Photo by UPI, St. Louis Blues chairman Mike Shanahan at a game in January of 1987, agonizing from the owner's box. 0. Over the next few years, the franchise became one of the most colorful and controversial in the NHL. However, St. Louis ended their first-round losing streak by beating Chicago 32 in game 7 of the series. St. Louis has embraced team's victory anthem", "The history behind the NHL's ubiquitous sound for scoring: the goal horn", "A Look at Five St. Louis Blues' Superfans", "Celebrate 20 years of fan-run papers on Friday", "How did 'Country Roads' become a Blues home-game staple? Audience capacity was increased from 12,000 to 15,000 at the Arena, which had been home to the Central Hockey League's St. Louis Braves. The Blues became the first team in NHL history to finish first overall in the standings and lose in the first round of the playoffs. The Blues were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings, in the following round. New owners take over Blues BY TOM TIMMERMANN May 10, 2012 0 NHL commissioner Gary Bettman (left) introduces new St. Louis Blues majority owner Tom Stillman during a press conference on. Coming off their defeat of the Presidents' Trophy winning Canucks, the Kings ousted the Blues in four games. Only Wayne Gretzky found the net more than Hull during any given three-year period. They fired their head coach, Davis Payne, and named Ken Hitchcock as his replacement on November 6, 2011. On September 2, 2020, the Blues traded goaltender Jake Allen, who had spent ten years in the Blues organization, to the Montreal Canadiens.[29]. Wal-Mart heir Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill purchased the Blues in 1999. The logo used on the Blues' jerseys from 1987 to 1998. However, they were swept in the Stanley Cup Finals by the Montreal Canadiens in 1969 and then by the Boston Bruins in 1970. 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. The Blues got off to a slow start in their initial season. 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. The moves kept sportswriters busy and fans captivated, and often infuriated opposing executives. st louis blues - $75 (Saint Louis) wednesday 2023-03-01. number available: 4 venue: enterprise center. This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Blues. They waited for an authorization by 75% of the NHL Board of Governors for the sale and transfer of the club. Ralston renamed the arena the "Checkerdome." At one point, the Salomons cut the team's staff down to three employees. Bucknor for rejecting handshake: Zero class, Man shot and killed after fight in downtown St. Louis, Fate of St. Louis Fox Theatre still undecided, Liberty High student killed in St. Charles shooting could heal you with a smile, Brothers who did everything together, fashionista among victims in fatal St. Louis crash, St. Louis prosecutors staff down by nearly half as caseloads jump. It was loud enough, TV cameras picked up the song loud and clear. post; account; . The St. Louis Blues presently acknowledge an affiliation with a number of inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame. 20 Years Ago, Blur's 'Song 2' Became an Unlikely Sports Anthem", "PLAY GLORIA! The Salomons might have been the most generous employers in sports history. The team slipped under .500 the following season and managed just 65 points in 1982-83. The Blues joined the league in 1967, one of six expansion teams that doubled the size of the NHL from six to 12. The original owners were successful insurance executive Sid Salomon Jr., his son Sid Salomon III and Robert Wolfson. 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. Like the other five expansion teams, the Blues' roster consisted primarily of castoffs from the Original Six and players who had previously never managed to break out of the minor leagues. Attendance plummeted, from 18,560 a game in 2003-04 to 12,520 in 2006-07. They would finish second in the Western Conference, behind the Vancouver Canucks. But the renaissance was short-lived. They captured the Jennings Trophy once more for allowing the fewest goals in the league (165). Blues Jump Blues/Piano Blues St. Louis Blues. Albums. Attendance had gone from a peak of 18,601 a game in 1972-73 to 10,130. During this time, Doug Gilmour, drafted by St. Louis in 1982, emerged as a star. But from late December through January the Blues lost only twice in 16 games and grabbed a foothold. tickets - by owner. