St. Louis Blues
| St. Louis Blues | |
|---|---|
|
|
| founding | 5th June 1967 |
| history |
St. Louis Blues since 1967 |
| Stadion | Enterprise Center |
| Location | St. Louis , Missouri |
| Team colors | Blue, gold, dark blue, white |
| league | National Hockey League |
| Conference | Western Conference |
| division | Central Division |
| Head coach |
 Craig Berube
|
| Team captain |
Alex Pietrangelo
|
| General manager |
 Doug Armstrong
|
| owner |
Sports Capital Partners
|
| Cooperations |
Springfield Thunderbirds ( AHL ) Tulsa Oilers ( ECHL ) |
| Stanley Cups | 2019 |
| Conference title | 2018/19 |
| Division title |
1968/69 , 1969/70 , 1976/77 , 1980/81 , 1984/85 , 1986/87 , 1999/00 , 2011/12 , 2014/15 , 2019/20 |
The St. Louis Blues ( IPA : [seɪnt ˈluːɪs bluːz] ) are an American ice hockey franchise of the National Hockey League from St. Louis , Missouri . It was founded on June 5, 1967 and started playing at the beginning of the 1967/68 season . The team colors are blue, gold, dark blue and white. The team is named after the St. Louis Blues jazz track by W. C. Handy .
The Blues play their home games at the Enterprise Center and emerged from the major expansion of the league before the 1967/68 season when the number of participants was increased from six to twelve. Early on, St. Louis proved to be the most capable franchise of the expansion, securing its place as a finalist against one of the older franchises, which, however, proved too strong three times in a row. After many years in the top third of the league - marked by the successive, 24-time qualification for the playoffs between 1980 and 2003 and the meanwhile establishment as a candidate for the title at the end of the 1990s - the team fell into a hole. The team finally won the prestigious Stanley Cup for the first time in the 2018/19 season .
history
Early History (1967-1970)
In 1967 the St. Louis Blues were added to the NHL as one of six new franchises alongside the Minnesota North Stars , Los Angeles Kings , Philadelphia Flyers , Pittsburgh Penguins and California Seals , increasing the number of teams participating in it doubled the original six to twelve. The team's first owners were insurance manager Sid Salomon Jr. , his son Sid Salomon III. and Robert L. Wolfson , who founded the franchise the previous year. Sid Salomon III. first renovated the 38-year-old St. Louis Arena , whose capacity was then increased from 12,000 to 15,000.
Initially the Blues were trained by Lynn Patrick , who was soon replaced by Scotty Bowman . Although almost all of the star players stayed in the Original Six, the team still managed to reach the playoffs in the first three years of its existence . Players such as Doug Harvey , Don McKenney , Dickie Moore , the two veteran goalkeeper and Vezina Trophy winners Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante, and Jim Roberts , Bob and Barclay Plager soon made it to the home of the Blues as one of the loudest arenas in the world throughout the league, a reputation the St. Louis Arena held until it was retired.
Problems in the New Decade (1970–1977)
However, the early successes of the 1960s could not continue the Blues in the following decade, also because the playoff format was changed and the Chicago Black Hawks were moved to the Western Division to improve its quality. In addition, coach Bowman, a guarantee of success, switched to the Montreal Canadiens , followed by the players Hall, Plante, Goyette and Red Berenson , who joined all other clubs or ended their active careers. In exchange for Berenson, the Blues received Garry Unger , star center of the Detroit Red Wings , who was able to score more than 30 goals in eight consecutive seasons, which was a new NHL record .
Nevertheless, the St. Louis Blues missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in the 1973/74 season , after a reformation of the division system, the team was finally moved to the Smythe Division . This division was also initially one of the weaker players, so the Blues 1976/77 were able to reach the playoffs again in this decade. In addition to the following sporting misery, there were also financial problems that forced the Salomons to reduce the team staff to three employees, so that Emile Francis had to take the post of president, general manager and coach.
The Purina Era (1977–1983)
In 1977, the Salomons found a new owner for the St. Louis Blues in pet food giant Ralston Purina . He renamed the arena "Checkerdome" and also gave the other two partners Francis and Wolfson the guarantee that the Blues would remain in St. Louis in the future. After the team ended the season last year with the still valid negative record of only 18 wins, the Blues reached the playoffs again in 1980 . It should be the first of 25 consecutive participations. The upward trend continued the following season , when the Blues, led by Wayne Babych , later Hall of Famer Bernie Federko , Brian Sutter and goalkeeper Mike Liut, reached the finals with 45 wins and 107 points. However, the team could not implement this success in the playoffs, where the Blues failed in the second round to the New York Rangers .
