Debate will always be there whether defenseman is a top-pair d-man; good health, strong season in 2023-24 thrust him back into conversation again with good partnership playing alongside Nick Leddy
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Ever since Alex Pietrangelo departed the St. Louis Blues via free agency in 2020, there has always been the debate as to whether Colton Parayko could fill those shoes -- or in this instance, skates -- as a No. 1-type defenseman.
The debate will always be around, and to this day, it still is considering the ups and downs Parayko has been through, it was learned, is that much of the down time and play was the result of a herniated disk the Blues defenseman was playing with.
But judging by good health and strong play in 2023-24, Parayko has stated his case that he can handle the tough minutes, the challenging matchups and the leadership that comes with it.
"I felt good. I think this year, just continue to try to build and do whatever I can to help the team keep pushing forward and just get better," Parayko said. "That's the biggest thing is just trying to improve my game, which I think if I do that, it will help improve the team and just move forward.
"I felt good, body felt good. Just happy to play in all 82 (games) this year and good to have a healthy season."
After posting just four goals (27 points) last season with a rather ugly minus-19 and averaging 23:00 per game last season, Parayko matched his career-high in goals (10), also done in 2018-19 and 2019-20, with four of them as game-winners, a plus-4 and playing nearly a minute more (23:51 per game) partnered with Nick Leddy.
When the top players came calling, it was usually this pairing that would get the heavy minutes trying to shut them down. For example, Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon, all 140 points of him this season, was held to four assists in four games with the Blues and the Parayko and Leddy pairing on the ice on the ice for three of them.
"Obviously fortunate to play with him this year," Parayko said of Leddy. "He's an incredible player, he's been around for a long time, played his 1,000th game this year. I think being able to play with him, I learned a lot. I think as we kind of continue to play more and more together too, sort of read off each other and learn from each other a bit more. I thought we played really well together, but like I said, he's just a super, smart player, a player that can skate and get himself in great opportunities and great spots with his skating ability and the way that he thinks the game. Just lucky to play with him and he's just a great player."
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong put it as succinctly as possible when he said, "I think Leddy and Parayko looked like they can be a good pair."
That pair, according to the numbers at naturalstattrick.com, played the most minutes of at defensive pairing this season (1,539:24) in all situations. And although the underlying numbers may not match up according to how they read, the ability to kill plays and transport pucks as efficiently as Parayko and Leddy did made this season a greater improvement.
Parayko was a catalyst, and at the end of the season, he was playing minutes with Scott Perunovich. The Blues wanted to know what kind of player Perunovich is, and playing him with Parayko was the ultimate compliment as to who would draw that assignment and who could get the best out of him.
"Yeah, when I think about 'Pary', just from Day 1 when I came here, the amount of minutes he played, the matchups that he had to face, how he played, the professionalism that he came with every day ... such an energetic guy within the room and a real treat as a coach to have on your team," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "He just gave us a lot of stability back there, regardless of who we played against or who he was playing with. It says a lot about him and his growth.
"I know, last year was a tough season for him, but the character to come back and have a season like that, from Day 1 until the end of the season, tells you a lot about that player. And he's still a young player. I think you're going to see a player that's going to continue to grow and get better."
Parayko, who led the NHL this season in blocked shots (218), is still only 30 and does have seven years remaining on his contract, which will take him to 37, a lot by top-level defenseman standards, but the fact he was healthy and he did take steps forward this year is good for the Blues. And that Parayko is hungry bodes well for the franchise in its quest to get back within the top eight in the Western Conference again.
"Obviously a lot of emotions. It's a long season," Parayko said. "I think first off, we obviously didn't reach the goal of making the playoffs and giving ourselves a chance, but at the end of the day, I think there were a lot of positives that came out of this year and a lot of good things. We came together in the tough games, definitely against some really good opponents. A lot of good things moving forward. We've got a lot of momentum and a lot of good things to look forward to and build off of.
"It's never ideal for anybody (to watch the playoffs). I think if you've won or not, I think playoffs is obviously the best time of the year for any sport in general, hockey, baseball, football. Obviously you want to give yourselves a chance to get into the playoffs and then obviously win. We obviously didn't reach the goal that we kind of wanted to but positives for sure going forward."
