Sports bring people together in celebration and, more often, in comiseration. Only one team comes out on top in every major sports league, leaving every other teams' fans waiting for next year.
The NHL and the St. Louis Blues are no different. The Florida Panthers are the only team that can truly celebrate in the last two years as back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. Sure, fans can be happy with how their team progressed or how particularly players are developing, but there is only one champion.
Luckily for Blues fans, they were able to celebrate the Stanley Cup back in 2019. But that feels like ages ago, even though just four teams have lifted Lord Stanley's Cup in the six years since then.
ESPN recently revealed a new feature called the Sports Misery Index. You can input your favorite teams across various leagues, and it tells you how happy or miserable you should be.
"We do this using a number of key data points, including regular and postseason success, as well as a team’s expected success going into a season," ESPN explains. "After all, a team that just won a championship might feel very differently about a .500 season than a team that just finished in the basement."
So, where do the Blues fall?
Over the last 15 years, the Blues are actually in the bottom-10 NHL teams in terms of misery with a Sports Misery Index of 41. Below them are the Chicago Blackhawks (39), Los Angeles Kings (36), Seattle Kraken (36), Colorado Avalanche (33), and Pittsburgh Penguins (18), along with the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Vegas Golden Knights, who all have 0 misery.
Just above the blues are the Boston Bruins (41) and Washington Capitals (42), before a jump up to the Edmonton Oilers (58).
So, essentially they're saying "Your favorite team won a Stanley Cup in the last 15 years" or is the Seattle Kraken in its infancy stage as a franchise.
It certainly measures up. Winning solves everything.