The St. Louis Blues are coming off a season where they were one point away from
 a playoff spot. That may explain why they have been one of the busiest teams
this offseason. The Blues started their summer of acquisitions by trading away
a big part of their forward core to the Buffalo Sabres for Ryan O';Reilly. They
 also lost veteran Kyle Brodziak but brought in other veterans like Tyler
Bozak, David Perron and hometown boy Patrick Maroon via free agency. The Blues
 will also get another vital piece of their offense back in Robby Fabbri who
missed all of the 2017-18 season. Here are four possible forward line
combinations for the upcoming 2018-19 season.The Free Agent LineSchwartz -
Schenn - TarasenkoFabbri - O';Reilly - SteenMaroon - Bozak - PerronSoshnikov -
Barbashev - Jaskin

The three veteran free agents that the Blues signed this offseason could very
well make up their third line. It would make sense to put Tyler Bozak with
power forward Patrick Maroon since Bozak has had some success playing with
power-forward James van Riemsdyk in Toronto over the past couple of seasons.
Adding a proven scorer in Perron to the mix could be a recipe for success and
would give the Blues one of the best third lines in the league.David Perron
with the Blues during the 2016-17 season. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Up top, the Blues may not want to change anything after the success their top
line of Schwartz, Schenn and Tarasenko had during the 2017-18 season. The
second line will be centered by Ryan O';Reilly which will give the Blues a
strong two-way line that can be used to score, but also shut opponents down.
Nikita Soshnikov would slide on to the Blues'; fourth line with Barbashev and
Jaskin to add some speed.Robert Thomas Up TopO';Reilly - Thomas -
TarasenkoSchwartz - Schenn - PerronMaroon - Bozak - SteenFabbri - Barbashev -
Jaskin

Robert Thomas should have a very good chance to make the Blues roster come
opening night. Another season in the OHL is still a possibility for him, but
there is no doubt he is ready to make the jump to the NHL. Last season, Thomas
had 75 points in 49 games with the London Knights and Hamilton Bulldogs. He
also tallied an impressive 32 points in 21 playoff games to win the Wayne
Gretzky 99 Award which is the MVP of the OHL playoffs. Thomas is an excellent
playmaker with high-end vision and if he is paired with elite goal scorers in
Tarasenko and O';Reilly, they could be very difficult to contain.Robert Thomas
of the Hamilton Bulldogs won the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the MVP of the OHL
playoffs. (Aaron Bell/OHL Images)

Realistically, it is a long shot for Thomas to be on the first line with
O';Reilly and Tarasenko, but it would actually spread out the rest of the
offense which would give the Blues a deep four lines. Putting Schenn on the
second line with Schwartz who had 24 goals last season and David Perron who had
 50 assists last season gives the Blues another legit scoring line. A third
line of Maroon, Bozak and Steen is very respectable and could be more of a two
way shut down lineup with some offensive upside. Robby Fabbri is coming off of
ACL surgery which means he could find himself on the fourth line with Barbashev
 and Jaskin to start the season which could actually turn out to be a very good
 line.St. Louis Blues Young Guns

Schwartz -  Schenn - Tarasenko

Perron - O';Reilly - Steen

Fabbri - Bozak - Kyrou

Maroon - Thomas - Jaskin

A big question leading up to opening night is if prospect Jordan Kyrou can
crack a spot on the roster. The easy answer to this is no since there are not a
 lot of spots up front, plus he is still on an entry-level contract which means
 he can be sent down to the AHL. Although, let';s not forget this kid tallied
109 points in 56 games last season in the OHL and played a big role for Canada
at last years IIHF World Junior Championships in Buffalo. Kyrou, who is usually
 looked at for his offensive abilities is actually a very good two-way player
who can play both ends of the ice. Both his offensive and defensive abilities
are what give him a fair shot to make the team.Sarnia Sting forward Jordan
Kyrou celebrating one of his 99 career OHL goals (Metcalfe Photography)

Kyrou would most likely be paired with veteran centre Tyler Bozak and Robby
Fabbri on the third line, while Robert Thomas would have to slide down to the
fourth line and play with Maroon and Jaskin. If Kyrou and Thomas were to crack
the roster Ivan Barbashev and or Oskar Sundqvist would likely be sent down to
the AHL since Nikita Soshnikov and Chris Thorburn are on one-way deals.Top
Heavy

O';Reilly -  Schenn - Tarasenko

Schwartz - Bozak - Perron

Fabbri - Barbashev - Steen

Maroon - Sundqvist - Jaskin

The Blues may decide to just load up their top line. Last season Brayden Schenn
 was lights out with Vladimir Tarasenko and if the Blues put O';Reilly with
them, they could be a force to be reckoned with. Once again, putting two
centres up on the first line would spread the offense out between all four
lines. Spots up the middle on the third and fourth line could be taken by Ivan
Barbashev and Oskar Sundqvist.Blues star players Vladimir Tarasenko and Brayden
 Schenn (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

David Perron would have to make the switch over to the right side to play on
the second line with Bozak and Schwartz which has a ton of upside. Barbashev
would hopefully see his offensive numbers increase on the third line with
Fabbri and Steen, while Oskar Sundqvist would centre Jaskin and Maroon on the
fourth line.Final Thoughts

All in all the St. Louis Blues will have a ton of different options up front,
which is definitely a good problem to have. Regardless of how head coach Mike
Yeo wants to deploy his forward lines, he will have a very strong top nine no
matter what. The Blues offense is certainly deep enough to make a serious
playoff run so there is no rush to promote some of the Blues top prospects
in Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, although they could crack the roster and
add some real value to the team.

The post 4 Potential Blues Forward Line Combos appeared first on The Hockey
Writers.

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