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

Originally, the St. Louis Blues aired their games on KPLR-TV and KMOX radio, with team patron Gus Kyle calling games alongside St Louis broadcasting legend Jack Buck. Jake Allen was now the starting goaltender for the Blues, while the team also signed former Nashville Predators backup Carter Hutton. In 1984, the Blues drastically redesigned their look, adding red and darkening the shade of blue. On March 17, 2011, it was announced that the St. Louis Blues were for sale. The Blues remain 0-12 in Stanley Cup finals play. Hull, who had a lengthy feud with Keenan, left for the Dallas Stars in 1998. In response, the Blues moved back to KMOX starting in the 200607 season. Nonetheless, their on-ice success was enough for a consortium of 19 companies to buy the team. 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. 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. Over the next few years, the franchise became one of the most colorful and controversial in the NHL. From 1967 to 1984, the Blues jerseys featured a lighter shade of blue along with contrasting shoulder yoke and stripes. 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 mistake was that play resumed before the chorus was over and the music had to stop. She runs into the skipper of a showboat who befriends her, and they make plans to put together a musical revue. [41] However, during the 2019 playoffs, Laura Branigan's "Gloria" was played first before The Urge song. After each goal, a bell is rung and each of the goals are counted by the crowd. A corresponding blue jersey was introduced the following season, thus retiring the previous set. They moved on to the next round, where they defeated the Dallas Stars in another seven-game series to advance to their first Western Conference Finals since 2001. 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]. [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. Amid several questionable personnel moves and an unstable ownership situation, the Blues finished the 200506 season with their worst record in 27 years. The Blues got off to a slow start in their initial season. Buck elected to leave the booth after one season, though, and was replaced by another famed announcer in Dan Kelly. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. Off the ice, the cash-poor Checketts operated with an Ornest-like budget; on the ice the team continued to stockpile picks and promise. 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. 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. C Dave Checketts D John Danforth L Bill Laurie O Harry Ornest S SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC In addition, the contrasting shoulder yoke was removed. [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. St. Louis Blues. [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. On October 2, 2007, the Blues finalized the season-starting roster, which included rookies David Perron, Steven Wagner and Erik Johnson. The team would dominate the postseason awards, as Pronger earned a Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player, Pavol Demitra got the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play and Quenneville was named coach of the year. 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. The Salomons might have been the most generous employers in sports history. League president John Ziegler said they would try to keep the team in St. Louis. While the Blues had returned to respectability on the ice, they were struggling off it. Instead, a Return to Play tournament was organized, starting in August 2020. Jeremy P. Rutherford Sep 29, 2013 Sep 29, 2013; 0; Facebook . Local ownership group aims to 'put the Blues on solid financial footing.'. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com Photo by J.B. Forbes, staff photographer. 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. [28], In the 201920 season, the Blues suffered an early blow as forward Vladimir Tarasenko suffered a season-ending injury on October 24. 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,. St. Louis has a record of 2-3 in games when bookmakers list them +180 or longer on the moneyline. 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. [17] During the 2011 NHL offseason, the team signed many key free agents, including Brian Elliott, Scott Nichol, Kent Huskins, Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner. 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. After a strong second-half run, the Blues made the 2009 playoffs on April 10, 2009, after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 31. Jeff Gordon writes: Controlling the Blues is a great honor for diehard fan Tom Stillman. Under new management, the Blues promptly installed John Davidson as president of hockey operations, moving Pleau to a mostly advisory role. The team started the season by posting a record of 1012 in their first 13 home games. 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 Keenan coup wound up being a catastrophe. Photo by Lloyd Spainhower/St. Hitchcock is a finalist for the Jack Adams coaching award and Doug Armstrong is a contender for general manager of the year. 20 Years Ago, Blur's 'Song 2' Became an Unlikely Sports Anthem", "PLAY GLORIA! List of former Blues players set to return to St. Louis before the end of the season . It wasn't. Prior to that, he worked at the New York . He saw the Blues as just another money-bleeding division, and put the team on the market. 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. 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. The Blues have a rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom they have shared a division since 1970. 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 seats are in section 106 row cc seats 1-4. On June 13, 2016, it was announced that Mike Yeo would replace Hitchcock as head coach of the Blues following the 201617 season. Dean was the key figure in Ralston Purina's takeover of the St. Louis Blues after the 1976-77 season. He purchased the team and its player contracts for $3 million in cash and $9 million in two notes. 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. 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. This division was particularly weak, and in 197677, the Blues won it while finishing five games below .500, though this would be their last playoff appearance in the decade. After losing Vladimir Tarasenko to injury during the game, the Blues lost to the Avalanche 52 as they missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years. 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. Despite a healthy 24-point jump from the previous season, 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. 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. It was loud enough, TV cameras picked up the song loud and clear. St. Louis has embraced team's victory anthem", "The history behind the NHL's ubiquitous sound for scoring: the goal horn", "A Look at Five St. Louis Blues' Superfans", "Celebrate 20 years of fan-run papers on Friday", "How did 'Country Roads' become a Blues home-game staple? 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. Audience capacity was increased from 12,000 to 15,000 at the Arena, which had been home to the Central Hockey League's St. Louis Braves. [22] This resurgence included an eleven-game winning streak between February and March, in large part thanks to the emergence of the eventual Calder Trophy nominee, rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington. During that time, Salomon gained a reputation throughout the NHL as the top players' owner. During this time, from 1989 to 2000, more games began to be aired on Prime Sports Midwest, the forerunner to today's Bally Sports Midwest. 