 2006 draft.
Keith Tkachuk, 36, will be back to provide goal-scoring and leadership on the left wing. He was third on the team in scoring last year with 58 points (27g, 31a) and has 500 career goals.
The Blues were disappointed with the play of winger Lee Stempniak in 2007-08, as he notched just 13 goals and 38 points a year after recording a career-high 52 points (27g, 25a).
David Perron is expected to take a step forward after posting 13 goals and 14 assists in 62 games as a rookie last year. The 20-year-old left wing was selected by the Blues with the 26th overall pick in the 2007 draft.
Another young player to keep an eye on this year will be right wing T.J. Oshie, a first-round pick with a penchant for physical play despite his 5-10, 170-pound frame. The 21-year-old had 18 goals and 27 assists in 42 games as a collegiate player with North Dakota a year ago.
DEFENSE - The injury to Johnson must be frustrating for team president John Davidson and the rest of St. Louis' front office, which considers the young blueliner to be the key in the current youth movement.
While St. Louis has some solid veterans on the blueline like Eric Brewer, 29, Barret Jackman, 27, and Jay McKee, 31, it was Johnson who led all Blues defensemen with 33 points (5g, 28a) in just 69 games as a rookie in 2007-08.
Brewer, who had 22 points (1g, 21a) last year, will likely quarterback the power play in the absence of Johnson.
Jackman, who won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie in 2002-03, is a physical defenseman who had two goals, 14 assists and 93 penalty minutes in 78 games last year.
McKee, meanwhile, has battled numerous injuries in recent years, but could be a boost if healthy this season.
Steven Wagner, 24, Jeff Woywitka, 25, are also expected to be in the defensive rotation and Roman Polak, a 22-year-old who spent most of his time with the Blues' AHL affiliate in Peoria the last two years, could also be in the mix now that Johnson is out.
GOALTENDING - Veteran goaltender Manny Legace made the Western Conference All- Star team last year thanks to a strong first half of the season, but then struggled after the All-Star break.
Legace was 17-13-4 with a 2.28 goals against average in his first 37 games, but was 10-12-4 with a 2.57 GAA in his final 29 outings. Still, he heads into this season as the No. 1 netminder despite the fact that he'll make $500,000 less than backup Chris Mason, who was acquired over the summer break in a trade with Nashville.
Mason saw action in 51 games with the Predators last season and was 18-22-6 with a 2.90 GAA and a sub-par .898 save percentage.
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - The Blues enter this season with developing their young talent as the main priority, although that process will unfortunately proceed without their blue-chip defense prospect. Still, the team has a chance to build confidence even if a berth in the postseason is likely a few years away. Patience is a virtue that St. Louis' management apparently has, but it will be interesting to see how long hockey fans in the Gateway City will share that sentiment.
