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. While the fans were stunned, the players were aware of this. 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. In 200910, 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. 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]. St. Louis Blues (1958) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. 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. She runs into the skipper of a showboat who befriends her, and they make plans to put together a musical revue. He had 70 or more goals in three consecutive seasons, including 1990-91 when he scored 86 and the team finished with 105 points. 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. 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 hockey. List Of St Louis Blues Owners. Category:St. Louis Blues owners Pages in category "St. Louis Blues owners" The following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total. #19 St Louis Blues Team Value 1 $880M Calculated December 2022 Owner (s) Tom Stillman Championships 1 Year Purchased 2012 Price Paid $180M Revenue 2 $180M Operating Income 3 $56M Debt/Value 4. 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. [1] From 1967 to 1984, the Blues jerseys featured a lighter shade of blue along with contrasting shoulder yoke and stripes. "[50][51] And it did take them to the Stanley Cup. 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 were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion, along with the Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and California Seals. However, Dean took the losses philosophically, having taken over out of a sense of civic responsibility. The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. It operated for over 10 years, from 1994 to 2005, when its owner decided not to resume the magazine after the 200405 NHL lockout (one final oversized "goodbye" issue was distributed the first two home games of the 200506 season). 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? 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. And within two years, Hull also was gone, left unsigned to continue a Hall of Fame career with Stanley Cup championships in Dallas and Detroit. After missing the playoffs for the first time in 197374, the Blues ended up in the Smythe Division after a League realignment. 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. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. 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". While the Blues remained competitive, they were unable to keep many of their young players. Their situation was not helped by the decision to keep the Eagles in the Canadian Division to keep the divisions balanced, which left the team with unaffordable travel expenses to games in Toronto and Montreal. 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. 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. After losing Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals, the team beat the San Jose Sharks in Game 2 at Scottrade Center, securing its first playoff game victory since 2004. After his duties as interim coach for the rest of the 200910 season, Davis Payne was named the 23rd head coach in the Blues' history on April 14. He was 78. During the 3rd Period, The Blues were winning by a large margin against the visiting Nashville Predators. Despite posting the second-best regular-season record in the entire league in 199091, 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. Since the 201920 preseason, WXOS (101 ESPN) has been the flagship radio station for the Blues. 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. This article is about the ice hockey team. 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. He was introduced on October 10, 2007. 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. However, they were swept in the Stanley Cup Finals by the Montreal Canadiens in 1969 and then by the Boston Bruins in 1970. 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 standard for other teams was 60 players. Jeremy Rutherford is the lead Blues beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. They would also pick up Brayden Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers by giving away Jori Lehtera. Lynn Patrick initially served as general manager and head coach. On January 4, 2007, the Blues had a record of 613 in their previous ten games, which was the best in the NHL during that stretch. They would finish second in the Western Conference, behind the Vancouver Canucks. Baie-Comeau Drakkar Players Bakersfield Condors Players Barrie Colts Players Barys Astana Players Belarusian Hockey Players Belleville Senators Players Bemidji State Beavers Players Bentley Falcons. He saw the Blues as just another money-bleeding division, and put the team on the market. While the Blues contended during this time period, they never passed the second round of the playoffs. While the disappointment of that series loss is still fresh, hope springs eternal with the announcement that a new ownership group is in place. 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. 