St. Louis Named “Most Underrated Team” in NHLPA Survey

The St. Louis Blues were considered the NHL’s most underrated team in a recent NHLPA survey taken by 318 NHL players. The Blues received 28% of the vote, beating out the Nashville Predators (21%) by seven percentage points to earn the title of most underrated team. The survey also included various questions that gave some fun insight into what players think about issues us fans talk about on a regular basis.

The survey results, found here, not only lists the Blues as the NHL’s most underrated squad but also lists David Backes as one of the most underrated players in the league. With 3% of the vote, Backes tied with Claude Giroux and David Krejci for 4th most underrated player in the league, trailing Patrice Bergeron (9%), Jamie Benn (6%) and Loui Eriksson (4%).

Other results include which team is the most overrated in the league (Vancouver – 24%) as well as should fighting be removed from the league (No – 98%).

The fighting statistic is a bit surprising but it’s clear – the players want to keep it in the game. A pretty controversial issue off the ice, it appears the issue of fighting on the ice is pretty cut and dry. Personally, I’ve always believed that the players should be allowed to police their own game and I’ve been in favor of removing the instigator penalty in order to take some of the cheap hits and dirty play out of the game.

I digress. That’s a topic for a different time.