After the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in six games to win their second straight Stanley Cup, the St. Louis Blues found out an unfortunate truth about their miraculous playoff run. They were the ultimate losers of the 2024-25 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
How can that be possible, and what can they learn from it to be the ultimate winners of the 2025-26 Stanley Cup Playoffs?
Lowest team on postseason totem poll
Well, the Blues lost to Winnipeg in game seven in a heart-wrenching fashion. Then the Jets lost to Dallas in the second round, followed by Dallas losing to Edmonton in the Western Conference Final. Finally, the Oilers lost to Florida, solidifying the notion that the Blues started this whole thing as the worst team in the playoffs.
But that is not necessarily a bad thing. It serves as a starting point and provides some fuel to stoke the fire.
Inspiration to succeed
The Blues have a big offseason ahead of them. There are a few UFA and RFA players to re-sign or let go, and then, come July 1, they can pick up some new talent to round out the roster. Let's not forget that the NHL draft is also approaching, and someone could use the 19th pick to acquire another talented young player or be traded for established talent.
Either way, the Blues can use their misfortune gained from this incredible playoff that just passed. They have a new fire burning inside of them. Florida has a solid chance of three-peating, and of course, Edmonton can make it back to the big dance once again. However, in terms of the conference's openness, the West is a bit more chaotic than the East, and that works in the Blues' favor.
The Central Division is going to be stacked once again, with several teams already making moves to bolster their lineups. Dallas made several moves with re-signing Matt Duchene and trading away Mason Marchment. Chicago is bringing back Ryan Donato, who hit a big stride in 2024-25 with some career highs.
With all the moves being made by their rivals, expect the Blues to be hesitant yet strategic in their decisions. General Manager Doug Armstrong is going to have to pull out all of the stops this summer, and that starts with patience. The NHL world will be rocked from now on until free agency, and then once the calendar turns over to July, the whole hockey world will flip upside down. The Blues can either be at the front of the line or wait for the dust to settle to pick up some hidden gems.
Being the worst team in this past postseason should be some serious motivation. If the Blues can make it back to the big tournament, expect there to be a better result this time around.