The Central Division may be the most hotly contested group of eight teams in the NHL today, with most of its squads usually or somewhat in playoff contention. For the St. Louis Blues, joining that conversation means having to finish in the top three rather than the middle or lower half where they've found themselves the last couple of seasons. So just how good is St. Louis against the rest of their regional rivals?
Dallas Stars: The Green Nightmare
The Blues should've taken notes from the Stars organization on how to build a perennial playoff contender, seeing as how Dallas now has consecutive Western Conference Finals appearances in the last two seasons.
What really makes the Stars outshine the Blues however, is... just about everything, really. Dallas is one of the best teams in the league and possesses a good mix of young star players and older players who still have plenty of gas left in the tank.
They might as well be St. Louis' biggest rivals, all while also having one of the league's most toxic fanbases, according to other Western Conference teams' fans.
Winnipeg Jets: The northern air raid
The Jets are still one of the league's youngest teams, but in just 13 years of play, they've made a name for themselves and reached the postseason at least a few times. Part of that is their goalscoring onslaught with the likes of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers.
And like Dallas, those guys are still young- only Schiefele is 30 years old, and six of the Jets' top 10 goal scorers last season are still under that magic number. They've got plenty of guys with even plenty more years left. This season's matchups may be a bit closer than usual, but Winnipeg still has the edge.
Colorado Avalanche: Don't remind St. Louis fans
Colorado is a team Blues fans remember very well- the ones responsible for ending their playoff run in 2021/22 in a dramatic ending six-game second-round series. Since then, the Avs have only continued to grow, even after they ended up winning the Cup the year they eliminated St. Louis.
Since the 2016/17 season with Jared Bednar behind the bench, Colorado has become arguably the most consistent Western Conference playoff team, reaching at least the second round every season but once since Bednar took over. And, of course, they've got the offensive weaponry to prove it, almost being a carbon copy of Winnipeg with their under-30 players scoring prowess.
Nathan MacKinnon is as dominant as ever, alongside Mikko Rantanen and one of the league's top defensemen in Cale Makar. Old Veggie Boy is only 25 and still tearing it up with four All-Star Game appearances. This is the NHL team that should never be trifled with, unless you want to get buried.
Chicago Blackhawks: Not Fooled by the Bedard Hype
St. Louis' eternal rivals in the Chicago Blackhawks had an even worse 2023/24 season than the Blues, much to some diehard Blues fans' delight. Even with rookie sensation Connor Bedard, the Hawks still couldn't work out a playoff run, or appearance for that matter.
They haven't even made it past the first round in almost 10 seasons, and their current playoff drought is longer than St. Louis', stretching back to the 2019/20 campaign, which, as you may have figured out, ended after Round 1. Chicago's lineup is also a bit aged, with some of their best goal scorers from last season currently in their mid 30s.
That's not much time left for Nick Foligno or Tyler Johnson, the goal scorers in question. Compared to the Blues' lineup age and goal scoring last season, St. Louis easily outdoes Chicago in a Central Division grudge match.
Nashville is another one of St. Louis' enemies, but they could be a mystery case- can they capitalize on the ginormous free agency signings they made this summer?
Or will they be outsmarted by the sheer numerous presence of the Blues' young core? A handful of their top goal scorers are in their mid 30s too - these games might be worth the watch.
The other Central clubs that St. Louis has a clearer advantage over: Minnesota and the new and slightly improved Utah Hockey Club, formerly the Arizona Coyotes.
For the Wild, they're a team that will hit a full-scale rebuild sooner or later if they haven't been doing so already, while nothing really changed for Utah, even in their last few years in the desert. Other than their arena situation, of course, but that's its own change.