You could write a lot of words about Paul Stastny and his disappointing first year with the St. Louis Blues. Stastny wasn’t bad, but he was average. That’s a big problem considering Stastny’s hefty four-year, $28 million contract and it places the forward under a ton of pressure heading into 2015-16.
First, a real quick look at Stastny’s 2014-15. He totaled 46 points in 74 regular season games and added one goal in six playoff games. An injury disrupted the year for Stastny, but he was still able to suit up in a total of 80 games and was mostly underwhelming when he took the ice. Some may point to his presence in the faceoff circle as an overwhelming positive (57.9% in the circle during the regular season), but if you’re the highest-paid forward on the roster, the only thing that matters is offense.
Moving forward, Stastny will be in the pivotal second year of his four-year contract. If that statement sounds familiar, it was the same one used on Jaroslav Halak heading into the 2011-12 season. Halak was pretty disappointing in the first year of his four-year deal and needed to make a statement after the Blues splashed out to acquire the goaltender and sign him to a fairly large (at the time) contract.
Comparing Stastny to Halak may seem like a stretch (and a comparison I never thought I’d make), but the two men came to St. Louis with enormous expectations and were signed to four-year contracts. Both men struggled in their first season and the pressure mounted heading into the second year. Everyone knows how Halak’s time in St. Louis panned out, but the jury is still out on Stastny.
What does Stastny need to do in his second year? More. It’s as simple as that. He needs to do more. A total of 46 points in the regular season and a vanishing act in the playoffs won’t cut it. In his final year with the Colorado Avalanche, Stastny had 60 points in 71 regular season games and a huge playoff explosion with 10 points in seven games. That’s what he needs to do for the Blues in 2015-16. It’s not Stastny’s fault the Blues dished out such a pricey contract, but he needs to produce north of 60 points in the regular season and be a consistent factor in the playoffs if the Blues want to make a deep Cup run.
There’s the argument that Stastny wasn’t surrounded with the best talent over the course of 2015-16. While he didn’t have the luxury of skating with Tarasenko, Stastny’s skill and paycheck indicate he should be able to generate offense on his own and raise the level of play of his linemates. If fans are going to excuse Stastny’s poor play on his linemates, that’s ignoring the $7 million problem in the room.
The Blues’ core could (should) be tinkered with this summer. Stastny may have some new teammates in 2015-16, but all eyes will be on him to raise his game and become a leader on this team.
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