Parayko a steady force for Blues despite goal drought this season

NEW YORK -- Colton Parayko wouldn't have to fill all the roles he does for the St. Louis Blues if he were to play for Team Canada in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

That might be the best thing the veteran defenseman has going for him considering how this season is unfolding offensively for him.

Parayko, who played for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off last season, doesn't have a goal this season in 33 games with the Blues set to play the Chicago Blackhawks at Enterprise Center on Friday (8 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).

It is somewhat shocking since he scored an NHL-high 16 goals in 64 games last season and 10 in 82 games in 2023-24.

"I think the goals will come," Blues coach Jim Montgomery said recently. "We see him getting a lot of chances. He's just too dynamic and a beast of a player to not contribute."

The Blues need it. They need some of the offense Parayko provided last season to get out of what has been a season-long funk.

But it's a much different analysis for Parayko when it comes to playing for Team Canada.

Canada has enough offensive weapons coming from the back end, including Cale Makar, the leading scorer among defenseman in the NHL this season, that it doesn't necessarily need Parayko to contribute on the scoresheet to be an effective player in the Olympics.

"Doug Armstrong is the (Team Canada) GM and Jon Cooper is the coach and they've got a comfort level with him now from the 4 Nations Face-Off," four-time Canadian Olympian and former Blues defenseman Chris Pronger told NHL.com. "And obviously Doug is his GM in St. Louis, so he's seen the body of work and knows what to expect and how he's going to play and the types of players they're looking for."

If Parayko goes to the Olympics and scores it would be a bonus, but Canada would instead be asking him to be the staunch, physical, 6-foot-6, 228-pound defenseman with the long reach who can close out plays and make a good first pass.

There's precedent for Parayko making that work. He played that exact role in the 4 Nations Face-Off and helped Canada win it despite not producing a point in four games. He was a plus-1 in the tournament and averaged 19:12 of ice time per game.

"I think 4 Nations, I'm not going to say it was his coming out party, but there were a lot of question marks about why are they taking this guy," Pronger said. "He obviously answered that with his size, his mobility, his ability to make a good first pass and things of that nature. In that setting he's not going to be jumping up and providing too much offense. He's going to want to take care of the defensive end, which is what I think a lot of them are going to be doing and tasked with. They're going to be playing against top guys on other teams."

Explore NHL.com's Coverage of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026

Parayko knows that, but it's off his radar right now. What's on his radar is doing all he can to help the Blues (11-14-7) try to turn around their season.

"The biggest thing is the St. Louis Blues," Parayko said. "That's who I've committed my whole season to and my future. That's the goal, to help this team first and foremost."

But the Olympics and the potential to represent Canada in Milan is helping to drive that motivation.

"The best way to look at it, at least for me, is just do your job here," Parayko said. "If you do the best you can, play well and all that stuff and things go well then the rest will take care of itself. You approach the games and prepare the right way and get ready for the games the same way everything will fall in line and you'll give yourself the best chance."

Parayko doesn't feel his game is far off from how he played last season, when the goals were coming regularly -- one every four games, the best pace of his career -- without having to sacrifice any of his defense, the real non-negotiables in his game.

He's getting opportunities and generating some looks. But his shot totals are way down from last season, when he averaged two shots on goal per game. He's averaging around 1.16 shots per game this season. Before this season, his career average was 2.08 shots per game.

"He scored a ton of goals last year just in the offensive zone collecting rebounds in the slot and scoring that way," Blues center Robert Thomas said. "He's a huge part of our team and getting him going offensively is going to be huge."

It's not for lack of effort, want or trying.

"I feel like I've had a lot of chances and things are right there," Parayko said, "but that's sometimes the way it goes."

But, again, it doesn't seem like numbers are going to be the reason why Parayko makes or doesn't make the Canadian Olympic team.

Thomas knows. He's in the same boat.

"Players have it in the back of their minds on what they need to do to give themselves the best chance to make that team," Thomas said. "For us two it's playing against top lines and trying to limit offense. Points and goals, that's not really going to get us there."

Everything else will.

"It does ease the burden," Pronger said. "If he goes (to the Olympics), it may free him up and may allow him to just defend well and defend hard."