In his time as owner, Ralston Purina lost an estimated $ 1.8 million annually , but he continued his involvement out of a sense of responsibility to the club. However, when R. Hal Dean, CEO of the Purina Group, retired in 1983 and his successor began to focus more on the pet food business, the Blues were put up for sale again. The franchise was eventually bought by Bill Hunter , the founder of WHA and the Edmonton Oilers . Hunter wanted to relocate the team to Saskatoon , Canada , but this failed due to the veto of the NHL, which did not want to lose the strong sales market of St. Louis. Then Hunter took the Blues out of the league, this only changed when Harry Ornest , a businessman from Los Angeles , took over the team. Ornest then took a new course of austerity and immediately renamed the “Checkerdome” back to “St. Louis Arena ”.
Path to a new arena (1983–1996)
Although the Blues had only 26 players under contract in the following period, which was well below the NHL average of 60 players per team, the team consistently reached the playoffs. During this time, Doug Gilmour , selected in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft , became the new star of the franchise. Still, the Blues failed to keep young, aspiring players on the team, so Rob Ramage and later Gilmour left the team for the Calgary Flames .
In 1985/86 the Blues reached the playoff semi-finals against these Flames. There Doug Wickenheiser sealed one of the highlights in team history with an overtime goal in the sixth game, which is now known as the "Monday Night Miracle" and which made the all-important seventh game possible for the Blues. However, this was lost with 1-2. After the season, Harry Ornest sold the franchise to a group around businessman Michael Shanahan .
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Blues repeatedly made it to the playoffs, but they were unable to celebrate any major successes there, although General Manager Ron Caron was able to sign players like Brett Hull , Adam Oates , Curtis Joseph , Brendan Shanahan and Al MacInnis . Nevertheless, a consortium of 19 companies decided to agree to the construction of a new arena. The Kiel Center, now known as the Scottrade Center , opened in 1994.
Brett Hull, "The Golden Brett", became one of the superstars of the league during his engagement in St. Louis, in the 1990/91 season , for example, he scored 86 goals this season, which is the third-best rate in NHL history to this day. Only Wayne Gretzky was better , who played briefly for the Blues in 1996 , in the 1981/82 season with 92 and 1982/83 with 87 goals. The Blues finished the 1990/91 season as the third best team in the league, but again they did not come out through the second playoff round.
From the Presidents' Trophy to the bottom of the league (1997-2006)
In 1994 Mike Keenan was hired as general manager and trainer. The changes he made included the departure of fan favorites Brendan Shanahan and Curtis Joseph, as well as the obligations of aging Wayne Gretzky and goalkeeper Grant Fuhr . Again, the St. Louis Blues were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Gretzky left the team for New York Rangers , Keenan was released in December 1996. In June 1997, the current GM Larry Pleau was finally signed , but even he could not prevent the departure of Brett Hull the following year.
With players like Chris Pronger , Pavol Demitra , Pierre Turgeon , Al MacInnis and goalkeeper Roman Turek , the Blues achieved a new team record with 114 points in the 1999/2000 season , which also earned them the Presidents' Trophy as the best team of the regular season. Nevertheless, they could not get this performance again in the playoffs, where you were defeated in the first round by the San Jose Sharks in seven games. In 2001 the Blues reached the playoff finals of the Western Conference , but there they were subject to the eventual Stanley Cup winner Colorado Avalanche . In the following two seasons, the franchise reached the final round, but did not even survive the second round.
After the lockout season 2004/05 the Blues missed in 2006 for the first time since 1980 again the playoffs, which to date the second longest series in total represented US professional sports. In addition, the average number of viewers fell from 18,000 to around 12,000 per game.
In 1999 the team was bought by the Wal-Mart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill, but on June 17, 2005 the two announced that they would give up the team again. In 2006, after some negotiation time, the franchise was finally handed over to SCP Worldwide , an investment group around the former President of Madison Square Garden , Dave Checketts and TowerBrook Capital Partners .
The new beginning (2006 to 2011)
After the 2005/06 season, in which the Blues had the worst points balance in the entire league, the new management focused on the fresh start of the franchise. Former NHL goalkeeper John Davidson was appointed president of the club's professional division, which meant that Larry Pleau only had a primarily advisory role. Davidson also put together a competitive development program under head scout Jarmo Kekäläinen . In the 2006 NHL Entry Draft , the Blues were able to choose the first player in the draft due to poor placement in the preseason. They chose the US defender Erik Johnson . During the transfer period in the summer of 2006, Jay McKee , Bill Guerin , Doug Weight and Manny Legace experienced players to strengthen the squad. At the beginning of the 2006/07 season , the Blues appeared to be competitive again in the Central Division . However, the team was plagued by injuries many times during this season. In addition, a real striker was missing. The end of the calendar year was closed with a series of eleven defeats in a row. On December 11, 2006, the Blues dismissed head coach Mike Kitchen and replaced him with former Los Angeles Kings head coach Andy Murray . Despite an improvement of 24 points over the previous season, the team did not reach the playoffs for the second year in a row.
