Colton Parayko might be on the cusp of becoming a Stanley Cup champion. He might also be handed the Conn Smythe Trophy.
But for either to occur, and I offer this with respect, the Blues might be best off keeping their No. 1 defenseman on the bench when their top power play takes the ice in Game 7 Wednesday night in Boston.
Let's talk about quarterbacks, OK?
Everyone knows what that means in football, of course, but the interpretation is commonly mangled in hockey. The more casual fan tends to think that the top point man on the power play is the quarterback. And, most often, they're right. But there also are cases where the play is commanded from a different spot. Mario Lemieux did so from the left half-wall, Jaromir Jagr from the right. Most recently, Phil Kessel was the quarterback of the power play from ... wherever Phil felt free to roam, basically.
Plainly put, the quarterback is the player through whom the play is funneled.
Parayko does many wonderful things for St. Louis, but he shouldn't be that guy in Game 7. The Blues are 1-for-18 on the power play in the Final and, beyond a doubt, they'd already be parading in the shadow of the Arch if that were even slightly better.
Three examples from Game 6 alone:
That up there is the Blues' first power play. Place was all revved up, ready to erupt with a goal. Ryan O'Reilly motions Parayko to slide across a bit for the faceoff, then masterfully cleans up to put the puck right on his tape. It's a golden opportunity to set up, to survey, to ... something. Parayko takes the simplest option, dishing low to Tyler Bozak. A quality chance results, but so does a quick Boston clear.
Same power play, next rush:
The Blues gain the zone, albeit a bit uncomfortably, and O'Reilly chips back to Parayko. He has a second and change, which is fairly long in this sport, and, rather than moving laterally to buy more time and maybe a more threatening overall stance, rather than firing across laterally to a wide-open left point, he does nothing more than flick back down to O'Reilly. Which Zdeno Chara read like a cheap manifesto for another quick Boston clear.
Getting the picture?
What Parayko does well, and the reason Craig Berube deploys him on this unit, is get off a cannon:
That's the start of another power play, much later in the first period. As well as another clean draw right back to Parayko. This time, he's got one of the planet's premier snipers to his right in Vladimir Tarasenko and, again, a wide-open left point. But instead of letting the Blues set up, once again, he just puts his head down and blasts through traffic, nearly killing Bozak in the process. And, also once again, a quick Boston clear.
It's become sport in these parts to ride the Penguins' play at the points, not without cause. All those shorties were a nightmare. But this also should bring some appreciation for what Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, Justin Schultz -- heck, the list runs a lot longer -- can create on a power-play blue line.
What should the Blues do?
Berube doesn't need to overthink it. Just needs to send his second-unit point men out a minute earlier:
That's nearly a minute of high-octane attack with Vince Dunn, a defenseman, and David Perron, a forward, on the points. It's pretty to watch. There's mobility, creativity, vision, and two high-danger chances for Tuukka Rask to stop.
Any power play with Tarasenko should never go 1 for 18, never mind this superhuman version of O'Reilly. Parayko's a great kid. He won't mind a one-game demotion, I'll bet, if he winds up with a ring.