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. His successor, William Stiritz, wanted to refocus on the core pet food business, and his personal sporting interests were in horse racing and not hockey. [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. Contact Information: print. Jeremy Rutherford is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the St. Louis Blues. Minority Owners [ edit] Blues Director of Entertainment, Jason Pippi, commented that they played Country Roads by John Denver, "was a bit of an mistake because people love to sing along to that song". 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. 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. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season. 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. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. 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. On January 4, 2007, the Blues had a record of 613 in their previous ten games, which was the best in the NHL during that stretch. Two-year process yields the most desirable outcome in terms of the city's best interest. post; account; . In between seasons and during trade deadlines, the Blues became a must-see attraction. The Blues chairman/owner . 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. Ornest had made plans to buy the team as early as March, but built up his efforts in late June to have enough money. Among the first things Ornest did during his three-year tenure was change the name of the building back to the "Arena." Only Wayne Gretzky found the net more than Hull during any given three-year period. In 1981, Dean retired. Center David Backes has been named a finalist for the Frank Selke Trophy as the league's top two-way player. 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. Early life[edit] Laurie grew up in rural Missouri. The Blues were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion, along with the . In 201516, the Blues finished in second place in the Central Division to the Dallas Stars. 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. These are the top-ten point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise regular-season history. 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. 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. 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. [55] Dan Kelly, the Blues' radio play-by-play announcer, was awarded the first Blues broadcaster to receive the award in 1989. Although the St. Louis Arena was not originally designed with hockey in mind, it met NHL standards of the era for size and had good sight lines for the game. He is the former owner of the St. Louis Bluesand is the co-chairman of Paige Sports Entertainment. In 2001, the Blues advanced to the Western Conference Finals before bowing out in five games to the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche. However, they only won three games on the road during the first two months of the season. 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 moves kept sportswriters busy and fans captivated, and often infuriated opposing executives. Additionally, fans complained they could not hear the station at night (it had to readjust its coverage due to a glut of clear channels on adjacent frequencies). 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. 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]. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . [32], When Adidas became the uniform provider before the 201718 season, the Blues kept most of the same template, with the exception of the home jersey numbers changing from gold to white. 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. While the disappointment of that series loss is still fresh, hope springs eternal with the announcement that a new ownership group is in place. For instance, Ornest asked many players to defer their salaries to help meet operating costs, but the players always got paid in the end. 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 20. Reluctant to give up on the St. Louis market, the NHL blocked the sale. 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. Coming off their defeat of the Presidents' Trophy winning Canucks, the Kings ousted the Blues in four games. 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. . 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. Eventually, the St. Louis Arena came under the control of the owners of the Chicago Black Hawks. Following further contraction, the league stabilized at six teams after 1942. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- St. Louis Blues minority owner David L. Steward was celebrating on the TD Garden ice with his son after the Blues defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of . [46] All of these traditions carried over to the Kiel Center (now known as Enterprise Center) in 1994. 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). Subscribe with this special offer to keep reading, (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). The moneyline in this contest implies a 35.7% chance for the Blues to win. tickets - by owner. The initial results were not good. 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. The NHL also said that Ralston broke a league rule that an owner had to give two years' notice before dissolving a franchise. In addition to Jaden Schwartz and Vince Dunn vs. SEA this past Tuesday, . However, the NHL Board of Governors rejected the deal by a 153 vote on May 18, feeling that Saskatoon was not big enough or financially stable enough to support an NHL team.[8][9]. They also provided the capital to build the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center), which opened in 1994. After spending the first half of the 200809 season at or near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, the Blues began to turn things around behind the solid goaltending of Chris Mason. The navy blue third jersey was kept without any alterations, before it was retired prior the 201617 season. In 57.4% of St. Louis' previous games this season (35/61), the teams combined to score over Saturday's over/under of 6.5 goals. 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 the playoffs. 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. But from late December through January the Blues lost only twice in 16 games and grabbed a foothold. But with Ron Caron as the general manager and Jacques Demers as the coach, with Federko and Sutter as the foundation, the Blues were competitive. 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. March 3, 2023 by Marcus Ashpaugh. 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. An updated version of the blue sweater, produced by Adidas, was brought back in 2019 as their 90s Vintage Jersey.. The sale price for the team and building lease was reported to be $100 million. The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey . st louis blues traditions. Boyer also plays the latter song on the organ after Blues goals, with fans replacing the word "Saints" with "Blues. After his death, Ron Jacober (who had left Channel 5 to be KXOK's sports director in 1985 then left for KMOX in 1987) was hired as the radio play-by-play announcer for the remainder of the season, and John Kelly succeeded in that position. 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 (19681970), when they defeated the Boston Bruins 32 in overtime. However, they were swept in the Stanley Cup Finals by the Montreal Canadiens in 1969 and then by the Boston Bruins in 1970. Maybe eight will be worth the wait. In fact, they made it to the conference finals only two times in their streak (1986 and 2001). In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the Vancouver Canucks, to whom they lost in six games.