As the playoffs had been missing for a few weeks already, the Blues swapped some key players, including Bill Guerin and Keith Tkachuk, for draft picks just before the trade deadline in February 2007 in order to continue the rebuilding of a competitive team with talented players in the coming drafts . Dennis Wideman was traded for the Boston Bruins' goalscorer Brad Boyes . In the summer of 2007, free agent Paul Kariya signed a three-year contract worth $ 18 million. The contract with defense attorney Barret Jackman was also extended by one year. Captain Dallas Drake moved to the Detroit Red Wings. For this Keith Tkachuk was signed again for the new season.
On October 2, 2007, the Blues completed the season starting squad, which also included rookies David Perron , Steve Wagner and Erik Johnson. Two months later, the Blues swapped Doug Weight in a transfer with the Anaheim Ducks for Andy McDonald . On February 8, 2008, it was announced that defenseman Eric Brewer had been named the team's 19th captain after the team went without a captain for much of the season. The Blues later traded veteran defender Bryce Salvador for Enforcer and St. Louis-born Cam Janssen of the New Jersey Devils . Two days later he made his debut with the number 55 against the Phoenix Coyotes . Brad Boyes was the fastest blues player since Brett Hull to hit 40 goals this season. Nevertheless, the Blues again failed to qualify for the playoffs in spring 2008 . In the 2008 NHL Entry Draft , the Blues were able to vote again early in the first round. They chose defender Alex Pietrangelo in fourth place on the first lap .
After the Blues spent the first half of the 2008-09 season at or near the bottom of the Western Conference rankings, things began to improve. On November 18, 2008, the Blues traded players with the Toronto Maple Leafs . While the Blues received Carlo Colaiacovo and Alexander Steen , Lee Stempniak was transferred to Toronto. After a strong second half, the Blues secured participation in the playoffs on April 10, 2009 with a 3-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets . On April 12, 2009, the Blues reached sixth place in the Western Conference with a 1-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche. For the first time in five years (since the pre-lockout season 2003/04 ) the Blues were back in the playoffs. Opponents in the first round were the Vancouver Canucks . The Blues clearly lost the series in four games.
The Blues dismissed head coach Andy Murray on January 2, 2010 after a disappointing first half of the 2009/10 season lying in twelfth place in the Western Conference. Davis Payne was the successor for the remainder of the season on an interim basis . On April 14, 2010, he was named the 23rd head coach in the history of the blues. Despite the change in the head coach position, the playoffs were not reached this year.
In the 2010 NHL Entry Draft , the Blues were able to vote twice in the first round due to a transfer with the Ottawa Senators carried out during the occasion . The Senators got the young defender David Rundblad and gave their right to vote in the first round to the Blues, who chose the Russian striker Wladimir Tarassenko with this draft pick . The striker Jaden Schwartz was also selected with his own draft pick. On July 1, 2010, Doug Armstrong was appointed as the new general manager.
The 2010/11 season was riddled with injuries to key players from the start. On February 19, 2011 Erik Johnson and Jay McClement were exchanged for Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk , as well as draft picks with the Colorado Avalanche. With regard to the playoff qualification, this transfer could not help, as the playoffs were missed again. On March 17, 2011 it was announced that the St. Louis Blues are again for sale.
The turning point, followed by the first Stanley Cup win (since 2011)
In the 2011 NHL Entry Draft , goalkeeper Jordan Binnington was selected in the third round. Later in the transfer phase in the summer of 2011, the team was able to sign several important free agents, including Brian Elliott , Scott Nichol , Kent Huskins , Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner . After a moderate start to the season, the Blues fired their head coach Davis Payne and named Ken Hitchcock on November 6, 2011 as his successor. David Backes has been named the franchise's new and 20th team captain.
With the new head coach, the further course of the season was significantly improved. On March 17, 2012, the Blues reached 100 points under Hitchcock as the first team of the 2011/12 season and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2009. In the Western Conference they finished the qualification in second place behind the Vancouver Canucks. During the spring 2012 playoffs, they won their first playoff series since 2002 by defeating the San Jose Sharks in five games. In the second round, however, the later Stanley Cup winners, the Los Angeles Kings, prevailed. On May 10, 2012 it was announced that the St. Louis-based SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC would acquire the St. Louis Blues including their AHL farm team Peoria Rivermen around the businessman Tom Stillman .
In 2013, the Blues finished the lockout-shortened 2012/13 season in fourth place in the Western Conference. This after the Blues were able to arrange a transfer for Jay Bouwmeester with the Calgary Flames on April 1st . In the subsequent playoffs, the team was defeated again by the Los Angeles Kings, this time in six games in the first round of the playoffs, despite an initial 2-0 lead in the series.
In the following 2013/14 season , the team reached the 100-point mark for the sixth time in franchise history and set a franchise record with 52 wins. It was not enough for first place in the Central Division, however, as they lost their last six qualifying games. In the first playoff series, the Blues lost to defending champions Chicago Blackhawks again after a 2-0 lead. This was the second year in a row that the Blues lost six games to the reigning champions in the first round of the playoffs, after first leading the series 2-0.
