The St. Louis Blues are now entering the final week of the 2022-23 season. They have two games remaining before the front office prepares for a big offseason. This is the first time since the 2017-18 season that the Blues have missed the playoffs. Before that, it was the 2010-11 season. The Blues had made the playoffs in 11 of 14 seasons before the 2022-23 season. They also had a stretch with five of six seasons without making the playoffs from 2005-06 to 2010-11. They have made the playoffs in 10 of 13 seasons with general manager Doug Armstrong.
The Blues enter the season’s final week with a record of 37-36-7 (81 points). This will be their lowest point total in an 82-game season since 2007-08, where they had 79. This has been the worst Blues season in a while. The expectations going into the season were to make the playoffs, at the very least. They had 109 points last season and took the Colorado Avalanche to Game 6 in the second round. Letting David Perron leave, regression from the blue line, and poor goaltending tanked the season for the Blues.
As for the Blues games from last week, they went 2-1-0 with a couple of home wins. They beat the Philadelphia Flyers to begin the week by a score of 4-2. The Blues jumped the Flyers in this game with a 3-0 lead through two periods. They struggled in the third period and almost blew it, as the 2022-23 Blues have done all season. In their second game of the week, the Blues beat the New York Rangers in overtime. It was the return of Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola to the Enterprise Center. The Blues looked connected throughout most of this game. However, the club did lose 65 percent of faceoffs and allowed the Rangers to go 2-for-2 on the power play. However, they picked up a win with a goal from Kasperi Kapanen.
Related: Kyrou Is Not the Root of Blues’ Defensive Woes
The final game of the week for the Blues was on Saturday night on the road at the Minnesota Wild. They lost 5-3 after taking a 1-0 lead and allowing the Wild to score four consecutive goals. The Blues made a late run with goals from Pavel Buchnevich and Jake Neighbours, but they came up short and finished the season series with a 1-3-0 record against Minnesota. They have been outscored 18-13 in those four games. Last season, the Blues went 3-0-0 against the Wild and beat them in the first round of the playoffs. Things have changed quickly this season.
Snuggerud & University of Minnesota Lose National Championship
It was a heartbreaking season finale for Blues prospect and 2022 first-round pick Jimmy Snuggerud and his University of Minnesota Golden Gophers hockey team. Despite having a lead late, the Golden Gophers fell short and lost in overtime of the National Championship game against Quinnipiac University. Snuggerud and the Golden Gophers had a terrific season. They were the odds-on favorite to win the championship and had a 29-10-1 record.
The good thing for Snuggerud is that he’s only 18 years old and will likely return to Minnesota next season. He had a brilliant season playing alongside Logan Cooley and Matthew Knies. Those three were a part of one of the best lines that college hockey has had in a while. Snuggerud had 21 goals, 29 assists, and 50 points in 41 games. He also had a plus/minus of plus-35. His numbers were ridiculous for a freshman in college. Blues fans should be excited about his development, as he is still so young.
Blues Currently 11th in the 2023 NHL Draft Order
I covered the 2023 Draft and the Blues’ options in a Blues Weekly piece over a month ago. Given the Blues’ success after the trade deadline, they are unlikely to get a top-10 pick in the 2023 Draft. However, the depth of the 2023 Draft is set to be elite. The Blues could easily fetch an elite prospect outside of the top 10. As of right now, the Blues are also projected to have the 26th and 27th picks from the Tarasenko, and Ryan O’Reilly trades. I don’t think general manager Doug Armstrong will make all three picks in the first round. I expect a trade to happen.
As our very own Mike Meyer wrote recently, center Brayden Yager could be a terrific fit for the Blues. Outside of Yager, there are a few other forwards that could line up for the Blues around the 11th pick. If forward Andrew Cristall falls to the Blues, they should run to the stage to draft him. He was ranked eighth in The Hockey Writers’ Peter Baracchini’s top 96 rankings for the month of April.
“Cristall oozes high-end skill and innovation when he has control of the puck,” Baracchini said. “Even when he doesn’t have a whole lot to work with, he will always find a way to make a play and execute on it perfectly. He’s a slick and evasive playmaker with soft hands that even the most difficult of plays are a breeze for him to convert on.”
There are so many quality forwards in the top 15 of the 2023 Draft class. While the Blues could benefit from drafting a defenseman, I don’t see that as the best pick in this year’s first round. It’s going to be a fascinating draft for Armstrong and the Blues. How they handle the first round will tell us a lot about what the 2023-24 season could look like. For example, if they used first-round picks to make a trade for a top-four defenseman, that would indicate that they want to be a playoff contender next season.
Blues’ Week Ahead
- Wednesday: vs. Dallas Stars (45-21-14, 104 points), 6:30 PM (TNT)
- Thursday: at Dallas Stars (45-21-14, 104 points), 7 PM (ESPN)
The Blues have two games left to play in the 2022-23 season. It’s a back-to-back against the Dallas Stars. The Stars are one of the top three seeds in the Central Division and will play one of the Wild Card teams, the Wild or the Colorado Avalanche. It’s weird to see the Blues’ final two games of the season on national television, but that’s the case with both of these games. I’m not sure what the Blues Weekly series will be in the offseason, but I will be writing them for most weeks leading up to the NHL free agency period. Thanks for reading all season long.