"[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. Before the 199798 season, the Blues introduced a new alternate white jersey. Blues Front Office Ownership Tom Stillman, Jerald Kent, Donn Lux, James Cooper, Jo Ann Taylor Kindle, Steve Maritz, Edward Potter, Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Taylor, David Steward, James Kavanaugh, John. A few months later, in December 1996, both Keenan and executive Jack Quinn were fired. They also provided the capital to build the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center), which opened in 1994. Ten players reached at least 20 goals, including Wayne Babych, future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko, and team captain Brian Sutter. A third-round loss to Colorado in 2000-01 was especially deflating. Seriously underwater., Arch Madness: 2023 MVC Basketball Tournament bracket, schedule, game times, TV info, Centene expects to lose millions of Medicaid customers beginning in April, St. Louis man charged in quadruple fatal crash; police say he ran off with his license plate, Neman: Missouri womans saga of trying to find common sense at Walmart, I can still hear the roaring of the engine, says father of teen maimed in downtown St. Louis. He purchased the team and its player contracts for $3 million in cash and $9 million in two notes. To this day, in terms of contention, the Salomon group remains the most successful of the Blues owners. Oct 17, 2016. 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. [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. The Checkerboard Square chief even re-painted the fading Arena and re-dubbed it the Checkerdome. Initially, the front of the jersey featured the team name above the crest logo, but was removed in 1987. The original owners were successful insurance executive Sid Salomon Jr., his son Sid Salomon III and Robert Wolfson. The team started the season by posting a record of 1012 in their first 13 home games. Under the expansion playoff format, Bowman's leadership was enough as the Blues qualified for the playoffs in their inaugural season. 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. While the Blues remained competitive, they were unable to keep many of their young players. Hull, nicknamed the "Golden Brett" (a reference to his father, NHL legend Bobby Hull, who was nicknamed the "Golden Jet"), became one of the League's top stars and a scoring sensation, netting 86 goals in 199091 en route to earning the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player. 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. Starting after a couple of players heard "Gloria" by Laura Branigan, after their win in Philadelphia on January 3, 2019, the team started to use the song after every home win, and lasted all the way up to their Stanley Cup win. Chris Kerber and Joe Vitale are the current radio broadcast team. [1] Ultimately, it was the Blues who prevailed by winning in seven games each over the Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars to reach the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals. 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. Blues owners. With Dorothy Lamour, Lloyd Nolan, Tito Guzar, Jerome Cowan. Baie-Comeau Drakkar Players Bakersfield Condors Players Barrie Colts Players Barys Astana Players Belarusian Hockey Players Belleville Senators Players Bemidji State Beavers Players Bentley Falcons. It has an urban feeling, with little of the rural atmosphere that distinguishes country-blues. [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. 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. 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. New Blues ownership group Tom Stillman, chairman and CEO of Summit Distributing Donn Lux, Luxco chairman and CEO Jo Ann Taylor Kindle, president of the Enterprise Holdings Foundation Steve. Over the next few years, the franchise became one of the most colorful and controversial in the NHL. With silver-jacketed organist Norm Kramer pumping out "When the Blues Go Marching In," hockey became a happening in St. Louis. Wal-Mart heir Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill purchased the Blues in 1999. C Dave Checketts D John Danforth L Bill Laurie O Harry Ornest S SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC [15] The team later traded veteran defenseman Bryce Salvador to the New Jersey Devils for enforcer, and St. Louis native, Cam Janssen. 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. Most NHL teams during the mid-1980s had over 60 players under contract. 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. Inductees affiliated with the Blues include 24 former players (six of whom earned their credentials primarily with the Blues) and seven builders of the sport. One of them was Emile Francis, who served as team president, general manager and head coach. Prior to that, he worked at the New York . [55] The seven individuals recognized as builders by the Hall of Fame includes former Blues executives, general managers, head coaches, and owners. 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. Despite these losses, the Blues raced out to a 2182 start in their first 31 games. 