In the 2014 NHL Entry Draft , Robby Fabbri , Iwan Barbaschow and Samuel Blais were three other players selected in different rounds who would make the leap into the NHL team within a few years. In the 2014/15 season , the Blues won the Central Division title for the second time in four years and competed in the first round of the 2015 playoffs against the Minnesota Wild . For the third time in a row, however, they lost in the first round and again in six games. The following summer, the striker TJ Oshie was transferred to Troy Brouwer of the Washington Capitals . In the 2015 NHL Entry Draft , defenseman Vince Dunn was selected in the second round.
At the end of the 2015/16 season , the Blues finished second in the Central Division behind the Dallas Stars . The Blues met the defending champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, in the first round of playoffs. The Blues won the series in seven games. In the second round, the Dallas Stars followed, who were also defeated in the seventh game of the series. The team from St. Louis qualified for the first Western Conference final since 2001. Here the season of the Blues was ended by the San Jose Sharks, who won the series in six games.
On June 13, 2016 it was announced that Mike Yeo will replace Ken Hitchcock as head coach of the Blues after the 2016/17 season , as he had announced his resignation at the end of the upcoming season. The summer of 2016 brought big changes for the team when team captain David Backes left the Blues and joined the Boston Bruins. Goalkeeper Brian Elliott has been transferred to the Calgary Flames. The experienced attacker Troy Brouwer also joined the Flames as a free agent. Jake Allen was now the starting goalkeeper for the Blues. Former Blues striker David Perron was re-signed as a free agent. Defender Alex Pietrangelo was named 21st team captain for the new season, replacing David Backes, who had been captain of the Blues since 2011.
The team started the season successfully in the home stadium with ten wins from the first 13 home games. Away, however, only three games were won in the first two months of the season. The team won the first NHL Winter Classic 2017 game in St. Louis with a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Nevertheless, the rest of the season developed slowly for the team. On February 1, 2017, Ken Hitchcock was released as a trainer of the Blues. Mike Yeo took over as head coach earlier than planned. After this change in coaching position, the team started an impressive run and was able to collect the most points in the league since February 1, 2017 by the end of the season. In the playoffs, the Blues met the Minnesota Wild in the first round and won the series in five games. In the second round, the Blues met the Nashville Predators and were eliminated in six games.
In the summer of 2017, the Blues lost David Perron to the Vegas Golden Knights via the Expansion Draft . A transfer for striker Brayden Schenn was concluded with the Philadelphia Flyers . In return, the Flyers received Jori Lehterä and draft picks. In the 2017 NHL Entry Draft , the Blues chose striker Robert Thomas in the first round . The team started the season with a few injured players. Before the start of the season, the Blues lost Robby Fabbri, who suffered a knee injury and was supposed to be out for the entire season at this early stage. The strikers Patrik Berglund and Alexander Steen were also still convalescent at the start of the season due to injuries they had suffered from the previous season and the summer break. Despite these losses, the team started the season well with 21 wins from their first 31 games. However, other key players were injured later. Jay Bouwmeester and Jaden Schwartz, who were both canceled for a large part of the season, were also injured. The Blues transferred Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets shortly before the end of the transfer , as the team only won 23 of the last 51 games to date. Nevertheless, the Blues had a chance of a playoff participation until the last game of qualification. This required a win against the Colorado Avalanche in the last game of the season. After losing Wladimir Tarassenko to an injury during the game, the Blues lost 5-2 to the Avalanche. They missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
Before the 2018/19 season , the Blues swapped Vladimír Sobotka , Patrik Berglund, Tage Thompson and draft picks against striker Ryan O'Reilly from the Buffalo Sabers . David Perron, Tyler Bozak , St. Louis-born Patrick Maroon , and goalkeeper Chad Johnson were hired as free agents. After a mixed start to the season, the Blues dismissed head coach Mike Yeo on November 19, 2018 and replaced him on an interim basis with Craig Berube . On March 29, 2019, the Blues became only the seventh team in the history of the NHL since the 1967/68 season to qualify for the playoffs, after being bottom of the table on January 1. At the end of qualifying, the Blues finished third in the Central Division behind the Nashville Predators and the Winnipeg Jets. At the end of the day, the team from St. Louis was only one point behind the first-placed Predators and, after the furious race to catch up since the beginning of the year, would have almost achieved first place in the Central Division. In the first playoff round, the team met the Winnipeg Jets. The Blues won this series in six games. In the second round the Dallas Stars followed, who had reached the first wildcard place in the Central Division in qualifying . The Blues prevailed in seven games against Dallas. Like last time in 2016, the team was in the Western Conference final against the San Jose Sharks. It took St. Louis six games in that series to reach the franchise's first Stanley Cup final since 1970. With a 3-2 away win, the Blues won the first game in franchise history in a Stanley Cup final series on May 29, 2019, after winning 4-0 in the only three previous series (1968-1970) were defeated. On June 12, 2019, the Blues defeated the Bruins away in Boston 4-1 in their seventh game, winning the first Stanley Cup in club history. Up to this point in time, the Blues were the oldest remaining expansion team from 1967, which had never won the Stanley Cup.
