St. Louis Blues
St. Louis Blues | |
---|---|
St. Louis, Missouri | |
Team colors | Royal blue, gold, navy blue, white[1][2] |
Media | Bally Sports Midwest 101 ESPN |
Owner(s) | SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC (Tom Stillman, chairman and governor) |
General manager | Doug Armstrong |
Head coach | Drew Bannister (interim) |
Captain | Brayden Schenn |
Minor league affiliates | Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) |
Stanley Cups | 1 (2018–19) |
Conference championships | 1 (2018–19) |
Presidents' Trophy | 1 (1999–00) |
Division championships | 10 (1968–69, 1969–70, 1976–77, 1980–81, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1999–00, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2019–20) |
Official website | nhl |
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the six teams from the 1967 NHL expansion and is named after the W. C. Handy song "Saint Louis Blues". They play their home games at the 18,096 seat Enterprise Center in downtown St. Louis, which has been their arena since moving from St. Louis Arena in 1994.[3]
The Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and have the most Stanley Cup playoff appearances outside of the Original Six. Although frequent postseason contenders for most of their history, the franchise has usually struggled in the playoffs, including consecutive Stanley Cup Finals defeats at the end of their first three seasons. With the Blues' victory in their fourth Stanley Cup Finals, 49 years after their last appearance and in their 52nd year of existence, they became the final active team from the 1967 expansion to win their first Stanley Cup.
The Blues have a
Franchise history
Hockey in St. Louis before 1967
Although the
Following further contraction, the league stabilized
1967 expansion
The Blues were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the
The team's first owners were insurance tycoon Sid Salomon Jr., his son, Sid Salomon III, and Robert L. Wolfson, who were granted the franchise in 1966. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. Former St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial and Musial's business partner Julius "Biggie" Garagnani were also members of the 16-man investment group that made the initial formal application for the franchise.[4] Garagnani would never see the Blues franchise take the ice, as he died from a heart attack on June 19, 1967, less than three months before the Blues played their first preseason game.[5] Upon acquiring the franchise in 1966, Salomon then spent several million dollars on extensive renovations for the 38-year-old arena, expanding it from 12,000 seats to 15,000.
Beginnings and Stanley Cup Finals' appearances (1967–1970)
Under the expansion playoff format, Bowman's leadership was enough as the Blues qualified for the playoffs in their inaugural season. Although they had finished in third place, St. Louis was regarded as fairly evenly matched with the other three Western qualifiers since only four points separated first and fourth place. Ultimately, it was the Blues who prevailed by winning in seven games each over the Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars to reach the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals. However, St. Louis was swept in their first Finals appearance by the heavily favored Montreal Canadiens.
Under Bowman, the Blues dominated the West for the next two seasons, becoming the only expansion team to compile a winning record, and they captured division titles by wide margins each year. However, they were swept in the Stanley Cup Finals by the Montreal Canadiens in 1969 and then by the Boston Bruins in 1970.
While the first Blues teams included fading veterans like
During that time, Salomon gained a reputation throughout the NHL as the top players' owner. He gave his players cars, signed them to deferred contracts and treated them to vacations in Florida. The players, used to being treated like mere commodities, felt the only way they could pay him back was to give their best on the ice every night.[6]
Financial problems, near-move, and playoff streak (1970–1987)
The Blues' successes in the late 1960s, however, did not continue into the 1970s. The
Arbour, who officially retired as a player after the 1970–71 season, would remain behind the Blues' bench for the next two seasons. The Berenson trade did bring then-Detroit Red Wings star center Garry Unger, who ultimately scored 30 goals in eight consecutive seasons while breaking the NHL's consecutive games played record. Defensively, however, the Blues were less than stellar and saw Chicago and the Philadelphia Flyers overtake the Division. After missing the playoffs for the first time in 1973–74, the Blues ended up in the Smythe Division after a League realignment. This division was particularly weak, and in 1976–77, the Blues won it while finishing five games below .500, though this would be their last playoff appearance in the decade.
