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103-604: Strader is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Dave Strader (1955–2017), American sports announcer Park M. Strader (1945–2009), American politician Peter W. Strader (1818–1881), American politician Red Strader (1902–1956), American football player and coach See also [ edit ] Strader, California , in Kern County Strader v. Graham , United States Supreme Court case [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with

206-580: A "lovable loser" (much like the Cubs) with the St. Louis hockey team. 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." 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. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make

309-486: A bid for the team. 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. 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. Upon acquiring

412-522: A break in his treatment, he returned to the broadcast booth on February 18, 2017, the first of the five-game Dallas home stand, a 4-3 overtime home win against the Tampa Bay Lightning . After the game, the Stars saluted Strader at center ice. In all, he broadcast all five games of that Dallas home stand including one on NBC on February 26, 2017. In April 2017, he also broadcast games in

515-709: A franchise-worst 18–50–12 record with 48 points in 1979 , the Blues made the playoffs the following year, the first of 25 consecutive postseason appearances. After being one of the worst teams a couple of years before, they were one of the best in 1981 , as they finished with a then-franchise-best record of 45–18–17 record which translated to 107 points and the second-best record in the league. Ten players reached at least 20 goals, including Wayne Babych , future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko , and team captain Brian Sutter . They also had strong goaltending led by Mike Liut . They would get rewarded as head coach Red Berenson won

618-589: A mostly advisory role. The former New York Rangers goaltender promptly made multiple blockbuster deals, picking up Jay McKee , Bill Guerin and Manny Legace from free agency, and bringing Doug Weight back to St. Louis after a brief ( and productive ) stopover in Carolina . Weight was again traded in December 2007 to the Anaheim Ducks , along with a minor league player, in exchange for Andy McDonald . At

721-465: A representative, which led the Blues to forfeit their picks. 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." The NHL also said that Ralston broke a league rule that an owner had to give two years' notice before dissolving a franchise. Ralston called

824-541: A season-ending injury, and Jaden Schwartz missed a large portion of the season. The Blues also dealt away Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets at the trade deadline for their first-round pick as they won only 23 games of their remaining 51, but they still had a chance to get into the playoffs on the last day of their season against the Colorado Avalanche. After losing Vladimir Tarasenko to injury during

927-611: A second-round exit in 1996, and he was fired on December 19, 1996. Caron was reinstated as interim general manager for the rest of the season, and general manager Larry Pleau was hired on June 9, 1997. Hull, who had a lengthy feud with Keenan, left for the Dallas Stars in 1998. He went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Stars the next year , scoring a controversial goal on the Buffalo Sabres ' Dominik Hasek to clinch

1030-490: A star. While the Blues remained competitive, they were unable to keep many of their young players. More often than not, several of the Blues' emerging stars ended up as Calgary Flames , and the sight of Flames executive Al MacNeil was always greeted with dread. 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 . Sutter and Federko were

1133-410: A strong development program under head scout Jarmo Kekalainen , using the team's raft of high draft picks in 2006 and 2007 to select highly touted prospects such as T. J. Oshie , Erik Johnson and David Perron . On January 4, 2007, the Blues had a record of 6–1–3 in their previous ten games, which was the best in the NHL during that stretch. Despite a healthy 24-point jump from the previous season,

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1236-449: A tribute to him, in a full segment during the first intermission. On October 7, 2017, the Stars and Vegas Golden Knights paid a moment of silence in his honor, while also honoring a Stars staff member killed in the summer, and the 2017 Las Vegas shooting victims . St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis . The Blues compete in

1339-402: A year during its six-year ownership of the Blues. However, Dean took the losses philosophically, having taken over out of a sense of civic responsibility. In 1981, Dean retired. His successor, William Stiritz, wanted to refocus on the core pet food business, and his personal sporting interests were in horse racing rather than hockey. He saw the Blues as just another money-bleeding division, and put

1442-632: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Dave Strader On April 17, 2017 the Hockey Hall of Fame announced that Strader was the 2017 recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his outstanding contributions to play-by-play broadcasting of the game of ice hockey. While hockey was his primary focus, he also called college basketball , WNBA , and NBA D-League games. A native of Glens Falls, New York , Strader honed his broadcasting skills at