Craig Berube, who led the team to the first Stanley Cup title in club history on an interim basis after Mike Yeo was released, received a three-year contract as head coach of the Blues on June 24, 2019.
Venues
The Blues have played their home games since 1994 in the Enterprise Center , a 19,022-seat multifunctional arena . The hall, which opened as the Kiel Center , was named after the city's former mayor, Henry Kiel . From 2000 to 2006 the arena was named after the communications company Savvis , Savvis Center . In 2006 Scottrade bought the naming rights to the arena. In May 2018, Enterprise received the naming rights. The stadium has one of the best quality ice rinks in the NHL.
From 1967 to 1994 the club played in the St. Louis Arena , which opened in 1929 and had a capacity of almost 20,000 seats for ice hockey events. From 1977 to 1983 the arena was called The Checkerdome . After the Kiel Auditorium near the arena was demolished to make way for a modern hall with the Kiel Center, the St. Louis Arena, which the population called The Barn , was no longer competitive. After the Blues moved, the building was demolished in 1999.
mascot
The mascot of the St. Louis Blues is called Louie. It was unveiled on October 10, 2007. On November 3, 2007, fans chose his name on the Blues website. Louie is a blue polar bear and wears a blues jersey with his name on the back and the numbers "00".
Achievements and honors
Sporting successes
| Stanley Cup | |
| season | |
| 2018/19 | |
| Presidents' Trophy | |
| season | |
| 1999/00 | |
| Conference Championships | season |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl | 1968/69 , 1969/70 , 2018/19 |
| Division Championships | season |
| Western Division | 1968/69 , 1969/70 |
| Smythe Division | 1976/77 , 1980/81 |
| Norris Division | 1984/85 , 1986/87 |
| Central Division | 1999/00 , 2011/12 , 2014/15 , 2019/20 |
After the expansion of the NHL, the first successes for the St. Louis Blues quickly appeared. In the first three years after the expansion, the Blues were each the team that was allowed to challenge one of the old NHL teams in the final series of the Stanley Cup . After they had been defeated there twice 4-0 against the Montreal Canadiens , they failed to win the finals in the third year when the opponent was Boston Bruins. After the Blues were best team in their division in their second and third seasons, they won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl twice . The first Stanley Cup win came in 2019 against the Boston Bruins.
Four more times, the Blues finished the regular season as winners of their division without being able to show a corresponding success in the playoffs. In the 1999/00 season , the Blues celebrated another great success, with first place after the end of the regular season and the associated win of the Presidents' Trophy . With 51 wins in 82 season games, the Blues led the league and occupied the top position with six points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings .
Individual awards
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy : His persistence brought Blake Dunlop, who finally made the breakthrough six years after his draft. Jamie McLennan hadsurvived meningitis and returned to the NHL.
Calder Memorial Trophy : Despite many talents who began their careers with the Blues, Barret Jackman was the first top rookie to be produced in St. Louis in 2003.
Conn Smythe Trophy : Despite losing in the finals, Glenn Hall was named the best player in the playoffs. He was followed by Ryan O'Reilly almost 50 years later.
Frank J. Selke Trophy : Rick Meagher received the award for the best defensive attacker in 1990.
Hart Memorial Trophy : After Wayne Gretzky had won the title of MVP of the NHL almost every yearin the 1980s, Brett Hull managed toprevailagainst him and Mario Lemieux . 28 years after Bobby Orr , Chris Pronger was the first defender to win this title.
Jack Adams Award : Almost every 10 years it was a trainer of the Blues who was named the best of his craft.
NHL General Manager of the Year Award : This award has only been presented since 2010. Doug Armstrong was only the third general manager to win this award in 2012.
James Norris Memorial Trophy : The upheaval of generations has been reflected here in the Blues roster. A year after Al MacInnis, 11 years his junior Chris Pronger was voted NHL's best defender.
King Clancy Memorial Trophy : Kelly Chase was rewarded with this trophy for his leadership skills on and off the ice.
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy :Phil Goyette was thefirst player on an expansion team to receive an award for athleticism and exemplary behavior. Brett Hull and Pavol Demitra followed suit.
Lester B. Pearson Award : Mike Liut was the first goalkeeper to win this trophy, Brett Hull also won the Hart Memorial Trophy that year.
- 1981 - Mike Liut
- 1991 - Brett Hull
Maurice Richard Trophy : This trophy has only been awarded since 1999. Brett Hull was the NHL's top scorer three times in a row.
- 1990 - Brett Hull
- 1991 - Brett Hull
- 1992 - Brett Hull
NHL Foundation Player Award : Kelly Chase was honored for his social commitment. He had started an ice hockey program for the physically challenged.
