In 2001, the Blues advanced to the Western Conference Finals before bowing out in five games to the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche. He was replaced by assistant coach Scotty Bowman, who thereafter led the team to a winning record for the rest of the season. March 3, 2023 by Marcus Ashpaugh. Movies. St. Louis Blues. During this time, from 1989 to 2000, more games began to be aired on Prime Sports Midwest, the forerunner to today's Bally Sports Midwest. 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. [10] Ralston called the counter-suit "ridiculous" and gave the NHL an ultimatum: if the NHL would not accept Hunter's offer by June 14, Ralston would dissolve the team and sell its players and assets to other teams. The St Louis Blues: A History Of The Hockey Team The Blues took on the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in the first-round series. Louie is the mascot of the St. Louis Blues. 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. In 201213, the Blues completed the lockout-shortened season in fourth place in the Western Conference. 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 . New Blues ownership group Tom Stillman, chairman and CEO of Summit Distributing Donn Lux, Luxco chairman and CEO Jo Ann Taylor Kindle, president of the Enterprise Holdings Foundation Steve. With silver-jacketed organist Norm Kramer pumping out "When the Blues Go Marching In," hockey became a happening in St. Louis. [22] This resurgence included an eleven-game winning streak between February and March, in large part thanks to the emergence of the eventual Calder Trophy nominee, rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington. In March 2011, Checketts announced he was putting the team and the Scottrade Center lease up for sale, projecting a deal would be struck before the 2011-12 season started. Ornest immediately reverted the name of the team's home venue to the St. Louis Arena. In 201516, the Blues finished in second place in the Central Division to the Dallas Stars. 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. The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. [27] The bill was signed into law by Mike Parson, the Governor of Missouri, with the revised statute becoming effective August 29, 2019. While the fans were stunned, the players were aware of this. QR Code Link to This Post. He saw the Blues as just another money-bleeding division, and put the team on the market. You have permission to edit this article. 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. 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 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. Coming off their defeat of the Presidents' Trophy winning Canucks, the Kings ousted the Blues in four games. Gretzky, whose wife is a native St. Louisan, personally approved the trade and was prepared to finish his illustrious career with the Blues. This third jersey was unveiled on September 21, 2008, and debuted during a Blues' home game against the Anaheim Ducks on November 21, 2008. However, they were stunned by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2000 playoffs in seven games. 0. Eventually, the St. Louis Arena came under the control of the owners of the Chicago Black Hawks. Following the Black Hawks' championship in 1961, the team became much more successful at the box office in Chicago, thus St. Louis was no longer useful as a secondary market. Buck elected to leave the booth after one season, though, and was replaced by another famed announcer in Dan Kelly. More often than not, several of the Blues' emerging stars ended up as Calgary Flames, and the sight of Flames executive Al MacNeil was always greeted with dread. 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. 5 to the rafters", "Blues retire Pronger's number on 'very special' night in St. Louis", "Perfect setting: Gretzky's number retired before All-Star Game", "Brian Elliott, Blues Stats National Hockey League.com Players", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=St._Louis_Blues&oldid=1141928547, Most points in a season: Brett Hull, 131 (199091), Lowest GAA in a season (min 30 GP): Brian Elliott, 1.56 (201112), Best SV% in a season (min 30 GP): Brian Elliott, .940 (201112), This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 16:20. 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. In each of its first three seasons, the team advanced through the expansion side of the NHL playoff bracket to the Stanley Cup finals. Hockey-crazy Stillman is the latest to try his luck where so many others have failed. With Dorothy Lamour, Lloyd Nolan, Tito Guzar, Jerome Cowan. St. Louis Blues, official state hockey team", "Allen traded to Canadiens by Blues for draft picks", "2014-2015 NHL Attendance National Hockey League", "Blues unveil new adidas jersey for 2017-18 season", "Blues pay tribute to team heritage with third jersey", "Blues reveal 2022 NHL Winter Classic jersey", "Reverse Retro alternate jerseys for all 31 teams unveiled by NHL, adidas", "NHL Reverse Retro jerseys for all 32 teams unveiled by adidas", "St Louis Blues Community Name the Mascot", "Blues partner with The Urge for new goal song", "Free speech in the 'Home of the Blues,' singing over 'the brave' in national anthem disrespects veterans more than silently kneeling", "Ranking the top goal songs in the NHL - Sportsnet.ca", "Woo-hoo! 