1545-468: The 1983-84 season . While the fans were stunned, the players were aware of this. When the Blues faced the Oilers on December 7, 1982, brochures were distributed titled "Saskatchewan in the NHL". These distractions would greatly affect their performance as they squeezed into the playoffs with a 25–40–15 record in the 1983 season , good enough for 65 points. This led to a Norris Division semifinals exit against

1648-663: The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia . Strader served as a last-minute play-by-play replacement for Mike Emrick on NBC's coverage of the NHL Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks on January 1, 2009, when Emrick was unable to broadcast the game due to laryngitis . Strader also called the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic on Versus, where the Montreal Canadiens played

1751-718: The Boston Bruins 3–2 in overtime. On June 12, 2019, the Blues defeated the Bruins 4–1 in game 7 to win their first Stanley Cup. Ryan O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. Up until that point, the Blues were the oldest franchise to never win the Stanley Cup; they were also the last of the five surviving 1967 expansion teams to win the Cup for the first time. This all but assured that Berube would have

1854-562: The Boston Bruins in exchange for Wideman, became the fastest Blues player to reach 40 goals since Brett Hull , doing so during the 2007–08 season . During the 2007 off-season, the Blues signed free agent Paul Kariya to a three-year contract worth $ 18 million, 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

1957-697: The Calgary Flames at McMahon Stadium in Calgary , Alberta . In 2012, he covered the Battle 4 Atlantis men's college basketball preseason tournament on the NBC Sports Network alongside Donny Marshall during the 2012–13 NHL lockout . Strader died on October 1, 2017, at the age of 62 at his Glens Falls home, after his battle with bile duct cancer . The Hockey Hall of Fame had announced earlier that year on April 17 that Strader

2060-800: 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 . Their regular season success, however, did not transfer into the playoffs, as they were eliminated by the New York Rangers in

2163-662: 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. The arena quickly became one of the loudest buildings in the NHL, a reputation it maintained throughout its tenure as the Blues' home. During that time, Salomon gained a reputation throughout the NHL as the top players' owner. He gave his players cars, signed them to deferred contracts and treated them to vacations in Florida . The players, used to being treated like mere commodities, felt

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2266-598: The Minnesota North Stars , Los Angeles Kings , Philadelphia Flyers , Pittsburgh Penguins , and California Seals . 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 . Following the Black Hawks' championship in 1961 , the team became much more successful at

2369-764: The NHL 's Detroit Red Wings called Strader up from the farm club, and he took over the play-by-play duties, calling TV games on both WKBD and PASS Sports alongside Mickey Redmond until 1996. Strader called games for the Florida Panthers for the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons when not calling games for NBC or Versus. Strader was hired by the Phoenix Coyotes on July 2, 2007. He was reunited with his former ESPN / ABC partner, Darren Pang , for Coyotes broadcasts for two seasons. With no television contract in place for Coyotes games, Pang left in 2009 to join

2472-640: The National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference . 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 ". 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. The Blues won

2575-543: The Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars to reach the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals. However, St. Louis was swept in their first Finals appearance by the heavily favored Montreal Canadiens . Under Bowman, the Blues dominated the West for the next two seasons, becoming the only expansion team to compile a winning record, and they captured division titles by wide margins each year. However, they were swept in

2678-543: The St. Louis Blues , and Tyson Nash joined him in the broadcast booth. In July 2011, Strader left his position with the Coyotes to accept a full-time job with NBC/Versus. He joined the NHL Dallas Stars as their TV play-by-play voice at the start of the 2015-2016 NHL season. In June 2016, Strader was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma , a fairly rare and aggressive form of cancer of the bile duct . During

2781-528: The Stanley Cup in 2019 and have the most Stanley Cup playoff appearances outside of the Original Six . Although frequent postseason contenders for most of their history, the franchise has usually struggled in the playoffs, including consecutive Stanley Cup Finals defeats at the end of their first three seasons. 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

2884-479: The lockout ), the Blues were in the playoffs. 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. The Blues fired head coach Andy Murray on January 2, 2010, after a disappointing record (17–17–6, 40 points), sitting in 12th place in the Conference. Especially galling were

2987-411: The surname Strader . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Strader&oldid=1170245782 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description

3090-492: The "Golden Jet"), became one of the League's top stars and a scoring sensation, netting 86 goals in 1990–91 en route to earning the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player. 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). Only Wayne Gretzky found the net more than Hull during any given three-year period. Despite posting

