Let's Go Blues

I don't know why I ever look at the yahoo power rankings...Mckeon is a total moron...2 weeks ago he was talking the Blues up that we might just be the dark horse and now

13. St. Louis Blues Watch out here. Just because the Blues overcame adversity to reach the playoffs last season doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy since they get injured players back this time around. It’s a tough division and Chris Mason(notes) has to prove he can string together consecutive solid seasons. Seventh in the West is as high as the Blues will finish, and they could slip lower

Seventh? I don't get those rankings.....

No factor for being likely to have a lot less injuries, and for having much better depth, and for the load of talented young players maturing and improving???

I think they'll finish 4th or 5th in The Conference, and win their first playoff series. They will be MUCH better than last season.

Probably changed his mind after he read TSN's power ratings. They have Anaheim, 6th, STL 7th, and LA 8th...

Hmmm....

- We have a very good younger core of players with another year of experience so they should be better.
- We're getting some very good players back from injury that we didn't have last year when we finished 6th. The Blues essentially added Kariya and Johnson for nothing this offseason which adds some tremendous depth.
- Last season the Blues had the 2nd most man games lost to injury and still finished with the best record in the 2nd half of the season.

Whether or not those items actually translate into more points for the Blues remains to be seen. But to predict that before the season even starts that the Blues will be a worse team this year than last, is unnecessarily pessimistic. I'm not sure why he would be down on this team. Everyone seems to be of the opinion that the Blues are on the rise in the West.

The West is tough...and our division is tough. But I think a 5th place finish is a very realistic prediction for this season...and maybe a little higher if Mason continues to play like he did last year. His play will obviously be key to the Blues success.

If the Blues can stay relatively healthy, they will be a much better team. McKeon is a douche.

cprice12 wrote:Hmmm....

- We have a very good younger core of players with another year of experience so they should be better.
- We're getting some very good players back from injury that we didn't have last year when we finished 6th. The Blues essentially added Kariya and Johnson for nothing this offseason which adds some tremendous depth.
- Last season the Blues had the 2nd most man games lost to injury and still finished with the best record in the 2nd half of the season.

Whether or not those items actually translate into more points for the Blues remains to be seen. But to predict that before the season even starts that the Blues will be a worse team this year than last, is unnecessarily pessimistic. I'm not sure why he would be down on this team. Everyone seems to be of the opinion that the Blues are on the rise in the West.

The West is tough...and our division is tough. But I think a 5th place finish is a very realistic prediction for this season...and maybe a little higher if Mason continues to play like he did last year. His play will obviously be key to the Blues success.

If the Blues can stay relatively healthy, they will be a much better team. McKeon is a douche.

Don't forget the addition of Derek Armstrong, another veteran, who by all accounts thus far as fit right in regardless of his linemates.

The best part about those rankings is Columbus, which he "ranks" two spots lower than the Blues but has this to say about them:

15. Columbus Blue Jackets The Blue Jackets will be a tough team to play every night because of Ken Hitchcock’s system and Steve Mason’s(notes) solid goaltending. Look for Columbus to finish third in the division and eighth in the West.

So...you rank them lower than the Blues...but they will finish third in the division, eighth in the West...while the Blues will possibly miss the playoffs if they don't finish 7th. Hmmm...so if the Blues do finish 7th...what does that mean for your prediction of Detroit, Chicago, and St. Louis making the playoffs, but Columbus finishing 3rd in the division and 8th in the playoffs?

It all makes perfect sense.