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

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ST LOUIS, MO – OCTOBER 02: Alex Pietrangelo #27 of the St. Louis Blues shows off the Stanley Cup prior to playing against the Washington Capitals at Enterprise Center on October 2, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

3. Pietrangelo

Last, but not least, we cannot ignore the elephant in the room regarding the Blues captain, Alex Pietrangelo. He is going into his free agent offseason and still hoping for a big payday, cap issues due to the pandemic not withstanding.

That might seem like a bad thing, given the uncertainty. It can actually work in the Blues favor.

Pietrangelo is a motivated player any time, but he’s going to be extra motivated to show his worth during this time. All eyes are going to be on the NHL if it can be one of the first sports back and Pietrangelo can use that to his advantage.

If anyone had any doubts about his abilities, he can put that all to rest by dominating the 2020 playoffs. That will benefit him in his quest for a big payday in the offseason, but clearly benefit the Blues during their quest for a second Stanley Cup.

Just imagine being able to go into a negotiation with the Blues, or any team, and being able to say you’re the only player in history to captain the Blues to two Stanley Cups. One would be enough, but two is just asking for Scrooge McDuck-like money.

Additionally, Pietrangelo strikes me as someone who does care about legacy as much, if not more, than money. He is going to be just as motivated by the idea of winning that second Cup, regardless of what it might accomplish for his bank account.

Whether he stays or goes, Pietrangelo is going to want to be that captain that led his team to back-to-back Stanley Cups. He’s going to want his name with the likes of Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky and Steve Yzerman as captains of repeat champions.

Whether he stays or goes, Petro has only ever known NHL life with the Blues. He got married here and had kids here. He is going to want that final year in St. Louis to be that much more special or he will want this season to legitimize the team giving him a long-term deal.

All of that works in the Blues favor. All of that leads to a road with another silver chalice being held aloft in the Gateway City.

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The Blues have plenty of reasons they can win. They have lots of depth. Jordan Binnington can lead them once again. Without fans in the stands, they don’t have to worry about home-ice benefiting any other team.

Nevertheless, their style, their best scorer and their captain are the three reasons they will repeat.

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