3193-532: The "interim" tag removed from his title, which occurred two weeks after their Cup victory. 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. The bill was signed into law by Mike Parson , the Governor of Missouri , with

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3296-416: The 1970–71 season following a power-sharing dispute with Sid Salomon III (who was taking an increasing role in team affairs), as well as Hall, Plante, Goyette and ultimately Berenson, who were all lost to retirement or trade. Veteran player Al Arbour hastily stepped in to coach the team. Under Arbour, the Blues essentially matched their 1969–70 regular season performance in their fourth season, and were still

3399-602: The Blues became the first team to reach 100 points and clinch a playoff berth in the 2011–12 season under Hitchcock, qualifying for their first playoffs since 2008–09. They would finish second in the Western Conference, behind the Vancouver Canucks. During the 2012 playoffs, they won their first playoff series since 2002, eliminating the San Jose Sharks in five games. The Blues were swept by

3502-535: The Blues contended during this time period, they never passed the second round of the playoffs. Nonetheless, their on-ice success was enough for a consortium of 19 companies to buy the team. They also provided the capital to build the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center ), which opened in 1994. Hull, nicknamed the "Golden Brett" (a reference to his father, NHL legend Bobby Hull , who was nicknamed

3605-550: The Blues ended up in the Smythe Division after a League realignment. This division was particularly weak, and in 1976–77 , the Blues won it while finishing five games below .500, though this would be their last playoff appearance in the decade. In the meantime, the franchise was on the brink of financial collapse. This was partly due to the pressures of the World Hockey Association (WHA), but mostly

3708-402: The Blues fired head coach Mike Yeo after starting the season with a 7–9–3 record and replaced him with Craig Berube on an interim basis. On March 29, 2019, the Blues became the seventh team in NHL since the 1967–68 season to qualify for the playoffs after being placed last after January 1. This resurgence included an eleven-game winning streak between February and March, in large part thanks to

3811-538: The Blues traded goaltender Jake Allen , who had spent 10 years in the Blues organization, to the Montreal Canadiens . The Blues play in the 19,150 (not counting standing room) capacity Enterprise Center , where they have played since 1994. The arena was previously known as Scottrade Center, the Savvis Center, and before that as the Kiel Center. From 1967 until 1994, the team played in the St. Louis Arena (known as The Checkerdome from 1977 until 1983 ), where

3914-602: 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. Steve Ott also left the team, signing a free-agent deal with the Red Wings. Jake Allen was now the starting goaltender for the Blues, while the team also signed former Nashville Predators backup Carter Hutton . Former Blues forward David Perron

4017-539: The Bruins in exchange for yet more depth in the goal crease, Hannu Toivonen . On October 2, 2007, the Blues finalized the season-starting roster, which included rookies David Perron, Steven Wagner and Erik Johnson. On October 10, the Blues introduced a new mascot, Louie . 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. On February 8, 2008, it

4120-559: The Canadiens, having won two out of three games against the Habs in the regular season. After that season, Ornest sold the team to a group led by St. Louis businessman Michael Shanahan. St. Louis kept chugging along through the late 1980s and early 1990s. 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. While

4223-615: The Chicago Black Hawks. Following their playoff exit, Ralston authorized the deal to Hunter's company, renamed Coliseum Holdings, Ltd., for $ 12 million on April 21. Emile Francis would call it quits on May 2, leaving to become president and general manager of the Hartford Whalers . The Blues then fired 60 percent of their employees. The remaining staff included the accounting department, scouting staff, and coach Barclay Plager. They waited for an authorization by 75% of

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4326-417: The Cup for Dallas. 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. 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. In 1999–2000 ,

4429-531: The NHL Board of Governors for the sale and transfer of the club. However, the NHL Board of Governors rejected the deal by a 15–3 vote on May 18. feeling that Saskatoon was not big enough to support an NHL team, and also wary of Hunter's involvement based on his roles in the WHA. Ralston then filed a $ 60 million anti-trust lawsuit in U.S. District Court, claiming that the NHL broke federal antitrust laws and breached

4532-621: The NHL broadcast network contract in 2000, Strader worked for them as well. He also called NHL games for Fox in the mid-1990s, and the Stanley Cup Finals for NHL International from 1997-2015. He moved to NBC and Versus when they got the NHL contracts in 2005 . Strader also provided hockey play-by-play for NBC's coverage of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy , the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia , and