In the meantime, the franchise was on the brink of financial collapse. This was partly due to the pressures of the World Hockey Association (WHA), but mostly the result of financial decisions made when the Salomons first acquired the franchise. The deferred contracts came due just as the Blues' performance began to slip. At one point, the Salomons cut the team's staff down to three employees. One of them was Emile Francis, who served as team president, general manager and head coach. In hopes of saving the franchise, Francis persuaded St. Louis-based pet food giant Ralston Purina to buy the team, arena, and the $8.8 million debt. The Salomons sold the Blues to Ralston on July 27, 1977. However, longtime Ralston Purina chairman R. Hal Dean said that he intended to keep the Blues as a Ralston subsidiary only temporarily until a more stable owner who would keep the team in St. Louis could be found. Ralston renamed the arena the "Checkerdome." After two awful years, including what is still a franchise-worst 18–50–12 record with 48 points in 1979, the Blues made the playoffs the following year, the first of 25 consecutive postseason appearances.
After being one of the worst teams a couple of years before, they were one of the best in
Ralston then filed a $60 million anti-trust lawsuit in U.S. District Court, claiming that the NHL broke federal antitrust laws and breached the duty of good faith and fair dealing by voting to reject the sale and transfer of the Blues to Hunter's group. They also requested that the court allow them to give up the team and bar the NHL from interfering with the sale of the team. On June 3, Ralston announced that it had no interest in running the team anymore. Because they were not required to participate in the
Ornest ran the Blues very cheaply, though the players did not mind. According to Sutter, they wanted to stay in St. Louis because it reminded them of the rural Canadian towns where many of them grew up. For instance, Ornest asked many players to defer their salaries to help meet operating costs, but the players always got paid in the end. During most of Ornest's tenure, the Blues had only 26 players under contract–23 in St. Louis, plus three on their farm team, the
While the Blues remained competitive, they were unable to keep many of their young players. More often than not, several of the Blues' emerging stars ended up as
Brett Hull era (1988–1998)
St. Louis kept chugging along through the late 1980s and early 1990s. General manager Ron Caron made astute moves, landing forwards Brett Hull, Adam Oates and Brendan Shanahan, defenseman Al MacInnis and goaltender Curtis Joseph, among others. While the Blues contended during this time period, they never passed the second round of the playoffs. Nonetheless, their on-ice success was enough for a consortium of 19 companies to buy the team. They also provided the capital to build the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center), which opened in 1994.
Hull, nicknamed the "Golden Brett" (a reference to his father, NHL legend Bobby Hull, who was nicknamed the "Golden Jet"), became one of the League's top stars and a scoring sensation, netting 86 goals in 1990–91 en route to earning the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player. Hull's 86 goals set the record for most goals in a single season by a right-winger (and the third-most overall at the time). Only Wayne Gretzky found the net more than Hull during any given three-year period. Despite posting the second-best regular season record in the entire league in 1990–91, the Blues were upset in the second round of the playoffs to the Minnesota North Stars, a defeat that was symbolic of St. Louis' playoff struggles.
Mike Keenan was hired as both general manager and coach before the abbreviated 1994–95 season, with the hope that he could end the postseason turmoil that Blues fans had endured for years. Keenan instituted major changes, including trades that sent away fan favorites Brendan Shanahan and Curtis Joseph, as well as the acquisition of the legendary-but-aging Wayne Gretzky and goaltender Grant Fuhr, both from the declining Los Angeles Kings. During the season, he publicly criticized Gretzky, who entered free agency after the season, declined an offer from the Blues, and took a less lucrative contract with the New York Rangers. Ultimately, Keenan's playoff resume with St. Louis included a first-round exit in 1995 and a second-round exit in 1996, and he was fired on December 19, 1996. Caron was reinstated as interim general manager for the rest of the season, and general manager Larry Pleau was hired on June 9, 1997. Hull, who had a lengthy feud with Keenan, left for the Dallas Stars in 1998. He went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Stars the next year, scoring a controversial goal on the Buffalo Sabres' Dominik Hasek to clinch the Cup for Dallas. The Blues ended the 1990s as the only NHL team to make the playoffs for the entire decade, although a Stanley Cup title still eluded the franchise.
