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In reality, Joel Quenneville's reign as Blues coach died last spring.
The Blues had their most talented roster since that epic 107-point team of 1980-81. Al MacInnis had a Norris Trophy-type year on the blue line. Defenseman Barret Jackman was the NHL's Calder Trophy winner.
Defenseman Chris Pronger returned from major wrist and knee operations in time for the playoffs.
Up front, the Blues were loaded with offensive weapons: Pavol Demitra, Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight, Cory Stillman, Martin Rucinsky, Valeri Bure, Scott Mellanby, Eric Boguniecki, Dallas Drake and Petr Cajanek.
In a tight-checking league, this highly talented team often made scoring look easy. The Blues could toy with lesser opponents.
The Blues had a favorable first-round match-up against Vancouver, a team that sputtered down the stretch and possessed no playoff credentials. Had the Blues beaten the Canucks, they would have advanced in a Western Conference bracket that saw traditional powers Colorado, Dallas and Detroit all bite the dust.
The Note should have reached their first Stanley Cup Finals since 1970.
Instead, the Blues managed to blow a commanding three-games-to-one series lead over the Canucks.
Instead, they took another first-round exit and watched the Suddenly Mighty Ducks of Anaheim play for the Cup.
And that was that. Coach Q could not recover from that horrific failure.
He was fired Tuesday.
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Mr. G
The Blues had their most talented roster since that epic 107-point team of 1980-81. Al MacInnis had a Norris Trophy-type year on the blue line. Defenseman Barret Jackman was the NHL's Calder Trophy winner.
Defenseman Chris Pronger returned from major wrist and knee operations in time for the playoffs.
Up front, the Blues were loaded with offensive weapons: Pavol Demitra, Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight, Cory Stillman, Martin Rucinsky, Valeri Bure, Scott Mellanby, Eric Boguniecki, Dallas Drake and Petr Cajanek.
In a tight-checking league, this highly talented team often made scoring look easy. The Blues could toy with lesser opponents.
The Blues had a favorable first-round match-up against Vancouver, a team that sputtered down the stretch and possessed no playoff credentials. Had the Blues beaten the Canucks, they would have advanced in a Western Conference bracket that saw traditional powers Colorado, Dallas and Detroit all bite the dust.
The Note should have reached their first Stanley Cup Finals since 1970.
Instead, the Blues managed to blow a commanding three-games-to-one series lead over the Canucks.
Instead, they took another first-round exit and watched the Suddenly Mighty Ducks of Anaheim play for the Cup.
And that was that. Coach Q could not recover from that horrific failure.
He was fired Tuesday.
MORE
Mr. G
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