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, 4 killed, 4 critically injured in crash at South Grand Boulevard and Forest Park Avenue, Parents push back on allegations against St. Louis transgender center. Minority owner Wolfson and Blues president Emile Francis persuaded Ralston Purina executive R. Hal Dean to invest in the franchise. Soon after, Ornest sold the Blues to a group led by Michael Shanahan, head of Engineered Support Systems Inc. He returned to California with $3.4 million in profit on the sale of the Blues and $8.2 million in profit on the sale of the Arena. Buck elected to leave the booth after one season, though, and was replaced by another famed announcer in Dan Kelly. The team made headlines with free-agent signings and trades that landed stars like Brett Hull, Adam Oates, Brendan Shanahan, Scott Stevens, Grant Fuhr, Phil Housley and Al MacInnis. As general manager and coach, Keenan traded away the popular Brendan Shanahan, tested patience with other curious transactions and cultivated a toxic relationship with Hull. The Blues then fired 60 percent of their employees. However, they were stunned by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2000 playoffs in seven games. The Blues have a rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom they have shared a division since 1970. However, they never made an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. Their regular-season success, however, did not transfer into the playoffs, as they were eliminated by the New York Rangers in the second round 24 after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round 32. Seriously underwater., Arch Madness: 2023 MVC Basketball Tournament bracket, schedule, game times, TV info, Centene expects to lose millions of Medicaid customers beginning in April, St. Louis man charged in quadruple fatal crash; police say he ran off with his license plate, Neman: Missouri womans saga of trying to find common sense at Walmart, I can still hear the roaring of the engine, says father of teen maimed in downtown St. Louis. The Blues lost Bowman, who left during the 197071 season following a power-sharing dispute with Sid Salomon III (who was taking an increasing role in team affairs),[6] as well as Hall, Plante, Goyette and ultimately Berenson, who were all lost to retirement or trade. St. Louis Blues tends to be a variation on jump blues or piano blues, featuring solo singers or a pianist performing with small combos or large bands. The Blues' successes in the late 1960s, however, did not continue into the 1970s. These are the top-ten point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise regular-season history. In 201415, the Blues won their second Central Division championship in four years and faced the Minnesota Wild in round one of the 2015 playoffs. During most of Ornest's tenure, the Blues had only 26 players under contract23 in St. Louis, plus three on their farm team, the Montana Magic. 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. None of the previous owners has brought a Stanley Cup championship to St. Louis. On May 29, the Blues won a Stanley Cup Finals series game for the first time in franchise history after getting swept in three previous series (19681970), when they defeated the Boston Bruins 32 in overtime. It wasn't. Ten players reached at least 20 goals, including Wayne Babych, future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko, and team captain Brian Sutter. The St. Louis Blues medical team is a group of Washington University in St. Louis orthopedic specialists from Barnes-Jewish Hospital led by Washington University in St. Louis' Chief of Sports Medicine Matthew Matava.[39]. Jeremy Rutherford is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the St. Louis Blues. An NHL lockout canceled the 2004-05 season and the Lauries put the team up for sale in June 2005, citing losses of more than $60 million over the previous two years. To this day, in terms of contention, the Salomon group remains the most successful of the Blues owners. The following numbers have been retired from use within the St. Louis Blues: In addition to the aforementioned numbers, the NHL also retired Wayne Gretzky's number 99 from use for all of its members teams, including the Blues, at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game. Figures are updated after each completed NHL season. He was 78. The remaining staff included the accounting department, scouting staff, and coach Barclay Plager. Team owner puts St. Louis Blues up for sale 5 is #1 Show Me 5 Sally Sally Jessy Raphael at KSDK Today In St. Louis Be the first to know Making a Difference Mike Bush Fantasy Baseball. After hockey resumed in 2005, a few months after GNR's final issue, a new publication, St. Louis Game Time, was formed by several former GNR staffers.[49]. However, the NHL Board of Governors rejected the deal by a 153 vote on May 18, feeling that Saskatoon was not big enough or financially stable enough to support an NHL team.[8][9]. The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey . St. Louis soon began to attract the interest as a potential NHL market, eventually leading the owners of the moribund Ottawa Senators to relocate there for the 1934-35 season. NHL president Clarence Campbell said during the 1967 expansion meetings, "We want a team in St. Louis because of the city's geographical location and the fact that it has an adequate building."