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. Caron was reinstated as interim general manager for the rest of the season, and general manager Larry Pleau was hired on June 9, 1997. However, they never made an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. By 1986, the team reached the Campbell Conference Finals against the Flames. At the beginning of the 200607 season, the Blues looked to be competitive in the Central Division. 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 Blues. Two-year process yields the most desirable outcome in terms of the city's best interest. The Blues skated back to KPLR 3 years later. I really respect the fact that he puts the needs of the many ahead of the needs of the few. The Blues were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion, along with the . The game against Anaheim was suspended during the first period and postponed to March 11. Following the 198081 season, the television broadcasts moved from KDNL to NBC affiliate KSD-TV for the 198182 season, produced by Sports Network Incorporated (SNI), owned and operated by Greg Maracek who did the broadcasts with Channel 5 sportscaster Ron Jacober. The group becomes the eighth to hold the keys to the franchise since its inception. Louis Post-Dispatch, Ruth and Harry Ornest, holding court during their reign with the St. Louis Blues, on July 12, 1985. 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." 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. They would finish second in the Western Conference, behind the Vancouver Canucks. But from late December through January the Blues lost only twice in 16 games and grabbed a foothold. Checketts and his group had some serious damage control to perform. 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. 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! Last chance! Rivers also fills in on color commentary whenever Pang is on a national TV assignment for the NHL on TNT. The current logo (shown in the infobox), is similar, but with the slightly darker shade of blue used since 1984. The emotional win two days earlier notwitstanding, the Blues lost Game 7 of the playoffs in Calgary, falling short of the Cup finals. 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. Attendance had gone from a peak of 18,601 a game in 1972-73 to 10,130. The Blues jumped to a 31 series lead, but struggled in games 5 and 6. 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. The Blues also dealt away Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets at the trade deadline for their 1st 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. 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. That included Federko, Gassoff, Hull, MacInnis, Bob and Barclay Plager, Pronger and Sutter, along with Kelly, the Blues' legendary broadcaster. Dean retired and his successor, William Stiritz, had no interest in continuing the involvement in hockey. In between seasons and during trade deadlines, the Blues became a must-see attraction. Since the St. Louis Blues were founded in 1967, the team has had a number of owners. Jeremy Rutherford is the lead Blues beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. An updated version of the blue sweater, produced by Adidas, was brought back in 2019 as their 90s Vintage Jersey.. Soon after, Ornest sold the Blues to a group led by Michael Shanahan, head of Engineered Support Systems Inc. He asked many players to defer contracts to help meet operating costs and through much of Ornest's tenure, the team operated with a small office staff. The Blues will receive 27-year-old forward Jakub Vrana . As the Blues faced the Oilers on December 7, 1982; brochures were distributed saying "Saskatchewan in the NHL". QR Code Link to This Post. During this period, the NHL rebuffed attempts at further expansion. post; account; . KXOK backed out of the contract after just 2 years, and the Blues immediately went back to KMOX, who held the rights until 2000. 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. In the midst of it, in 1999, the Clark Enterprises consortium of 19 St. Louis companies that owned the franchise sold it to Bill Laurie and his wife, Nancy, daughter of Wal-Mart co-founder Sam Walton. Following their playoff exit, Ralston authorized the deal to Hunter's renamed company Coliseum Holdings, Ltd. for $12 million on April 21. However, they were stunned by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2000 playoffs in seven games. 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. 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. Team owner puts St. Louis Blues up for sale 5 is #1 Show Me 5 Sally Sally Jessy Raphael at KSDK Today In St. Louis Be the first to know Making a Difference Mike Bush Fantasy Baseball. But the memorable season came to an abrupt end at the hands of the surging Los Angles Kings. This third jersey was unveiled on September 21, 2008, and debuted during a Blues' home game against the Anaheim Ducks on November 21, 2008. After a strong second-half run, the Blues made the 2009 playoffs on April 10, 2009, after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 31. Sutter and Federko were the only untouchables on the Blues during that era. [47], The team also has a long tradition of fan-produced programs, sold outside the arena and providing an often biting, sarcastic, humor-filled alternative to team- and League-produced periodicals. 