End of the playoff streak, lockout, and rebuild (1998–2011)
Defenseman Chris Pronger (acquired from the Hartford Whalers in 1995 for Brendan Shanahan), Keith Tkachuk, Pavol Demitra, Pierre Turgeon, Al MacInnis and goaltender Roman Turek kept the Blues a contender in the NHL. In 1999–2000, the team notched a franchise-record 114 points during the regular season, earning the Presidents' Trophy for the League's best record. However, they were stunned by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2000 playoffs in seven games. In 2001, the Blues advanced to the Western Conference Finals before bowing out in five games to the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche. Nonetheless, the team remained competitive for the next three years, despite never advancing beyond the second round. Despite years of mediocrity and the stigma of never being able to "take the next step," the Blues were a playoff presence every year from 1980 to 2004 – the third-longest streak in North American professional sports history (all three of which being held by NHL teams). However, they never made an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. In fact, they made it to the conference finals only two times in their streak (1986 and 2001).
Amid several questionable personnel moves and an unstable ownership situation, the Blues finished the
Following the disappointing 2005–06 season, which saw the Blues with the worst record in the NHL, the new management focused on rebuilding the franchise. Under new management, the Blues promptly installed
. On January 4, 2007, the Blues had a record of 6–1–3 in their previous ten games, which was the best in the NHL during that stretch. Despite a healthy 24-point jump from the previous season, the strain of playing in a conference where seven teams finished with more than 100 points kept them out of the playoffs for the second year in a row.Just before the 2007
On October 2, 2007, the Blues finalized the season-starting roster, which included rookies David Perron,
After spending the first half of the 2008–09 season at or near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, the Blues began to turn things around behind the solid goaltending of Chris Mason. After a strong second-half run, the Blues made the 2009 playoffs on April 10, 2009, after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3–1. On April 12, the Blues clinched the sixth seed in the West with a 1–0 win against the Colorado Avalanche. For the first time in five years (that is, since the lockout), the Blues were in the playoffs. They faced the third-seeded Vancouver Canucks in the first round, but despite the team's tremendous run to end the season, the Blues would ultimately lose the series in a quick four-game sweep.
The Blues fired head coach Andy Murray on January 2, 2010, after a disappointing record (17–17–6, 40 points), sitting in 12th place in the Conference. Especially galling were the frequent blown leads after two periods, and with the worst home record (6–13–3) posted in the entire NHL. After his duties as interim coach for the rest of the 2009–10 season, Davis Payne was named the 23rd head coach in the Blues' history on April 14. Payne was previously the head coach of the Blues top minor league affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League (AHL).[18]
Return to contention, first Stanley Cup championship (2011–present)
On March 17, 2011, it was announced that the St. Louis Blues were for sale.[19] During the 2011 off-season, the team signed many key free agents, including Brian Elliott, Scott Nichol, Kent Huskins, Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner. They fired their head coach, Davis Payne, and named Ken Hitchcock as his replacement on November 6, 2011. David Backes was also announced as the new team captain.
On March 17, 2012, the Blues became the first team to reach 100 points and clinch a playoff berth in the 2011–12 season under Hitchcock, qualifying for their first playoffs since 2008–09. They would finish second in the Western Conference, behind the Vancouver Canucks. During the 2012 playoffs, they won their first playoff series since 2002, eliminating the San Jose Sharks in five games. The Blues were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings, in the following round.
In 2012–13, the Blues completed the lockout-shortened season in fourth place in the Western Conference. They were again eliminated by Los Angeles, however, this time in six games in the first round of the playoffs, despite taking an initial 2–0 series lead.
The following season, 2013–14, the team hit the 100-point mark for the sixth time in franchise history, and gained a franchise record of 52 wins. Their chance of winning the Central Division title, the top seed in the West, and the Presidents' Trophy would all evaporate, after they lost their final six games and wound up in second place in the Division, this time to the Colorado Avalanche. The slump haunted them, as they blew a 2–0 series lead to the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks, losing the first-round series in six games. This marked the second-straight year the Blues lost in the first round of the playoffs to the reigning champions in six games after leading the series 2–0.
In 2014–15, the Blues won their second Central Division championship in four years and faced the Minnesota Wild in round one of the 2015 playoffs. However, for the third straight year, they lost in the first round and in six games. During the off-season, forward T. J. Oshie was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Troy Brouwer.
