Question for the Blues' Offseason

Another season has come and gone for the St Louis Blues of the RHL, and this year has been most noteworthy for the team breaking out of last place and climbing all the way up to 24th overall with 87 points for the year. Of course, with such a finish, there are lots of questions to be answered before next season, when general manager rsyzygy hopes to build a team that can take another step forward and play meaningful hockey next March and April. Below are some of those questions:

1. What the fuck should they do with those goalies?

Last summer, the team brought in Matt Murray to serve as the backup goaltender, shipping out Thomas Greiss at the same time. With Murray signed for three more season and not showing many signs of life in the NHL, will the Blues be forced to just eat the cap penalty for having him in the minors and find another option to backup Bobrovsky? And what about Bob? A .910 save percentage for the year isn’t bad, but you would certainly hope for more when you look at that $8.5 million dollar cap hit at the top of the finances page.

2. Who gets re-signed?

The Blues roster will see some turnover next year for sure, with 7 pending UFAs and 4 pending RFAs. Mangiapane and Dahlin seem poised for raises, and while Morgan Rielly seems the obvious answer for the team’s UFA resign, will a more intriguing option shake loose from any of the rest of the league facing similar decisions?

3. What prospects can make an impact?

Cole Perfetti seems at least a year away from a serious RHL impact, and William Eklund will have to wait at least a year before signing with the Blues. But has Dylan Cozens done enough to earn a spot in the big leagues next year? Will any other young players be able to make the roster?

4. What happens in the lottery?

The Blues end the year with the 7th, 8th, and 10th best odds to win a lottery pick. Do the Wright combination of balls come together to give them another boost to their young core? Even if they don’t the team is posed to add some interesting new talent with three picks likely to be in the top 10.

5. How about expansion?

One of the benefits of being a bottom feeder is that there are few players that the Blues could lose to expansion that would create a huge hole in the roster. Will the Seattle GM be willing to take a flyer on Matt Murray if he’s exposed? Will any players come available for cheap leading up to the draft? Will Seattle be willing to act as a broker to trade in any current players for future assets?

6. Does the Central remain stacked?

This season, the Central division is sending five teams to the playoffs, with all five of those teams earning at least 98 points. One reason for that could be the division’s privilege of extra games against the Blackhawks, who managed to rack up just 36 points, which would tie them for the 9th worst season in NHL history and would be the worst since the 92-93 Sharks and Senators each managed only 24 points. Nonetheless, will the Blues be able to add enough to be able to compete in what was likely the best division in the RHL this season?

7. What the fuck happened on the road this year?

There’s no place like home… where the Blues went 25-14-2, good for a 104-point pace, which would have seen them earn a playoff berth if they could have kept that pace all year. However, the team managed only a paltry 15-21-5 on the road, only a 70-point pace. Only four teams managed to win fewer games on the road, while only four teams won more at home. Perhaps the answer is just to pack a bunch of fried ravioli for the road and make the players think they’re in St. Louis.