ST. LOUIS — I can't speak for the entirety of St. Louis, but when the clock finally hit 0:00 Friday night in Game 6 of the first round between the Blues and Vancouver Canucks, it felt like the effects of the Stanley Cup high had officially worn off.
Of course, it had been 14 months since the team actually won its first ever Cup, but it felt like the party and good times of a championship had still hung around all the way until now.
But when the Canucks won Game 6, the quest for a repeat in the Edmonton bubble ended, and the good times for the Blues did as well.
Now we'll have to watch the rest of the playoffs as bystanders, with no team to follow as someone else lifts the Cup. But just because that incredible feeling of seeing the Blues as champs has ended, doesn't mean it couldn't come back very, very soon.
Don't fret, St. Louis. The team that made history with the franchise's first Stanley Cup should be in the mix to raise another one for the foreseeable future.
Will there be challenges? Sure.
There's a good chance captain Alex Pietrangelo has played his final game in a Blues sweater. Star Vladimir Tarasenko needs to make sure his shoulder is right the next time he returns. Most of the big name prospects in the system have graduated to the pros. And general manager Doug Armstrong is going to have to get creative when it comes to moves and money.
But at its core, the Blues are in a good spot.
The young prospects who've graduated to the NHL spotlight make up an exciting young group who will continue to grow.
Robert Thomas, Sammy Blais, Ivan Barbashev, Vince Dunn, Jordan Kyrou, Zach Sanford and Colton Parayko are all 26 years old or younger. And top prospects Klim Kostin and Niko Mikkola should look to figure more into the lineup next season.
There's also an experienced group of veterans to lead the way, who can be just as exciting as the kids a lot of the time.
Ryan O'Reilly, David Perron, Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn, Tyler Bozak and Tarasenko aren't a veteran core to sneeze at.
Although this past season he didn't look quite like the guy who led the team to a Stanley Cup in 2019, the Blues still believe in Jordan Binnington. And the steady Jake Allen will be there to back him up again next season.
Most importantly though, Craig Berube is still driving this ship. He's the right man for the job, and led the Blues to a title and the most points in the regular season in his season and a half at the helm. He's going to demand excellence, no matter what the roster looks like.
Sure, Justin Faulk needs to play better to make his contract worth it. Yes, the Blues need to figure out fixes for their often porous defense. And yeah, teams like Vegas, Colorado, Dallas and Vancouver are going to be tough in the west going forward.
The Blues' success throughout the 2019-2020 season proved their run to the title wasn't a fluke. Without a global pandemic, who knows if this season may have ended differently.
While a first round exit for the defending champs may sting now, the Blues still have the pieces in place to make sure it doesn't happen again next season.
This is a franchise that after 52 years of waiting finally got a taste of what winning hockey's ultimate prize felt like. They're not going to go quietly without trying to do it again with this group.
