There are many questions surrounding the offseason for the Blues.
What will happen with Ownership?
Are we going to be able to upgrade the club via free agent signings or trades?
Who will be named team captain?
Will David Perron play this season?
With all of this up in the air, it is tough to predict what offseason moves Blues GM Doug Armstrong is able to pull off.
With the recent news of Vladimir Tarasenko staying in the KHL for another season, the Blues are now hurting for bodies on the forward lines.
David Perron's headaches are getting better but he is still not able to train for the 11/12 season, making him a huge question mark to play. The Blues really missed Perron's contributions last season as the club was forced to add some much needed offense in the form of the Chris Stewart trade. Even with Stewart, the Blues still need one or two more guys in order to call themselves a contending team. It's not that they don't have bodies, it's just that they don't have the skill necessary to compete and vie for a Stanely Cup with the roster as it stands.
The Blues could definitely use a big center or winger addition to their bottom six group of forwards. Alexei Ponikarovsky could bounce back to a 20 goal guy that the Blues could look into. He had an atrocious year in LA only scoring 5 goals in 61 games. The Blues could really cash in on a cast off from another team in a big way. A couple guys that come to mind are Vladimir Sobotka and Matt D'Agostini both of which are coming off career years with the Blues...
If the Blues have more money to spend up front then we could see players like Simon Gagne or Ville Leino added to the Top Six to replace / mimic Perron's production. Either player in my opinion would be a great addition.
The Blues also need to look into finding a new home for Carlo Colaiacovo as his defensive play is far from being as good as his offensive zone play. With the emergence of Pietrangelo, Nikitin, Cole and the prowess of Shattenkirk, Colaiacovo is definitely expendable. The Blues could deal him away and replace him with a real number 1 defenseman to pair with Pietrangelo.
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