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". The team slipped under .500 the following season and managed just 65 points in 1982-83. The arena was previously known as Scottrade Center, the Savvis Center, and before that as the Kiel Center. [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. [41] However, during the 2019 playoffs, Laura Branigan's "Gloria" was played first before The Urge song. 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]. 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. 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. Berenson, who had played previously in Montreal and New York, commented: "In New York or Montreal, all you'd get would be a handshake.". [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. 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. A corresponding blue jersey was introduced the following season, thus retiring the previous set. Especially galling were the frequent blown leads after two periods, and with the worst home record (6133) posted in the entire NHL. [24] 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. The elder Salomon was not enthralled with the idea of owning a hockey team initially, but his son persuaded him to take the plunge. But things began to turn around as Francis drafted players like Bernie Federko, Brian Sutter, Wayne Babych and Perry Turnbull. 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. [14] Davidson also installed 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. 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. tickets - by owner. During the 2012 playoffs, they won their first playoff series since 2002, eliminating the San Jose Sharks in five games. 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. "We've given them the extreme honor, so it's. They treated the players to all-expenses-paid Florida vacations when seasons ended and bought them gold wristwatches for scoring hat tricks, etc. The St. Louis Blues medical team is a group of Washington University in St. Louis orthopedic specialists from Barnes-Jewish Hospital led by Washington University in St. Louis' Chief of Sports Medicine Matthew Matava.[39]. The Blues lost Bowman, who left during the 197071 season following a power-sharing dispute with Sid Salomon III (who was taking an increasing role in team affairs),[6] as well as Hall, Plante, Goyette and ultimately Berenson, who were all lost to retirement or trade. Ralston then filed a $60 million anti-trust lawsuit in U.S. District Court, claiming that the NHL broke federal antitrust laws and breached the duty of good faith and fair dealing by voting to reject the sale and transfer of the Blues to Hunter's group. Angry at having to play "second fiddle", the Blues elected to leave for KTRS in 2000. 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. Jason Pippi stated "its just a testament to the passion Blues fans bring each and every night to the Cup (Stanley Cup) maybe? 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 the final active team from the 1967 expansion to win their first Stanley Cup. In the meantime, the franchise was on the brink of financial collapse. The Keenan coup wound up being a catastrophe. On November 14, 2005, the Blues announced that SCP Worldwide had officially withdrawn from negotiations to buy the team. The team did not even participate in the 1983 NHL draft, forfeiting all of its picks. Brandon Saad and Robert Thomas both recorded a goal and an assist, helping the Blues earn a 5-2 win over the Predators at home 04:56 January 19, 2023 ST. LOUIS -- Brandon Saad and Robert. After Dan Kelly's death, Ken Wilson became St. Louis Blues' lead television play-by-play announcer alongside former Blues' players Joe Micheletti and Bruce Affleck. Blues Jump Blues/Piano Blues St. Louis Blues. When the period of exclusivity expired without a deal, SCP jumped back into the picture. They captured the Jennings Trophy once more for allowing the fewest goals in the league (165). He intended to build a $43 million 18,000-seat arena in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in time for the 1983-84 season. 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. Contact Information: print. The slump haunted them, as they blew a 20 series lead to the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks, losing the first-round series in six games. Pronger, Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger were all sent packing. The jersey brought back the contrasting shoulder yoke and returned to the lighter blue of previous eras. * current Blues player Blues current owner Tom Stillman (left) and Carol Salomon, the former wife of original owner Sid Salomon III. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. 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. Years later, Sutter argued that had the Blues made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, they would have likely beaten the Canadiens, having won two out of three games against the Habs in the regular season. Lynn Patrick initially served as general manager and head coach. Minority Owners [ edit] 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. Ralston renamed the arena the "Checkerdome." He was replaced by assistant coach Scotty Bowman, who thereafter led the team to a winning record for the rest of the season. 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. [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. Nonetheless, their on-ice success was enough for a consortium of 19 companies to buy the team. 