It seems like it's been more than just a few months since the St. Louis Blues were atop every set of NHL Power Rankings on the Internet, and I suppose it's little consolation that in the latest set from ESPN they remain the lowest-ranked team in the NHL with more wins than regulation losses. At 24th. What makes this more bearable than the earlier dispatches about the Blues' fall from early grace is that their actions around the NHL trade deadline made it clear that they knew just where they were.
↵So exit Eric Brewer and Erik Johnson and sure, why not, Brad Winchester; enter Chris Stewart, who appears to actually be able to score goals, which is exciting, and an increasingly heavy volume of Alex Pietrangelo jerseys around Scottrade Center. It's rebuilding season! That makes a disappointing season into the first season of the rest of the Blues' life—unless they disappoint again next year. Then they're out of luck until they find some other veterans to trade, so as to reopen rebuilding season...