The Blues had remained in strong form throughout the season, finishing first in the Western Conference and second in the NHL. Bill Laurieis an American former basketball player and coach, and current business executive and philanthropist. St. Louis Blues Music Genre Overview | AllMusic Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. They also had strong goaltending led by Mike Liut. In 1978-79, the Blues won 18 of 80 games, or just one more than the NFL's 1972 Miami Dophins. [33] For the 201819 season, the Blues added a third jersey based on the one worn during the 2017 NHL Winter Classic. The St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history later that season. After spending the first half of the 200809 season at or near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, the Blues began to turn things around behind the solid goaltending of Chris Mason. However, he resigned as head coach in late November after recording a 4132 record. This led to a Norris Division semi-finals exit against the Chicago Black Hawks. On October 2, 2007, the Blues finalized the season-starting roster, which included rookies David Perron, Steven Wagner and Erik Johnson. 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. Only Wayne Gretzky found the net more than Hull during any given three-year period. Other players like Patrik Berglund, and Alex Steen did not return in time for the season. The arena was previously known as Scottrade Center, the Savvis Center, and before that as the Kiel Center. The Blues lost more players as Jay Bouwmeester suffered a season-ending injury, and Jaden Schwartz missed a large portion of the season. John Davidson, received the award in 2009 for his contributions in television broadcasting. [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. The standard for other teams was 60 players. 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. 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. Ten players reached at least 20 goals, including Wayne Babych, future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko, and team captain Brian Sutter. [27] The bill was signed into law by Mike Parson, the Governor of Missouri, with the revised statute becoming effective August 29, 2019. [30] In 201011, the team sold out every home game. Amid several questionable personnel moves and an unstable ownership situation, the Blues finished the 200506 season with their worst record in 27 years. The mainstream appeal moved a conglomerate of corporate leaders to buy out Shanahan and build the Kiel Center (now the Scottrade Center), opening the downtown doors in 1994. 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. The remaining staff included the accounting department, scouting staff, and coach Barclay Plager. The next few seasons became like a broken record. Ten days before the deadline NHL President John Ziegler set for dissolving the franchise, Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Harry Ornest stepped up with the only formal bid. The Checkerboard Square chief even re-painted the fading Arena and re-dubbed it the Checkerdome. The Blues jumped to a 31 series lead, but struggled in games 5 and 6. They also provided the capital to build the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center), which opened in 1994. Country Roads has been played during every Home game since, at approximately the 15:00 minute mark of the 3rd Period, regardless of the current score. 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 elder Salomon was not enthralled with the idea of owning a hockey team initially, but his son persuaded him to take the plunge. He had 70 or more goals in three consecutive seasons, including 1990-91 when he scored 86 and the team finished with 105 points. The Blues simplified their design, with only the blue note logo on the front; there were no third jerseys for the season. League president John Ziegler said they would try to keep the team in St. Louis. St. Louis soon began to attract the interest as a potential NHL market, eventually leading the owners of the moribund Ottawa Senators to relocate there for the 1934-35 season. 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. Blues owner Tom Stillman, 10 years in: On the road to a Stanley Cup and Jeremy Rutherford is the lead Blues beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Blues have a rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom they have shared a division since 1970. 20 Years Ago, Blur's 'Song 2' Became an Unlikely Sports Anthem", "PLAY GLORIA! 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. The moves kept sportswriters busy and fans captivated, and often infuriated opposing executives. 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]. NHL Owners: Who Are They? - The Hockey Writers Caron was reinstated as interim general manager for the rest of the season, and general manager Larry Pleau was hired on June 9, 1997. He also purchased the Checkerdome from Ralston Purina for $5 million, then raised $3 million in operating expenses. 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. 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. [55] Dan Kelly, the Blues' radio play-by-play announcer, was awarded the first Blues broadcaster to receive the award in 1989. March 3, 2023 by Marcus Ashpaugh. 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. [41] However, during the 2019 playoffs, Laura Branigan's "Gloria" was played first before The Urge song. 