from Greg Wyshynski of ESPN,

The Blues won't repeat because it's really, really hard to repeat. The Pittsburgh Penguins' back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017 were the only ones of the salary-cap era and the first since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. Previously, back-to-back wins were actually commonplace: In that dynastic period from 1974 through 1992, it happened 10 times. Then the NHL grew from 21 teams to 31 teams, talent was no longer consolidated and was further dispersed by the salary cap, while the postseason remained at 16 teams.

Oh, and teams that repeat do so after playing more meaningful hockey in a year than many of them ever have before, and being asked to win that war of attrition a second time. In the Blues' case, it's after having played some of the "heaviest" hockey in the NHL last season, and basically having a playoff pace from January on after the early season ditch they dug for themselves.

The Blues will repeat because, on average, teams that win the Stanley Cup return with strong follow-up seasons. From 1998 to 2017, and excluding the lockout years, teams that won the Cup have averaged 102.5 points in the standings in the next season. That would have won the Central Division last season.

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