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. Bill Laurie, a former point guard at Memphis State University, had long desired to buy and move a National Basketball Association (NBA) team to St. Louis (coming close to achieving this in 1999, with an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the then-Vancouver Grizzlies), and it was thought that this desire caused him to neglect the Blues. In 1984, the Blues drastically redesigned their look, adding red and darkening the shade of blue. This list may not reflect recent changes . ST. LOUIS (KTVI) - There's been talk that the Rams move is great news for the St. Louis Blues: freeing up more money for St. Louis sports fans to spend on hockey. The St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history later that season. The Blues joined the league in 1967, one of six expansion teams that doubled the size of the NHL from six to 12. The team started the season by posting a record of 1012 in their first 13 home games. 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). 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 Blues simplified their design, with only the blue note logo on the front; there were no third jerseys for the season. 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. It wasn't. 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. [48] The longest-running fan publication, Game Night Revue, was created by a group of fans in the mold of the Chicago Blackhawks' Blue Line Magazine. While the Blues contended during this time period, they never passed the second round of the playoffs. 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. Blues Chairman Tom Stillman confirmed . It was loud enough, TV cameras picked up the song loud and clear. [Brian O'Reilly (Ryan's dad)] I want to thank all of St Louis especially Doug Armstrong. During the late 1990s, the Blues nurtured a new identity. [36] A second "Reverse Retro" uniform was released in the 202223 season, this time based on the prototype uniforms the team first leaked in 1966 before eventually releasing the more iconic "blue note" uniforms. He also purchased the Checkerdome from Ralston Purina for $5 million, then raised $3 million in operating expenses. In each instance, the Blues were swept in four games, twice by the Montreal Canadiens and lastly by the Boston Bruins. 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. Under new management, the Blues promptly installed John Davidson as president of hockey operations, moving Pleau to a mostly advisory role. However, Dean took the losses philosophically, having taken over out of a sense of civic responsibility. Former Blues forward David Perron was brought back on a free agent deal, while defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was named team captain. 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. KXOK backed out of the contract after just 2 years, and the Blues immediately went back to KMOX, who held the rights until 2000. Fan support was sluggish during the first half of the campaign, and the end of the calendar year was capped by an 11-game losing streak. Blues' inaugural Hall of Fame class has stature that 'no one can touch' 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]. The Blues missed the playoffs during the first four full seasons of new ownership. St. Louis Blues Music Genre Overview | AllMusic 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. In response, the Blues moved back to KMOX starting in the 200607 season. Attendance went from 8,897 in 1967-68 to 18,238 in 1970-71. [46] All of these traditions carried over to the Kiel Center (now known as Enterprise Center) in 1994. While the Blues remained competitive, they were unable to keep many of their young players. [20] On November 19, 2018, the Blues fired head coach Mike Yeo after starting the season with a 793 record and replaced him with Craig Berube on an interim basis. Other players like Patrik Berglund, and Alex Steen did not return in time for the season. 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. These distractions would greatly affect their performance as they squeezed into the playoffs with a 254015 record in the 1983 season, good enough for 65 points. While the Blues had returned to respectability on the ice, they were struggling off it. Inductees affiliated with the Blues include 24 former players (six of whom earned their credentials primarily with the Blues) and seven builders of the sport. [38] Louie is a blue polar bear and wears a Blues jersey with his name on the back, and the numbers "00". On November 3, 2007, the fans voted on his name on the Blues' web site. ST. LOUIS (AP) Mike Shanahan, who owned the St. Louis Blues from 1986-91 and oversaw the acquisition of Hall of Famer Brett Hull, has died. Before the season began, the Blues were hit hard with injuries as they lost Robby Fabbri before the season began. Blues owner Tom Stillman, 10 years in: On the road to a Stanley Cup and Attendance plummeted, from 18,560 a game in 2003-04 to 12,520 in 2006-07. [32], When Adidas became the uniform provider before the 201718 season, the Blues kept most of the same template, with the exception of the home jersey numbers changing from gold to white. 