4635-455: The NHL in attendance. In 2010–11, the team sold out every home game. The Blues have worn blue and white jerseys with the famous "Blue Note" crest and gold accents since their inception in 1967. From 1967 to 1984, the Blues jerseys featured a lighter shade of blue along with contrasting shoulder yoke and stripes. The blue jerseys lacked the contrasting yoke until 1979. In 1984, the Blues drastically redesigned their look, adding red and darkening

4738-478: The Philadelphia Flyers by giving away Jori Lehtera . Before the season began, the Blues were hit hard with injuries as they lost Robby Fabbri before the season began. Other players like Patrik Berglund , and Alex Steen did not return in time for the season. Despite these losses, the Blues raced out to a 21–8–2 start in their first 31 games. The Blues lost more players as Jay Bouwmeester suffered

4841-474: The St. Louis Arena came under the control of the owners of the Chicago Black Hawks . 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 1950s while the team still struggled to sell tickets at Chicago Stadium . The Blues were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion , along with

4944-648: The Stanley Cup Finals by the Montreal Canadiens in 1969 and then by the Boston Bruins in 1970 . 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 . Phil Goyette won

5047-529: The Stanley Cup Finals. In fact, they made it to the conference finals only two times in their streak (1986 and 2001). Amid several questionable personnel moves and an unstable ownership situation, the Blues finished the 2005–06 season with their worst record in 27 years. They missed the playoffs for only the fourth time in franchise history. Moreover, for the first time in club history, the normally excellent support seen by St. Louisans began to decrease, with crowds normally numbering around 12,000, notably less than

5150-475: The Western Conference and second in the NHL. However, as the season was put on pause due to the pandemic, no team would play the full 82 games. Instead, a round-robin tournament for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs was organized, starting in August 2020. In the round-robin tournament for the four top-seeded teams of the conference, the Blues failed to get a win, and thus despite having the best regular season record in

5253-412: The acquisition of the legendary-but-aging Wayne Gretzky and goaltender Grant Fuhr , both from the declining Los Angeles Kings . 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 . Ultimately, Keenan's playoff resume with St. Louis included a first-round exit in 1995 and

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5356-569: The beginning of the 2006–07 season , the Blues looked to be competitive in the Central Division. However, injuries plagued the team all season, and the lack of a bona fide scorer hampered them as well. 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. On December 11, 2006, the Blues fired head coach Mike Kitchen and replaced him with former Los Angeles Kings head coach Andy Murray . Davidson also installed

5459-470: The bench in a game against the Anaheim Ducks , and would not come back to play again in the season. The game against Anaheim was suspended during the first period and postponed to March 11. 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. The Blues had remained in strong form throughout the season, finishing first in

5562-467: The best of the expansion teams; however, it was only good enough for second place in the West as St. Louis finished 20 points behind Chicago. 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. Arbour, who officially retired as a player after the 1970–71 season, would remain behind the Blues' bench for

5665-494: The bottom of the Western Conference standings, the Blues began to turn things around behind the solid goaltending of Chris Mason . After a strong second-half run, the Blues made the 2009 playoffs on April 10, 2009, after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3–1. On April 12, the Blues clinched the sixth seed in the West with a 1–0 win against the Colorado Avalanche. For the first time in five years (that is, since

5768-476: The box office in Chicago, thus St. Louis was no longer useful as a secondary market. Nevertheless, the Black Hawks owners still owned the St. Louis Arena. They sought to unload what was then a decrepit facility which had not been well-maintained since the 1940s, and thus pressed the NHL to give the franchise to St. Louis, which had not submitted a formal expansion bid. The Black Hawks owners felt they could establish

5871-759: The college radio station WMUA 91.1 while studying for his Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst . Strader's professional broadcasting career began as the radio announcer and public relations director for the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL from 1979 to 1985. A two-time New York State Broadcasters Association honoree, Strader was named the AHL's top public relations professional in 1984. In 1985,

5974-467: The conference, they ended up being the fourth seed in the Western Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the Vancouver Canucks , to whom they lost in six games. 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. On September 2, 2020,