[4]. The navy blue third jersey was kept without any alterations, before it was retired prior the 201617 season. On March 17, 2011, it was announced that the St. Louis Blues were for sale. Nonetheless, their on-ice success was enough for a consortium of 19 companies to buy the team. The Salomons sold the Blues to Ralston on July 27, 1977. Pronger, Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger were all sent packing. The NHL also said that Ralston broke a league rule that an owner had to give two years' notice before dissolving a franchise. Quenneville was fired during the 2003-04 season and like so many prominent Blues alumni before him Hull, Shanahan, Stevens, Pronger he went on to win a Cup elsewhere. Although perennial postseason contenders for most of their history, the franchise frequently struggled in the playoffs, including consecutive Stanley Cup Finals defeats at the end of their first three seasons. [25] This all but assured that Berube would have the "interim" tag removed from his title, which occurred two weeks after their Cup victory. 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". John Davidson, received the award in 2009 for his contributions in television broadcasting. The Checkerboard Square chief even re-painted the fading Arena and re-dubbed it the Checkerdome. On December 11, 2006, the Blues fired head coach Mike Kitchen and replaced him with former Los Angeles Kings head coach Andy Murray. The jersey brought back the contrasting shoulder yoke and returned to the lighter blue of previous eras. The arena was previously known as Scottrade Center, the Savvis Center, and before that as the Kiel Center. [14] Davidson also installed a strong development program under head scout Jarmo Kekalainen, using the team's raft of high draft picks in 2006 and 2007 to select highly touted prospects such as T. J. Oshie, Erik Johnson and David Perron. [13] After that season, Ornest sold the team to a group led by St. Louis businessman Michael Shanahan. However, had the league not found a new owner by August 6, it would dissolve the team and hold a dispersal draft for the players. 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. [46] All of these traditions carried over to the Kiel Center (now known as Enterprise Center) in 1994. It has an urban feeling, with little of the rural atmosphere that distinguishes country-blues. During the 2018 NHL offseason, the Blues acquired forward Ryan O'Reilly from the Buffalo Sabres via trade and re-signed Perron to a third stint with the team in free agency, while also signing forwards Tyler Bozak, St. Louis native Pat Maroon, and goaltender Chad Johnson. san jose sharks vs . After each Home win, the entire St Louis Blues team skates to center ice and in unison, raise their sticks and clap while the goal horn blares, to thank the Blues fans in attendance and watching on TV. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- St. Louis Blues minority owner David L. Steward was celebrating on the TD Garden ice with his son after the Blues defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of . He scored 16 points in 13 games after his arrival, but the season ended in frustration as the Blues lost Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals to Detroit. This article is about the ice hockey team. The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade Center in downtown St. Louis. Attendance went from 8,897 in 1967-68 to 18,238 in 1970-71. Here is a list of the team's owners since its inception: -Sidney Salomon Jr. -Ralph Sauer -Harry Ornest -Michael Shanahan -Dave Checketts -Tom Stillman. 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. [12] To date, this is the closest that an NHL team has come to folding since the Cleveland Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars after the 197778 season. [a] The Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) is the team's minor league affiliate. While the fans were stunned, the players were aware of this. [34] A corresponding vintage white version was unveiled for the 2022 NHL Winter Classic. Buck elected to leave the booth after one season, though, and was replaced by another famed announcer in Dan Kelly. Looking at losses of more than $10 million over six seasons, the pet food giant put the Blues up for sale and in January 1983, announced it had a buyer in Saskatoon-based Batoni-Hunter Enterprises, Ltd. Batoni's president, Bill Hunter, said his group was ready to break ground on a $43 million building, which could be ready for the Saskatoon Blues in time for the 1983-84 season. The Blues, who have never won the Cup, are marginally profitable during the. 