list of st louis blues owners list of st louis blues owners

David Backes was also announced as the new team captain. 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. Dean was the key figure in Ralston Purina's takeover of the St. Louis Blues after the 1976-77 season. A Broadway musical comedy star tires of the same old grind and flees the city. 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. Soon after, Ornest sold the Blues to a group led by Michael Shanahan, head of Engineered Support Systems Inc. Goaltending anchors Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante retired, Berenson was traded and "Sid III" began changing coaches and general managers like it was a court order. St. Louis Blues tends to be a variation on jump blues or piano blues, featuring solo singers or a pianist performing with small combos or large bands. [31], For the 201415 season, the Blues made a few tweaks to their jerseys. Since the St. Louis Blues were founded in 1967, the team has had a number of owners. The latest STL Blues hockey news, NHL headlines, scores, standings and rosters. The moneyline in this contest implies a 35.7% chance for the Blues to win. 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". It wasn't. He was introduced on October 10, 2007. In 201516, the Blues finished in second place in the Central Division to the Dallas Stars. After missing the playoffs for the first time in 197374, the Blues ended up in the Smythe Division after a League realignment. 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. St. Louis was the last of the six expansion teams to gain entry into the League; the market was chosen over Baltimore at the insistence of the Black Hawks owners, James D. Norris and Arthur Wirtz. On December 11, 2006, the Blues fired head coach Mike Kitchen and replaced him with former Los Angeles Kings head coach Andy Murray. 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. During that time, Salomon gained a reputation throughout the NHL as the top players' owner. [11] The Board of Governors rejected the offer and "terminated" the team on June 13, one day before Ralston's supposed deadline. 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. Two months later, they traded Doug Weight, a 38-year-old four-time All-Star center, to the Anaheim Ducks as part of a package to acquire 30-year-old center Andy McDonald. 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. At the beginning of the 200607 season, the Blues looked to be competitive in the Central Division. A corresponding blue jersey was introduced the following season, thus retiring the previous set. Moreover, for the first time in club history, the normally excellent support seen by St. Louisans began decrease, with crowds normally numbering around 12,000, notably less than the team's normal high (about 18,000 in a 19,500-seat arena). (Jeremy Rutherford photo / Post-Dispatch) Jeremy P. Rutherford , Tom . 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. None of the previous owners has brought a Stanley Cup championship to St. Louis. The Checkerboard Square chief even re-painted the fading Arena and re-dubbed it the Checkerdome. Under Arbour, the Blues essentially matched their 1969-70 regular season performance in their fourth season, and were still the best of the expansion teams; however, it was only good enough for second place in the West as St. Louis finished twenty points behind Chicago. Sidney Salomon (right) and his son, Sid, express jubilation after the group of nine individuals they head from St. Louis were awarded a conditional franchise from the National Hockey League on April 5, 1966. The Black Hawks owners felt they could establish a "lovable loser" (much like the Cubs) with the St. Louis hockey team. 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. 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. The deferred contracts came due just as the Blues' performance began to slip. After the 200405 lockout, the Blues' attendance suffered, but has since improved every year since its all-time low in 200607. The move proved both ill-conceived and ill-timed, as the renamed St. Louis Eagles continued to lose money. 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. They also had strong goaltending led by Mike Liut. St. Louis has a record of 2-3 in games when bookmakers list them +180 or longer on the moneyline. But the memorable season came to an abrupt end at the hands of the surging Los Angles Kings. League president John Ziegler said they would try to keep the team in St. Louis. Angry at having to play "second fiddle", the Blues elected to leave for KTRS in 2000. [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. A third-round loss to Colorado in 2000-01 was especially deflating. 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. By accident", "Pronger steps aside as captain; MacInnis steps in", "Blues retire Plager's No. With silver-jacketed organist Norm Kramer pumping out "When the Blues Go Marching In," hockey became a happening in St. Louis. Other players like Patrik Berglund, and Alex Steen did not return in time for the season. 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. On November 14, 2005, the Blues announced that SCP Worldwide had officially withdrawn from negotiations to buy the team. In response, the Blues moved back to KMOX starting in the 200607 season. John Davidson, received the award in 2009 for his contributions in television broadcasting. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Ten players reached at least 20 goals, including Wayne Babych, future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko, and team captain Brian Sutter. While the fans were stunned, the players were aware of this. The Blues missed the playoffs during the first four full seasons of new ownership. The Blues jumped to a 31 series lead, but struggled in games 5 and 6. The logo used on the Blues' jerseys from 1987 to 1998. 