In 2015–16, the Blues finished in second place in the Central Division to the Dallas Stars. The Blues took on the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in the first-round series. The Blues jumped to a 3–1 series lead, but struggled in games 5 and 6. However, St. Louis ended their first-round losing streak by beating Chicago 3–2 in game 7 of the series. They moved on to the next round, where they defeated the Dallas Stars in another seven-game series to advance to their first Western Conference Finals since 2001. The Blues season would come to an end at the hands of the San Jose Sharks, who eliminated them in six games.
On June 13, 2016, it was announced that Mike Yeo would replace Hitchcock as head coach of the Blues following the 2016–17 season. The 2016 off-season saw big changes for the Blues, as team captain David Backes left the team to sign with the Boston Bruins, and goaltender Brian Elliott was traded to the Calgary Flames, while veteran forward Troy Brouwer also signed with Calgary as a free agent. Steve Ott also left the team, signing a free-agent deal with the Red Wings. Jake Allen was now the starting goaltender for the Blues, while the team also signed former Nashville Predators backup Carter Hutton. Former Blues forward David Perron was brought back on a free agent deal, while defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was named team captain.
The team started the season by posting a record of 10–1–2 in their first 13 home games. However, they only won three games on the road during the first two months of the season. Despite defeating the Blackhawks in the 2017 NHL Winter Classic by the score of 4–1, the Blues fired Hitchcock and promoted Yeo to head coach on February 1, 2017. Despite an impressive run into the end of the season, when they gained most points in the league from February 1, when Hitchcock was fired, to the end of the season,[20] the Blues were eliminated in the second round by the Nashville Predators in six games.[21]
In the off-season for the
During the 2018 off-season, the Blues acquired forward
On May 21, the Blues advanced to the
In the 2019–20 season, the Blues suffered an early blow as forward Vladimir Tarasenko suffered a season-ending injury on October 24. However, they would continue their strong play even despite being plagued with various other injuries, consistently remaining at or near the top of the Western Conference. On February 12, 2020, the Blues suffered another loss as defenseman Jay Bouwmeester suddenly collapsed on the bench in a game against the Anaheim Ducks, and would not come back to play again in the season. The game against Anaheim was suspended during the first period and postponed to March 11. This ended up being the Blues' last game in the regular season, as the season would be cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic shortly afterwards. The Blues had remained in strong form throughout the season, finishing first in the Western Conference and second in the NHL. However, as the season was put on pause due to the pandemic, no team would play the full 82 games. Instead, a Return to Play tournament was organized, starting in August 2020. In the Round Robin tournament for the four top-seeded teams of the conference, the Blues failed to get a win, and thus despite winning the regular season conference title, they ended up being the fourth seed in the West. In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the Vancouver Canucks, to whom they lost in six games. In the hiatus preceding the NHL's Return to Play, several Blues players contracted COVID-19, which was cited by the coaching staff as one of the reasons why their play faltered in the playoffs. On September 2, 2020, the Blues traded goaltender Jake Allen, who had spent 10 years in the Blues organization, to the Montreal Canadiens.[31]
Team information
Arena
The Blues play in the 19,150 (not counting standing room) capacity Enterprise Center, where they have played since 1994. The arena was previously known as Scottrade Center, the Savvis Center, and before that as the Kiel Center. From 1967 until 1994, the team played in the St. Louis Arena (known as The Checkerdome from 1977 until 1983), where the old St. Louis Eagles played, and which the original owners had to buy as a condition of the 1967 NHL expansion.
Attendance
The St. Louis Blues are one of the more successful NHL teams in terms of attendance. After the 2004–05 lockout, the Blues' attendance suffered, but has since improved every year since its all-time low in 2006–07. In 2009–10, despite not having a playoff year, the Blues had an average attendance of 18,883 (98.6% total capacity), selling out 34 of its 40 home games, which placed them seventh in the NHL in attendance.[32] In 2010–11, the team sold out every home game.
Jerseys
The Blues have worn blue and white jerseys with the famous "Blue Note" crest and gold accents since their inception in 1967. From 1967 to 1984, the Blues jerseys featured a lighter shade of blue along with contrasting shoulder yoke and stripes. The blue jerseys lacked the contrasting yoke until 1979.
