However, he resigned as head coach in late November after recording a 4132 record. 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. While the first Blues teams included fading veterans like Doug Harvey, Don McKenney and Dickie Moore, the goaltending tandem of veterans Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante proved more durable, winning a Vezina Trophy in 1969 behind a sterling defense that featured players like skilled defensive forward Jim Roberts, team captain Al Arbour and hardrock brothers Bob and Barclay Plager. None of the previous owners has brought a Stanley Cup championship to St. Louis. During that time, Salomon gained a reputation throughout the NHL as the top players' owner. 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. Additionally, fans complained they could not hear the station at night (it had to readjust its coverage due to a glut of clear channels on adjacent frequencies). In 201213, the Blues completed the lockout-shortened season in fourth place in the Western Conference. Angry at having to play "second fiddle", the Blues elected to leave for KTRS in 2000. 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. The Blues got off to a slow start in their initial season. Dean was the key figure in Ralston Purina's takeover of the St. Louis Blues after the 1976-77 season. st louis blues traditions. Attendance went from 8,897 in 1967-68 to 18,238 in 1970-71. Especially galling were the frequent blown leads after two periods, and with the worst home record (6133) posted in the entire NHL. Ornest immediately reverted the name of the team's home venue to the St. Louis Arena. 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. 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. He also purchased the Checkerdome from Ralston Purina for $5 million, then raised $3 million in operating expenses. St. Louis Blues (1958) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. [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. But from late December through January the Blues lost only twice in 16 games and grabbed a foothold. They also had strong goaltending led by Mike Liut. The Checkerboard Square chief even re-painted the fading Arena and re-dubbed it the Checkerdome. 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. 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. Louis Post-Dispatch, Ruth and Harry Ornest, holding court during their reign with the St. Louis Blues, on July 12, 1985. In 1980-81, with Berenson behind the bench, the Blues had a 107-point season and put hockey back on the St. Louis radar. 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. Boyer also plays the latter song on the organ after Blues goals, with fans replacing the word "Saints" with "Blues. The team would dominate the postseason awards, as Pronger earned a Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player, Pavol Demitra got the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play and Quenneville was named coach of the year. The moves kept sportswriters busy and fans captivated, and often infuriated opposing executives. Overview. Hitchcock is a finalist for the Jack Adams coaching award and Doug Armstrong is a contender for general manager of the year. League president John Ziegler said they would try to keep the team in St. Louis. The team finished last in the division and disbanded after one season. They waited for an authorization by 75% of the NHL Board of Governors for the sale and transfer of the club. These are the top-ten point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise regular-season history. On March 17, 2011, it was announced that the St. Louis Blues were for sale. Ornest had made plans to buy the team as early as March, but built up his efforts in late June to have enough money. 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. The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. Checketts and his group had some serious damage control to perform. The group spent $2 million to buy the franchise, $4 million to purchase the 38-year-old Arena on Oakland Avenue from Chicago's Bill Wirtz and $2.5 million more to renovate the building. 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. On January 12, 1983, Batoni-Hunter Enterprises Ltd., led by WHA and Edmonton Oilers founder Bill Hunter, tendered an offer to buy the team. 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 missed the playoffs during the first four full seasons of new ownership. He was 78. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. 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. Following their playoff exit, Ralston authorized the deal to Hunter's renamed company Coliseum Holdings, Ltd. for $12 million on April 21. The Blues took on the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in the first-round series. From 1967 to 1984, the Blues jerseys featured a lighter shade of blue along with contrasting shoulder yoke and stripes. 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. The Blues play in the 19,150 (not counting standing room) capacity Enterprise Center, where they have played since 1994. Original Blues owner fondly remembers the early days - STLtoday.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]. However, injuries plagued the team all season, and the lack of a bona fide scorer hampered them as well. 0. The next few seasons became like a broken record. They also provided the capital to build the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center), which opened in 1994. It then took control of the franchise and began searching for a new owner. Blues current owner Tom Stillman (left) and Carol Salomon, the former wife of original owner Sid Salomon III. After missing the playoffs for the first time in 197374, the Blues ended up in the Smythe Division after a League realignment. Why A Stanley Cup Would Mean Big Money For St. Louis Blues Owner Tom Oct 17, 2016. 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. An updated version of the blue sweater, produced by Adidas, was brought back in 2019 as their 90s Vintage Jersey.. He was replaced by assistant coach Scotty Bowman, who thereafter led the team to a winning record for the rest of the season. Hockey-crazy Stillman is the latest to try his luck where so many others have failed. In 1981, Dean retired. 