6077-455: The counter-suit "ridiculous" and gave the NHL an ultimatum: if the NHL would not accept Hunter's offer by June 14, Ralston would dissolve the team and sell its players and assets to other teams. The Board of Governors rejected the offer and "terminated" the team on June 13, one day before Ralston's supposed deadline. It then took control of the franchise and began searching for a new owner. League president John Ziegler said they would try to keep

6180-416: The duty of good faith and fair dealing by voting to reject the sale and transfer of the Blues to Hunter's group. 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. On June 3, Ralston announced that it had no interest in running the team anymore. Because they were not required to participate in the 1983 NHL entry draft , they did not send

6283-564: The emergence of the eventual Calder Trophy nominee, rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington . On May 21, the Blues advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1970 , defeating the San Jose Sharks in a six-game conference finals series. 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 (1968–1970), when they defeated

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6386-409: The end of the season, when they gained most points in the league from February 1, when Hitchcock was fired, to the end of the season, the Blues were eliminated in the second round by the Nashville Predators in six games. In the off-season for the 2017–18 season , the Blues would lose David Perron to the Vegas Golden Knights via an expansion draft . They would also pick up Brayden Schenn from

6489-452: The era for size and had good sight lines for the game. After an ice plant was installed, the minor league St. Louis Flyers began play there in 1929. St. Louis soon began to attract the interest as a potential NHL market, eventually leading the owners of the moribund Ottawa Senators to move there for the 1934-35 season . The move proved both ill-conceived and ill-timed, as the renamed St. Louis Eagles continued to lose money. Their situation

6592-419: The eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings , in the following round. In 2012–13 , the Blues completed the lockout -shortened season in fourth place in the Western Conference. They were again eliminated by Los Angeles, however, this time in six games in the first round of the playoffs, despite taking an initial 2–0 series lead. The following season, 2013–14 , the team hit the 100-point mark for

6695-449: The final active team from the 1967 expansion to win their first Stanley Cup. The Blues have a rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks , with whom they have shared a division since 1970. The Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Florida Everblades of the ECHL are the team's minor league affiliates. Although the St. Louis Arena was not originally designed with hockey in mind, it met NHL standards of

6798-446: The first round Stanley Cup playoff series between the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs on NBC networks. After long time ESPN broadcaster Tom Mees died from drowning in 1996, Strader was hired by the cable network to take the vacant play-by-play spot on National Hockey Night broadcasts. Strader was usually paired with Darren Pang and Brian Engblom on the network's secondary hockey broadcast team. When ABC got

6901-439: The first-round series in six games. This marked the second-straight year the Blues lost in the first round of the playoffs to the reigning champions in six games after leading the series 2–0. In 2014–15 , the Blues won their second Central Division championship in four years and faced the Minnesota Wild in round one of the 2015 playoffs . However, for the third straight year, they lost in the first round and in six games. During

7004-417: 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. Lynn Patrick initially served as general manager and head coach. However, he resigned as head coach in late November after recording a 4–13–2 record. He was replaced by assistant coach Scotty Bowman , who thereafter led the team to a winning record for

7107-423: The frequent blown leads after two periods, and with the worst home record (6–13–3) posted in the entire NHL. After his duties as interim coach for the rest of the 2009–10 season , Davis Payne was named the 23rd head coach in the Blues' history on April 14. Payne was previously the head coach of the Blues top minor league affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League (AHL). On March 17, 2011, it

7210-411: The game, the Blues lost to the Avalanche 5–2 as they missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years. During the 2018 off-season, 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 . On November 19, 2018,

7313-522: The name of the team's home venue to the St. Louis Arena. 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 1977–78 season. Ornest ran the Blues very cheaply, though the players did not mind. 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. For instance, Ornest asked many players to defer their salaries to help meet operating costs, but

7416-462: The next two seasons. 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 . Defensively, however, the Blues were less than stellar and saw Chicago and the Philadelphia Flyers overtake the Division. After missing the playoffs for the first time in 1973–74 ,

7519-530: The off-season, forward T. J. Oshie was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Troy Brouwer . In 2015–16 , the Blues finished in second place in the Central Division to the Dallas Stars . The Blues took on the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in the first-round series. The Blues jumped to a 3–1 series lead, but struggled in games 5 and 6. However, St. Louis ended their first-round losing streak by beating Chicago 3–2 in game 7 of