In 1984, the Blues drastically redesigned their look, adding red and darkening the shade of blue. Initially, the front of the jersey featured the team name above the crest logo, but was removed in 1987. In addition, the contrasting shoulder yoke was removed.
For the 1994–95 season, the Blues introduced a more radical jersey set, featuring red in a more prominent role. The jersey introduced the short-lived trumpet logo on the shoulders and featured thin diagonal stripes on the tail and sleeves. The bottom of the numbers taper off to give way to the aforementioned stripes. An updated version of the blue sweater, produced by Adidas, was brought back in 2019 as their “90s Vintage Jersey.”
Before the 1997–98 season, the Blues introduced a new alternate white jersey. The jersey brought back the contrasting shoulder yoke and returned to the lighter blue of previous eras. It also replaced red with navy blue as an accent color. A corresponding blue jersey was introduced the following season, thus retiring the previous set.
Like all NHL teams, the Blues updated their jerseys for the 2007–08 season with new
For the 2014–15 season, the Blues made a few tweaks to their jerseys. While they kept the Reebok Edge-era template, they brought back the 1998–2007 look. The navy blue third jersey was kept without any alterations, before it was retired prior the 2016–17 season.[34]
When Adidas became the uniform provider before the 2017–18 season, the Blues kept most of the same template, with the exception of the home jersey numbers changing from gold to white.[35] For the 2018–19 season, the Blues added a third jersey based on the one worn during the 2017 NHL Winter Classic.[36] A corresponding vintage white version was unveiled for the 2022 NHL Winter Classic.[37]
Prior to the 2020–21 season, the Blues unveiled a "Reverse Retro" alternate uniform based on the design worn from 1995 to 1998, but with a red base.[38] A second "Reverse Retro" uniform was released in the 2022–23 season, this time based on the prototype uniforms the team first leaked in 1966 before eventually releasing the more longlasting "blue note" uniforms. The uniforms, which had the team name written around the primitive "blue note" logo along with contrasting stripes, had a gold base.[39]
Mascot
Radio and television
Originally, the Blues aired their games on KPLR-TV and KMOX radio, with team patron Gus Kyle calling games alongside St Louis broadcasting legend Jack Buck. Buck elected to leave the booth after one season, though, and was replaced by another famed announcer in Dan Kelly. This setup—Kelly as commentator, with either Kyle, Bob Plager, or Noel Picard (whose heavy French-Canadian accent became famous, such as pronouncing owner Sid Salomon III "Sid the Turd" instead of "Third") joining as an analyst, simulcast on KMOX and KPLR—continued through the 1975–76 season, then simulcast on KMOX and KDNL-TV for the next three seasons. KMOX is a 50,000-watt clear-channel station that reaches almost all of North America at night, allowing Kelly to become a celebrity in both the United States and Canada. Indeed, many of the Blues' players liked the fact that their families could hear the games on KMOX.
From 1979 to 1981, the radio and television broadcasts were separated for the first time since the inaugural season, with Kelly doing the radio broadcasts and Eli Gold hired to do the television. Following the 1980–81 season, the television broadcasts moved from KDNL to NBC affiliate KSD-TV for the 1981–82 season, produced by Sports Network Incorporated (SNI), owned and operated by Greg Maracek who did the broadcasts with Channel 5 sportscaster Ron Jacober. The broadcasts failed to produce a profit and then returned to KPLR for the 1982 NHL playoffs and the 1982–83 season before returning to KDNL (currently St. Louis' ABC affiliate) for the 1983–84 season, the first under the ownership of Harry Ornest. The Blues skated back to KPLR 3 years later.