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. The jersey brought back the contrasting shoulder yoke and returned to the lighter blue of previous eras. Dan Kelly continued to broadcast the games on radio but was diagnosed in the summer of 1988 with lung cancer and died on February 10, 1989. [7] Emile Francis would call it quits on May 2, leaving for the Hartford Whalers to become president and general manager. 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. Early life[edit] Laurie grew up in rural Missouri. He was 78. Defensively, however, the Blues were less than stellar and saw Chicago and the Philadelphia Flyers overtake the Division. Wal-Mart heir Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill purchased the Blues in 1999. With Dorothy Lamour, Lloyd Nolan, Tito Guzar, Jerome Cowan. Ralston renamed the arena the "Checkerdome." 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. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game. 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. It has been called the "Fan Salute" by some. The uniforms, which had the team name written around the primitive "blue note" logo along with contrasting stripes, had a gold base.[37]. During the 2007 off-season, the Blues signed free agent Paul Kariya to a three-year contract worth $18million, re-signed defenseman Barret Jackman to a one-year contract, lost their captain Dallas Drake to the Detroit Red Wings, and traded prospect Carl Soderberg to the Bruins in exchange for yet more depth in the goal crease, Hannu Toivonen. Buck elected to leave the booth after one season, though, and was replaced by another famed announcer in Dan Kelly. Indeed, many of the Blues' players liked the fact that their families could hear the games on KMOX. A look at the ownership lineage: Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Despite defeating the Blackhawks in the 2017 NHL Winter Classic by the score of 41, the Blues fired Hitchcock and promoted Yeo to head coach on February 1, 2017. Photo by Scott C. Dine/St. 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. They faced the third-seeded Vancouver Canucks in the first round, but despite the team's tremendous run to end the season, the Blues would ultimately lose the series in a quick four-game sweep. However, despite the music stopping, the loyal Blues fans in attendance continued to sing loudly. In 200910, despite not having a playoff year, the Blues had an average attendance of 18,883 (98.6% total capacity), selling out 34 of its 40 home games, which placed them seventh in the NHL in attendance. To this day, in terms of contention, the Salomon group remains the most successful of the Blues owners. 0. 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. st louis blues traditions. The song has since been retired; the last time they played it was during the raising of the Stanley Cup Championship banner ceremony on October 2, 2019. Ornest ran the Blues very cheaply, though the players did not mind. Most NHL teams during the mid-1980s had over 60 players under contract. 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. [Brian O'Reilly (Ryan's dad)] I want to thank all of St Louis especially Doug Armstrong. They waited for an authorization by 75% of the NHL Board of Governors for the sale and transfer of the club. In 201213, the Blues completed the lockout-shortened season in fourth place in the Western Conference. Louis Post-Dispatch, Ruth and Harry Ornest, holding court during their reign with the St. Louis Blues, on July 12, 1985. The Blues simplified their design, with only the blue note logo on the front; there were no third jerseys for the season. 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. St. Louis Blues. However, after the period of exclusivity, SCP entered the picture again. 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! 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. They missed the playoffs for only the fourth time in franchise history. St Louis Blues Players. The St. Louis Blues are one of the more successful NHL teams in terms of attendance. 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. st louis blues - $75 (Saint Louis) wednesday 2023-03-01. number available: 4 venue: enterprise center. On October 10, the Blues introduced a new mascot, Louie. 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 presently acknowledge an affiliation with a number of inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Nonetheless, the team remained competitive for the next three years, despite never advancing beyond the second round. {{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. [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. October 1, 2019. As general manager and coach, Keenan traded away the popular Brendan Shanahan, tested patience with other curious transactions and cultivated a toxic relationship with Hull. 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. [44] Beginning in 2018, the win song has been the aforementioned song recorded by The Urge. 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. The Salomons sold the Blues to Ralston on July 27, 1977. 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. QR Code Link to This Post. Photo by Lloyd Spainhower/St. [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 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. The game against Anaheim was suspended during the first period and postponed to March 11. Payne was previously the head coach of the Blues top minor league affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League (AHL).