2019 St. Louis Blues Odds to win Stanley Cup with Expert Predictions

It was a true storybook season for the St. Louis Blues last year. They perpetually had a team that was good, but not quite good enough. It looked for the first half of the season that they had definitely broken out of that rut, but in the wrong way - they were dead last in the league in January and went through a midseason coaching change. But then things got crazy. They went from incapable of winning to unable of losing in a flash. They rallied to gain 99 points, which was good for third in the Central. Then the fun began. They beat Winnipeg, Dallas, San Jose and Boston. Winning four series means you win the Stanley Cup. It wasn't always graceful - they played 26 of the maximum 28 games. But the banner they raise doesn't say how you won the Cup - only that you won it. But now they need to defend their title. And that's tough to do - Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017 is the only team to repeat since 1998.

St. Louis Blues Offseason Moves

The team started off by making the easiest decision ever. When an interim coach wins the Stanley Cup as Craig Berube did, they obviously are due for a new contract, and the Blues wrapped him up for three more years. It's hard to argue with that in any way.

They also made the second most obvious decision, signing the most unlikely of heroes, goalie Jordan Binnington, to a new two-year deal for $8.8 million. There is no guarantee that it will turn out as they hope, but it had to be done.

They also got deals for RFAs Oskar Sundqvist and Ivan Barbashev done, avoiding awkward situations. One deal they couldn't make happen, though was a new one for playoff hero Pat Maroon, who joined Tampa Bay. He comes cheap, but he's 31 and his numbers have been on a decline, so it's tough to be too worried about the loss. It makes sense that Tampa would want his Stanley Cup experience on their roster, but St. Louis has no shortage of that.

The team's only big move came well into the preseason. They added defenseman Justin Faulk from Carolina in a trade and then signed him to a big money seven-year deal. They gave up a fair bit for him in depth defender Joel Edmundson, 2018 first-round pick Dominik Bokk, and a fifth-round pick. Carolina's motivation for the deal was clear - they just have too many top-level defensemen. And now St. Louis has more defensive quality - something that is never a bad thing. But you have to wonder if Faulk can deliver on the expectations of this deal given that he fell out of favor in Carolina. At least the last couple of years of this deal could look rough.

The Blues saw their first-round draft pick go to Buffalo as part of the Ryan O'Reilly deal, so this draft isn't going to pay quick dividends for this team.

St. Louis Blues NHL Outlook

How in the world are we supposed to evaluate Jordan Binnington? The goaltender had spent five full seasons in the minors and started there last year. At 26, he had put up some solid numbers but felt like he might be a guy who never gets his chance. He made his first start in the middle of December last year, called up when the team was the worst in the league. He played 36 games the rest of the way, was named a finalist for rookie of the year, and was in net for all 16 playoff wins. If you wrote that story in a script, it would be dismissed as too unrealistic. But it happened. And now he's rich and the focus of a whole lot of attention. It is quite possible that we have seen the birth of a superstar goalie. But guys from the past like Andrew Hammond and Steve Penney could tell you that Hollywood scripts don't always last. Binnington's success was the key to everything last year, and strong goaltending is going to be crucial this year. But can Binnington be trusted? Can he handle this new kind of pressure?

It's not just Binnington we have to wonder about. This team played a whole lot of hockey last year, and now they have the pressure of being defending champs to deal with. Egos are almost certainly inflated. They are going to have to work very hard this year. And we saw as recently as last year, that this lineup doesn't always do that. The upside is significant with the squad. But so is the downside.

St. Louis Blues Schedule

The team gets the celebrations out of the way early, raising the Cup banner in the season opener against the Washington Capitals - the team that hoisted the Cup the year before they did. That's a tough game, and so are a home game against Dallas and then a road game in Toronto. Their focus will be tested early on.

St. Louis Blues NHL Futures Odds

The defending champions are at +1600 to win the Stanley Cup , which has them tied with Florida and Winnipeg as the sixth choice overall. They are the third choice to win the Western Conference at +700 and are tied with Dallas as the second choice to win the Central Division at +400, trailing only Colorado at +300. They are at -250 to make the playoffs, and +210 to miss them.

2019-20 St. Louis Blues Predictions

They will make the playoffs in all likelihood. But that is no lock, and they are going to encounter some rough spots along the way. And I have very little confidence that they are true Stanley Cup contenders this year. It's just too much to ask - even for a team with the kind of luck they had last year.

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