In 1985, Ornest, wanting more broadcast revenue, put the radio rights up for bid. A new company who had purchased
The long-term partnership between KMOX and the Blues had its problems, however, namely during spring when the ever-popular St. Louis Cardinals began their season. Blues games, many of which were crucial to playoff berths, would often be pre-empted for spring training coverage. Angry at having to play "second fiddle", the Blues elected to leave for KTRS in 2000. However, in an ironic twist the Cards purchased a controlling interest in KTRS in 2005, and once again preferred to air preseason baseball over regular season ice hockey. In response, the Blues moved back to KMOX starting in the 2006–07 season. The season of 2008–09 saw the Blues play their last game on KPLR, which had the rights since the 1986–87 season (except for the 1996–97 season on CBS affiliate KMOV), electing to move all their games to FS Midwest, starting with the 2009–10 season. The Cardinals moved back to KMOX in the 2011 season, with conflicting games moved to KYKY, an FM station owned by the same group as KMOX.
Since the 2019–20 preseason, WXOS (101 ESPN) has been the flagship radio station for the Blues. Chris Kerber and Joe Vitale are the current radio broadcast team. John Kelly (son of Dan) and Jamie Rivers are the current team for television coverage, while Scott Warmann, Alexa Datt, and Bernie Federko present the pre-game and post-game shows.
Traditions
The Blues have a tradition of live organ music.
At the end of the national anthem before every home game, the words "the home of the brave" are drowned out by fans with "the home of the Blues."[43]
Starting in 2014, the team introduced a win song in the form of Pitbull's "Don't Stop the Party",[44] but from 2016 to 2018, the win song was "Song 2" by Blur after public backlash against using a Pitbull song.[45] Beginning in 2018, the win song has been the aforementioned song recorded by The Urge.[42] However, during the 2019 playoffs, Laura Branigan's "Gloria" was played first before The Urge song.[46]
The Blues were one of the last teams to add a goal horn, doing so during the 1992–93 season at the St. Louis Arena.[47] All of these traditions carried over to the Kiel Center (now known as Enterprise Center) in 1994. After each goal, a bell is rung and each of the goals are counted by the crowd. Since 1990, Ron Baechle, also known as the "Towel Man" or "Towel Guy," has celebrated each goal by counting with the bell and throwing a towel into the crowd from section 314.[48]
The team also has a long tradition of
Starting after a couple of players heard "Gloria" by Laura Branigan, after their win in Philadelphia on January 3, 2019, the team started to use the song after every home win, and lasted all the way up to their Stanley Cup win. The song has since been retired; the last time they played it was during the raising of the Stanley Cup Championship banner ceremony on October 2, 2019.
On February 9, 2019, another tradition was born. During the 3rd Period, The Blues were winning by a large margin against the visiting
After each Home win, the entire
Season-by-season record
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Blues. For the full season-by-season history, see List of St. Louis Blues seasons
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Season | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs |
2019–20 | 71 | 42 | 19 | 10 | 94 | 225 | 193 | 1st, Central | Lost in First Round, 2–4 (Canucks) |
2020–21 | 56 | 27 | 20 | 9 | 63 | 169 | 170 | 4th, West | Lost in First Round, 0–4 (Avalanche) |
2021–22 | 82 | 49 | 22 | 11 | 109 | 311 | 242 | 3rd, Central | Lost in Second Round, 2–4 (Avalanche) |
2022–23 | 82 | 37 | 38 | 7 | 81 | 263 | 301 | 6th, Central | Did not qualify |
2023–24 | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | 239 | 250 | 5th, Central | Did not qualify |
Players
Current roster
Updated April 18, 2024[53][54]
Team captains
- Al Arbour, 1967–1970, 1971
- Red Berenson, 1970–1971, 1976, 1977–1978
- Jim Roberts, 1971–1972
- Barclay Plager, 1972–1976
- Garry Unger, 1976–1977
- Barry Gibbs, 1978–1979
- Brian Sutter, 1979–1988
- Bernie Federko, 1988–1989
- Rick Meagher, 1989–1990
- Scott Stevens, 1990–1991
- Garth Butcher, 1991–1992
- Brett Hull, 1992–1995
- Shayne Corson, 1995–1996
- Wayne Gretzky, 1996
- Chris Pronger, 1997–2003
- Al MacInnis, 2003–2004[55]
- Dallas Drake, 2005–2007
- Eric Brewer, 2008–2011
- David Backes, 2011–2016
- Alex Pietrangelo, 2016–2020
- Ryan O'Reilly, 2020–2023
- Brayden Schenn, 2023–present
Hall of Fame
The St. Louis Blues acknowledge an affiliation with a number of inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame, including 24 former players (six of whom earned their credentials primarily with the Blues) and seven builders of the sport.[56] The seven individuals recognized as builders by the Hall of Fame include former Blues executives, general managers, head coaches, and owners. In addition to players and builders, the team recognizes an affiliation with two broadcasters who were awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame.[56] Dan Kelly, the Blues' radio play-by-play announcer, was awarded the first Blues broadcaster to receive the award in 1989. John Davidson, received the award in 2009 for his contributions in television broadcasting.
