The St. Louis Blues' path to repeating as Stanley Cup champions

As each NHL team's season ends, we'll take a look at three keys to its offseason, impact prospects for 2019-20 and a way-too-early prediction for next season.

How the season ended

There's one thing that went wrong in the Blues' season, and it ultimately didn't matter: They stunk at first. By now, you've heard ad nauseam about how St. Louis sunk to last place in the NHL on Jan. 2, despite playoff expectations. Coach Mike Yeo was an early casualty.

Then they turned things around -- in the most stunning fashion possible. The Blues finished the season as one of the league's hottest teams and made splash after splash in the playoffs, first by eliminating the high-powered Jets (including some impressive wins in Winnipeg), then the Stars and Sharks, and finally, it felt like the franchise's destiny to win its first Stanley Cup this year, in the most improbable of years. It took the full seven games, but the Stanley Cup belongs to the Blues.

They wouldn't have gotten this far without the emergence of rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington, no doubt, but they also had balanced scoring and a fourth line and defensive group that collectively shut down Boston's potent top line in the Final (they had one five-on-five goal in the series). The Blues were supposed to be good this season because GM Doug Armstrong was ultra-aggressive in the offseason and acquired four top-nine forwards who helped push the Blues. But the defensive group, which is big and heavy and mostly homegrown, was on full display.

In the end, the Blues' season was a celebration of all things hockey in St. Louis and a clinic in resilience.

Keys to the offseason

Jordan Binnington's contract. It's obvious that the Blues -- who have long had questions in goal -- need to keep restricted free agent Binnington around. The question is, at what cost? The difficult factor in Binnington's negotiations is that there are really no comparables for the Blues or Binnington's camp to use as the base of the contract. The biggest issue here is going to be term. Binnington doesn't show any signs that this isn't sustainable, but it's hard for an organization to commit to a goalie long-term when he has only a half-season of work to show. A bridge deal is very much an option here.

All about the other RFAs. Besides Binnington, there are six RFAs for the Blues to worry about. Some of the players are obvious keepers: Ivan Barbashev and Oskar Sundqvist are easy. The team avoided arbitration with Joel Edmunson last summer and agreed to a one-year deal, but what happens now? (A three-to-five-year deal with a modest annual cap hit, such as $5 million or less, would make sense). Perhaps the trickiest decision comes with Robby Fabbri, who missed nearly a season and a half with brutal injury luck. Fabbri fell out of favor by the end of the playoffs. After signing a one-year deal last summer, what does his future hold?

Reload to repeat. Armstrong made a few smart moves to add veteran players to his roster that was ready to contend. He won't have as much cap space to play with -- and no first-round pick this year, as it was traded away as part of the Ryan O'Reilly deal -- but there will be a few contracts coming off the books. How can the Blues best stay competitive? The Capitals did everything they could last year to keep the band together, and if that's the case in St. Louis, we could see pending UFAs Carl Gunnarson (32-years-old) and Patrick Maroon (31) come back on short-term deals.

Lock in Craig Berube. It feels silly at this point, but Berube is technically still the interim coach in St. Louis. That will change this offseason (nobody is projecting a Barry Trotz-esque exit, as that divorce was telegraphed months before it happened). The Blues were initially not committing to Berube, as he was supposed to be a stopgap for a team bleeding profusely. But he instilled the right confidence in the group, demanded accountability -- including bending some veterans -- and, of course, guided the team past the hand-pass debacle against San Jose. The Blues will reward him.

Impact prospects for 2019-20

Jordan Kyrou, C/W, age 21: Following an outstanding rookie season in the AHL, Kyrou should have a good case to make the NHL roster out of camp next season. The super-skilled and quick forward has the goods to challenge NHL defenders. He also has some tenacity to go with that skill, which should make him effective at the next level. Kyrou averaged 0.91 points per game in the AHL this season and appeared in 16 games with the Blues during the 2018-19 regular season. Getting that extra year of pro development should go a long way toward better preparing Kyrou for more NHL time next season.

Mitch Reinke, D, age 23: The undrafted free agent signed out of Michigan Tech last spring had a huge season in the AHL, posting 45 points and breaking the San Antonio Rampage's single-season scoring record for a rookie defenseman. The record was previously held by Keith Yandle. Reinke's no Yandle, but he showcased strong mobility and excellent distribution skills. The Blues are deep with right-handed-shooting defensemen, but there's a case to be made for Reinke to edge his way into the lineup as a depth option or a first call-up for blue-line help.

Realistic expectations for 2019-20

It's never easy to repeat. (The Penguins spoiled us all.) The Blues should be a playoff team yet again next season. And hey, they shouldn't start off as badly as they did in 2018-19 -- even with a Stanley Cup hangover. And with Binnington (likely) back between the pipes, another long playoff run is certainly possible next spring.