St Louis Blues Facing Major Roster Decisions

Another season and another early playoff exit for the St Louis Blues. After losing to the Minnesota Wild in six games general manager Doug Armstrong is faced with tough choices against a lower-than-expected salary cap next year.

Staring Armstrong in the face right away are a pair of restricted free agents clearly in the St Louis Blues long-term plans. Jake Allen played the series in-goal for the Blues and was spotty at times in big spots. He is still young with plenty of chances to learn from this series.

If you didn’t know Vladimir Tarasenko was one of the best players in the league before this series, you know it now. Tarasenko is an élite scorer and will be for some time. He is a player Armstrong should build around for the next decade.

Whether he gets the chance remains to be seen. With a thin unrestricted free agent class this summer the St Louis Blues could see multiple teams attack trying to sign Tarasenko to a crazy offer sheet. Armstrong should be willing to match any offer, which could complicate a position he loves tinkering with.

The St Louis Blues have made several changes in goal, all with debatable results. Since Brian Elliott began his career with the Blues there has been no stability behind a good young defense. Elliott and Jaroslav Halak shared time in the 2012 playoffs before Elliott got the opportunity in 2013.

It’s hard to pin the six-game series loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Elliott, who posted a .919 save percentage and 1.90 save percentage. So naturally, Elliott lost the opportunity in 2014 to Ryan Miller. To say Miller was a disaster after coming over from the Buffalo Sabres would be kind.

This season Elliott lost the crease to Allen, whom fluttered between stable and shaky. If anybody is chewing the end off his stick, it’s Elliott. The numbers show he didn’t do enough to lose the opportunity and yet he’s been replaced the last two playoff series, both first-round defeats.

Maybe Armstrong can’t help himself. He could keep searching for the St Louis Blues next goaltender outside of the organization. Antti Niemi is available in free agency if he feels like making another change. Though bringing in another goalie should signal the end of Elliott in St Louis.

There’s another point concerning any possible changes Armstrong could make. The St Louis Blues don’t have a first-round pick in a very deep draft, giving that up in the Miller trade. Status quo for Blues won’t be acceptable with the talent they have. No first-round pick makes building the pipeline – or being active in the trade market – a bit more complicated.

Armstrong won’t want to turn into the San Jose Sharks, a veteran team with a history of confusing playoff failures facing major changes. Several teams have motive and opportunity to be active at the draft. The St Louis Blues are no different but will have to take care of their own, particularly Tarasenko, before looking outside for help.

One thing seems certain: the St Louis Blues roster is bound to look different when next season starts.

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