At the trade deadline during the 2016-17 season, the St. Louis Blues had to make a trade. The team had defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk whose contract was set to expire at the end of the season and Shattenkirk had made it clear that he wanted sign with a team near his hometown of New Rochelle, New York. This meant the Blues could either utilize Shattenkirk for the rest of the season and let him walk in free agency or trade him to gain valuable assets since they would be losing him either way. The Blues ultimately dealt Shattenkirk to the Washington Capitals on February 27, 2017 in exchange for a first-round pick, Brad Malone, Pheonix Copley, and a 22-year-old prospect by the name of Zach Sanford. Fast forward three years to now and Zach Sanford has appeared to turn a corner and is becoming quite the incredible hockey player.
Sanford showed small flashes initially after being traded to the Blues, as he recorded two goals and three assists in 13 games to finish out the 2016-17 season with the Blues. The Blues had high hopes for Sanford entering the 2017-18 season as he became acclimated to the club and coaching staff over a full offseason. However, Sanford dislocated his shoulder on the first day training camp after taking a hit into the boards from Dmitrij Jaskin. Sanford missed several months of action and later was cleared to play but did not see any action at the NHL level as he played in 20 games for the Blues’ AHL affiliate San Antonio Rampage to close out the 2017-18 season.
Heading into the 2018-19 season, expectations of Sanford were unclear. He was fully healthy but had not played in a game with the Blues in over 530 days. Coming into the start of the season, Sanford was not guaranteed a starting spot and was competing with other Blues for playing time with the likes of Robby Fabbri, Sammy Blais, and Mackenzie MacEachern. Sanford found chemistry on a line with Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron early in the season, as he recorded points in five of the first six games of the season which included a three-point night in a 7-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. But Sanford went cold after that hot start as he went nine games without a point. Sanford would ultimately play in just over 2/3 of the games for the Blues that season, as he played in 60 total games and scored eight goals and added 12 assists.
But despite playing the most games of the fringe forwards on the team, Sanford was by no means a lock for the lineup during the playoffs. Sanford did play in the first three games of the Blues’ opening round series against the Winnipeg Jets, but failed to record a point and was ineffective which led to him being a healthy scratch starting with Game 4. The Blues would go on to beat the Jets in six, Stars in seven, and Sharks in six to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Sanford was a healthy scratch from Game 4 against the Jets all the way until the Stanley Cup Final as Robby Fabbri and Sammy Blais were inserted into the lineup most nights.
Sanford was yet again a healthy scratch for the first two games against the Boston Bruins as the series was tied at one. But Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist was suspended for Game 3 for a hit on Matt Grzelcyk which led to Sanford being entered into the lineup. The Blues were walloped 7-2 on home ice, but Sanford recorded an assist and then forward Ivan Barbashev was suspended for Game 4 for elbowing which means Zach Sanford was going to stay in the lineup. 43 seconds into Game 4, Sanford would finally make his mark in the playoffs as he recorded the primary assist on Ryan O’Reilly’s game opening goal. The Blues would go on to win the game 4-2 and tied the series at two.
Blues head coach Craig Berube did not want to change the lineup that just won; therefore, Sanford was staying in the lineup for Game 5. Sanford then made perhaps his best play of the playoffs in Game 5, as early in the second period he made a no look between the legs pass to Ryan O’Reilly who buried the game’s first goal off the feed from Sanford.  The Blues went on the win Game 5 and were now one win away from winning the Stanley Cup. The Blues offense did go cold in Game 6 however, losing 5-1 which meant we were heading for a Game 7. The Blues of course then took a 3-0 lead into the final eight minutes of Game 7, and then Zach Sanford, the Salem, Massachusetts native who grew up rooting for the Bruins, scored a goal to make it 4-0 with 4:38 remaining to seemingly lock up the Stanley Cup for the Blues as they went on to win the game 4-1. In total, Sanford had one goal and three assists in five games played during the Stanley Cup Final.
Sanford then re-signed at two years/$3 million and his expectations rose for the start of the 2019-20 season. Per usual, he started on the line with O’Reilly and Perron that had become a staple as the Blues second line. But Sanford started the season slow, as he only scored one goal in his first 17 games. But Sanford then had one of his best career games back on November 21st against the Calgary Flames as he had a four-point night (1 G, 3 A) and was a career high for points recorded in a game. But Sanford’s inconsistencies caught up with him again which led to him being a healthy scratch for a stretch of games throughout the season. Sanford statistically limped into the All-Star Break, holding a stat line of just four goals and 10 assists in 36 games played.
According to Blues color commentator Darren Pang, Craig Berube told Sanford he had to change the way he prepared for games mentally, as Sanford would have games where he could be a catalyst offensively and then turn around and have a game where he was virtually unnoticeable. Whatever Berube told him and whatever Sanford changed, it has seemed to work. Sanford came back from the break on a tear, as he went on a six-game point streak that saw him record nine total points (4 G, 5 A). Then Sanford pulled off his best career offensive performance in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights on February 13th as he recorded his first career hat trick and scored four goals total in a 6-5 overtime loss. Most recently, Sanford had a three-point night on Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks. Sanford had an assist on a second period Robert Thomas goal, and then scored two goals in the third period, including the game winner as the Blues won 6-5.
Sanford is one of the hottest goal scorers in the NHL right now, as he has 11 goals since January 27th, which is tied for second most in the league in that span. He has appeared to turn a corner as a hockey player. He is marking smart, skillful plays in the offensive zone and it seems like every time the puck is on his stick that there is a chance that puck will wind up in the back of the net one way or another. Sanford has also been solid on the defensive side for the Blues, as his ice time is increasing while the Blues are on the penalty kill and he is shutting down the opposition. He is developing into the player Blues management thought he could be when they acquired him three years ago to the date. Sanford can only continue to get better and is five goals away from becoming a 20-goal scorer for the first time in his career. At only 25 years old, Sanford is coming into his own as a player and has shown some huge signs of maturity and it seems his play can only go up from here. Whatever it is Sanford has changed about his game, I think it is safe to say he needs to keep it that way.