7622-521: The old St. Louis Eagles played, and which the original owners had to buy as a condition of the 1967 NHL expansion. The St. Louis Blues are one of the more successful NHL teams in terms of attendance. After the 2004–05 lockout , the Blues' attendance suffered, but has since improved every year since its all-time low in 2006–07 . In 2009–10 , 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

7725-423: 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. Following the disappointing 2005–06 season, which saw the Blues with the worst record in the NHL, the new management focused on rebuilding the franchise. Under new management, the Blues promptly installed John Davidson as president of hockey operations, moving Pleau to

7828-520: The only untouchables on the Blues during that era. By 1986 , the team reached the Campbell Conference finals against the Flames. 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, 2–1. Years later, Sutter argued that had the Blues made it to the Stanley Cup Finals , they would have likely beaten

7931-491: The only way they could pay him back was to give their best on the ice every night. The Blues' successes in the late 1960s, however, did not continue into the 1970s. 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. The Blues lost Bowman, who left during

8034-612: The players always got paid in the end. During most of Ornest's tenure, the Blues had only 26 players under contract–23 in St. Louis, plus three on their farm team, the Montana Magic . Most NHL teams during the mid-1980s had over 60 players under contract. 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. During this time, Doug Gilmour , drafted by St. Louis in 1982 , emerged as

8137-416: The playoffs. Under the expansion playoff format, Bowman's leadership was enough as the Blues qualified for the playoffs in their inaugural season. 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. Ultimately, it was the Blues who prevailed by winning in seven games each over

8240-425: The rest of the season. 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. As part of the expansion, the NHL had agreed to put all of the expansion teams in the new Western Division , an arrangement which was intended to ensure all of the new teams all had an equal chance of reaching

8343-495: The result of financial decisions made when the Salomons first acquired the franchise. The deferred contracts came due just as the Blues' performance began to slip. At one point, the Salomons cut the team's staff down to three employees. One of them was Emile Francis , who served as team president, general manager and head coach. In hopes of saving the franchise, Francis persuaded St. Louis-based pet food giant Ralston Purina to buy

8446-475: The revised statute becoming effective August 29, 2019. In the 2019–20 season , the Blues suffered an early blow as forward Vladimir Tarasenko suffered a season-ending injury on October 24. However, they would continue their strong play even despite being plagued with various other injuries, consistently remaining at or near the top of the Western Conference. On February 12, 2020, the Blues suffered another loss as defenseman Jay Bouwmeester suddenly collapsed on

8549-641: The second round 2–4 after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round 3–2. The Blues would underachieve greatly the following year as they posted a 32–40–8, but they beat the Winnipeg Jets 3–1 in the Norris Division semifinals before dropping to the Chicago Black Hawks in the Norris Division 2–4. While the Blues had returned to respectability on the ice, they were struggling off it. Ralston Purina lost an estimated $ 1.8 million

8652-540: The second-best regular season record in the entire league in 1990–91, 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. Mike Keenan was hired as both general manager and coach before the abbreviated 1994–95 season , with the hope that he could end the postseason turmoil that Blues fans had endured for years. Keenan instituted major changes, including trades that sent away fan favorites Brendan Shanahan and Curtis Joseph, as well as

8755-455: The series. They moved on to the next round, where they defeated the Dallas Stars in another seven-game series to advance to their first conference finals since 2001. The Blues season would come to an end at the hands of the San Jose Sharks , who eliminated them in six games. On June 13, 2016, it was announced that Mike Yeo would replace Hitchcock as head coach of the Blues following the 2016–17 season . The 2016 off-season saw big changes for

8858-401: The shade of blue. Initially, the front of the jersey featured the team name above the crest logo, but was removed in 1987. In addition, the contrasting shoulder yoke was removed. For the 1994–95 season, the Blues introduced a more radical jersey set, featuring red in a more prominent role. The jersey introduced the short-lived trumpet logo on the shoulders and featured thin diagonal stripes on

8961-494: The sixth time in franchise history, and gained a franchise record of 52 wins. 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. The slump haunted them, as they blew a 2–0 series lead to the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks , losing

9064-406: 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. 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. Brad Boyes , picked up from