NHL Plus / Minus Award : The trophy for the player with the best plus / minus value, an indicator of both offensive and defensive qualities, was first awarded in 1992. This value has been measured since 1968. Paul Cavallini led this ranking even before the trophy was introduced. Chris Pronger is a two-time winner of this award.
Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award : Prior to introducing this award in 2000, Curtis Joseph led this award.
William M. Jennings Trophy : Roman Turek earned this award in 2000 with just under 2 goals conceded per game.
Vezina Trophy : Two of the best goalkeepers from the era of the Original Six had brought the Blues into the squad and the two 40-year-old goalkeepers were once again in top form at the end of their careers.
Dodge Ram Tough Award : This award only existed for four years and Brett Hull won it twice.
- 1990 - Brett Hull
- 1991 - Brett Hull
NHL Player of the Year : After an outstanding season, Brett Hull was the penultimate winner of this award, which was awarded until 1992.
NHL All-Rookie Team : A Blues player made it into the selection of the best newcomers six times, including of course the winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy Barret Jackman.
NHL All-Star Game Nominations
Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists,
Pts = points
| Surname | from ... to | GP | G | A. | Pts |
| Brett Hull | 1989-1997 | 7th | 3 | 7th | 10 |
| Garry Unger | 1972-1988 | 7th | 1 | 3 | 4th |
| Al MacInnis | 1996-2003 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Pronger | 1999-2004 | 4th | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Pavol Demitra | 1999-2002 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Gordon Berenson | 1969-1971 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Brian Sutter | 1982-1985 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Rob Ramage | 1984-1988 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
From the ranks of the Blues, 30 field players and six goalkeepers were in the squad of one of the two All-Star teams. The field players came to 62 missions in which they scored 15 goals and 35 assists. The goalkeepers also bring in eight missions. Four rookies or sophomores of the blues were in the squad of the YoungStars Game, which was played from 2002 to 2009.
With seven appearances for the Blues, Brett Hull and Garry Unger are the players with the most appearances in the team's history. With ten points, Hull is the most successful player. His seven templates are not matched by anyone else. Pavol Demitra scored three goals like Hull.
In the 1968 All-Star Game , goalkeeper Glenn Hall was the first player to compete for St. Louis. A year later, Red Berenson scored the first hit in an all-star game. As the first coach of the Blues, Scotty Bowman coached an All-Star team in 1969. He looked after the team three times in a row. It was not until 2001 that Joel Quenneville was another coach of the Blues for an all-star team behind the gang.
At the 2001 All-Star Game , Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger, two Blues players were nominated, both of whom had to cancel due to injuries.
With Garry Unger (1974) and Brett Hull (1992), the Blues was twice the most valuable player in the All-Star Game.
The 1970 All-Star Game hosted St. Louis for the first time. It was the first all-star game that was not played in the stadium of one of the original Six teams. When the All-Star Game was held again in St. Louis in 1988 , there was for the first time an individual logo for the game, in which the Gateway Arch , the symbol of the city, was included.
Franchise records
Selected player records of the franchise over the entire career as well as over individual seasons are listed below.
Career
| Surname | number | |
| Most games | Bernie Federko | 927 (in 13 seasons) |
| Most consecutive games | Garry Unger | 662 (February 7, 1971 to April 8, 1979) |
| Most goals | Brett Hull | 527 |
| Most templates | Bernie Federko | 721 |
| Most of the points | Bernie Federko | 1,073 (352 goals + 721 assists) |
| Most penalty minutes | Brian Sutter | 1,786 |
| Most shutouts | Brian Elliott | 25th |
season
| Surname | number | season | |
| Most goals | Brett Hull | 86 | 1990/91 |
| Most templates | Adam Oates | 90 | 1990/91 |
| Most of the points | Brett Hull | 131 (86 goals + 45 assists) | 1990/91 |
| Most points as a rookie | Jörgen Pettersson | 73 (37 goals + 36 assists) | 1980/81 |
| Most points as a defender | Jeff Brown | 78 (25 goals + 53 assists) | 1992/93 |
| Most penalty minutes | Bob Gassoff | 306 | 1975/76 |
| Most wins as a goalkeeper | Roman Turek | 42 | 1999/00 |
