Adding Tavares, Hoffman, Draisatl, Roussel, Mayfield

Great offense!! but defense and goalie.... many many ?????

I think that will be the consensus opinion of this roster. But this team, as constructed here, will be harder to play against with Mayfield instead of Parayko. And the last decade has proven that StL doesn't need world class goalies to win, as long as the forwards are backchecking and providing some goal support. Matching those lines will give opponents fits.
Bouwmeester should be set for a bounce back year. Petro is one of the smartest defenders in the game. Edmundson is a reliable old school player with all the tools (and I'd argue our second best defenseman). Mayfield is the crease clearer Parayko was reluctant to become. Dunn's offensive potential continues to grow, expect him to pace Pietrangelo's offense with far less icetime. And Bortuzzo is as sound positionally as anybody. Mikkola is a question mark, but he looked strong in camp last year, and by all accounts is ready to break out. Gunnarsson should be back and ready to contribute by December regardless. So, all things considered, I've zero worries for the StL defense--(provided they land a guy like Mayfield, should they deal Parayko for an upgrade on offense, and Draisatl is the only guy I do that for).

No, I'm not concerned playing Draisatl at RW. I think he and Schenn think the game similarly, and will swap positions routinely. Schwartz has amazing chemistry with Schenn, so he should click with Draisatl too.

Tavares feeding Tarasenko and Hoffman will be just sick.

Steen providing defensive support to Thomas and Kyrou will open up their game and let them be more creative than rookies might otherwise be.

Brodziak was a workhorse last year. Bringing him back is a no brainer. Adding Roussel to his line gives him a speedy mucker with size who won't get pushed around, and Thompson gives him.a talented winger with a quick shot and a long reach.

This is really the lineup I'm hoping to see. Not holding my breath, though.

They would be better off not doing the Oilers trade, offense would still be potent and the D would be stronger. You could get a decent RW for cheaper(Tage, Barbashev and that 2nd)

Hoffman deal won't go through on Sens side. Fabbri is a huge ?, Allen is inconsistent and Schmaltz is kind of past being a trade chip. They'd need Tage or Kostin in there.

I disagree with you about Mayfield being harder to play against than Parayko. Parayko isn't nearly as physical, but he is way more effective. Instead of looking at hits or clearing the crease, I think the better indicators of effective defense are xGF% and just watching games to see how positionally sound a player is. It's better to prevent entries and disrupt plays than it is to sit back and cross-check guys parked in front of the goalie.

at even strength:
Parayko - 54% xGF%
Mayfield - 48% xGF%

It's a stat that shows which team is expected to score more goals when the player is on the ice. To me, it's harder to play against a guy that outscores the opposition. Just because Mayfield might play more aggressively doesn't mean it's more effective. The defense you put together in this mock would get destroyed night in and night out. Asking Mayfield and Bouwmeester to play top 4 minutes would be a disaster IMO.