ST. LOUIS -- Colton Parayko had the opportunity to sit back last summer and reflect on what has been missing from his game since winning the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
Missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017-18 will do that, which is what the Blues did last season after going 37-38-7 (sixth in Central Division).
"Obviously, it's a long summer when you look back at a year like that," the 30-year-old defenseman said ahead of St. Louis' game against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN). "You're thinking about how you're going from lots every day to playing, and then all of the sudden you have nothing. It's definitely hard the first month, but you look back and throughout the whole year you're trying to figure out what's going on a little bit. It wasn't just in the summer, it's all year."
Of course, injuries played a role, specifically a back injury that first caused him to miss 21 games during the 2020-21 season. Although that injury didn't result in surgery, it did require a lot of patience and playing through discomfort, which limited him in doing some of the things he does best.
This season, however, Parayko has returned to form, killing plays with his stick again, using his size (6-foot-6, 228 pounds) to his advantage, transitioning the puck up and jumping into plays, and, most importantly, shutting down the opposition's top players.
"I think he's really taken the confidence and skating the puck, making really good first passes," said Nick Leddy, Parayko's defense partner. "That's everything getting out of the zone.
"I think he's skating really well. He's moving his feet. ... Obviously, a big-time shot. He's been great for us so far, and looking for him to keep going.
"He's kind of saying, '[Forget] it, and I'm taking it, I'm going,' and it shows. I think confidence will do that."
That kind of confidence and play is what the Blues (13-13-1) envisioned when they invested in Parayko to be their No. 1 defenseman, signing him to an eight-year, $52 million contract ($6.5 million average annual value) on Sept. 1, 2021, a little less than a year after defenseman Alex Pietrangelo left St. Louis to sign a seven-year contract with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Parayko has eight points (four goals, four assists) and leads the Blues in average ice time (23:15) in 27 games this season, and on Tuesday, he will be tasked with shutting down the likes of Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane of the Red Wings.
"He's working extremely hard out there," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "His work ethic's extremely high. ... It's just what he's capable of doing. I think he's done it for a lot of his career, to be honest with you.
"I think this year more than last year, I find him shooting it more and ready to shoot more. That's the one thing I notice this year more than any other year. His shot volume is up in my opinion, and he's looking to shoot it a lot more than he ever has."
Others have noticed as well, including two of Parayko's former teammates.
"This is the best I've seen him play," said Pietrangelo, who played with Parayko from 2015-20. "I know he was hurt there for a bit, so there's obviously a little bit of a feeling out process with that, but he's finally shooting the puck the way he needs to shoot the puck and using his skating ability better now than I think he's ever been using it. It's good to see. He's obviously a good kid. Leddy's beside him, another good skater. I think that helps him push the pace, too, going up the ice. But it's good to see him being assertive and taking control of that back end."
"You always knew he was a good player," said Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev, who played with Parayko from 2017-23. "I don't want to get too much on the insights of what was going on with him. ... It looks like he's doing really good this year. I think everything that was happening with him in the past, he left it behind. Mentally he was always good, but something was bothering him and that's why he was under a lot of pressure, especially his own fans and stuff like this. That's kind of tough; that's not easy to go through. I feel like he was always good for us."
If the Blues are to have any chance of returning to the playoffs this season, they're going to need Parayko to continue to anchor their blue line.
"I feel really good," Parayko said. "(Having) just the proper mindset to come into practice and to games with the mindset of just having a great day and winning that day. Did you get better that day and continue to get better? Set yourself to a high standard, not only games but in practice, too. Just working hard and continuing to work on things you can improve on as a player.
"For me, I've just got to close plays out quick, be on guys tight in the neutral zone, good gaps, move the puck quick to the forwards' hands, get pucks through. There's so many things a [defenseman] wants to do throughout the season to have a good year. For me, just playing tight, being good defensively, helping out the forwards. I think if I'm doing that, other things will follow as long as I'm playing quick, no hesitation, and just moving my feet."