9167-485: The tail and sleeves. The bottom of the numbers taper off to give way to the aforementioned stripes. An updated version of the blue sweater, produced by Adidas, was brought back in 2019 as their "90s Vintage Jersey." Before the 1997–98 season, the Blues introduced a new alternate white jersey. The jersey brought back the contrasting shoulder yoke and returned to the lighter blue of previous eras. It also replaced red with navy blue as an accent color. A corresponding blue jersey

9270-470: The team in St. Louis. 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. On July 27, 1983, ten days before the deadline, the NHL approved a bid from businessman Harry Ornest and a group of St. Louis-based investors for the team and the arena. Ornest had made plans to buy the team as early as March, but built up his efforts in late June to have enough money. Ornest immediately reverted

9373-525: The team notched a franchise-record 114 points during the regular season, earning the Presidents' Trophy for the League's best record. However, they were stunned by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2000 playoffs in seven games. In 2001 , the Blues advanced to the conference finals before bowing out in five games to the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche . Nonetheless,

9476-403: The team on the market. While there were a number of interested parties, none had enough cash to meet Ralston's asking price. On January 12, 1983, Batoni-Hunter Enterprises Ltd., led by WHA and Edmonton Oilers founder Bill Hunter , tendered an offer to buy the team. Hunter intended to build a $ 43 million, 18,000-seat arena in his hometown of Saskatoon , Saskatchewan , to house the team in time for

9579-483: The team remained competitive for the next three years, despite never advancing beyond the second round. Despite years of mediocrity and the stigma of never being able to "take the next step," the Blues were a playoff presence every year from 1980 to 2004 – the third-longest streak in North American professional sports history (all three of which being held by NHL teams). However, they never made an appearance in

9682-515: The team's normal high (about 18,000 in a 19,500-seat arena). 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. 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

9785-406: The team, arena, and the $ 8.8 million debt. The Salomons sold the Blues to Ralston on July 27, 1977. However, longtime Ralston Purina chairman R. Hal Dean said that he intended to keep the Blues as a Ralston subsidiary only temporarily until a more stable owner who would keep the team in St. Louis could be found. Ralston renamed the arena the "Checkerdome." After two awful years, including what is still

9888-428: The team. 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. However, after the period of exclusivity, SCP entered the picture again. 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. The Blues are currently

9991-432: The then- Vancouver Grizzlies ), and it was thought that this desire caused him to neglect the Blues. 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 . On November 14, 2005, the Blues announced that SCP Worldwide had officially withdrawn from negotiations to buy

10094-409: Was announced that the St. Louis Blues were for sale. During the 2011 off-season, the team signed many key free agents, including Brian Elliott , Scott Nichol , Kent Huskins , Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner . They fired their head coach, Davis Payne, and named Ken Hitchcock as his replacement on November 6, 2011. David Backes was also announced as the new team captain. On March 17, 2012,

10197-489: Was announced that, after going much of the season without a captain, defenseman Eric Brewer was chosen as the team's 19th captain. The team later traded veteran defenseman Bryce Salvador to the New Jersey Devils for enforcer , and St. Louis native, Cam Janssen . He made his debut two days later, wearing number 55 against the Phoenix Coyotes . After spending the first half of the 2008–09 season at or near

10300-529: Was brought back on a free agent deal, while defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was named team captain. The team started the season by posting a record of 10–1–2 in their first 13 home games. However, they only won three games on the road during the first two months of the season. Despite defeating the Blackhawks in the 2017 Winter Classic by the score of 4–1, the Blues fired Hitchcock and promoted Yeo to head coach on February 1, 2017. Despite an impressive run into

10403-556: Was introduced the following season, thus retiring the previous set. Like all NHL teams, the Blues updated their jerseys for the 2007–08 season with new Rbk Edge jerseys. The Blues simplified their design, with only the blue note logo on the front; there were no third jerseys for the season. 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

10506-604: 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. The team finished last in the division and disbanded after one season. Following further contraction, the league stabilized at six teams after 1942. During this period, the NHL rebuffed attempts at further expansion. Eventually,

10609-554: Was the 2017 recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award , but his actual induction ceremony was scheduled months later on November 13. At the time of the announcement, Strader stated that he was looking forward to the ceremony, saying that it was the greatest honor he had ever received. Due to his death, Strader's sons accepted the award posthumously at the November induction ceremony on his behalf. In addition, three days later, Mike Emrick , NBC 's lead play-by-play announcer, paid

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