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). On January 12, 1983, Batoni-Hunter Enterprises Ltd., led by WHA and Edmonton Oilers founder Bill Hunter, tendered an offer to buy the team. After being one of the worst teams a couple of years before, they were one of the best in 1981, as they finished with a then-franchise-best record of 451817 record which translated to 107 points and the second-best record in the league. Especially galling were the frequent blown leads after two periods, and with the worst home record (6133) posted in the entire NHL. Disillusioned by Keenan's contentious style, Gretzky became a free agent and departed for New York. * current Blues player On October 10, the Blues introduced a new mascot, Louie. 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. Ornest had made plans to buy the team as early as March, but built up his efforts in late June to have enough money. The team finished last in the division and disbanded after one season. Ralston Purina lost an estimated $1.8 million a year during its six-year ownership of the Blues. During the 2012 playoffs, they won their first playoff series since 2002, eliminating the San Jose Sharks in five games. [55] Dan Kelly, the Blues' radio play-by-play announcer, was awarded the first Blues broadcaster to receive the award in 1989. The season of 200809 saw the Blues play their last game on KPLR, which had the rights since the 198687 season (except for the 199697 season on CBS affiliate KMOV), electing to move all their games to FS Midwest, starting with the 200910 season. The Blues announced plans for a navy third jersey featuring a new logo, with the Gateway Arch with the Blue Note superimposed over it inside a circle with the words "St. Louis" above and "Blues" below. 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 199091 en route to earning the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . During the 2007 off-season, the Blues signed free agent Paul Kariya to a three-year contract worth $18million, re-signed defenseman Barret Jackman to a one-year contract, lost their captain Dallas Drake to the Detroit Red Wings, and traded prospect Carl Soderberg to the Bruins in exchange for yet more depth in the goal crease, Hannu Toivonen. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com Photo by J.B. Forbes, staff photographer. As the team lingered on the shelf, management further demoralized the fan base by streamlining the books and trading its high-salaried players. 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. Members of the Blues' all-local ownership group include Tom Stillman, Jerald Kent, Donn Lux, James Cooper, Jo Ann Taylor Kindle, Steve Maritz, Edward Potter, Andrew Taylor, David Steward, Jim. After Dan Kelly's death, Ken Wilson became St. Louis Blues' lead television play-by-play announcer alongside former Blues' players Joe Micheletti and Bruce Affleck. While the Blues contended during this time period, they never passed the second round of the playoffs. . The logo used on the Blues' jerseys from 1967 to 1984. During that time, Salomon gained a reputation throughout the NHL as the top players' owner. With his aging father stepping back, Sid Salomon III took a more prominent role in running the franchise and upheaval became the order of the day. Dean retired and his successor, William Stiritz, had no interest in continuing the involvement in hockey. The current logo (shown in the infobox), is similar, but with the slightly darker shade of blue used since 1984. [38] Louie is a blue polar bear and wears a Blues jersey with his name on the back, and the numbers "00". He also purchased the Checkerdome from Ralston Purina for $5 million, then raised $3 million in operating expenses. The mistake was that play resumed before the chorus was over and the music had to stop. He made his debut two days later, wearing number 55 against the Phoenix Coyotes. 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 June 3, Ralston announced that it had no interest in running the team anymore. For the first time in five years (that is, since the lockout), the Blues were in the playoffs. After losing Vladimir Tarasenko to injury during the game, the Blues lost to the Avalanche 52 as they missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years. St Louis Blues Players. Caron was reinstated as interim general manager for the rest of the season, and general manager Larry Pleau was hired on June 9, 1997. They also provided the capital to build the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center), which opened in 1994. They play their home games at the 19,150-seat Enterprise Center in downtown St. Louis, which has been their arena since moving from St. Louis Arena in 1994. 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. [23] On June 12, 2019, the Blues defeated the Bruins 41 in Game 7 to win their first Stanley Cup. In 1984, the Blues drastically redesigned their look, adding red and darkening the shade of blue. The uniforms, which had the team name written around the primitive "blue note" logo along with contrasting stripes, had a gold base.