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For more than four seasons, the Blues chased an answer on Colton Parayko’s left.

They were trying to fill a hole left by the retirement of Jay Bouwmeester, trying to re-create a pairing that helped guide the Blues to a Stanley Cup in 2019. But they didn’t quite find it.

The Blues tried Marco Scandella, Torey Krug, Jake Walman and Vince Dunn in 2021. The next season brought an experiment with Niko Mikkola. For two seasons, Parayko was nearly inseparable from Nick Leddy, who was miscast in a shutdown role. Even when Leddy got injured last season, it was Ryan Suter who rode shotgun with Parayko on the top pair.

Perhaps the Blues have finally landed on a solution: Cam Fowler.

When the Blues acquired Fowler from Anaheim in mid-December, they took a shot on a defenseman who had lost ice time to younger players on the Ducks. They traded an ECHL defenseman (Jeremie Biakabutuka) and a 2027 second-round pick for Fowler and a 2027 fourth-rounder, plus Anaheim retained $2.5 million of Fowler’s $6.5 million salary-cap hit.

What Fowler gave them was much more than that.

From when the Blues acquired him on Dec. 14 through the end of the regular season, Fowler had 36 points in 51 games. That tied him with Adam Fox and Thomas Harley for the ninth-most points among NHL defensemen. Twenty-eight of those points came at even strength, which meant only Zach Werenski, Rasmus Dahlin, Cale Makar and Devon Toews had more than Fowler in the final four months of the season.

In the playoffs, Fowler posted two goals and eight assists. Despite the Blues’ first-round exit against the Jets, Fowler’s 10 points was for fifth-most among defensemen in last season’s Stanley Cup playoffs. The four players above him advanced to either the Stanley Cup Final or conference finals, as did the four players beneath him.

Fowler also gave the Blues memorable moments.

In the Winter Classic at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, while celebrating his 1,000th NHL game, Fowler scored two goals. With the Blues’ nine-game win streak in jeopardy, Fowler had the game-tying assist late in the third period and the game-winning overtime goal in a win over the Red Wings. Then, his five-point night in Game 3 vs. the Jets was the most for a Blues defenseman in a postseason game.

Fowler and Parayko formed a balanced, mobile pair at the top of the Blues lineup. Both players skated pucks out of trouble, with Parayko bringing the defensive prowess and Fowler posting the gaudy offensive numbers.

From when Fowler joined the Blues until Parayko injured his knee in early March, they logged nearly 458 minutes together at five on five, ninth-most in the NHL. Overall last season, the Blues outscored opponents 31-18 with the pair on the ice, and owned 54.1% of the expected goals and 54.8% of the shots on goal, according to Natural Stat Trick.

They took on the hardest matchups, and both still delivered on the other side of the ice.

This season, where does that growth go? Can they still produce the tilted possession numbers they did a season ago? Will Fowler take on more penalty-killing minutes with Suter and Leddy gone?

Of course, the overarching question surrounding Fowler is his contract situation. He will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer and will be 34 years old when he hits the market.

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said earlier this summer that signing Fowler to an extension was not a priority for the Blues, but should he depart, he will likely leave an offensive hole on the blue line.