The games have all been played and the medals awarded, and while Men’s Hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics didn’t end the way many of us hoped, I am so glad it’s over and the NHL can resume play this week. You’ve seen the final stats for the nine Olympians the St. Louis Blues sent to Sochi here at Bleedin Blue and now it’s time to hand out the final grades before all our boys come back to the States and prepare for the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.
I implore you all to disagree with the marks I give each of the St. Louis Olympians. I’d love to know why you think someone should be receiving a higher score in the comment section below or through our Facebook page. Some of our Blues had a great showing, regardless of where their team finished, and others, well, let’s just say I don’t see things as other might. A guy can be pretty invisible out there, or mediocre at best, and have his linemates pick up the slack and score goals, or prevent them.
The best thing I can say about the 2014 Sochi Olympics is that all of our Blues are going to return healthy. The age-old argument of whether NHL’ers should play in the Olympics is heard every time a guy goes down during international play. Major pieces of multiple NHL clubs will miss significant time because of injuries sustained in Sochi. John Tavares of the New York Islanders will be out for 8-months, missing the remainder of the 2103-14 season. The St. Louis Blues avoided injury trouble and all of their active Olympians will be available when they resume league play Wednesday.