Disillusioned by Keenan's contentious style, Gretzky became a free agent and departed for New York. 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. Attendance had gone from a peak of 18,601 a game in 1972-73 to 10,130. This setupKelly as commentator, with either Kyle, Bob Plager, or Noel Picard (whose heavy French-Canadian accent became famous, such as pronouncing owner Sid Salomon III "Sid the Turd" instead of "Third") joining as an analyst, simulcast on KMOX and KPLRcontinued through the 197576 season, then simulcast on KMOX and KDNL-TV for the next three seasons. 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. In 1978-79, the Blues won 18 of 80 games, or just one more than the NFL's 1972 Miami Dophins. Ralston renamed the arena the "Checkerdome." They would finish second in the Western Conference, behind the Vancouver Canucks. Following further contraction, the league stabilized at six teams after 1942. In 201516, the Blues finished in second place in the Central Division to the Dallas Stars. As the Blues faced the Oilers on December 7, 1982; brochures were distributed saying "Saskatchewan in the NHL". It then took control of the franchise and began searching for a new owner. 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). The Blues took on the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in the first-round series. The NHL Board of Governors has approved the sale of the St. Louis Blues to a group headed. He has covered the team since the 2005-06 season, including a dozen years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. However, for the third straight year, they lost in the first round and in six games. I really respect the fact that he puts the needs of the many ahead of the needs of the few. * current Blues player 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. The arrangement made the Blues the only major sports team in North America to be owned by a private equity firm. The team started the season by posting a record of 1012 in their first 13 home games. 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. Phil Goyette won the Lady Byng Trophy for the Blues in 1970 and New York Rangers castoff Red Berenson became the expansion team's first major star at center. 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. While the Blues remained competitive, they were unable to keep many of their young players. 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. During this time, Doug Gilmour, drafted by St. Louis in 1982, emerged as a star. By 1986, the team reached the Campbell Conference Finals against the Flames. But a competing carnival owner hatches a scheme to put an end to the show before it begins. The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey . 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. Category:St. Louis Blues owners Pages in category "St. Louis Blues owners" The following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total. On February 12, 2020, the Blues suffered another loss as defenseman Jay Bouwmeester suddenly collapsed on the bench in a game against the Anaheim Ducks, and would not come back to play again in the season. The Blues were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings, in the following round. Arbour, who officially retired as a player after the 197071 season, would remain behind the Blues' bench for the next two seasons. 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. These are the top-ten point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise regular-season history. 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]. David Backes was also announced as the new team captain. On December 27, 2005, it was announced that the Blues had signed a letter of intent to exclusively negotiate with General Sports and Entertainment, LLC. 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. He was introduced on October 10, 2007. 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. 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. 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. 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 St. Louis Blues are one of the more successful NHL teams in terms of attendance. 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 also had strong goaltending led by Mike Liut. For the song, see. 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. The Blues have a rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom they have shared a division since 1970. The Blues had remained in strong form throughout the season, finishing first in the Western Conference and second in the NHL. With silver-jacketed organist Norm Kramer pumping out "When the Blues Go Marching In," hockey became a happening in St. Louis. The team finished last in the division and disbanded after one season. While the Blues contended during this time period, they never passed the second round of the playoffs. Figures are updated after each completed NHL season. 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. But with Ron Caron as the general manager and Jacques Demers as the coach, with Federko and Sutter as the foundation, the Blues were competitive. Angry at having to play "second fiddle", the Blues elected to leave for KTRS in 2000. Im baffled., Suspect charged in fatal shooting in downtown St. Louis, Former Sweetie Pies TV star Tim Norman gets two life sentences in nephews death, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol slams ump C.B. In 201213, the Blues completed the lockout-shortened season in fourth place in the Western Conference. Maybe eight will be worth the wait. The group becomes the eighth to hold the keys to the franchise since its inception. A Broadway musical comedy star tires of the same old grind and flees the city. List Of St Louis Blues Owners. 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. Among the first things Ornest did during his three-year tenure was change the name of the building back to the "Arena." 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 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". These are the top-ten-point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise playoff history. The cash-poor Ornest then ran the franchise on a skeletal budget. Over the next few years, the franchise became one of the most colorful and controversial in the NHL. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. 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. The Keenan coup wound up being a catastrophe. 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. The seats are in section 106 row cc seats 1-4. 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. 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. Only Wayne Gretzky found the net more than Hull during any given three-year period. Hull's 86 goals set the record for most goals in a single season by a right-winger (and the third-most overall at the time). The Blues averaged more than 41 wins but could not get though the conference playoffs. The Salomons sold the Blues to Ralston on July 27, 1977. The Blues season would come to an end at the hands of the San Jose Sharks, who eliminated them in six games. [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. Ornest had made plans to buy the team as early as March, but built up his efforts in late June to have enough money. Like all NHL teams, the Blues updated their jerseys for the 200708 season with new Rbk Edge jerseys. The St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history later that season. [13] After that season, Ornest sold the team to a group led by St. Louis businessman Michael Shanahan. Wal-Mart heir Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill purchased the Blues in 1999. On June 17, 2005, the Lauries announced that they would sell the team. Ten players reached at least 20 goals, including Wayne Babych, future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko, and team captain Brian Sutter. [21] On March 29, 2019, the Blues became the seventh team in NHL since the 196768 season to qualify for the playoffs after being placed last after January 1. [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. Weight was again traded in December 2007 to the Anaheim Ducks, along with a minor league player, in exchange for Andy McDonald. [45], The Blues were one of the last teams to add a goal horn, doing so during the 199293 season at the St. Louis Arena. Overview. The 2016 offseason saw big changes for the Blues, as team captain David Backes left the team to sign with the Boston Bruins, and goaltender Brian Elliott was traded to the Calgary Flames, while veteran forward Troy Brouwer also signed with Calgary as a free agent. The Checkerboard Square chief even re-painted the fading Arena and re-dubbed it the Checkerdome. 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. On November 14, 2005, the Blues announced that SCP Worldwide had officially withdrawn from negotiations to buy the team. St. Louis businessman Tom Stillman and his band of investment brothers will announce today they have closed a deal to purchase the Blues. The Black Hawks treated St. Louis as a secondary market, placing minor league affiliates there and even playing a few NHL games in St. Louis during the 1950's while the team still struggled to sell tickets at Chicago Stadium. The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. [30] In 201011, the team sold out every home game. 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. 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. In 1984, the Blues drastically redesigned their look, adding red and darkening the shade of blue. In fact, they made it to the conference finals only two times in their streak (1986 and 2001). [26] Shortly after the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, Karla May of the Missouri Senate introduced a bill which would officially designate several items as state symbols of Missouri; including the Blues being as the state's official hockey team. [41] However, during the 2019 playoffs, Laura Branigan's "Gloria" was played first before The Urge song.