3 questions facing St. Louis Blues

NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, three important questions facing the St. Louis Blues.

1. Are the Blues good enough to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite minimal personnel changes?

Missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs is an uncommon occurrence for the Blues, who have failed to qualify just twice in the past 12 seasons.

The last time the Blues missed the playoffs was in 2017-18, and they would go on to win the Stanley Cup the following season.

"I'm not going to be shocked if we're in the playoffs next year, and I'm not going to be shocked if we do damage next year in the playoffs," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. "But we need to be playing meaningful games a lot longer than we played (last) year or else maybe my assessment of the guys I talked about was incorrect and we are in a rebuild and we'll deal with it then. I don't think we're there yet, but as you can tell by the wavering of that answer, I'm not 100 percent committed to that either."

2. Are Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou ready to lead?

When the Blues won the Cup in 2019, they were led by defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester, centers Ryan O'Reilly, Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz, and forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and David Perron.

Of those seven players, only Schenn remains with the Blues, meaning their top young players, notably Thomas and Kyrou, who are each entering the first season of an eight-year, $65-million contract ($8.125 million average annual value), will need to embrace their leadership roles.

Kyrou, 25, led St. Louis in goals (37) and points (73) in 79 games last season but was minus-38. Thomas, 24, had 65 points (18 goals, 47 assists) in 73 games.

"I think the greatest expectation you put is on yourself," Thomas said. "I think you expect so much from yourself. I don't think the contract plays into any factor with that. I have a vision of where I want to be and where I want my career to be. I've got to live up to that."

3. Can new assistant Mike Weber transform the defense?

The 35-year-old, who played eight NHL seasons as a defenseman with the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals from 2007-16, was brought in to help fix what was a major problem for St. Louis last season. The Blues allowed 298 goals, their most since 1983-84 (316), and were 30th on the penalty kill (72.4 percent).

"Mike was the guy for me," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "He's done a great job there with the Buffalo organization with developing 'D,' and really I thought fit into what we were preaching and where we want to get to. I think he's going to fit in really well with our coaching staff. The people you bring in have got to really fit in with your coaching staff, and that's important also."