Nobody expected the St. Louis Blues to win a Stanley Cup. In January 2019, they were in the league's basement, sporting a 15-18-4 record and 34 standings points--the worst record in the NHL. Then, rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington got a start on January 7, won with a shutout, and became the team's starter, carrying them into the playoffs. The rest is history.
That Blues team had some exceptional players on it: Alex Pietrangelo was a no-doubt No. 1 defenseman, Ryan O'Reilly won a Selke and Conn Smythe that year, and Vladimir Tarasenko was one of the league's premier goal scorers. They had young talent in Binnington, Vince Dunn, Robert Thomas, and Ivan Barbashev. It was a good team that may've punched a bit above their weight class, but wasn't lacking in talent, either.
It's also proof positive that there's no right way to build a Cup contender. At least, compared to the previous run of winners.
In the preceding decade before the Blues' win, the Cup had been won by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks three times each, the LA Kings twice, and the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins once apiece. Those teams all featured several 1st-overall picks, as well as a couple of generational talents in Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Patrice Bergeron, Evgeni Malkin, Drew Doughty, and Marc-Andre Fleury, to name just a few.
The only player the Blues had on their roster that could be part of that rarified air is Pietrangelo--maybe O'Reilly, when all's said and done. Beyond that was a group of strong role players who all excelled in what they were tasked with. Several key pieces--like O'Reilly and future captain Brayden Schenn--were acquired in massive trades. They were supported by solid homegrown talent in Tarasenko, Dunn, Thomas, Ivan Barbashev, David Perron, Jaden Schwartz, and others.
The Blues' victory shows that you don't need a first overall pick to win a Cup (though it sure helps). It demonstrates that you can get crucial players in trades without giving up the farm, and that being bold (like acquiring O'Reilly and Schenn) can pay off. The Florida Panthers don't make three trips to the Final and win twice if they don't trade for Matthew Tkachuk--but that was a risky move, giving up Jonathan Huberdeau, coming off a 100-point season, and MacKenzie Weegar, an excellent defenseman in his own right.
There are dozens of ways to build a winner, and the 2019 Blues showed that you don't necessarily need the highest draft picks or even the best players--you just need the right players at the right time. It may not be the most repeatable approach, but it only needs to work once to win a Stanley Cup.