[37]. On May 21, the Blues advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1970, defeating the San Jose Sharks in a six-game Western Conference Finals series. On February 9, 2019, another tradition was born. Ryan O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. A few weeks later, SCP withdrew and a month later, the Blues announced they had signed an exclusive letter of intent to negotiate with General Sports and Entertainment, LLC. 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. Originally, the St. Louis Blues aired their games on KPLR-TV and KMOX radio, with team patron Gus Kyle calling games alongside St Louis broadcasting legend Jack Buck. "[50][51] And it did take them to the Stanley Cup. Behind the solid goaltending of Brian Elliott and scoring heroics of Andy McDonald, the Blues defeated the Sharks in five games, advancing to the conference semifinals. The team did not even participate in the 1983 NHL draft, forfeiting all of its picks. The Blues also dealt away Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets at the trade deadline for their 1st round pick as they won only 23 games of their remaining 51, but they still had a chance to get into the playoffs on the last day of their season against the Colorado Avalanche. In 2001, the Blues advanced to the Western Conference Finals before bowing out in five games to the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche. They would get rewarded as head coach Red Berenson won the Jack Adams Award, Mike Liut finished a close second to Wayne Gretzky in the Hart Trophy voting, and earned the top spot on the NHL All-Star team, Larry Patey finished third in the Frank J. Selke Trophy voting, and Blake Dunlop won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. His successor, William Stiritz, wanted to refocus on the core pet food business, and his personal sporting interests were in horse racing and not hockey. On September 29, 2005, it was announced that the Lauries had signed an agreement to sell the Blues to SCP Worldwide, a consulting and investment group headed by former Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts. A corresponding blue jersey was introduced the following season, thus retiring the previous set. He intended to build a $43 million 18,000-seat arena in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in time for the 1983-84 season. "Our new ownership group is 100 percent local, and we are 100 percent committed to the Blues and to St. Louis." Stillman asked for support from fans, local businesses and the rest of the community. All that hardware notwithstanding, hopes for a Stanley Cup run turned to stunning disappointment. Indeed, many of the Blues' players liked the fact that their families could hear the games on KMOX. Before the 199798 season, the Blues introduced a new alternate white jersey. 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. St. Louis kept chugging along through the late 1980s and early 1990s. Center David Backes has been named a finalist for the Frank Selke Trophy as the league's top two-way player. The Blues are currently the only team in the four major North American sports (ice hockey, basketball, baseball, and American football) to be owned by a private equity firm. The team made headlines with free-agent signings and trades that landed stars like Brett Hull, Adam Oates, Brendan Shanahan, Scott Stevens, Grant Fuhr, Phil Housley and Al MacInnis. [17] During the 2011 NHL offseason, the team signed many key free agents, including Brian Elliott, Scott Nichol, Kent Huskins, Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner. St. Louis Blues: Directed by Raoul Walsh. At the beginning of the 200607 season, the Blues looked to be competitive in the Central Division. After two awful years, including what is still a franchise-worst 185012 record with 48 points in 1979, the Blues made the playoffs the following year, the first of 25 consecutive postseason appearances. But with former Blues goaltender and nationally renowned broadcaster John Davidson at the point, they turned the worm. The team started the season by posting a record of 1012 in their first 13 home games. For instance, Ornest asked many players to defer their salaries to help meet operating costs, but the players always got paid in the end. She runs into the skipper of a showboat who befriends her, and they make plans to put together a musical revue. Most NHL teams during the mid-1980s had over 60 players under contract. 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". 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. 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. Off the ice, the cash-poor Checketts operated with an Ornest-like budget; on the ice the team continued to stockpile picks and promise. However, St. Louis was swept in their first Finals appearance by the heavily favored Montreal Canadiens. St. Louis Blues. 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.

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