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To me, the glaring hole is a No. 1 defenseman, which we've talked about plenty in this space before. But the problem is that those guys are tough to find, and then they're expensive when you do find them. So there may not be enough cap space to fill the other holes on the roster.

I still think there's a lack of true top-six talent behind Thomas, Kyrou and Buchnevich. Vrana is right there. Saad is dependable and Schenn has been productive, but there's not a bunch of guys that can change the game or take over.

If you plug one hole, you're probably not able to plug the other one, too.

I think Vrana has the best chance just because of his history as a scorer. But he's got to do it consistently for me to fully buy in to his skill at the top of the lineup. But the early returns have been spectacular. He's been a fun player to watch.

Personally, it doesn't feel like Doug Armstrong will be very active in free agency. One, he mentioned that he doesn't want to hand out a long deal in free agency, and those tend to be the case that time of the year. Two, they've estimated about $4.2 million in available cap space to sign someone, so that may not bring in an impact guy to move the needle significantly.

Armstrong has historically been a trade GM in that some of his biggest acquisitions have been trades. Think Schenn, O'Reilly, Buchnevich and Faulk. Plus, Leddy and Scandella initially before signing them to contracts.

Yeah, so that penalty is applied solely during altercations. Here's the rule (27.6) from the NHL rulebook. Fleury also got a leaving the crease penalty.

"A minor penalty shall be imposed on a goalkeeper who leaves the immediate vicinity of his crease during an altercation. In addition, he shall be reported to the Commissioner for further disciplinary action as may be required. However, should the altercation occur in or near the goalkeeper’s crease, the Referee should direct the goalkeeper to a neutral location and not assess a penalty for leaving the immediate vicinity of the goal crease. Equally, if the goalkeeper is legitimately outside the immediate vicinity of the goal crease for the purpose of proceeding to the players’ bench to be substituted for an extra attacker, and he subsequently becomes involved in an altercation, the minor penalty for leaving the crease would not be assessed.

In addition, during stoppages of play in the game, he must not proceed to his players’ bench for the purpose of receiving a replacement stick or equipment or repairs thereto, or due to an injury, or to receive instructions, without first obtaining permission to do so from the Referee. Otherwise, he must be replaced by the substitute goalkeeper immediately (without any delay) or be assessed a bench minor penalty for delay of game."

I think the conference adjustment is overblown in general. The game is fast all over, and it may be more physical with certain teams, but the difference shouldn't really be a huge deal. I do think there is something to being comfortable in a place, though. Spending a decade in one organization and then moving mid-season isn't easy.

For Blais, maybe he's getting a bit healthier from his knee injury, and he's also been given a bigger role in the middle-six and on the power play. He clearly loves St. Louis, too. Started his career here, won a Cup here, I believe his girlfriend is from here and he signed an extension here.

This was from last week's chat when I was spitballing what the lines could look like on Opening Night.

I missed my chance to ask Perron this last night. It's a good question.

On the one hand, this is the organization (and front office led by Doug Armstrong) that signed him twice as a free agent. Whatever hard feelings there were from the Vegas expansion draft disappeared by the time Perron signed back in St. Louis a year later.

On the other hand, Perron missed his chance at remaining a Blue in an organization and city that he so clearly loves. I can see it both ways. In the end, I think players of Perron's age tend to understand the business end of the NHL.

That's definitely part of it.

The Blues have not done enough to help Jordan Binnington. But he has also not done enough to bail out the Blues. That's his job, to bail out the team, and he's been inconsistent at it. At times, very good. There was that stretch against Vancouver and Pittsburgh when he was the best player on the ice. But there have been regrettable goals sprinkled in throughout the season.

For a $6 million goalie, you want him to cover up a lot of mistakes. Binnington has done that, but not enough. That's just how I view it.

Roy, step it up next week.

That's all for me. Have a good day everyone!