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. 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. 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. 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. On April 12, the Blues clinched the sixth seed in the West with a 10 win against the Colorado Avalanche. Since the 201920 preseason, WXOS (101 ESPN) has been the flagship radio station for the Blues. 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. The arena quickly became one of the loudest buildings in the NHL, a reputation it maintained throughout its tenure as the Blues' home. This third jersey was unveiled on September 21, 2008, and debuted during a Blues' home game against the Anaheim Ducks on November 21, 2008. The Blues are still looking for their first Stanley Cup. 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. Subscribe with this special offer to keep reading, (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Blues' ownership: A colorful history - STLtoday.com The Cardinals moved back to KMOX in the 2011 season, with conflicting games moved to KYKY, an FM station owned by the same group as KMOX. Buck elected to leave the booth after one season, though, and was replaced by another famed announcer in Dan Kelly. 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. [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. 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. The day after the draft, the NHL filed a $78 million counter-suit against Ralston, accusing Ralston of "damaging the league by willfully, wantonly and maliciously collapsing its St. Louis Blues hockey operation." On October 2, 2007, the Blues finalized the season-starting roster, which included rookies David Perron, Steven Wagner and Erik Johnson. KSDK history: Mike Bush, Art Holliday start traditions | ksdk.com - FOX61 Category:St. Louis Blues owners Pages in category "St. Louis Blues owners" The following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total. All that hardware notwithstanding, hopes for a Stanley Cup run turned to stunning disappointment. The Blues fired head coach Andy Murray on January 2, 2010, after a disappointing record (17176, 40 points), sitting in 12th place in the Conference. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. [28], In the 201920 season, the Blues suffered an early blow as forward Vladimir Tarasenko suffered a season-ending injury on October 24. The logo used on the Blues' jerseys from 1987 to 1998. The NHL Board of Governors has approved the sale of the St. Louis Blues to a group headed. From 1979 to 1981, the radio and television broadcasts were separated for the first time since the inaugural season, with Kelly doing the radio broadcasts and Eli Gold hired to do the television. During the late 1990s, the Blues nurtured a new identity. 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. 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. The Blues had remained in strong form throughout the season, finishing first in the Western Conference and second in the NHL. Checks were back in the Checkerdome. Blues owner sold on St. Louis | FOX 2 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. Former St. Louis Blues owner Mike Shanahan dies at 78 - USA TODAY Blues ownership group acquires minority stake from previous owners On June 3, Ralston announced that it had no interest in running the team anymore. 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. The Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and have the most Stanley Cup playoff appearances outside of the Original Six. 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. In 19992000, the team notched a franchise-record 114 points during the regular season, earning the Presidents' Trophy for the League's best record. Blues Acquire Vrana From the Red Wings 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 Blues skated back to KPLR 3 years later. 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. Before the 199798 season, the Blues introduced a new alternate white jersey. The remaining staff included the accounting department, scouting staff, and coach Barclay Plager. On June 13, 2016, it was announced that Mike Yeo would replace Hitchcock as head coach of the Blues following the 201617 season. These are the top-ten-point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise playoff history. 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. The Blues have a tradition of live organ music. Maybe eight will be worth the wait. 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. Disillusioned by Keenan's contentious style, Gretzky became a free agent and departed for New York. During the 3rd Period, The Blues were winning by a large margin against the visiting Nashville Predators. Former Blues forward David Perron was brought back on a free agent deal, while defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was named team captain. They play their home games at the 18,096 seat Enterprise Center in downtown St. Louis, which has been their arena since moving from St. Louis Arena in 1994.[3]. Things got worse after Keenan orchestrated a bold trade to acquire Wayne Gretzky late in the 1995-96 season. But things began to turn around as Francis drafted players like Bernie Federko, Brian Sutter, Wayne Babych and Perry Turnbull. The current logo (shown in the infobox), is similar, but with the slightly darker shade of blue used since 1984. [15] The team later traded veteran defenseman Bryce Salvador to the New Jersey Devils for enforcer, and St. Louis native, Cam Janssen. Other players like Patrik Berglund, and Alex Steen did not return in time for the season. The bottom of the numbers taper off to give way to the aforementioned stripes. [35], Prior to the 202021 season, the Blues unveiled a "Reverse Retro" alternate uniform based on the design worn from 1995 to 1998, but with a red base. Blues Director of Entertainment, Jason Pippi, commented that they played Country Roads by John Denver, "was a bit of an mistake because people love to sing along to that song". 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". 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. 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.
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