Nashville Predators: Central Division primed to be NHL’s toughest

St. Louis Blues

Is there a perennial playoff team in the NHL that gets talked about less than the St. Louis Blues? It seems they are part of the playoff picture every years. They have been in six years in a row, and seven of the last ten years. Most impressive is the fact they have NOT been in the playoffs in eight of their 50 years of existence. Five of those seasons are in the last 12, however.

Yet, unless you live in Central Illinois or Missouri, you do not hear much about the Blues. Maybe it is because out of all those trips, they have the same amount of Stanley Cups as the Nashville Predators.

All they do is win hockey games and make the playoffs.

Everything they do is solid. Vladimir Tarasenko is a bright, young star who has scored more than 70 points in each of the last three seasons. And yet, few would pick the kids out of a group of people hanging at the mall. There is not thing flashy about the Blues.

Sorry…..They ain’t nuffin flashy bout dem Blues.

The problem is the current roster is filled with big contracts, leaving little to no room for additions in the offseason. Sixteen players each cost at least $1 million in salary cap. And, only one contract came off the books this offseason.

So, in a time when most teams were active, St. Louis was largely inactive.

Can you expect the a team that is largely the same to do just as well when others improved? St. Louis is hoping for that.