[16]. MLS in July 2020 pushed the expansion schedule back by a year for both St. Louis and the Charlotte, North Carolina, team that began play last year, saying the Covid-19 pandemic had led to delays . 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). For the song, see. 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. Ryan O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. For the 199495 season, the Blues introduced a more radical jersey set, featuring red in a more prominent role. Contact Information: print. However, injuries plagued the team all season, and the lack of a bona fide scorer hampered them as well. The standard for other teams was 60 players. Blues owners. An updated version of the blue sweater, produced by Adidas, was brought back in 2019 as their 90s Vintage Jersey.. During this time, Doug Gilmour, drafted by St. Louis in 1982, emerged as a star. [34] A corresponding vintage white version was unveiled for the 2022 NHL Winter Classic. Instead, a Return to Play tournament was organized, starting in August 2020. 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. Jeff Gordon writes: Controlling the Blues is a great honor for diehard fan Tom Stillman. 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. These are the top-ten point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise regular-season history. These are the top-ten-point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise playoff history. Under new management, the Blues promptly installed John Davidson as president of hockey operations, moving Pleau to a mostly advisory role. In 1978-79, the Blues won 18 of 80 games, or just one more than the NFL's 1972 Miami Dophins. Hull, who had a lengthy feud with Keenan, left for the Dallas Stars in 1998. St. Louis Blues: Directed by Raoul Walsh. Defenseman Chris Pronger (acquired from the Hartford Whalers in 1995 for Brendan Shanahan), Keith Tkachuk, Pavol Demitra, Pierre Turgeon, Al MacInnis and goaltender Roman Turek kept the Blues a contender in the NHL. The seats are in section 106 row cc seats 1-4. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . This ended up being the Blues' last game in the regular season, as the season would be cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic shortly afterwards. Things got worse after Keenan orchestrated a bold trade to acquire Wayne Gretzky late in the 1995-96 season. On June 17, 2005, the Lauries announced that they would sell the team. March 3, 2023 by Marcus Ashpaugh. 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. 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. 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. [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. In 1985, Ornest, wanting more broadcast revenue, put the radio rights up for bid. Off the ice, the cash-poor Checketts operated with an Ornest-like budget; on the ice the team continued to stockpile picks and promise. Amid several questionable personnel moves and an unstable ownership situation, the Blues finished the 200506 season with their worst record in 27 years. Blues Jump Blues/Piano Blues St. Louis Blues. [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. Before the 199798 season, the Blues introduced a new alternate white jersey. Menu. In each instance, the Blues were swept in four games, twice by the Montreal Canadiens and lastly by the Boston Bruins. Declining revenue reached a critical stage by the end of the 1976-77 season, and the Blues reduced their management staff to three. On April 12, the Blues clinched the sixth seed in the West with a 10 win against the Colorado Avalanche. Especially galling were the frequent blown leads after two periods, and with the worst home record (6133) posted in the entire NHL. List of former Blues players set to return to St. Louis before the end of the season . 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. Among the first things Ornest did during his three-year tenure was change the name of the building back to the "Arena." 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. Over the next few years, the franchise became one of the most colorful and controversial in the NHL. Nevertheless, the Black Hawks owners still owned the St. Louis Arena. He intended to build a $43 million 18,000-seat arena in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in time for the 1983-84 season. 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 lost more players as Jay Bouwmeester suffered a season-ending injury, and Jaden Schwartz missed a large portion of the season. [41], At the end of the national anthem before every home game, the words "the home of the brave" are drowned out by fans with "the home of the Blues. [30] In 201011, the team sold out every home game. When the period of exclusivity expired without a deal, SCP jumped back into the picture. The broadcasts failed to produce a profit and then returned to KPLR for the 1982 NHL playoffs and the 198283 season before returning to KDNL (currently St. Louis' ABC affiliate) for the 198384 season, the first under the ownership of Harry Ornest. 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. 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. [13] Despite operating on a shoestring, the Blues remained competitive even though they never finished more than six games over .500 in Ornest's three years as owner. However, St. Louis was swept in their first Finals appearance by the heavily favored Montreal Canadiens. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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,.