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. Follow Jeremy P. Rutherford Arbour, who officially retired as a player after the 197071 season, would remain behind the Blues' bench for the next two seasons. This article is about the ice hockey team. Disillusioned by Keenan's contentious style, Gretzky became a free agent and departed for New York. NHL Board of Governors OKs sale of St. Louis Blues Initially, the front of the jersey featured the team name above the crest logo, but was removed in 1987. A few months later, in December 1996, both Keenan and executive Jack Quinn were fired. [5] Upon acquiring the franchise in 1966, Salomon then spent several million dollars on extensive renovations for the 38-year-old arena, expanding it from 12,000 seats to 15,000. All that hardware notwithstanding, hopes for a Stanley Cup run turned to stunning disappointment. The uniforms, which had the team name written around the primitive "blue note" logo along with contrasting stripes, had a gold base.[37]. 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. Brad Boyes, picked up from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Wideman, became the fastest Blues player to reach 40 goals since Brett Hull, doing so during the 200708 season. However, Dean took the losses philosophically, having taken over out of a sense of civic responsibility. 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. The Black Hawks owners felt they could establish a "lovable loser" (much like the Cubs) with the St. Louis hockey team. However, despite the music stopping, the loyal Blues fans in attendance continued to sing loudly. 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. By 1986, the team reached the Campbell Conference Finals against the Flames. After an ice plant was installed, the minor league St. Louis Flyers began play there in 1929. 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. They waited for an authorization by 75% of the NHL Board of Governors for the sale and transfer of the club. The Blues missed the playoffs during the first four full seasons of new ownership. 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. KXOK backed out of the contract after just 2 years, and the Blues immediately went back to KMOX, who held the rights until 2000. Pronger, Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger were all sent packing. By accident", "Pronger steps aside as captain; MacInnis steps in", "Blues retire Plager's No. You have permission to edit this article. Doug Wickenheiser's overtime goal in Game 6 to cap a furious comeback remains one of the greatest moments in team history (known locally as the "Monday Night Miracle"), but the Blues lost Game 7, 21. 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. During this period, the NHL rebuffed attempts at further expansion. The Blues will receive 27-year-old forward Jakub Vrana . 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. The NHL Board of Governors has approved the sale of the St. Louis Blues to a group headed. The Salomons might have been the most generous employers in sports history. After an early-season coaching change brought Ken Hitchcock aboard, the Blues broke through this season with 109 points, two points removed from the best record in the NHL. Although they had finished in third place, St. Louis was regarded as fairly evenly matched with the other three Western qualifiers since only four points separated first and fourth place. Meet the Thunderbirds | NHL.com [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. [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. Los Angeles Kings vs. St. Louis Blues odds, tips and betting trends Guided by young coach Joel Quenneville, built on the backline presence of MacInnis and Chris Pronger who came in the Shanahan deal the Blues embarked on one of their most rewarding periods. 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. [25] This all but assured that Berube would have the "interim" tag removed from his title, which occurred two weeks after their Cup victory. He returned to California with $3.4 million in profit on the sale of the Blues and $8.2 million in profit on the sale of the Arena. 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. 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]. The Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and have the most Stanley Cup playoff appearances outside of the Original Six. But things began to turn around as Francis drafted players like Bernie Federko, Brian Sutter, Wayne Babych and Perry Turnbull. 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. He purchased the team and its player contracts for $3 million in cash and $9 million in two notes. The Blues then fired 60 percent of their employees. 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. In response, the Blues moved back to KMOX starting in the 200607 season. 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 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. The Blues play in the 19,150 (not counting standing room) capacity Enterprise Center, where they have played since 1994. On March 24, 2006, the Lauries completed the sale of the Blues and the lease to the Savvis Center to SCP and TowerBrook Capital Partners, L.P., a private equity firm. [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. Attendance plummeted, from 18,560 a game in 2003-04 to 12,520 in 2006-07. C Dave Checketts D John Danforth L Bill Laurie O Harry Ornest S SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC 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. St. Louis kept chugging along through the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Blues also won the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals (165) in the NHL, as netminder Roman Turek finished with a 1.95 goals-against average. 