St. Louis Blues: Western Conference Turning Into A Juggernaut

By Jason Martin | Sep 25, 2018

DENVER, CO - APRIL 07: Jaden Schwartz /

The Western Conference is arguably the most competitive conference in the NHL. The St. Louis Blues, like many teams in the West, have reloaded and are looking to make a run at the conference title.

The St. Louis Blues play in one of the most competitive divisions in the entire NHL, every team in the Central Division has made an appearance at least twice in the past five years and there are no signs that this is going to change.

The Blues missed out on the playoffs on the last day of the season in 2017 for the first time in nine years. It is easy to blame the Blues play down the stretch as the reason why the Blues missed out on the big dance, but a lot of the contributors to the Blues absence is due to the increase of talent in the West.

Injuries, goaltending, and a bad powerplay were all used to describe the lack of success for the Blues a season ago. However, after overhauling the roster this offseason, St. Louis will look to compete again in 2018.

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Unfortunately for many of the teams in the West on the outside looking in, a variety of teams improved significantly this offseason.

Both the Central and Pacific Divisions could send five teams into the playoffs this year.

In recent years, it has been the central division who has sent the most teams into the playoffs but with the Vegas Golden Knights wasting no time being competitive, the narrative could be changing quicker than anticipated.

The Nashville Predators won the Presidents Trophy in 2017 and still failed to reach the Stanley Cup Final after doing so in 2016. It seems very rare that the team with the best record ends up winning the Stanley Cup which is a testament to the parody that the NHL has.

Winnipeg burst on to the scene in 2018, claiming the second spot in the Central Division and reached the Western Conference Finals. Led by Vezina Trophy finalists Connor Hellebuyck, the Jets are not going anywhere anytime soon.

The Minnesota Wild continued their impressive regular season dominance securing the third spot in the Central. Minnesota has always been in the mix for a spot in the playoffs, but like the Blues, have a hard time making noise in the playoffs.

Colorado defeated the Blues on the last day of the season to secure a wild card berth into the playoffs after finishing the previous season in last place. Maybe a year ahead of schedule, Colorado has seemingly returned back to contender status.

Led by Tyler Seguin, the Dallas Stars seemingly have one of the best offensive teams in the Central Division, the Goalie problem still remains with the Stars though, whether or not Kari Lehtonen and Ben Bishop are able to carry the load remains to be seen.

The Vegas Golden Knights shocked the sports world by becoming the best expansion team ever regardless of sport. Defying all of the odds, Vegas made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before falling to the Washington Capitals.

Anaheim, like the Minnesota Wild, has always been toward the top of the Pacific Division. Led by youngster Rickard Rakell, the Ducks are not going anywhere in 2018.

San Jose took a big step in the right direction in the offseason, signing Evander Kane to a contract extension and trading for all-world defenseman Erik Karlsson, the Sharks are contenders for the Stanley Cup.

The Los Angeles Kings have one of the best goaltenders in the world. Jonathan Quick had an injury-plagued season a year ago but showed signs of his old self during the first round against Vegas. The Kings made a big offseason splash signing Ilya Kovalchuk from the KHL, we will see how long it takes him to get re-acclimated to the NHL, but the Kings should compete for another playoff spot this year.

There are a couple of teams on the outside looking in, the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. Connor McDavid is the best player in the world, but he can only carry you so far during an 82 game season.

The Flames improved their roster over the offseason, however, the Pacific Division is as tough as any other division and they might be a year or two away from returning to the playoffs.

The Western Conference is in the middle of a transition from the old guard. The Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings are not the contenders they once were.

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There is an opportunity for the Blues to make a name for themselves this year. A new roster for St. Louis will likely get them back into the playoffs, but playing in the league’s toughest division presents a big challenge.

One thing is for sure, whoever does end up representing the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals, they will have earned it.

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