Welcome Back Hockey

Hockey, my old friend. You’ve been missed. Baseball, soccer and most recently football have tried to fill the void, but alas, there’s nothing quite like the game of puck. Games officially started the season last night but those of us in St. Louis still have to wait until Saturday, just after seven to satisfy our craving for hard checks, twisted wristers and loud chants of “Let’s Go Blues!”.

Over the summer, there’s been numerous stories to follow. The sale of the Blues has quietly sat in the back of our minds (which finally might have a development) and we wondered if the current group could complete a sale prior to opening day (Spoiler Alert: They won’t). We wondered how the Blues would improve their squad with the current ownership transition hanging like a dark cloud over the organization.

The Blues were able to improve, and though it might not have been enough for some fans, this team is undeniably better than it was in April. For the first time we can see these new additions (Langenbrunner, Arnott, Nichol, Huskins) in a game that counts for something.

We proposed quite a few questions here over the summer. Are the Blues tough enough? Will Jaroslav Halak improve? Can the marketing department of the Blues come up with a worse idea?

Finally, it’s time to start uncovering some answers. Finally it’s time to return to the Scottrade and watch all the projections and expectations come to fruition on the ice (fingers crossed). It’s time to put the debate on whether this collection of players can make the playoffs or not and find out, beginning Saturday at 7pm.

With that, welcome back hockey. Welcome back to all of the sounds that surround one of the greatest sports. Boards rattling, skates cutting across the ice, the “thump” of a rubber puck bouncing off a goaltender’s pads,  hard slappers from the blueline and many, many more.

The season is fresh and new. Time to enjoy it to the fullest.