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. Looking at losses of more than $10 million over six seasons, the pet food giant put the Blues up for sale and in January 1983, announced it had a buyer in Saskatoon-based Batoni-Hunter Enterprises, Ltd. Batoni's president, Bill Hunter, said his group was ready to break ground on a $43 million building, which could be ready for the Saskatoon Blues in time for the 1983-84 season. He was replaced by assistant coach Scotty Bowman, who thereafter led the team to a winning record for the rest of the season. He has covered the team since the 2005-06 season, including a dozen years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Steve Ott also left the team, signing a free-agent deal with the Red Wings. [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. St. Louis Blues - Owners | RetroSeasons.com On September 2, 2020, the Blues traded goaltender Jake Allen, who had spent ten years in the Blues organization, to the Montreal Canadiens.[29]. The following season, 201314, the team hit the 100-point mark for the sixth time in franchise history, and gained a franchise record of 52 wins. Photo by UPI, St. Louis Blues chairman Mike Shanahan at a game in January of 1987, agonizing from the owner's box. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com Photo by J.B. Forbes, staff photographer. While the fans were stunned, the players were aware of this. 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. Attendance went from 8,897 in 1967-68 to 18,238 in 1970-71. 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. The Blues season would come to an end at the hands of the San Jose Sharks, who eliminated them in six games. Two-year process yields the most desirable outcome in terms of the city's best interest. Incensed, Ralston Purina sued the NHL, padlocked the Checkerdome and abandoned the franchise, leaving a mess for the league to sort out. As the team lingered on the shelf, management further demoralized the fan base by streamlining the books and trading its high-salaried players. 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. 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. St. Louis Blues Owners Archives - The Hockey Writers 0. Like all NHL teams, the Blues updated their jerseys for the 200708 season with new Rbk Edge jerseys. The Blues joined the league in 1967, one of six expansion teams that doubled the size of the NHL from six to 12. Original Blues owner fondly remembers the early days - STLtoday.com Jeremy Rutherford is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the St. Louis Blues. At one point, the Salomons cut the team's staff down to three employees. [34] A corresponding vintage white version was unveiled for the 2022 NHL Winter Classic. 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 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. John Kelly (son of Dan) and Darren Pang are the current team for television coverage, while Scott Warmann, Alexa Datt, Bernie Federko, and Jamie Rivers present the pre-game and post-game shows. 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. [55] The seven individuals recognized as builders by the Hall of Fame includes former Blues executives, general managers, head coaches, and 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. This division was particularly weak, and in 197677, the Blues won it while finishing five games below .500, though this would be their last playoff appearance in the decade. 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. Most NHL teams during the mid-1980s had over 60 players under contract. [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. In fact, several of the Blues' young stars, such as Rob Ramage, Joe Mullen and Gilmour, were main cogs in the Flames' 1989 Stanley Cup win. The group becomes the eighth to hold the keys to the franchise since its inception. It then took control of the franchise and began searching for a new owner. The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. 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. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. For instance, Ornest asked many players to defer their salaries to help meet operating costs, but the players always got paid in the end. 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. It has been called the "Fan Salute" by some. 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. 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. [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. (Jeremy Rutherford photo / Post-Dispatch) Jeremy P. Rutherford , Tom . QR Code Link to This Post. [38] Louie is a blue polar bear and wears a Blues jersey with his name on the back, and the numbers "00". #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. However, they were stunned by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2000 playoffs in seven games. SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC - Wikipedia St. Louis Blues (1958) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb But the roller coaster started to descend in the mid-1970s. Jeremy P. Rutherford Sep 29, 2013 Sep 29, 2013; 0; Facebook . It wasn't. 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. 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. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. Movies. 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 mistake was that play resumed before the chorus was over and the music had to stop. Blues Jump Blues/Piano Blues St. Louis Blues. 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. "[40] On October 1, 2018, it was reported that, for the upcoming season, a new goal song recorded by St. Louis-based band The Urge, "The Blues Have The Urge," would be played after Blues goals, immediately following the traditional organ music. Early life[edit] Laurie grew up in rural Missouri. 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. This third jersey was unveiled on September 21, 2008, and debuted during a Blues' home game against the Anaheim Ducks on November 21, 2008. It was loud enough, TV cameras picked up the song loud and clear.

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