The
Blues were one of the Expansion six to enter the league in
1967 when the NHL doubled in size. The newcomers were hampered
by restrictive rules that kept virtually all the top players
with the existing teams.
Although
the Blues, originally coached by Lynn Patrick, then Scotty
Bowman, made the Stanley Cup finals in each of their first
three years of existence, they failed to win a game, losing
twice to the Montreal Canadiens and once to the Boston Bruins.
The first Blues teams included aging retreads like Doug Harvey,
Jacques Plante and Dickie Moore, in addition to younger and
relatively inexperienced talent like Red Berenson and Bob
and Barclay Plager St. Louis has not been back to the finals
since.
Through
the 1970s, the Blues, playing mostly sub-.500 hockey, were
on the brink of financial collapse. Ralston Purina invested
in the team, and by 1980 they were the second-best team in
the league in the regular season, with Berenson as coach,
Wayne Babych scoring 54 goals, and Bernie Federko leading
the team in scoring. The Blues fell flat in the playoffs that
year, losing in six games to the New York Rangers in the second
round.
Mike Keenan was hired as general manager and coach and quickly
instituted some major changes. Gone was Brendan Shanahan,
for instance, and in was an aging Wayne Gretzky (who immediately
bolted to the New York Rangers following the season). Neither
the fans nor the team ownership was fond of what he did, and
he was fired in 1996.
Caron
was reinstated as general manager, but even he could not stop
the tide of free agency. Hull left for the Dallas Stars in
1998 and won the Stanley Cup in his first year in the Lone
Star State.
Still,
defenseman Chris Pronger (acquired from the Hartford Whalers
in 1995), Pavol Demitra, Pierre Turgeon, and goalie Roman
Turek, continued to make the Blues a contender. In 1999-2000
they had the best record in the NHL during the regular season,
but were stunned by the San Jose Sharks in the first round.
In
2001 the Blues made the conference finals before bowing out
to the eventual champion Colorado Avalanche.
Founded: 1967
Arena: Savvis Center (formerly Kiel Center)
Uniform colors: Blue, white, and gold
Logo design: A winged musical note with lines
departing to the right
|
