With the likes of Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, it pretty much goes without saying that this team should be able to turn things around relatively quickly if they retool right. There are still good players like Pavel Buchnevich, Brandon Saad, Alexey Toropchenko, Jakub Vrana, and Brayden Schenn to keep this team at least somewhat competitive, but their backend almost single-handedly drags them down. They get probably enough scoring from their back-end, but there isn't enough defensive capabilities back there. Krug and Faulk are more offensive-minded, but Parayko is no longer the defender he once was, and paying 6.5M for a D who isn't top pair caliber is really REALLY tough, not sure why some Blues fans think he's still a positive asset, simply being a RHD shouldn't be enough to overcome how bloated of a financial commitment he has become. I won't get anybody started on the fact that Scandella is still in the room, not to mention the volatility of Binnington in net. Bottom line, this team needs a no. 1 defenseman, more defensive IQ on the back end, and they also need to get their bottom six in order, because it looks kind of messy down there, not that their isn't talent, but it's hard to discern right now who would fit with who.

(Avs fan here)

I've long felt that when the Blues lost Pietrangelo and Schwartz then O'Reilly and Perron their "team defense" plummeted dramatically. Those forwards were all very good at protecting their own zone. Watching the Blues as a division rival I have long told my fellow Avs fans that O'Reilly could singlehandledly "neutralize" MacKinnon when they played head-to-head and could point out a handful of times every game where this occurred.

Thomas and Kyrou however are liabilities in that area as they are perimeter players who were sheltered as offensive zone guys too much. They got thrown into the fire last year and it showed. This caused the defense to have to do more than they ever did before to try and fill those gaps and they were exposed often. This doesn't mean they are bad players at all; in fact Faulk is the Avs nemesis nowadays. The skillset of the team shifted too quickly and maybe the coaches were too slow to make systemic adjustments.

When the time-on-ice balance shifted towards Thomas/Kyrou the defense fell apart. They need to step up as two-way players or the Blues will look like a poor man's Maple Leafs/Rangers squad.

All that being said; yes the blueline contracts are a big hamstring to the team improving; but I would focus on building a true #2 shutdown line of forwards rather and maybe moving out Scandella (as the only really easy guy to move). Along comes JT Compher in free agency; a defensive minded center who could improve that area and has the speed to play with Kapanen or Vrana in the offensive zone but also cover their defensive lapses. Why spend assets on Dubois or Scheifele when you can get someone in free agency?

If the Blues do move Parayko (who is a great 2nd pair guy but serviceable top pair for now) who do they expect will be their new #1 RHD? This is the most coveted position in the whole league outside of #1 center.

There aren't good options in free agency that would be an upgrade: Matt Dumba? He'll cost just as much as Parayko.

The trade market is even thinner:
Tyler Myers from Vancouver? Rasmus Ristolainen from Philly? Connor Murphy from Chicago? I'm not aware of any prospects in the Blues system that are knocking on the door either at that spot.

Murphy doesn't have a reputation of being poor defensively, and yeah, it's no skin off Army's nose to have used all three of his first rounders, although I wouldn't say their prospect pool has quite reached a satisfactory level just yet. The team's problems are definitely self-inflicted I agree, honestly wonder if a buyout is down the road. I would push back against putting Thomas in the liability category, as he looks to be a strong two-way force to me, I also think he's one of the best playmakers in the league

For Thomas, hes far better than Kyrou in the defensive aspect, Still room for improvement but still a great asset.
Kyrou on the other hand isn't responsible enough to be on the first line, he has the skill but not the IQ or body for it. If you put him on the second line I think he will light up the net while being less of a defensive liability.

I've been trying to figure out the blue line situation for months but I can't think of any good moves. Scandella, Parayko, and Faulk (in that order) would be the easiest to move but Leddy and Krug are a bit more complicated. I think as Blues fans we have to bite the bullet again and accept that our blue line will likely stay as is until the deadline when we could probably package some of those guys in bigger deals. In the meantime if the blues can create a way to backup their heavy forecheck in the neutral zone then we may be able to find some success and raise our defenceman's stock.

Don't forget all four of Leddy, Krug, Faulk, and Parayko have active NTC's, probably stuck with that top four for at least a couple more seasons. Might just have to ride out Scandella's final year, by which time hopefully there is a prospect or two that is knocking on the door to come in and make an impact.

dont forget we also lost Bouwmeester to a heart attack, carlsson to a lingering ACL injury, steen to retirement(yes he's a forward but he was defensively minded and an ace on the PK), Edmundson to a trade, Dunn to expansion, the blues have been through so many d men in the last few years, its hard to build a good blue line when the pieces keep moving

Yeah losing Dunn to Seattle was very reminiscent of Theodore from Anaheim going to Vegas. Very underrated young player that just needed more time to shine.

Just FYI: Thomas is not a reliability defensively. And he has been playing top line competition since 21-22. And none of those theoretical Parayko replacements are anywhere near the player he is. He's not going anywhere.

The task for the Blues is to somehow move one or both of Krug and Leddy (good luck on that), and then finally find Parayko a proper partner. Forsling would be great, as one example.

And there in lies the problem: Parayko makes too much money to justify needing any meaningful reliance on a fellow D-partner