1 . St. Louis Blues
Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Team Likeability: 9. Sorry Blues fans, but you’ve been smacked with the Sabres curse. That’s right, the same people who have spent 40 years fruitlessly rooting for their own Cup are now rooting for yours! Lucky you!
Featuring a few old Sabres and few notable Team USA guys, the Blues are a slam dunk for Sabres fans. Ryan Miller was Our Guy for a dozen years, and we’d love nothing more than to see him win a Cup.
Win Starvation: 10. The St. Louis Blues only three years older than the Sabres and the Blues are equally Cupless. It’s the longest Cup drought in the NHL now, tied with Toronto. Giddy up, St. Lou. Much like Chicago and LA before you, your time grows near.
Fan Rating: 8. Again, this would be higher but the Blues have been a force all year (and for the last two years) and they sell less than 90% of their tickets. Is that a misleading number? I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. This is an old, seasoned fan base that can rise to a big game and make some noise.
Cup Contender Chances: 8. A recent skid has taken a team that looked dominant for most of the year and thrown a wrench in their big plans with a matchup against defending champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Blues lost six straight games to end the season, but that’s all in the past now. On Wednesday, the team can put all of that behind them. And we’ll be pulling for them when they do.