St. Louis Blues fans: we want no more of your team.

[AngryAmish]

You guys fought like demons. You guys are a sniper and a center away from a Cup.

Happy to be going on but that was so f'n close.

Hats off.

[Chan790]

1. Their fans really seem to be losing their minds over it.

I'm a poster on a major hockey discussion board and one of their fans just proposed trading Alex Pietrangelo for Eric Staal.

I couldn't enthusiastically say "yes, please!" fast enough as a Canes fan. I like Staal but he'll have teenagers and be long-retired before Pietrangelo isn't a top-pair defenseman anymore. That's like a bad mortgage or a payday loan...selling tomorrow at a steep price for today's gratification.

[AngryAmish]

2. Did you get to see the series?

By and large the Blackhawks were outplayed and outcoached. And I'm a Hawks fan. The Blues got the puck in and kept it in all series. Goaltending was solid (until 3d period today).

Good riddence. Sign of the cross and see you next year.

[Chan790]

3. I did. Some of it, at-least.

It was hard-played. The series could have gone either way. Look at the bright side, the next series almost has to be easier. It couldn't be harder-fought.

I still think their fans are losing their minds if they want to trade a 24-year-old top-pair defenseman who hasn't even hit the peak of his career for a 30 year old top-line center that is likely past the peak of his.

[The2ndWheel]

6. Although in Hartford at the time, that would be an interesting bookend

to the Pronger/Shanahan trade.

Staal hasn't been to the playoffs in a while, but he's a career point per game player in the playoffs. That's something the Blues don't have, but need, especially from the center position. That would be a risky trade, but something like that might be what the Blues need to do to get over a hump that they currently don't seem to be equipped to do. Staal seems entrenched in Carolina though, so, it probably wouldn't be him.

[blueamy66]

4. I live with a HUGE Hawk fan.

So happy that they won the series.

Where were the Blues yesterday?

[GoCubsGo]

7. It's like they gave up after Handsome (P. Sharp) scored.

I don't understand why, because they still had plenty of time to catch up at that point. I guess getting stoned on all those penalties in the second was probably pretty deflating.

I understand how Blues fans feel right, as I'm also a Cubs fan as much as I am a Blackhawks fan.

[RedCloud]

5. We are all downtrodden today.

It looks like Chicago took advantage of those back loaded contracts to secure an elite team, not pay as you go as da Blues do.

Like always, we will remember something, like what if " Tank" Tarasenko scores in OT game 4 when he blasted in? Luckily for Chicago someone actually anticipated this unusual move from him and was there to prevent a 3-1 series leading goal.

I do think the Hawks repeat this year. Congrats.

[GoCubsGo]

8. Actually, they got their team mostly via good draft picks and development.

You have to make sure you have good players before you can give them a contract, back loaded or not. (Most of them not, actually.) Most of their top players were drafted rather than acquired via trades or free agency. The same holds for the bulk of the rest of the team. Many of them spent years in the farm system developing. Granted, they were lucky to get first and third picks to draft Kane and Toews. And, they practically stole Sharp from the Flyers, and Leddy from the Wild. Their GM, Stan Bowman knows what he's doing. He has a great feel for who to acquire, who to keep, and who to let go, and how to make sure their contracts all fit within the cap. He kept all the right guys during the great cap purge of 2010-2011. It also helps to have a great coaching staff. Joel Quenneville is only one of three coaches to have surpassed 700 wins.

And, speaking of Toews. He was picked third overall in 2006. The Blues had the first pick. They passed him up for Erik Johnson. How's he working out for y'all?