NHL EDGE stats for St. Louis Blues
NHL EDGE stats for St. Louis Blues
Kyrou’s midrange game, Binnington’s saves, Parayko’s speed among highlights
© Rick Ulreich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
As part of NHL.com’s 32 in 32 series, we will identify key EDGE stats for each team to preview the 2024-25 season. Today, we look at the impact of three advanced metrics for the St. Louis Blues:
1. Forward Jordan Kyrou ranked eighth in the entire NHL in midrange shots on goal (114) last season.
Kyrou has had consecutive seasons with more than 30 goals and is tied for 23rd in the entire NHL in even-strength goals over that span (49). After a slow start last season, Kyrou bounced back under coach Drew Bannister with nearly a point per game (50 in 54 games) after the Blues’ in-season change.
Kyrou and fellow high-scoring forwards Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich led a first power-play unit that established excellent zone time last season (offensive zone time percentage of 60.7 with man advantage; tied for eighth in NHL) but has plenty of room to finish more of its chances (conversion percentage of 18.0 was tied for 23rd).
STL@MIN: Kyrou scores three goals against Wild
2. Goalie Jordan Binnington ranked fourth in high-danger save percentage (.835) last season behind Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames (.857; now with the New Jersey Devils), Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks (.845) and Semyon Varlamov (.836) of the New York Islanders.
Despite St. Louis missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, Binnington ranked 10th in the NHL in wins (28) while playing the sixth-most games among goalies (57) and making the fourth-most saves (1,630). An EDGE stats standout, Binnington masked the Blues’ possession issues (45.3 shot attempts percentage; third lowest in NHL) by ranking in the top 10 of high-danger saves (496; tied for second behind Colorado Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev’s 511), midrange saves (448; fourth) and long-range saves (343; seventh).
3. Colton Parayko ranked fourth among NHL defensemen in 20-plus mile per hour speed bursts (138) last season and was also fourth in the entire League in max shot speed (102.19 mph).
Parayko’s combination of a hard shot, skating speed and a heavy workload (led St. Louis with 23:52 per game last season) have made him an unsung hero over the years, including during their 2019 Stanley Cup title run. As the Blues have missed the postseason in consecutive seasons and traded some key players in recent years, Parayko continues to drive possession in terms of shot attempts for (1,347 last season; most on St. Louis) but was also on the ice for the most SAT against among their skaters (1,709).
More: NHL EDGE stats leaders
