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3 Reasons The St. Louis Blues Repeat As Stanley Cup Champions

By Todd Panula

ST LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 02: David Perron #57 of the St. Louis Blues wears a Stanley Cup Champions patch on how sweater in a game against the Washington Capitals at Enterprise Center on October 2, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 02: David Perron #57 of the St. Louis Blues wears a Stanley Cup Champions patch on how sweater in a game against the Washington Capitals at Enterprise Center on October 2, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
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St. Louis Blues
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 14: Vladimir Tarasenko #91 of the St. Louis Blues skates against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on October 14, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders defeated the Blues 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

1. Tarasenko

When the St. Louis Blues brought Vladimir Tarasenko in, we all believed he would be something special. Unfortunately, as fans, we might have put too much pressure on him to be the next Brett Hull.

Tarasenko is a franchise player. Hull was a generational player.

Nevertheless, Tarasenko gets forgotten at times. Part of that is his penchant for going cold for long stretches, but lots of great scorers do that.

Part of it is because he has the talent to take games over, but often plays too much of a team game. That helps lead to wins, but less from a personal standpoint. Nevertheless, only Alex Ovechkin has been more consistent over the past decade.

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Some might ask why Tarasenko would be a key to this team winning when he did not accomplish much against Boston last year and missed almost the entire 2019-20 campaign. Both are valid points.

However, the very thing that would normally be an issue will be a driving force for Tarasenko. He was more than ready to return to the Blues when the pandemic hit and the NHL shut down.

Some worried the Blues might be rushing their scorer back too early when it was rumored he was going to play the Sunday following the Blues last game. I believe Tarasenko was ready and he was itching to go.

Delaying his return will only intensify that mental readiness. Tarasenko is going to come out with a purpose.

Add to that Tarasenko being a strong starter, this will essentially be like starting a new season for him. Tarasenko sometimes cools off during the winter months, but with the return to hockey coinciding with the playoffs, it will be the perfect recipe for him to lead this team.

A rested, motivated Tarasenko is going to be hard to stop. Adding him to a team that was already near the top of the league and with all teams being on a level playing field, the NHL better watch out.

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