In 1984, the Blues drastically redesigned their look, adding red and darkening the shade of blue. The arena quickly became one of the loudest buildings in the NHL, a reputation it maintained throughout its tenure as the Blues' home. Fox Sports Midwest color commentator, Darren Pang, exclaimed he "just loved the crowd, they're singing!". As the Blues faced the Oilers on December 7, 1982; brochures were distributed saying "Saskatchewan in the NHL". [11] The Board of Governors rejected the offer and "terminated" the team on June 13, one day before Ralston's supposed deadline. [Brian O'Reilly (Ryan's dad)] I want to thank all of St Louis especially Doug Armstrong. St Louis Blues Players. When Red Berenson scored six goals in a game on Nov. 7, 1968, ownership presented the outdoor enthusiast with a new station wagon, a canoe attached to the top and a Browning 20-gauge shotgun inside. 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. Early in the morning of trade deadline day, the St. Louis Blues and the Detroit Red Wings agreed to a deal. 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. The original owners were successful insurance executive Sid Salomon Jr., his son Sid Salomon III and Robert Wolfson. 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. For instance, Ornest asked many players to defer their salaries to help meet operating costs, but the players always got paid in the end. 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. He asked many players to defer contracts to help meet operating costs and through much of Ornest's tenure, the team operated with a small office staff. {{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. Early life[edit] Laurie grew up in rural Missouri. He saw the Blues as just another money-bleeding division, and put the team on the market. The logo used on the Blues' jerseys from 1967 to 1984. After an ice plant was installed, the minor league St. Louis Flyers began play there in 1929. Aside from Stillman, the ownership group includes Jerald Kent, Donn Lux, James Cooper, Jo Ann Taylor Kindle, Steve Maritz, Edward Potter, Andrew Taylor, David Steward, Jim Kavanaugh, John Danforth,. In 1978-79, the Blues won 18 of 80 games, or just one more than the NFL's 1972 Miami Dophins. Last chance! 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. The cash-poor Ornest then ran the franchise on a skeletal budget. He had 70 or more goals in three consecutive seasons, including 1990-91 when he scored 86 and the team finished with 105 points. san jose sharks vs . Minority owner Wolfson and Blues president Emile Francis persuaded Ralston Purina executive R. Hal Dean to invest in the franchise. Before the 199798 season, the Blues introduced a new alternate white jersey. As the team lingered on the shelf, management further demoralized the fan base by streamlining the books and trading its high-salaried players. Ten players reached at least 20 goals, including Wayne Babych, future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko, and team captain Brian Sutter. St. Louis Blues. [41] However, during the 2019 playoffs, Laura Branigan's "Gloria" was played first before The Urge song. Dean retired and his successor, William Stiritz, had no interest in continuing the involvement in hockey. 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. Before the season began, the Blues were hit hard with injuries as they lost Robby Fabbri before the season began. A Broadway musical comedy star tires of the same old grind and flees the city. There is a lot of money riding on Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals for St. Louis Blues owner Tom Stillman. 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. Attendance went from 8,897 in 1967-68 to 18,238 in 1970-71. The current logo (shown in the infobox), is similar, but with the slightly darker shade of blue used since 1984. The St. Louis Blues are one of the more successful NHL teams in terms of attendance. Only Wayne Gretzky found the net more than Hull during any given three-year period. While the Blues had returned to respectability on the ice, they were struggling off it. It then took control of the franchise and began searching for a new owner. An updated version of the blue sweater, produced by Adidas, was brought back in 2019 as their 90s Vintage Jersey.. 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. The son of legendary Bobby Hull, the "Golden Brett" became the face of the franchise, with his magical name and sublime scoring touch. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game. In each instance, the Blues were swept in four games, twice by the Montreal Canadiens and lastly by the Boston Bruins. 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 1986, the team reached the Campbell Conference finals and produced one of its signature moments, a "Monday Night Miracle" comeback victory in Game 6. Pronger, Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger were all sent packing. Incensed, Ralston Purina sued the NHL, padlocked the Checkerdome and abandoned the franchise, leaving a mess for the league to sort out. Albums. 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. For the first time in five years (that is, since the lockout), the Blues were in the playoffs. The Blues then fired 60 percent of their employees. [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. post; account; . But the memorable season came to an abrupt end at the hands of the surging Los Angles Kings. For the 199495 season, the Blues introduced a more radical jersey set, featuring red in a more prominent role. [38] Louie is a blue polar bear and wears a Blues jersey with his name on the back, and the numbers "00". 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 moves kept. Photo by Scott C. Dine/St. 0. The Blues would go on to be upset by the North Stars in six games, thus failing to advance past the first round for the first time in franchise history. Gretzky, whose wife is a native St. Louisan, personally approved the trade and was prepared to finish his illustrious career with the Blues. Photo by UPI, St. Louis Blues chairman Mike Shanahan at a game in January of 1987, agonizing from the owner's box. None of the previous owners has brought a Stanley Cup championship to St. Louis. Eventually, the St. Louis Arena came under the control of the owners of the Chicago Black Hawks. After each goal, a bell is rung and each of the goals are counted by the crowd. Hi I have 4 tickets to the blues game tonight vs the San Jose sharks. They missed the playoffs for only the fourth time in franchise history. With Dorothy Lamour, Lloyd Nolan, Tito Guzar, Jerome Cowan. Most NHL teams during the mid-1980s had over 60 players under contract. It has been called the "Fan Salute" by some. 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. The St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history later that season. The Blues ended the 1990s as the only NHL team to make the playoffs for the entire decade, although a Stanley Cup title still eluded the franchise. Rivers also fills in on color commentary whenever Pang is on a national TV assignment for the NHL on TNT. The bottom of the numbers taper off to give way to the aforementioned stripes. Dean told employes that the St. Louis-based firm had completed its second best fiscal year. Dean was the key figure in Ralston Purina's takeover of the St. Louis Blues after the 1976-77 season. Soon after, Ornest sold the Blues to a group led by Michael Shanahan, head of Engineered Support Systems Inc. On March 17, 2011, it was announced that the St. Louis Blues were for sale. They fired their head coach, Davis Payne, and named Ken Hitchcock as his replacement on November 6, 2011. However, he resigned as head coach in late November after recording a 4132 record. 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. The Blues simplified their design, with only the blue note logo on the front; there were no third jerseys for the season. [55] Dan Kelly, the Blues' radio play-by-play announcer, was awarded the first Blues broadcaster to receive the award in 1989. 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. Menu. 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. On June 3, Ralston announced that it had no interest in running the team anymore. The Enterprise Center was electric and buzzing with excitement with anticipation of the win. It was loud enough, TV cameras picked up the song loud and clear. [a] The Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) is the team's minor league affiliate. For the song, see. 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. 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. Blues current owner Tom Stillman (left) and Carol Salomon, the former wife of original owner Sid Salomon III. 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. Reluctant to give up on the St. Louis market, the NHL blocked the sale. 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. Just before the 2007 NHL trade deadline, the Blues traded several key players, including Bill Guerin, Keith Tkachuk and Dennis Wideman, in exchange for draft picks, though they re-signed Tkachuk after the season ended. 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 Blues averaged more than 41 wins but could not get though the conference playoffs. The next few seasons became like a broken record. The Blues had remained in strong form throughout the season, finishing first in the Western Conference and second in the NHL. Two-year process yields the most desirable outcome in terms of the city's best interest. Keenan instituted major changes, including trades that sent away fan favorites Brendan Shanahan and Curtis Joseph, as well as the acquisition of the legendary-but-aging Wayne Gretzky and goaltender Grant Fuhr, both from the declining Los Angeles Kings. 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!