The Blues have returned for training camp

Let’s just get this out of the way - we’re all stressed. We’re all worried to some degree or another about something. We all just really, really need a break.

Regardless of your views regarding the feasibility of the NHL’s return to play, I think that it’s very safe to say that we all miss hockey terribly. We could benefit from the return of sports as a society, because it’s a return to normalcy in a very abnormal time. It’s not a signal that everything is fine, or that even everything really is normal, necessarily, but it’s a reminder that once upon a time we could check out from the real world and flip on a Cardinals or a Blues game and become emotionally invested in a positive way in something that in no way, shape, or fashion was controlled by us.

I realize that there are many, many concerns regarding the resumption of play, and it’s a tight rope for some folks to walk between “oh, thank God, hockey’s back” and “but what about ________?” Since the world has been turned into the Bad Place and we’re all trying to figure out our points for our daily actions, where does “desires a return to regular life” fall next to “worries about player and employee health?”

The Hollywood Reporter/NBC Universal

Let’s just take a moment to set everything like that aside (helpful, I know, to lede the article with what I’m asking you to ignore - you’re welcome!) and bask in this wonderful, glorious moment of zen:

And a big dose of good news for all of us: Vladimir Tarasenko has been officially activated from the injured reserve list.

Welcome back Vladdy, and welcome back hockey.