What will be the biggest stories to follow in 2015-16 for the St. Louis Blues? The team is once again entering a new season following a disappointing early exit from the playoffs and the summer featured plenty of changes. How will the new pieces fit? Are the younger skaters ready to take on a larger role? Who claims the net? These questions – and many others – will be fascinating to follow this year.
Will this be the year of a deep playoff run?
This is by far the most important question. The Blues have crashed out of the playoffs repeatedly in the early going. Will this year be any different? A Stanley Cup victory might be asking a lot (remember – there are 29 losers every year), but at the very least the Blues need to get over the mental hump which results in first-round exits.
If the Blues want to grow beyond a strong regular season team, they need to have a deep playoff run this season.
Who claims the net?
Jake Allen was the main man in net for the Blues during the playoffs. The success of that decision varies depending who you ask. The 2015-16 campaign may be the turning point where Allen and Brian Elliott’s split shifts from more of a 50-50 role to one in which Allen carries the advantage. Elliott isn’t going anywhere and will claim plenty of starts, but 2015-16 might be the year in which Allen takes on more responsibility.
It’s too early to make any predictions, but Allen seems to be the opening night starter based on how things unfolded in the playoffs.
How will the new faces fair?
The trade which sent T.J. Oshie packing and brought Troy Brouwer in was one which was met with plenty of criticism. Like it or not, Brouwer will be called on to play a big role with the Blues and he, like the other new faces, won’t have much time to gel and find chemistry with the other players. Kyle Brodziak’s role won’t be quite as involved as Brouwer’s, but he’ll still be looked on to bring the Blues forward from where they were last season.
Have the Blues upgraded their roster compared to last year? We’ll have to wait and find out.
Which young skaters step up?
Will Robby Fabbri and Ty Rattie win spots on the roster? Will Petteri Lindbohm be a regular on defense? Will someone else surprise the team during training camp? Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz are transitioning and becoming leaders of the team, but the Blues will need another wave of young skaters to slide in and provide depth should they need it.
The decision on the youngsters might initially come during training camp, but it’s highly likely that Fabbri and others will be called on this season and it’ll be fascinating to see how they respond.
Attendance and how will fans respond to last year’s mess?
The Blues held an event recently (IceBreaker) and they drew a large crowd of over 3,000. Some quickly labeled that event as an indicator that Blues fans have forgiven and forgotten last year’s mess, but the real test comes when the regular season starts. Attendance figures are always fun to follow, but this year in particular should be a solid measuring stick to gauge fan frustration and fatigue. External factors included (St. Louis Cardinals playoff run), attendance might be one of the most important stories to follow early on.
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