Saturday morning, veteran forward Kevin Hayes summed up the Blues’ first half while chatting up reporters from his native Boston.
“Early on in the year, we were trying to play the right way defensively, and we were winning games 3-2, 2-1,†Hayes said. “We got away from that and went through a bad stretch there where we all knew that something needed to be changed.â€
The players couldn’t undo the ugly downturn that cost coach Craig Berube his job. Now, they must move forward and reestablish the team’s identity under interim coach Drew Bannister.
“I think when we’re playing the teams the caliber that we’ve been playing recently, we can’t really go end to end with these teams that have superstars,†Hayes said. “So we have to rely on our defense.â€
The Blues will need Hayes and fellow veteran forwards Brayden Schenn and Brandon Saad to help lead that way. This team must play stronger all-around games to break the gravitational pull of .500, sustain positive momentum this season and build toward better times ahead.
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Hayes, Schenn and Saad add key ingredients to the team chemistry. All three have done good things lately, but they also have more to give.
All three are playing under multiyear contracts that carry responsibility for pushing this franchise back on track. That will require rebuilding culture, not just winning some games.
And that can’t be done with a roster filled with rookies and young veterans. Seasoned players must set the example.
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong knows this. He’s old school. He values veteran presence, and he is willing to invest in it.
That’s how the run up to the team’s 2019 Stanley Cup win began in the first place. That’s why he spent two first-round picks to get Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers while also dumping the ghost of Jori Lehtera.
That trade, followed by the Ryan O’Reilly heist, became the turning points that sent the Blues onto the road to “Gloria.â€
Armstrong signed Saad as a free agent back in 2021. The Blues were trying to keep their contention window ajar with many of their Cup winners still in place. Saad was a well-respected Cup winner himself.
Ultimately, that window of contention closed. With the Blues facing a retooling, Armstrong acquired Hayes from the Flyers to replace some of the veteran presence he traded away last season to acquire future assets.
“For Kevin, I’ve been impressed with his play,†Bannister said. “He brings a lot of intangibles to that group, throughout our lineup, to be able to create offense, to be able to defend, win draws for us so we can start playing with the puck and playing in the offensive zone.â€
Hayes scored one goal that counted against Boston and one that was erased by the Bruins’ successful offside challenge. The goal was his first since Dec. 16.
“He’s strong on his stick; he uses his body really well,†Bannister said. “There’s a couple of instances in that (Boston) game where he was able to take pucks wide and kind of use his body just to protect it, to allow his linemates to get into position, give them a little more time, then he was able to make plays out of that.
“I believe there’s more there and we’re just starting to see the best parts of his game.â€
This team still needs more production behind top forwards Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich. Saad is scoring at a 20-goal pace again this season, and both Hayes and Schenn are within that range.
Saad has two goals and an assist in his past four games. He and Schenn have found chemistry while helping create an effective second power-play unit.
Schenn scored the shootout winner at Carolina, then he snapped his 16-game goal-scoring drought against Florida in the next game. He set up both goals in Monday’s 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. He has five points in his past five games after producing just 16 points in his first 37 games.
But what Bannister sees on the score sheet doesn’t make him feel better about his team’s recent overall play. He’s not trying to win fantasy hockey points — he’s trying to win real games while helping this franchise restore its winning identity.
Schenn is one of the players who has produced lately, but he’s also one of the players who has made mistakes. So, like Hayes and Saad, he must become part of the correction.
“There are a lot of parts of the game that we as a group have to get better at,†Bannister said Tuesday, when asked about Schenn’s recent scoring. “For me, it’s not going to start with the offensive game. Certainly we have to score goals to win hockey games.
“But our biggest deficiency right now is our defensive side and how we’re managing the puck I think as a group. Brayden himself, we all have to be better at that. Him being a leader, we want our leaders to lead by example and make sure that they’re doing the proper things.â€
This is why Armstrong wanted to move forward with so many veterans this season with eye toward better times ahead. This is why Bannister wants to help those veterans get back on top of their game.
That will be essential to success this season and for seasons to come.