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. He purchased the team and its player contracts for $3 million in cash and $9 million in two notes. The deferred contracts came due just as the Blues' performance began to slip. Disillusioned by Keenan's contentious style, Gretzky became a free agent and departed for New York. The game against Anaheim was suspended during the first period and postponed to March 11. St. Louis Blues (1939) - IMDb Follow Jeremy P. Rutherford A few months later, in December 1996, both Keenan and executive Jack Quinn were fired. SponsorPitch - St. Louis Blues It also replaced red with navy blue as an accent color. Despite these losses, the Blues raced out to a 2182 start in their first 31 games. 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. St. Louis Blues - (NHL) Enterprise Center - Operations only, the City of St. Louis is the owner Stifel Theatre - Majority Owner Former assets [ edit] Peoria Rivermen - (AHL) Shareholders [ edit] [3] Majority Owner [ edit] Thomas H. Stillman - Chairman of the Board & CEO, Summit Distributing. However, they were swept in the Stanley Cup Finals by the Montreal Canadiens in 1969 and then by the Boston Bruins in 1970. They also requested that the court allow them to give up the team and bar the NHL from interfering with the sale of the team. On November 14, 2005, the Blues announced that SCP Worldwide had officially withdrawn from negotiations to buy the team. [28], In the 201920 season, the Blues suffered an early blow as forward Vladimir Tarasenko suffered a season-ending injury on October 24. 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? post; account; . On October 2, 2007, the Blues finalized the season-starting roster, which included rookies David Perron, Steven Wagner and Erik Johnson. List of former Blues players set to return to St. Louis before the end Ornest had made plans to buy the team as early as March, but built up his efforts in late June to have enough money. For the first time in five years (that is, since the lockout), the Blues were in the playoffs. "We've given them the extreme honor, so it's. St. Louis CITY SC owner Carolyn Kindle says bumpy road helped in prep Hitchcock is a finalist for the Jack Adams coaching award and Doug Armstrong is a contender for general manager of the year. Blues' ownership: A colorful history - STLtoday.com Like all NHL teams, the Blues updated their jerseys for the 200708 season with new Rbk Edge jerseys. Wal-Mart heir Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill purchased the Blues in 1999. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game. Albums. Because they were not required to participate in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, they did not send a representative, which led the Blues to forfeit their picks. [7] Emile Francis would call it quits on May 2, leaving for the Hartford Whalers to become president and general manager. The logo used on the Blues' jerseys from 1967 to 1984. List Of St Louis Blues Owners. [41] However, during the 2019 playoffs, Laura Branigan's "Gloria" was played first before The Urge song. Meet the Thunderbirds | NHL.com 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]. Nonetheless, the team remained competitive for the next three years, despite never advancing beyond the second round. Pronger, Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger were all sent packing. 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. The moves kept. Ryan O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. Rivers also fills in on color commentary whenever Pang is on a national TV assignment for the NHL on TNT. 27 febrero, 2023 . [24] Up until that point, the Blues were the oldest franchise to never win the Stanley Cup; they were also the last of the five surviving 1967 expansion teams to win the Cup for the first time. The NHL also said that Ralston broke a league rule that an owner had to give two years' notice before dissolving a franchise. St. Louis Blues (1958) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. The Stanley Cup playoff format changed in such a way that a Western team was no longer guaranteed a Finals berth, and also the Chicago Black Hawks were moved into the Western Division following the 1970 expansion. The Blues are still looking for their first Stanley Cup. All that hardware notwithstanding, hopes for a Stanley Cup run turned to stunning disappointment. Hi I have 4 tickets to the blues game tonight vs the San Jose sharks. Gary Bettman -- St. Louis Blues' future 'bright' with new owners In hopes of saving the franchise, Francis persuaded St. Louis-based pet food giant Ralston Purina to buy the team, arena, and the $8.8 million debt. St. Louis Blues owner Tom Stillman is a former lawyer who worked with the U.S. Department of Commerce where he was Chief Counsel for Export Administration. The cash-poor Ornest then ran the franchise on a skeletal budget. [23] On June 12, 2019, the Blues defeated the Bruins 41 in Game 7 to win their first Stanley Cup. 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. For the full season-by-season history, see List of St. Louis Blues seasons, Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against. After the 200405 lockout, the Blues' attendance suffered, but has since improved every year since its all-time low in 200607. 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.