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. While the Blues had returned to respectability on the ice, they were struggling off it. 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. Declining revenue reached a critical stage by the end of the 1976-77 season, and the Blues reduced their management staff to three. Although perennial postseason contenders for most of their history, the franchise frequently struggled in the playoffs, including consecutive Stanley Cup Finals defeats at the end of their first three seasons. 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 a circle with the words "St. Louis" above and "Blues" below. Among the first things Ornest did during his three-year tenure was change the name of the building back to the "Arena." A few weeks later, SCP withdrew and a month later, the Blues announced they had signed an exclusive letter of intent to negotiate with General Sports and Entertainment, LLC. 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. These are the top-ten point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise regular-season history. 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. The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey . 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. 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. Hitchcock is a finalist for the Jack Adams coaching award and Doug Armstrong is a contender for general manager of the year. 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 cash-poor Ornest then ran the franchise on a skeletal budget. But a competing carnival owner hatches a scheme to put an end to the show before it begins. The Salomons sold the Blues to Ralston on July 27, 1977. On January 12, 1983, Batoni-Hunter Enterprises Ltd., led by WHA and Edmonton Oilers founder Bill Hunter, tendered an offer to buy the team. Early life[edit] Laurie grew up in rural Missouri. [46] All of these traditions carried over to the Kiel Center (now known as Enterprise Center) in 1994. St. Louis Blues: Directed by Raoul Walsh. The Blues took on the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in the first-round series. 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. 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. While they kept the Reebok Edge-era template, they brought back the 19982007 look. Ornest immediately reverted the name of the team's home venue to the St. Louis Arena. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com Photo by J.B. Forbes, staff photographer. New owners take over Blues BY TOM TIMMERMANN May 10, 2012 0 NHL commissioner Gary Bettman (left) introduces new St. Louis Blues majority owner Tom Stillman during a press conference on. 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. [23] On June 12, 2019, the Blues defeated the Bruins 41 in Game 7 to win their first Stanley Cup. Behind the solid goaltending of Brian Elliott and scoring heroics of Andy McDonald, the Blues defeated the Sharks in five games, advancing to the conference semifinals. (Jeremy Rutherford photo / Post-Dispatch) Jeremy P. Rutherford , Tom . After hockey resumed in 2005, a few months after GNR's final issue, a new publication, St. Louis Game Time, was formed by several former GNR staffers.[49]. As the team lingered on the shelf, management further demoralized the fan base by streamlining the books and trading its high-salaried players. A Broadway musical comedy star tires of the same old grind and flees the city. Subscribe with this special offer to keep reading, (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). The NHL also said that Ralston broke a league rule that an owner had to give two years' notice before dissolving a franchise. They also had strong goaltending led by Mike Liut. 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. Trending. st louis blues traditions. In 1985, Ornest, wanting more broadcast revenue, put the radio rights up for bid. 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. 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. In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the Vancouver Canucks, to whom they lost in six games. 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. Buck elected to leave the booth after one season, though, and was replaced by another famed announcer in Dan Kelly. A look at the ownership lineage: Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season. John Davidson, received the award in 2009 for his contributions in television broadcasting. Here is a list of the team's owners since its inception: -Sidney Salomon Jr. -Ralph Sauer -Harry Ornest -Michael Shanahan -Dave Checketts -Tom Stillman. 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). In fact, they made it to the conference finals only two times in their streak (1986 and 2001). The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade Center in downtown St. Louis. In the end, when the legal dodgeball and financial haggling between the league and Ralston Purina settled, when the budget squeezing and penny-pinching was complete, Ornest came out the big winner. From 1967 to 1984, the Blues jerseys featured a lighter shade of blue along with contrasting shoulder yoke and stripes. The Blues then fired 60 percent of their employees. 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.