In 1967, the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues were founded. They were the last team chosen in the NHL’s expansion from six teams to twelve despite the fact that the city had never put in an official bid for a team.
The city was chosen rather than Baltimore at the insistence of the owners of the Chicago Blackhawks who were trying to find someone to buy their outdated and dilapidated St. Louis Arena. The new owners of the Blues spent several million dollars renovating the arena and adding seating in preparation for their new team.
The current home of the St. Louis Blues is the Scottrade Center. In 1994, the team moved into the arena and out of their only home until then. Originally known as the Kiel Center, the arena has seating for more than 19,000 people. Besides hockey, the center also plays host to other events throughout the year such as concerts and wrestling. It is also known throughout the NHL as one of the loudest arenas in the league, partly because of the foghorn blast and energetic rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In” after every goal by the home team.
In their history with the NHL, the St. Louis Blues have won seven Division Championships. They have made a total of 34 playoff appearances. They have also won the President’s trophy once, and the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl twice, along with numerous other trophies won by individual players over the years.
Off the ice, the St Louis Blues hold community ticket programs, host hockey related camps and programs for area youth, and donate to various charities. They are also active in the fight against cancer. Their coach, Davis Payne, is even one of the “Pink Tie Guys” which is a group of men selected every year to wear breast cancer inspired ties to various events in the St Louis area. Other activities include participating in educational initiatives and programs, encouraging youth to read, and even helping with animal rescue programs.
The St Louis Blues mascot is a blue polar bear named Louie. Louie is seen at home games and around the community, cheering on his favorite team and generating a ton of team spirit within the area. Louie wears a jersey with his name on the back and his own number “00.”
Although they did not gain a franchise in the usual way, the St Louis Blues are well loved and supported by their fans and area residents. They aren’t the most successful team in the league, nor are they the best known but in St Louis the Blues are known by everyone, contributing to the area in many ways from entertaining fans during games to giving their neighbors and fellow residents a helping hand when it is needed.
2009-10 St. Louis Blues
St. Louis Blues season ticket holders were happy that their team made it back into the NHL Playoffs. No matter that the Vancouver Canucks eliminated them in a 4-game sweep. Fans are just happy that there was improvement shown. Evidently not enough was shown to the franchise as they turned around and fired head coach Andy Murray and inserted Davis Payne as the interim head coach.
In the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the Blues selected Swedish player David Rundblad with the 17th overall pick and Brett Ponich. They also drafted two Americans, Dave Shields and Maxwell Tardy. The team also had a number of resigning, most notably the 3-year $4.35 million contract for Jay McClement, the 1-year $2.15 million contract for Keith Tkachuk and B.J. Crombeen’s 2-year $1.745 million contract. In free agency, the Blues inked seven skaters; Ty Conklin, Hannu Toivonen, Adam Cracknell, Barry Tallackson, Bryce Lampman, Brendan Bell, Derek Armstrong and Darryl Sydor.
The Blues are currently sitting in 13th place in the Western Conference with a 26-25-9 record.
Previous Seasons
Many fans in St. Louis already hope to forget the Blues' 2005-2006 season before the year is even finished. While the St. Louis Blues have been an established presence in the postseason, this year's team ranks last in the National Hockey League for points scored, and head coach Mike Kitchen appears to face the team's first absence from the playoffs in 25 years. The team's ownership recently changed, and captain Dallas Drake hopes to finish the season on a somewhat positive note. However, this season's future does not look bright for the Blues. St. Louis Blues hockey tickets are easy to find with a little research.
When the Blues first joined the NHL in 1967, the team appeared to be one of the most promising young teams in the history of professional sports. Under the leadership of legendary head coach Scotty Bowman, the St. Louis Blues appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals during each of the team's first three years. The goaltending duo of Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante proved to be one of the most intimidating defenses in the league, and the Blues' defense helped the team make an early entrance to the upper echelon of the NHL. However, after Bowman left the team, the Blues struggled through the 1970s. Losing records and three absences from the postseason marked the decade. After years of struggling, the team reappeared in the playoffs in the 1980s with two first place finishes in what was then called the Norris Division. A return to the championship still eluded fans in St. Louis and Blues ticket sales have no increased.
When the team acquired Brett Hull near the end of the 1980s, the team's offensive power greatly improved, and it appeared that fans in St. Louis would witness a revitalized team that could bring the city a national title. The team even signed the league's best player, Wayne Gretzky, in 1995, but he only remained with the Blues for one season before leaving the franchise. Hull stayed with the team, and his 11 years with the Blues established him as one of the NHL's best scorers. However, the team failed to capitalize on the star's presence; he left the team to play in Dallas where he quickly won a championship and earned a following of fans.
Despite many winning seasons and a first place finish in the Central Division in the 1999-2000 season, the St. Louis Blues playoff woes have continued. The team has not advanced further than the Western Conference semifinals since 2002. While center Doug Weight has enjoyed a productive offensive year for the team in 2005-2006, the only other positive for St. Louis fans is the fact that no false playoff hopes exist this season. Coach Kitchen will spend the remainder of the season attempting to improve his injury-ridden team while St. Louis hockey tickets slowly sink to the lowest position among all the teams in the league.
The Blues were so dismal in ’05-’06 that there is nowhere to go but up this year. And there’s definite upgrades. St. Louis has several solid players that have showed incredible improvement this season, possibly enough to scrape by into the playoffs, maybe. There’s still more improvement to be done, especially at goalpost with Manny Legace. Luckily, he has backup options with newcomers Jason Bacashihua and Marek Schwarz. Fans will see improvement this season, as the Blues have no choice but to improve.