Trainer
Expansion years (1967–1983)
Abbreviations: GC = games, W = wins, L = defeats, T = draws, OTL = defeats
after overtime , Pts = points, Win% = win rate
| Surname | season | Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||
| GC | W. | L. | T | Pts | Win% | GC | W. | L. | ||
| Lynn Patrick | 1967/68 * | 16 | 4th | 10 | 2 | 10 | .250 | - | - | - |
| Scotty Bowman | 1967/68 * –1970 / 71 * | 238 | 110 | 83 | 45 | 265 | .462 | 52 | 26th | 26th |
| Al Arbor | 1970/71 * –1971 / 72 * | 94 | 10 | 34 | 20th | 100 | .106 | 11 | 4th | 7th |
| Sid Abel | 1971/72 * | 10 | 3 | 6th | 1 | 7th | .300 | - | - | - |
| Bill McCreary | 1971/72 * | 24 | 6th | 14th | 4th | 16 | .250 | - | - | - |
| Al Arbor | 1971/72 * –1972 / 73 * | 13 | 2 | 6th | 5 | 9 | .154 | - | - | - |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | 1972/73 * –1973 / 74 * | 120 | 52 | 53 | 15th | 119 | .433 | 5 | 1 | 4th |
| Lou Angotti | 1973/74 * –1974 / 75 * | 32 | 6th | 20th | 6th | 18th | .188 | - | - | - |
| Lynn Patrick ** | 1974/75 * | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .500 | - | - | - |
| Garry Young | 1974/75 * –1975 / 76 * | 98 | 41 | 41 | 16 | 98 | .418 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Lynn Patrick ** | 1975/76 * | 8th | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6th | .375 | - | - | - |
| Leo Boivin | 1975/76 * | 43 | 17th | 17th | 9 | 43 | .395 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Emile Francis | 1976/77 | 80 | 32 | 39 | 9 | 73 | .400 | 4th | 0 | 4th |
| Leo Boivin | 1977/78 * | 54 | 11 | 36 | 7th | 29 | .204 | - | - | - |
| Barclay Plager | 1977/78 * –1979 / 80 * | 134 | 35 | 71 | 28 | 98 | .261 | - | - | - |
| Red Berenson | 1979/80 * –1981 / 82 * | 204 | 100 | 72 | 32 | 232 | .490 | 14th | 5 | 9 |
| Emile Francis | 1981/82 * –1982 / 83 * | 44 | 14th | 25th | 5 | 33 | .318 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| Barclay Plager | 1982/83 * | 48 | 15th | 21st | 12 | 42 | .313 | 4th | 1 | 3 |
* Change during the current season; ** Interim trainer
Since 1983
| Surname | season | Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||
| GC | W. | L. | T | OTL | Pts | Win% | GC | W. | L. | ||
| Jacques Demers | 1983 / 84-1985 / 86 | 240 | 106 | 106 | 28 | - | 240 | .442 | 33 | 16 | 17th |
| Jacques Martin | 1986 / 87-1987 / 88 | 160 | 66 | 71 | 23 | - | 155 | .413 | 16 | 7th | 9 |
| Brian Sutter | 1988 / 89-1991 / 92 | 320 | 153 | 124 | 43 | - | 349 | .478 | 41 | 20th | 21st |
| Bob Plager | 1992/93 * | 11 | 4th | 6th | 1 | - | 9 | .364 | - | - | - |
| Bob Berry | 1992/93 * -1993/94 | 157 | 73 | 63 | 21st | - | 167 | .465 | 15th | 7th | 8th |
| Mike Keenan | 1994 / 95–1996 / 97 * | 163 | 75 | 66 | 22nd | - | 172 | .460 | 20th | 10 | 10 |
| Jim Roberts | 1996/97 * | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | 9 | .333 | - | - | - |
| Joel Quenneville | 1996/97 * –2003 / 04 * | 593 | 307 | 191 | 77 | 18th | 709 | .518 | 68 | 34 | 34 |
| Mike Kitchen | 2003/04 * - 2006/07 * | 129 | 38 | 70 | 4th | 17th | 97 | .295 | - | - | - |
| Andy Murray | 2006/07 * –2009 / 10 * | 260 | 118 | 102 | - | 40 | 276 | .531 | 4th | 0 | 4th |
| Davis Payne | 2009/10 * –2011 / 12 * | 137 | 67 | 55 | - | 15th | 149 | .544 | - | - | - |
| Ken Hitchcock | 2011/12 * –2016 / 17 * | 413 | 248 | 124 | - | 41 | 537 | .652 | 47 | 20th | 27 |
| Mike Yeo | 2016/17 * –2018 / 19 * | 133 | 73 | 49 | - | 11 | 157 | .595 | 11 | 6th | 5 |
| Craig Berube | since 2018/19 * | 63 | 38 | 19th | - | 6th | 82 | .651 | 26th | 16 | 10 |
General manager
In its franchise history, the St. Louis Blues employed ten different general managers.
For the 1967/68 season , the Blues hired the NHL-experienced Lynn Patrick , who briefly filled the position of head coach in addition to the post of general manager. After only one year in office as general manager, Patrick moved to the presidium and handed over his responsibilities for the following three seasons to Scotty Bowman , whom he had previously promoted to head coach. When Bowman left the franchise after the 1970/71 season in dispute, Patrick returned to the GM post for a year.
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* Change during the current season |
In the following four seasons, there was little continuity in the position, as a different name occupied the post in each season between 1972 and 1976. In particular, these were Sid Abel , Charles Catto , Gerry Ehman and Dennis Ball . Only with Emile Francis , who was brought to the southern metropolis in the summer of 1976 , did consistency return. Francis stayed in office for a total of six seasons and passed the same to Ron Caron in 1983 .
