If there’s one thing that Blues fans can agree on, it’s that throughout most of last season, the defense was less than ideal. Aside from Justin Faulk (16 G, 31A), Torey Krug (9G, 34A) and yes, Colton Parayko (6G, 29A), the blueline lacked punch.
It also lacked basic defensive skills depending on what pairings were necessitated by injury. Spending a chunk of the season paired with Marco Scandella drug Parayko down. Scandella, who had a rough season (to be generous) was a straight-up defensive liability at times, incapable of clearing the zone or lacking situational awareness. Much of Scandella’s problems were due to injury and missing large stretches of games.