Central Focus: St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues took the offseason with a grain of salt this year. Overall, the team has more depth and more veteran presence. They lost some players that were fixtures on the fourth line and gained some guys that have some skill and leadership to help the younger players develop.
Departures
| PLAYER | 2011-12 Team |
| Tyson Strachan, D | Florida |
| Dave Scatchard, C | Free Agent |
| Chris Porter, LW | Free Agent |
| Nathan Oystrick, D | Phoenix |
| Cam Janssen, RW | New Jersey |
| Ty Conklin, G | Detroit |
| Dean Arsene, D | Phoenix |
| Graham Mink, LW |
Free Agent |
| Paul Kariya, LW | retired |
Arrivals
| PLAYER | FROM |
| Jonathan Cheechoo, RW | Free Agent |
| Jason Arnott, C | Washington |
| Brian Elliott, G | Colorado |
| Kent Huskins, D | San Jose |
| Jamie Langenbrunner, RW | Dallas |
| Brett Sterling, LW |
Pittsburgh |
| Scott Nichol, C | San Jose |
The biggest loss might have been Paul Kariya due to retirement, even though he didn't play last season. Arnott and Langenbrunner are the elder statesman on the Blues this season and have played together before in New Jersey and Dallas. Scott Nichol is a good fourth line center, and taking a flyer on Cheecho doesn't hurt either. Huskins will battle for the 6th spot on the blueline, and Elliott will have to beat out Ben Bishop for the backup role behind Halak.
Blues Forwards
| Andy McDonald | David Backes | Chris Stewart |
| David Perron | Patrik Berglund | T.J. Oshie |
| Alex Steen | Jason Arnott | Jamie Langenbrunner |
| Valdimir Sobotka | Scott Nichol | B.J. Crombeen |
| Jonathan Cheechoo | T.J. Hensick | Matt D'Agostini |
Blues Defenceman
| Alex Pietrangelo | Barrett Jackman |
| Roman Polak | Carlo Colaiacovo |
| Kevin Shattenkirk | Nikita Nikitin |
| Kent Huskins | Ian Cole |
Blues Golatenders
| Jaroslav Halak |
| Brian Elliott |
|
Ben Bishop |
New Acquisition
Should the Blues be better than last year? On paper, they should. Adding Langenbrunner and Arnott alone should help, but both are over 35 years old, so don't expect much. It might be more of a player-coach situation with both players. McDonald and Backes will lead the offense with help from Perron and Stewart, who needs to show the flair he had in Colorado. If Oshie solves his attitude issues he can be a scoring threat from the second line. Pietrangelo is quietly growing into a number one defenceman, but doesn't have a lot of help from anyone. Halak is the key; if they lose him, the Blues will sink fast. Expect them to be fighting the Blue Jackets for 4th in the Central. The playoffs are still a few seasons away.
Kyle Busch