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). They also had strong goaltending led by Mike Liut. The team slipped under .500 the following season and managed just 65 points in 1982-83. Beginnings and Stanley Cup Finals' appearances (19671970), Financial problems, near-relocation, and playoff streak (19701987), End of the playoff streak, lockout, and rebuild (19982011), Return to contention, first Stanley Cup championship (2011present), Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 16:20, "City Gets Big League Hockey; New Team Begins NHL Play in 196768 Season", "Musial Partner 'Biggie' Dies; Political Figure", "PHT Time Machine: When Blues skipped NHL draft", "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search", "The Lewiston Daily Sun - Google News Archive Search", "Davis Payne will remain team's head coach St Louis Blues", "St. Louis Blues for sale after five years of Dave Checketts' ownership", "Predators defeat Blues, advance to first conference final", "Gameday Lineup: Sept. 18 at Dallas; O'Reilly, Maroon, Parayko, Thomas and Kyrou expected to play vs. Stars", "Yeo fired as coach of Blues, replaced by Berube on interim basis", "Blues clinch spot in Stanley Cup Playoffs", "Blues Beat the Bruins and Get Their First Stanley Cup Finals Victory", "Blues win Stanley Cup for first time, defeat Bruins in Game 7 of Final", "St. Louis Blues beat Boston Bruins, 41, to win first Stanley Cup", "Black senator from St. Louis passed bill to make Blues official state hockey team", "Chapter 10 10.225. Photo by Scott C. Dine/St. You have permission to edit this article. 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. He intended to build a $43 million 18,000-seat arena in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in time for the 1983-84 season. 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. [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. 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. Bill Laurieis an American former basketball player and coach, and current business executive and philanthropist. 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. As the Blues faced the Oilers on December 7, 1982; brochures were distributed saying "Saskatchewan in the NHL". 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. 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]. They sought to unload what was then a decrepit facility which had not been well-maintained since the 1940s, and thus pressed the NHL to give the franchise to St. Louis, which had not submitted a formal expansion bid. Dan Kelly continued to broadcast the games on radio but was diagnosed in the summer of 1988 with lung cancer and died on February 10, 1989. MLS in July 2020 pushed the expansion schedule back by a year for both St. Louis and the Charlotte, North Carolina, team that began play last year, saying the Covid-19 pandemic had led to delays . "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. Finally, in March 2006, the Lauries completed the sale of the team and the Savvis Center lease to SCP and a private equity firm, TowerBrook Capital Partners, L.P. St. Louis was the last of the six expansion teams to gain entry into the League; the market was chosen over Baltimore at the insistence of the Black Hawks owners, James D. Norris and Arthur Wirtz. post; account; . The Black Hawks owners felt they could establish a "lovable loser" (much like the Cubs) with the St. Louis hockey team. Movies. The jersey brought back the contrasting shoulder yoke and returned to the lighter blue of previous eras. Management vowed to build through the draft and implored fans to bank on the future of prospects like T.J. Oshie, David Perron and Patrik Berglund. [44] Beginning in 2018, the win song has been the aforementioned song recorded by The Urge. The Blues then fired 60 percent of their employees. 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. Following further contraction, the league stabilized at six teams after 1942. The Blues play in the 19,150 (not counting standing room) capacity Enterprise Center, where they have played since 1994. 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. Especially galling were the frequent blown leads after two periods, and with the worst home record (6133) posted in the entire NHL. They were again eliminated by Los Angeles, however, this time in six games in the first round of the playoffs, despite taking an initial 20 series lead. The Blues skated back to KPLR 3 years later. The NHL also said that Ralston broke a league rule that an owner had to give two years' notice before dissolving a franchise. Nonetheless, their on-ice success was enough for a consortium of 19 companies to buy the team. In the offseason for the 201718 season, the Blues would lose David Perron to the Vegas Golden Knights via an expansion draft. In each of its first three seasons, the team advanced through the expansion side of the NHL playoff bracket to the Stanley Cup finals. Boyer also plays the latter song on the organ after Blues goals, with fans replacing the word "Saints" with "Blues. Angry at having to play "second fiddle", the Blues elected to leave for KTRS in 2000. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com Photo by J.B. Forbes, staff photographer. The arena quickly became one of the loudest buildings in the NHL, a reputation it maintained throughout its tenure as the Blues' home. In late September, 2005, the Lauries signed an agreement to sell the team to SCP Worldwide, a consulting and investment group led by Dave Checketts, former president of New York's Madison Square Garden. Despite these losses, the Blues raced out to a 2182 start in their first 31 games. 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 Blues were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings, in the following round. Two-year process yields the most desirable outcome in terms of the city's best interest. Early in the morning of trade deadline day, the St. Louis Blues and the Detroit Red Wings agreed to a deal. Hi I have 4 tickets to the blues game tonight vs the San Jose sharks. On January 12, 1983, Batoni-Hunter Enterprises Ltd., led by WHA and Edmonton Oilers founder Bill Hunter, tendered an offer to buy the team. Blues Chairman Tom Stillman confirmed . The Blues would underachieve greatly the following year as they posted a 32408, but they beat the Winnipeg Jets 31 in the Norris Division Semi-Finals before dropping to the Chicago Black Hawks in the Norris Division 24. The Blues have a tradition of live organ music. The Blues' successes in the late 1960s, however, did not continue into the 1970s. A new company who had purchased KXOK won the bid for a three-year contract and Kelly moved over from KMOX to do the games on KXOK. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game. Over the next few years, the franchise became one of the most colorful and controversial in the NHL. Disillusioned by Keenan's contentious style, Gretzky became a free agent and departed for New York. St. Louis Blues: Directed by Raoul Walsh. [47], The team also has a long tradition of fan-produced programs, sold outside the arena and providing an often biting, sarcastic, humor-filled alternative to team- and League-produced periodicals. 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. "We've given them the extreme honor, so it's. 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 St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. 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. Before the 199798 season, the Blues introduced a new alternate white jersey. 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]. St. Louis kept chugging along through the late 1980s and early 1990s. [33] For the 201819 season, the Blues added a third jersey based on the one worn during the 2017 NHL Winter Classic. 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. During this period, the NHL rebuffed attempts at further expansion. They fired their head coach, Davis Payne, and named Ken Hitchcock as his replacement on November 6, 2011. On December 11, 2006, the Blues fired head coach Mike Kitchen and replaced him with former Los Angeles Kings head coach Andy Murray. Years later, Sutter argued that had the Blues made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, they would have likely beaten the Canadiens, having won two out of three games against the Habs in the regular season. During this time, Doug Gilmour, drafted by St. Louis in 1982, emerged as a star. 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. 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. As part of the expansion, the NHL had agreed to put all of the expansion teams in the new Western Division, an arrangement which was intended to ensure all of the new teams all had an equal chance of reaching the playoffs. League president John Ziegler said they would try to keep the team in St. Louis. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. The son of legendary Bobby Hull, the "Golden Brett" became the face of the franchise, with his magical name and sublime scoring touch. Nevertheless, the Black Hawks owners still owned the St. Louis Arena. [13] Despite operating on a shoestring, the Blues remained competitive even though they never finished more than six games over .500 in Ornest's three years as owner. However, injuries plagued the team all season, and the lack of a bona fide scorer hampered them as well. 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. [23] On June 12, 2019, the Blues defeated the Bruins 41 in Game 7 to win their first Stanley Cup. Off the ice, the cash-poor Checketts operated with an Ornest-like budget; on the ice the team continued to stockpile picks and promise. On March 17, 2012, the Blues became the first team to reach 100 points and clinch a playoff berth in the 201112 season under Hitchcock, qualifying for their first playoffs since 200809. Subscribe with this special offer to keep reading, (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Pronger, Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger were all sent packing. A third-round loss to Colorado in 2000-01 was especially deflating. 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. On October 10, the Blues introduced a new mascot, Louie. Sidney Salomon (right) and his son, Sid, express jubilation after the group of nine individuals they head from St. Louis were awarded a conditional franchise from the National Hockey League on April 5, 1966. The slump haunted them, as they blew a 20 series lead to the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks, losing the first-round series in six games. Most NHL teams during the mid-1980s had over 60 players under contract. Indeed, many of the Blues' players liked the fact that their families could hear the games on KMOX. On June 3, Ralston announced that it had no interest in running the team anymore. Photo by Lloyd Spainhower/St. Although the St. Louis Arena was not originally designed with hockey in mind, it met NHL standards of the era for size and had good sight lines for the game. The team finished last in the division and disbanded after one season. Louis Post-Dispatch, R. Hal Dean, chief executive officer and board chairman of the Ralston Purina Co., gestures as he delivers his state of the company addressSept. 30, 1971, at the annual checker day rally. In 1986, the team reached the Campbell Conference finals and produced one of its signature moments, a "Monday Night Miracle" comeback victory in Game 6. The Blues, who have never won the Cup, are marginally profitable during 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. On February 8, 2008, it was announced that, after going much of the season without a captain, defenseman Eric Brewer was chosen as the team's 19th captain. 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. The arena was previously known as Scottrade Center, the Savvis Center, and before that as the Kiel Center. Things got worse after Keenan orchestrated a bold trade to acquire Wayne Gretzky late in the 1995-96 season. None of the previous owners has brought a Stanley Cup championship to St. Louis. 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].
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