It’s about not hesitating to end plays in his own zone. It’s about not complicating a breakout. It’s about not overthinking, and trusting in his talent.

“You’ve got to be out there thinking and making plays,” Parayko said. “You do it because you want to be good and play good for the team, and help the team out. I think, at the same, it’s one of those things that really good players, all of us are really good players because we’re good instinctively. I’m playing hockey and making plays, so you just go to your instincts and realize we’re good players.”

For chunks of last season, the Blues didn’t see that version of Parayko. He was tentative. He appeared timid. And the Blues defense as a whole suffered, as they missed the playoffs.

Down the stretch, though, Parayko seemed renewed. He was using his 6-6 frame to outmuscle opposing forwards. He was jumping into the rush. He was creating offensively. At the time, Parayko credited it to not overthinking, and, as easy as it sounds, just playing hockey.

“I think anybody that complicates their game, tries to do too much, it’s hard to be successful,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “Simple is a good thing for everybody.”

This fall, the Blues have had a renewed focus on defending in their own end. Every day at training camp has featured some sort of drill in the defensive zone, whether it’s falling back into defensive coverage or breaking out against a forecheck. It’s something that Berube said “you can’t win without it,” and fixing the defense will be the Blues best chance at returning to the postseason.

Parayko will have to help lead the way.

While some of his defensive figures may look good relative to the rest of his teammates, they did not look good to the rest of the league. For example, when Parayko was on the ice, the Blues allowed 0.26 fewer expected goals per 60 minutes at 5 on 5 than when he was off it, which is the best relative impact Parayko has had in his career, according to Natural Stat Trick. But that still meant the Blues allowed 2.75 expected goals per hour when Parayko was on the ice, which was the worst figure of his career.

Parayko also generated little on the offensive end of the ice, as he ranked in the bottom 10 defensemen (minimum 700 minutes) in generating shot attempts, shots on goal and expected goals for his team.

Now, generating offense isn’t part of Parayko’s job description, really. The Blues have plenty of blue liners talented enough to put up points (Torey Krug, Justin Faulk, Nick Leddy and Scott Perunovich come to mind), and they’ve entrusted Parayko with the hard minutes of matching up against other team’s top lines, and killing penalties.

“He’s a big guy that covers a lot of ice and covers a lot of ice time, too,” Berube said. “He plays a lot, a lot of minutes. We’re counting on him to really be a hard guy to play against, go against good players every night, shut them down the best he can. That’s his job.”

Parayko responded to a difficult season the way you would expect from the sunny-disposed defenseman: with positivity.

“When you’re winning, things are going better for everyone,” Parayko said. “It’s a winning business. We’re here to win, obviously. I try to stay positive all the time, as much as possible. In the summer, a good chance to reflect, maybe not a lot of positive reflections, but good to learn and learn from those things last year and come in with a fresh slate this year.”

Parayko has played two preseason games, and has one assist and three shots on goal. He’s been paired with Perunovich in both games, and the Blues have outscored opponents 2-1 in Parayko’s 5-on-5 minutes despite being outshot 14-10.

But the first week of training camp has Berube optimistic.

“He’s really moving his feet right now, which is great,” Berube said. “That’s his game. When he’s skating, he’s skating pucks out of our zone, closing on people. He was really good that way.”

Parayko: “I think when I move my feet, it allows me to think quicker and play quicker, and gets me moving in the right direction.”

Now, it’s about shrugging off a subpar season and the criticism that comes with it.

“There’s always noise,” Parayko said. “I’ve been in the league for nine years now, and there’s always something floating around. There’s always people that have opinions and that’s totally fine, they have a right to have their opinion. For us, it’s what’s in this locker room. It’s our group. We’ve got each other to lean on, and our group here and the coaching staff and management.”