St. Louis Blues defensemen Cam Fowler and Colton Parayko played just over half of the NHL season together. Although their time together has been limited, they’ve shown excellent results and have the potential to be among the best defensive pairings in the NHL.
Parayko, standing 6-foot-6, 228 pounds, is one of the best defensive defenseman in the NHL, but he quietly moves around the ice with efficiency, and is more than a capable puck-mover. The 32-year-old set a career-high in goals with 16 and points with 36, despite playing just 64 games.
The full package of Parayko was on display last year, averaging 23:45 while affecting the game on both sides of the puck.
While Parayko’s play was stellar even before Fowler joined the team, it skyrocketed when he began playing alongside the smooth-skating, offensive-minded Fowler.
Fowler played 51 games with the Blues last year after he was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka and a second-round pick in 2027. In those 51 games, the 33-year-old notched nine goals and 36 points, including two goals and 10 points in seven playoff games, a Blues franchise record.
Fowler and Parayko are both all-around defenseman, without many glaring weaknesses in their game, but their strengths improve their partners’ game.
Fowler stands 6-foot-2, 213 pounds; by no means is he small, but the physical aspect of his game isn’t something he is looking to show all that frequently. Parayko, on the other hand, loves to be engaged physically, using his weight to move opponents away from his net and in puck battles around the boards.
Although Parayko showed more initiative to jump into the play, Fowler excels at it. He can kick-start transition opportunities or sneak in as the third or fourth player, firing a shot on goal or making a pass for a better chance.
The duo quickly gelled, and the results followed. In 484 minutes together, the Blues’ top pairing recorded an expected goals percentage of 55.5 percent, according to MoneyPuck.com. In the post-season, they clicked at 60.4 percent, playing 113 minutes together.
After Fowler’s three-year, $6.1 million average annual value contract extension that he signed on Saturday, Fowler and Parayko will have four more seasons to continue to build chemistry and improve on their already very positive results. With youngsters like Logan Mailloux, Tyler Tucker, Adam Jiricek and Theo Lindstein all in the lineup or looking to crack through within the next couple of seasons, the duo might see their minutes diminish, but their value to the team won’t.
“I’m going to have to give that (credit) to the coaches,” GM Doug Armstrong said of the Fowler Parayko pairing. “What I like about them is they both have excellent feet, they can both skate, they have a massive wind span, so they kill a lot of plays down low with their stick and then they have the ability to get to loose pucks. And then again, moving forward, you have the size of Broberg that can do that, and Mailloux can do that. I think having reach and skating ability is an asset, and now I think we have four guys, some of them under contract, and some of them restricted free agents, so we’re in a good spot.”
“Once it went together, the way they are able to shut down top lines and contribute offensively, I think both of them had almost career years in the sense of that,” assistant coach Steve Ott said. “The rebirth of ‘Fowls’ basically since he came on the trade and ‘Pary,’ he scored 15-16 goals last year, and they became a duo that played a 200-foot game. The trust level that we have as a coaching staff, we know when they go over the ice, the job gets done.”
Fowler and Parayko will be a staple on the blueline for the Blues, and the organization is in great hands with those two at the helm.
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