Rejoice Blues fans, the team is back on the ice!

The Blues open the season Thursday night against the retooled Nashville Predators. This season, the NHL went through realignment, and the Blues are in the new Central division. Divisional opponents are the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets. While the Blues lose out on longtime rival Detroit Red Wings, they add new rival Minnesota and a budding rivalry against the Avalanche. All and all, the new divisions will be exciting and will build rivalries to last.

The Blues come into the season with arguably the deepest defensive core in the league. The defense is headed by Alex Pietrangelo and his shiny new seven-year, $45.5 million contract. Pietrangelo has grown up with the club and has been compared to Niklas Lidstrom, and is now ready to be leader on the defense. Pietrangelo is a favorite to win the Norris Trophy and will be one of the unquestioned leaders on the team. Kevin Shattenkirk adds an offensive power with Pietrangelo and continues to get better as he enters his prime. Barret Jackman and Roman Polak add great defensive skill, grit and physical play that the Blues love so dearly. And the final two defensemen are Jordan Leopold and Jay Bouwmeester. Bouwmeester signed a five year, $27 million contract extension, which will keep him on the team long term, and adds a lot of offense to complement Pietrangelo, while Leopold signed a two-year, $4.5 million contract to stick around with the Blues. Ian Cole will be a seventh defender and will probably spend half of his time up in Chicago with the Wolves and half down in St. Louis. These seven guys will continue to play shutdown defense and will keep the goals against low.

On offese, the Blues lost a core player and added a few guys to make the team better. On July 10, the Blues traded David Perron to the Edmonton Oilers for Magnus Paajarvi and a 2014 second-round pick. Paajarvi is fits well into the Hitchcock season, as he is a 6-foot-2 power forward and at 22, has a lot of potential to grow in the Blues system. But still remaining from the core is captain David Backes, T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund. Berglund and Oshie look to increase their production from last season, while Backes will continue to be one of the most underrated captains in the league. Chris Stewart, the team’s leading scorer from last season, will want to build off his 2013 campaign and solidify himself as one of the team’s best scorers. And Alex Steen has made strides in his game and will continue to be vital to the Blues offensive game.

But the offense truly lies with the new young core coming up through the ranks. It starts with Vladimir Tarasenko. Tarasenko had a fantastic start to his rookie year, but suffered a concussion. After coming back from the injury, he seemed more timid and couldn’t get back to the level he was at before the injury. Tarasenko is ready to have a breakout year and be the pure goal scorer that the Blues need. Vladimir Sobotka is a gritty two way player that gets into the dirty areas and can score the garbage goals. He plays with a lot of heart and is the living definition of a spark plug. However, the true leader of the young stars is Jaden Schwartz. Head coach Ken Hitchcock said Schwartz was the best player throughout camp, and he will be primed to big his game to the regular season. Schwartz has great offensive talent combined with a great deal of hockey sense and vision. Schwartz is going to be the x-factor for the team and could be the difference for the Blues come playoff time.

Other key additions for the Blues this offseason is Maxim Lapierre, Derek Roy and Brendan Morrow. Lapierre is a scrappy fourth-liner who adds lots of physical play and can be a pest for the opponents. Derek Roy is a legitimate second-line center that is looking to find his scoring touch once again. And Morrow is a veteran goal scorer who can produce on the lower lines yet provide valuable experience to the club.

In net is the one of the best tandems in the NHL: Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak. Elliott had a roller coaster of a season, being sent down to the AHL for a few games to going on a tear in April and carrying the team into the playoffs. Halak played well at the beginning of the season, but battled injuries and didn’t start at all in the playoffs. But this season is a different story. Halak stayed in St. Louis for the offseason, trimmed down to eight percent body fat and has participated in a workout regimen designed to keep him from becoming injured. Halak is destined to become the starter and Elliott will be a more-than-capable backup. And Jake Allen is knocking on the door from the AHL. Don’t be surprised if one of the three is traded by the trade deadline.

With as deep of a team as the Blues have, they will contend for the division crown and will make it a close battle. But they are a lock for the playoffs. They have the depth and defensive mindset to make a deep run in the playoffs, but it will ultimately depend on the scoring ability of the team. Someone or a group of players get hot coming into the playoffs, and the Blues could be unstoppable. Don’ t get your hopes too high, Blues fans, but this actually could be the year.