Caron was able to place the team with good deals in the upper half of the league in the following ten game years and sign up well-known players with Brett Hull , Al MacInnis , Curtis Joseph , Brendan Shanahan and other players. Nevertheless, there were no major successes, whereupon Mike Keenan was signed as GM and head coach in the summer of 1994. Keenan changed the face of the team in the following two years, as he gave long-standing and well-deserved players to other clubs and hired aging star players like Wayne Gretzky and Grant Fuhr who did not identify with the team. After two early failures in the playoffs in 1995 and 1996, Keenan had to leave the franchise after a bad start to the 1996/97 season , which allowed Ron Caron to return to the post for the rest of the season. In addition, Keenan fell out with Brett Hull, which prompted him to move to Dallas in the summer of 1997.
On June 9, 1997, Larry Pleau finally took over the duties of general manager. With the exception of Hull, he was able to hold together the team that became a serious contender for the Stanley Cup win in the late 1990s and early 2000s . However, there was no profit. When the playoffs were missed for the first time since 1980 and some unpopular personnel decisions were made in 2004, the successful time of the Blues ended and the team always found itself in the lower third of the league, still with Pleau in the role of GM.
On July 1, 2010, Doug Armstrong was appointed as the new general manager of the Blues.
player
Squad for the 2019/20 season
Status: end of the 2019/20 season
Team captains
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In the history of the St. Louis Blues, there have been 20 different players who have held the position of team captain.
Members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
- Doug Harvey (1973)
- Dickie Moore (1974)
- Glenn Hall (1975)
- Jacques Plante (1978)
- Dan Kelly (1989)
- Guy Lapointe (1993)
- Al Arbor (1996)
- Peter Šťastný (1998)
- Wayne Gretzky (1999)
- Joe Mullen (2000)
- Dale Hawerchuk (2001)
- Bernie Federko (2002)
- Grant Fuhr (2003)
- Al MacInnis (2007)
- Scott Stevens (2007)
- Glenn Anderson (2008)
- Brett Hull (2009)
- Doug Gilmour (2011)
- Adam Oates (2012)
- Brendan Shanahan (2013)
- Chris Pronger (2015)
- Paul Kariya (2017)
- Martin Brodeur (2018)
Blocked and honored jersey numbers
| No. | Surname | Blocking date |
| 2 | Al MacInnis | April 9, 2006 |
| 3 | Bob Gassoff | 1st October 1977 |
| 5 | Bob Plager | 2nd February 2017 |
| 8th | Barclay Plager | March 24, 1981 |
| 11 | Brian Sutter | December 30, 1988 |
| 14th | Doug Wickenheiser | not official |
| 16 | Brett Hull | December 5, 2006 |
| 24 | Bernie Federko | March 16, 1991 |
| 99 | Wayne Gretzky | February 6, 2000 (league-wide) |
In their franchise history, the St. Louis Blues have officially banned six jersey numbers so far. In addition, two more are unofficially and one is no longer officially awarded. These six blocked shirt numbers hang as banners in the Scottrade Center and are no longer given to any player.
The first player to receive this honor was Bob Gassoff , who died in a motorcycle accident after the end of the 1976/77 season . In 1981 he was followed by Barclay Plager, a former team captain and coach of the team. When Brian Sutter's shirt number was also banned at the end of 1988 , this second-best scorer in the history of the Blues was behind Bernie Federko , who was still active at the time and , two and a half years later, in March 1991, was the fourth player whose number was banned.
It took 15 years until 2006 before the Blues blocked another number and were taken out of circulation. Al MacInnis had spent the last decade of his career with the Blues and was one of the NHL's top attacking defenders during that time. At the end of 2006, Brett Hull's number 16, the so far last number, was blocked. Hull was one of the most successful attackers in blues history from 1987 to 1997.
In February 2017, Bob Plager's number 5 was officially blocked , which has been considered honored for years and has no longer been awarded. Plager played in St. Louis for over ten years and also briefly emerged as the team's coach.
In addition, Doug Wickenheiser's number 14 will be honored with a special banner. The number 99 has been banned throughout the NHL since February 6, 2000 in honor of Wayne Gretzky .
Top 10 voting rights in the NHL Entry Draft
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Players from the early draft years 1963 to 1968 are not listed here.
Franchise top point collector
The ten best points collectors in the history of the franchise by the end of the 2018/19 regular season and the 2019 playoffs .
Abbreviations: Pos = position, GP = games, G = goals, A = assists, Pts = points, P / G = points per game
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Web links
- Official website (English)
- St. Louis Blues on hockey-reference.com
Individual evidence
- ^ Tim Brooks, Richard Keith Spottswood: Lost Sounds . P. 434. Declaration (books.google.de)
- ↑ Louie's Bio. Retrieved June 22, 2019 .
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