Players
- Glenn Anderson
- Martin Brodeur
- Guy Carbonneau
- Bernie Federko
- Grant Fuhr
- Doug Gilmour
- Wayne Gretzky
- Glenn Hall
- Doug Harvey
- Dale Hawerchuk
- Phil Housley
- Brett Hull
- Paul Kariya
- Guy Lapointe
- Al MacInnis
- Dickie Moore
- Joe Mullen
- Vaclav Nedomansky
- Adam Oates
- Chris Pronger
- Jacques Plante
- Brendan Shanahan
- Peter Stastny
- Scott Stevens
- Pierre Turgeon
Builders
St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame
Beginning in 2023, the Blues established their own team Hall of Fame.[57]
2023 inductees
- Red Berenson
- Scotty Bowman
- Bernie Federko
- Bob Gassoff
- Glenn Hall
- Brett Hull
- Dan Kelly
- Al MacInnis
- Barclay Plager
- Bob Plager
- Chris Pronger
- Sid Salomon Jr.
- Sid Salomon III
- Brian Sutter
- Garry Unger
2024 inductees
Retired numbers
The following numbers have been retired from use within the St. Louis Blues:
No. | Player | Position | Career | Date retired |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Al MacInnis | D |
1994–2004 | April 9, 2006 |
3 | Bob Gassoff | D |
1974–1977 | October 1, 1977 |
5 | Bob Plager | D |
1967–1978 | February 2, 2017[58] |
8 | Barclay Plager | D |
1967–1977 | March 24, 1981 |
11 | Brian Sutter | LW | 1976–1988 | December 30, 1988 |
16 | Brett Hull | RW | 1987–1998 | December 5, 2006 |
24 | Bernie Federko | C |
1976–1989 | March 16, 1991 |
44 | Chris Pronger | D |
1995–2004 | January 17, 2022[59] |
In addition to the aforementioned numbers, the NHL also retired
- Numbers honored
- 7 – Garry Unger, Red Berenson, Joe Mullen and Keith Tkachuk, recognized with a mural of the four players in the lower seating bowl.
- 14 – Doug Wickenheiser, LW, 1984–1987, number honored and no longer issued. Recognized with a banner in the Enterprise Center rafters.
- Dan Kelly, broadcaster, 1968–1989, recognized with an honorary shamrock that hangs from the rafters at Enterprise Center
First-round draft picks
- 1967: None (passed on their opportunity to make a selection)[61]
- 1968: Gary Edwards(6th overall)
- 1971: Gene Carr(4th overall)
- 1972: Wayne Merrick(9th overall)
- 1973: John Davidson(5th overall)
- 1976: Bernie Federko(7th overall)
- 1977: Scott Campbell(9th overall)
- 1978: Wayne Babych(3rd overall)
- 1979: Perry Turnbull(2nd overall)
- 1980: Rik Wilson(12th overall)
- 1981: Marty Ruff(20th overall)
- 1983: None (did not participate)
- 1986: Jocelyn Lemieux(10th overall)
- 1987: Keith Osborne(12th overall)
- 1988: Rod Brind'Amour(9th overall)
- 1989: Jason Marshall(9th overall)
- 1996: Marty Reasoner(14th overall)
- 1998: Christian Backman(24th overall)
- 1999: Barret Jackman(17th overall)
- 2000: Jeff Taffe(30th overall)
- 2003: Shawn Belle(30th overall)
- 2004: Marek Schwarz(17th overall)
- 2005: T. J. Oshie(24th overall)
- 2006: Erik Johnson (1st overall) and Patrik Berglund(25th overall)
- (26th overall)
- 2008: Alex Pietrangelo(4th overall)
- 2009: David Rundblad(17th overall)
- 2010: Jaden Schwartz (14th overall) and Vladimir Tarasenko(16th overall)
- 2012: Jordan Schmaltz(25th overall)
- 2014: Robby Fabbri(21st overall)
- 2016: Tage Thompson(26th overall)
- 2017: Robert Thomas (20th overall) and Klim Kostin(31st overall)
- 2018: Dominik Bokk(25th overall)
- 2020: Jake Neighbours(26th overall)
- 2021: Zachary Bolduc(17th overall)
- 2022: Jimmy Snuggerud(23rd overall)
- (29th overall)
Franchise regular season scoring leaders
These are the top-ten point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise regular season history.[62] Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.
