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I thought I would start one being someone who grew up there and is still a fan. Looking very solid this year but anything can happen come playoff time. They were considered to be Stanley Cup favorites last year also and still got ousted by the Kings again. Good pickup of Ryan Miller from the Sabres in goal. Should be another great NHL playoff season this year. Blackhawks look solid again, Ducks are looking good and you have the Bruins and Penguins again in the East. Other teams will be formidable also. Can't wait for the 2 months of the best time in sports...Stanley Cup playoffs!!!
The Miller trade was a bad idea. STL has a habit of acquiring once top players past their prime ( Gretzky, Stevens, Fuhr, Kariya, and yes, Miller ). Halak's numbers were fine, the only thing accomplished by the trade was to throw off the team's chemistry. Mgmt had a chance to get Thomas Vanek and passed him up for Miller and Ott. Bad idea in hindsight. I'm not saying their weak playoff performance was Miller's fault, there are plenty of other factors there. But statistically, Eliot had better GAA for the 2013 playoffs.
As a fan for over thirty years, I'm disappointed ... not surprised, but disappointed.
Now we see the Hawks making another strong run and the league loves it. The NHL loves it's big market teams - CHI, NY, PIT,BOS, LA ... it means more merchandising and TV revenue. I can't say the games are actually "rigged" but there is certainly a noticeable officiating bias, making the outcome more favorable for the bigger markets. NHL is getting old---always the same teams these past 7 years since Carolina got a cup. Ridiculous.
How is Pittsburgh a BIG market team? Population is very similar to that of St. Louis. No where near the big cities mentioned.
Revenue from merchandise and ticket sales is double that of STL and other cities of the same population. The fan market is bigger, not necessarily the population.
My question now is what piece of the puzzle is St. Louis going to need to get past this trend of early playoff exits preceded by awesome regular seasons. Miller is gone now. The Blues are a talented team and I don't think Hitchcock is a bad coach whatsoever. I don't have the answers right now.
The Blues are in an extremely strong, competitive conference. Most teams with well over 100 points would not bet on meeting a team like the Blackhawks in the FIRST round...
The West had 6 legitimate Cup contenders, while the East really only had 1-2..
Hey what are you Blues fans take on Ryan Miller since the Canucks just picked him up for 3 years @ $18 million did we make a mistake? or does he have a few good year left in him?
It worries me that you guys only kept him for half a season and did not re-sign him to a multi-year deal there has to be a reason why just curious as to your thoughts on him
Blues have put together another strong regular season but the lingering question still remains..can they get out of the second round in a conference that is as strong as ever. I can't say for sure even as a diehard Blues fan. It's truly a wait and see for me.
I truly would like to see the Blues finally get to at least the conference finals. Maybe this year!
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