The St. Louis Blues headed into this past season with high expectations on returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2004. Instead, the Blues finished last in the Central Division and were once again on the outside looking in. Here is a review of the season that was in St. Louis.

At one time, hockey in St. Louis was almost as passionate as hockey in Detroit. But after three straight losing seasons and a lockout in 2004-05, the Blues saw a decline in attendance. However, with high expectations this season, St. Louis saw a 40.6% increase in attendance with an average of 17,610 fans per game. The Blues also racked up 20 sellouts during 2007-08; they had a total of three the previous two seasons.

After finishing 27th in the league, the St. Louis Blues were awarded the fourth overall pick in the upcoming NHL entry draft. The Blues will be looking to add offensive help, but after expected number one pick Steve Stamkos, the next crop of talented players are all defensemen. Will the Blues fill a void on offense, or take the next best available player even if it’s a defenseman?

The Blues signed forward Paul Kariya when free agency began last summer in hopes that he would be the answer to their problems. Kariya lived up to his expectations for the most part, but on a team with no superstar talent, Kariya’s numbers decreased to only 65 points in 82 games.

St. Louis’ longest undefeated streak during the regular season was four games from November 13 – November 21, when the Blues won four consecutive games. To compete in the NHL, a team must put together strings of consistent winning, something the Blues were unable to do.

Defense and goaltending were issues all season for St. Louis. The Blues allowed the third most goals allowed in the Eastern Conference while using four different goaltenders. The Blues stuck with Manny Legace for a second straight season, but while Legace improved his win, goals against average, and save percentage, the team in front of him was unable to get it done. He played the eighth most games, but only ranked 21st in wins. The Blues might want to look at drafting a goaltender in the later rounds of the draft, as the goalie pool in free agency this summer is thin.

The Blues struggles ran deep on defense. Rookie Erik Johnson was the Blues leading scoring defensemen with 33 points. However, the Blues only had two players finish with a positive plus/minus rating and two others finished even. St. Louis allowed three or more goals 44 times this season, and even more alarming number is that they allowed five or more goals 15 times. With aging defensemen Eric Brewer at 29 and Jay McKee at 30, the Blues might want to look at adding young talented defense in free agency. Colorado’s John-Michael Liles will be an unrestricted free agent and would be a perfect fit in St. Louis.

Where to begin with the offensive evaluation? The Blues scored the second fewest goals in the Western Conference with 205. In addition to Kariya, Brad Boyes and Keith Tkachuk led the Blues in scoring. Boyes tied Kariya for the team lead with 65 points while Tkachuk had 58. At age 36 and a rapid decline in scoring, Tkachuk might soon be ready to hang up the skates after reaching the 500 goal plateau this past season.

On December 14, the Blues began to move in the right direction of acquiring talented young players and disposing of aging veterans. The Blues traded Doug Weight, who was 36 at the time, to the Anaheim Ducks for 30-year-old Andy McDonald. Weight finished the season with only 25 points while McDonald contributed 52 points.

Andy Murray was on the hot seat most of the season, but survived his first full season as Blues head coach. If the Blues struggle at the start of next season, look for the Blues to make a coaching change quickly with the likes of Bob Hartley and John Paddock available. If Murray is let go at anytime during the season, the Blues might chose to promote within with Ray Bennett or Brad Shaw.

It’s still a few years away before the Blues will be serious contenders in the Central Division or the Western Conference for that matter. With some smart drafting this June and signing some key free agents this summer, they can speed up the process. But if you’re a Blues fan, you might not want to hold your breath on a return playoff trip next season.