from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News,

Armstrong has added pieces, clearly envisioning being back in the top four of the Central Division. Those added pieces include center Kevin Hayes, landed in a trade from Philadelphia, and anticipated full seasons from winger Kasperi Kapanen and Jakub Vrana, both of who performed well in their short stints for St. Louis at the end of 2022-23.

That said, the Blues, even after the changes, are a very old team – up front, Hayes and center Brayden Schenn are each 31 years old, and on defense, their top five blueliners (Nick Leddy, Torey Krug, Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko, and Marco Scandella) are all between the ages of 30 and 33....

As regular readers know, the “mushy middle” is the worst place for an NHL team to be. While we’re not here to tell you the Blues aren’t going to be good enough for the playoffs and too good to land a top-five draft pick, we are saying that’s a potential outcome of Armstrong’s team right now. St. Louis finished 14 points out of a playoff spot last year, but in a Central Division where we see Winnipeg and Nashville taking a competitive step backward, a top-four position is also a potential outcome for the roster the Blues have today.

St. Louis isn’t a pushover team. They’ve got too much pride to be one of those. The problems for them will come if there are more injuries, and/or if their best players aren’t at the top of their game. Binnington, in particular, needs a big rebound year. If he falters, the Blues may not have enough strength in other places to make up for it.

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