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Do the St. Louis Blues need a left-handed defenseman? Undoubtedly. Philip Broberg, who spent years in Edmonton pivoting between the NHL and AHL, seems to have finally made his big league spot permanent in St. Louis but he’s still rough defensively and has been exposed in top-pairing minutes even alongside the steady hand of Colton Parayko.
The Blues’ other options leave a lot to be desired. Ryan Suter is nearly 40 and belongs at the bottom of the depth chart. The same is true for Pierre-Olivier Joseph.
But is Cam Fowler, 33 years old, the answer? Maybe five years ago. In his prime, the American defenseman bordered on top-pairing ability. He was one of the top puck-movers in the Western Conference. Yes, he was a point producer. Just two seasons ago he tallied 48. But he also was superb at starting breakouts and transitioning the puck up the ice.
Fowler still showcases the puck-moving abilities every so often, but he no longer is a consistent driver of offense, and his defensive game, never a strength, has hit rock-bottom.
Now let’s be fair. The Ducks, overall, have been awful the last few seasons. Defensively in particular. The rebuilding team with few legitimate NHLers on the blueline forced Fowler to play a role well above his means at this stage of his career. Any decent defenseman forced to play 24 minutes with little help is going to get demolished.
The Blues are a better team and he won’t be shoved into a heavy PK role. Expect Fowler to play better than he had in Anaheim.
Here’s the bigger problem. The Blues had limited flexibility over the summer specifically because they were stuck with too many old, expensive defensemen. Torey Krug, Justin Faulk, and Nick Leddy are all on multi-year contracts and probably hold negative value on the trade market. All three also are puck-moving defensemen. Now Fowler is added to the mix for roughly $4M through next season.
If — and it’s a big if — the Blues can help Fowler regain some form, it won’t be enough to justify further entrenching themselves with an old, expensive, and underwhelming defense.