- * – current Blues player
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game
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Franchise playoff scoring leaders
These are the top-ten-point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise playoff history.[63] Figures are updated after each completed NHL season.
- * – current Blues player
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game
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NHL awards and trophies
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Franchise individual records
- Most goals in a season: Brett Hull, 86 (1990–91)
- Most assists in a season: Adam Oates, 90 (1990–91)
- Most points in a season: Brett Hull, 131 (1990–91)
- Most penalty minutes in a season: Bob Gassoff, 306 (1975–76)
- Most points in a season, defenseman: Jeff Brown, 78 (1992–93)
- Most points in a season, rookie: Jorgen Pettersson, 73 (1980–81)
- Most wins in a season: Roman Turek, 42 (1999–2000)
- Most shutouts in a season: Brian Elliott, 9 (2011–12)
- Lowest GAA in a season (min 30 GP): Brian Elliott, 1.56 (2011–12)
- Best SV% in a season (min 30 GP): Brian Elliott, .940 (2011–12)[64]
See also
Notes
- ^ Excluding the 2020–21 NHL season, which placed teams in different divisions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
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The Blues' third jersey was worn for the first time on, Nov. 21, 2008 vs. the Anaheim Ducks. In contrast to previous Blues uniforms which were (and are) primarily accented in royal blue and gold, the third jersey and matching socks lean toward navy blue and white.
- ^ "Seat Locator". Enterprise Center. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Jordan, Jimmy (February 10, 1966). "City Gets Big League Hockey; New Team Begins NHL Play in 1967–68 Season". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 24. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
{{cite news}}
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{{cite news}}
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- ^ Caldwell, Dave (April 17, 2010). "Songs to Accompany an Air Horn". The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
When the St. Louis Blues score, the organist still belts out the time-tested "When the Blues Go Marching In," to the tune of "When the Saints Go Marching In."
- ^ a b "Blues partner with The Urge for new goal song". National Hockey League. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- ^ columnist, Grant R. Doty Guest. "Free speech in the 'Home of the Blues,' singing over 'the brave' in national anthem disrespects veterans more than silently kneeling". St. Louis American. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- ^ "Ranking the top goal songs in the NHL - Sportsnet.ca". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- ^ Paulas, Rick (April 7, 2017). "Woo-hoo! 20 Years Ago, Blur's 'Song 2' Became an Unlikely Sports Anthem". Sports. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- ^ "PLAY GLORIA! St. Louis has embraced team's victory anthem". National Hockey League. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ Grossman, Evan (April 25, 2016). "The history behind the NHL's ubiquitous sound for scoring: the goal horn". Daily News. New York. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ Mallozzi, Vincent (October 15, 2006). "In St. Louis, the Towel Man Cometh". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
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- ^ Lee, Brad (January 25, 2015). "Celebrate 20 years of fan-run papers on Friday". St. Louis Game Time. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- ^ "How did 'Country Roads' become a Blues home-game staple? By accident". May 18, 2019.
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- ^ a b "Award Winners". St. Louis Blues. 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
- ^ THE ST. LOUIS BLUES HALL OF FAME
- ^ Pinkert, Chris (February 2, 2017). "Blues retire Plager's No. 5 to the rafters". National Hockey League. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
- ^ Korac, Lou (January 17, 2022). "Blues retire Pronger's number on 'very special' night in St. Louis". NHL.com. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
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