There are usually three prongs of an organization to either heap praise, or place blame: management, coaching and players.
So when Blues general manager Doug Armstrong met with reporters Wednesday morning after firing coach Craig Berube, he spoke about the reasons for dismissing Berube. He fell on his own sword and took responsibility for how the Blues have played this season. Then he was asked about some of the players.
Here is a look at what Armstrong said about a quartet of key players on the Blues: Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Colton Parayko and Torey Krug.
Jordan Kyrou
“Jordan’s not scoring to the level that he’s paid to score at,” Armstrong said. “It’s disingenuous to say that he is. He’s getting chances, and you can go, ‘Chances will turn into goals at some point.’ There’s a different level for Jordan. He knows it. We all know it. I believe he’ll get to it.”
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Kyrou is in the first year of an eight-year contract worth $8.125 million annually and has five goals and 12 assists in the first 28 games of the season entering Thursday’s matchup against Ottawa. That would put him on pace for 14.6 goals across the whole season, a far cry from the 37 goals he scored last year.
Kyrou also leads the Blues in shot attempts and shots on goal but is shooting 5.6% this season.
“I’m not here to throw Jordan Kyrou under the bus by any stretch, but if he envisioned, ‘Where do I want to be at this point in the year,’ he wouldn’t say that I’m right where I want to be," Armstrong said. “Our job is now to get him to where he wants to get to.”
In the first month of the season, Kyrou was lauded for his work away from the puck in board battles, backchecking, and playing in the defensive zone. But the progress he made earlier this season has eroded lately, most recently when he lost a puck against Detroit that led to a Red Wings empty-net goal.
Robert Thomas
“I would say it’s hard not to like what Robert’s done most of the year,” Armstrong said. “Plays against the other team’s top players, top scorer, kills penalties, decent on faceoffs, cares.”
Thomas is in his first full season as a No. 1 center in the NHL and leads the Blues with 27 points on 10 goals and 17 assists. Typically a pass-first player with top-level vision, Thomas is tied with Jake Neighbours for the team lead with 10 goals this season.
Thomas also averages 20:35 of ice time per game, which is most among Blues forwards and 65 seconds more than Pavel Buchnevich at 19:35. Thomas is on the first power play and top penalty kill unit in addition to his top-line role at even strength.
Like Kyrou, Thomas is in the first year of an eight-year extension with a $8.125 million cap hit.
Colton Parayko
“I think Colton Parayko has proven to — I don’t know if he’s proven anything to people in St. Louis — he’s proven to people around the league (he’s good),” Armstrong said. “He was an Olympic candidate for Canada for a reason. He’s playing to that caliber of hockey now. There’s other guys that aren’t playing to the caliber.”
Parayko has submitted a bounceback season this fall for the Blues, as he is scoring at a higher rate than usual (four goals) and has fed the team’s transition play with his skating out of the Blues end.
No Blues defenseman has a greater effect on limiting opponents’ shots on goal, scoring chances, high-danger chances or expected goals than Parayko, according to Natural Stat Trick. He also plays against the other teams’ top forwards on a nightly basis.
Parayko is in Year 2 of an eight-year contract worth $6.5 million a year.
While the Blues defense has nosedived in recent games, there were points earlier on in the season when the St. Louis blue line was noticeably different than it was a year ago.
“I’ve seen better play from more guys than I saw better play from last year,” Armstrong said. “When our team suffers, they’re the ones that look the worst. Them and the goalie look the worst. Our variance on a nightly basis is what’s concerning.”
Torey Krug
“I’ve seen a resurgence, and the numbers might not dictate it (but) Torey Krug might be one of the most competitive players we have on a nightly basis,” Armstrong said. “People may agree or disagree. I just see a guy that comes in now and he’s maximizing what he can do.”
Krug had zero points in the first 10 games of the season, a long drought for a defenseman who is used to driving offense, but he snapped out of it with six points in the next four games. On the season, he has one goal and 11 assists and has been unable to jumpstart a dormant Blues power play that ranks as the second-worst in the league.
Like Kyrou, Krug’s play away from the puck early on gave the Blues confidence in the defenseman despite his lack of production. On Tuesday night, though, he was beaten at the net-front twice on Red Wings goals in the 6-4 Blues loss.
Schenn, in his first year as the Blues captain, played under Berube in both St. Louis and Philadelphia and they won the Stanley Cup together in 2019.
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