Which former Blues player should win the Stanley Cup this spring?

The Blues took an early vacation, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun as the hunt for Lord Stanley’s Cup begins. While the current Blues team decided to choke on a “not good enough” sandwich last Saturday, there are plenty of ex-Blues competing this month in the playoffs.

David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Ryan Reaves, David Perron, Paul Stastny, Jori Lehtera, Ian Cole, Roman Polak, Brian Elliott, and Erik Johnson immediately come to mind, but I’m sure there are more, so lay your names in the comments below if I missed one.

Now, I could just tell you who I’d like to see win the Cup and be done with it. That would be a mildly sexy 450 word column that you could digest in five minutes. I’ll give my take, but I wanted to reach out to the rest of the afflicted Blues loyals around the city, country, and even the world. See what they thought about a former Blue winning it all before St. Louis would.

There have been a few. Brett Hull hurts the most. One of the greatest Blues of all time left and won a Cup with two different teams for fucks sake.

Here’s what Blues nation had to say about their ex-lovers.

Reaves is a good choice. The enforcer turned durable fourth line contributor struck a chord with Blues fans with his rugged work on the ice combined with his playful side off the ice. Who can forget blowing a kiss to the Dallas Stars bench during the 2015-16 playoffs? Epic.

While the others got some votes, there was one overwhelming pick, and for a damn good reason. This scored 206 goals and tallied 460 points in his ten years in St. Louis, including a playoff goal on his birthday. He beat Jonathan Toews up a few times and hit players so hard I started calling him “freight train”. David Backes got the most attention in my comments.

Personally, I hate to see the human ice glacier, Lethera, win the Cup. Sorry Brian Elliott, but I can promise you Doug Armstrong couldn’t pleated pants for a week if Jori won the Cup. He’d be hiding his arousal for days. I don’t want to see that. Next would be Oshie, for reasons I can’t explain.

Backes tops my list. He’s among my top 3 Blues of all time. A true captain who left it all on the ice every time he took it. Underrated until he left, Backes should have gotten an extension over Alexander Steen. This team’s spine wouldn’t have been misplaced with #42 still clocking in.

Next, seeing Reaves hoist the Cup would be sweet, even if Frenchie did as well. Stastny was an honorable Blue who got shuffled to the third line because of the Lehtera trials.

Seeing Vegas win it would send a shock wave through the NHL. First year team winning it all is a large middle finger to convention.

Johnson would trip and fall on the ice trying to hold the Cup, so that would be mildly funny.

Polak was a decent D-man in St. Louis, but I don’t want to see the Sharks take it all.

For me, it’s Backes and Boston. Behind my well-known love for Alexander Ovechkin, I’ve always had respect for the Bruins and Backes being there only sweetens the pot.

Unlike the MLB playoffs, the NHL playoffs are worth watching whether your team is in or not. Sure, the Blues opened up action against Minnesota a year ago yesterday, but I’m over it. Almost.

Thanks for reading. Throw a few ice cubes in that bourbon this spring.