re: I'm considering getting into hockey, help me pick a team

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-Can't be too good. I don't want to be a frontrunner/bandwagoner/etc. So it can't be like the best team in teh league
-Ideally, would have something of a good history.
-Has potential to be good in the near future and/or has a star player
-Nice color scheme/cool city.

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Those are good criteria that a lot of teams will meet. Here's who you can't root for as a new fan: Penguins, Bruins, Kings, Blackhawks, Red Wings. If you root for any of those teams as a new fan, you are a soulless frontrunner who deserves to be mocked until you cry. Those are your most recent Cup winners. That's like showing up to the NFL and deciding to be a Patriots fan. Have some dignity.

I'm assuming you're in the South, and you could root for a southern team. That gives you the options of the Bolts, Panthers, Predators, Caps, Hurricanes, Stars, and Blues. If you want a southern team with history, you're pretty much stuck with the Caps or the Blues, who have both been around for 40 years. The problem is, their history is one of unending pain and suffering. These are hard franchises full of fans who have been through hell.

The Blues have the longest Cup drought in the NHL (never won, have existed since 1967). The Caps have the worst record in Game 7 of any team in professional sports. Both are playoff regulars (Blues went to 25 straight playoffs at one point, the Caps just had the 3rd longest streak in the NHL snapped this year). So, always good, never great, southern, and few bandwagoners overall (both also have cool logos and are in fun cities).

That said, since the Blues are in the playoffs, that's the team to go for. They are also a young team and have the NHL's best personality (Shattenkirk) and Olympic hero (Oshie).

If Southern-ness isn't that important and you still want "history", you probably want the Flyers, honestly. And that hurts to type. Won some Cups in the 70s, have the whole Broad Street Bullies thing, great logo, awesome city that people are afraid of, and you're immediately hated by everyone else in the NHL, which means awesome rivalries. You also get to root for Scottie Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds. Not a favorite, but still good enough to tempt you.