Buck elected to leave the booth after one season, though, and was replaced by another famed announcer in Dan Kelly. On March 17, 2012, the Blues became the first team to reach 100 points and clinch a playoff berth in the 201112 season under Hitchcock, qualifying for their first playoffs since 200809. 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. These distractions would greatly affect their performance as they squeezed into the playoffs with a 254015 record in the 1983 season, good enough for 65 points. There is a lot of money riding on Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals for St. Louis Blues owner Tom Stillman. Nonetheless, the team remained competitive for the next three years, despite never advancing beyond the second round. In 1984, the Blues drastically redesigned their look, adding red and darkening the shade of blue. St. Louis kept chugging along through the late 1980s and early 1990s. On December 11, 2006, the Blues fired head coach Mike Kitchen and replaced him with former Los Angeles Kings head coach Andy Murray. [13] After that season, Ornest sold the team to a group led by St. Louis businessman Michael Shanahan. 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. 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. [10] Ralston called 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. Defensively, however, the Blues were less than stellar and saw Chicago and the Philadelphia Flyers overtake the Division. 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. MLS in July 2020 pushed the expansion schedule back by a year for both St. Louis and the Charlotte, North Carolina, team that began play last year, saying the Covid-19 pandemic had led to delays . 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 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. "Our new ownership group is 100 percent local, and we are 100 percent committed to the Blues and to St. Louis." Stillman asked for support from fans, local businesses and the rest of the community. The next few seasons became like a broken record. . Hull, who had a lengthy feud with Keenan, left for the Dallas Stars in 1998. Buck elected to leave the booth after one season, though, and was replaced by another famed announcer in Dan Kelly. St. Louis businessman Tom Stillman and his band of investment brothers will announce today they have closed a deal to purchase the Blues. No sooner had the season ended than Demers departed for Detroit. Over the next few years, the franchise became one of the most colorful and controversial in the NHL. During the 3rd Period, The Blues were winning by a large margin against the visiting Nashville Predators. On June 17, 2005, the Lauries announced that they would sell the team. Attendance had gone from a peak of 18,601 a game in 1972-73 to 10,130. They treated the players to all-expenses-paid Florida vacations when seasons ended and bought them gold wristwatches for scoring hat tricks, etc. Under new management, the Blues promptly installed John Davidson as president of hockey operations, moving Pleau to a mostly advisory role. The broadcasts failed to produce a profit and then returned to KPLR for the 1982 NHL playoffs and the 198283 season before returning to KDNL (currently St. Louis' ABC affiliate) for the 198384 season, the first under the ownership of Harry Ornest. From 1967 until 1994, the team played in the St. Louis Arena (known as The Checkerdome from 1977 until 1983), where the old St. Louis Eagles played, and which the original owners had to buy as a condition of the 1967 NHL expansion. During this time, Doug Gilmour, drafted by St. Louis in 1982, emerged as a star. Bill Laurieis an American former basketball player and coach, and current business executive and philanthropist. Prior to that, he worked at the New York . 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. The team did not even participate in the 1983 NHL draft, forfeiting all of its picks. 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. The Blues' successes in the late 1960s, however, did not continue into the 1970s. A new company who had purchased KXOK won the bid for a three-year contract and Kelly moved over from KMOX to do the games on KXOK. Wal-Mart heir Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill purchased the Blues in 1999. The deferred contracts came due just as the Blues' performance began to slip. It has been called the "Fan Salute" by some. However, longtime Ralston Purina chairman R. Hal Dean said that he only intended to keep the Blues as a Ralston subsidiary only temporarily until a more stable owner could be found who would keep the team in St. Louis. St. Louis Blues. 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. The mistake was that play resumed before the chorus was over and the music had to stop. It also replaced red with navy blue as an accent color. He has covered the team since the 2005-06 season, including a dozen years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. These are the top-ten-point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise playoff history. The Blues have a rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom they have shared a division since 1970. 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? 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. On October 10, the Blues introduced a new mascot, Louie. The Blues chairman/owner . None of the previous owners has brought a Stanley Cup championship to St. Louis. Indeed, many of the Blues' players liked the fact that their families could hear the games on KMOX. Ten players reached at least 20 goals, including Wayne Babych, future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko, and team captain Brian Sutter. 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. Ralston renamed the arena the "Checkerdome." St. Louis Blues: Directed by Raoul Walsh. The elder Salomon was not enthralled with the idea of owning a hockey team initially, but his son persuaded him to take the plunge. st louis blues traditions. Blues games, many of which were crucial to playoff berths, would often be pre-empted for spring training coverage. The Blues were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion, along with the . The Salomons sold the Blues to Ralston on July 27, 1977. Caron was reinstated as interim general manager for the rest of the season, and general manager Larry Pleau was hired on June 9, 1997. 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 1950's while the team still struggled to sell tickets at Chicago Stadium. [7] Emile Francis would call it quits on May 2, leaving for the Hartford Whalers to become president and general manager. post; account; . "We've given them the extreme honor, so it's. [34] A corresponding vintage white version was unveiled for the 2022 NHL Winter Classic. But things began to turn around as Francis drafted players like Bernie Federko, Brian Sutter, Wayne Babych and Perry Turnbull. The Enterprise Center was electric and buzzing with excitement with anticipation of the win. Blues owners. It operated for over 10 years, from 1994 to 2005, when its owner decided not to resume the magazine after the 200405 NHL lockout (one final oversized "goodbye" issue was distributed the first two home games of the 200506 season). [36] A second "Reverse Retro" uniform was released in the 202223 season, this time based on the prototype uniforms the team first leaked in 1966 before eventually releasing the more iconic "blue note" uniforms. 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. Their situation 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 following numbers have been retired from use within the St. Louis Blues: In addition to the aforementioned numbers, the NHL also retired Wayne Gretzky's number 99 from use for all of its members teams, including the Blues, at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game. 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. 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. Figures are updated after each completed NHL season. 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 . On April 12, the Blues clinched the sixth seed in the West with a 10 win against the Colorado Avalanche. Minority owner Wolfson and Blues president Emile Francis persuaded Ralston Purina executive R. Hal Dean to invest in the franchise. 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 logo used on the Blues' jerseys from 1967 to 1984. Chris Kerber and Joe Vitale are the current radio broadcast team. The Keenan coup wound up being a catastrophe. Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. During the 2012 playoffs, they won their first playoff series since 2002, eliminating the San Jose Sharks in five games. They also had strong goaltending led by Mike Liut. 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]. The Blues joined the league in 1967, one of six expansion teams that doubled the size of the NHL from six to 12. Jeremy Rutherford is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the St. Louis Blues. 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. On October 2, 2007, the Blues finalized the season-starting roster, which included rookies David Perron, Steven Wagner and Erik Johnson. [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. [1] John Davidson, received the award in 2009 for his contributions in television broadcasting. 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. 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. This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Blues. 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. KMOX is a 50,000-watt clear-channel station that reaches almost all of North America at night, allowing Kelly to become a celebrity in both the United States and Canada. David Backes was also announced as the new team captain. However, they only won three games on the road during the first two months of the season. The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. [48] The longest-running fan publication, Game Night Revue, was created by a group of fans in the mold of the Chicago Blackhawks' Blue Line Magazine. Off the ice, the cash-poor Checketts operated with an Ornest-like budget; on the ice the team continued to stockpile picks and promise. 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. 0. 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. 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 the Cup for Dallas. Ryan O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. san jose sharks vs . 27 febrero, 2023 . 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. [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. [46] All of these traditions carried over to the Kiel Center (now known as Enterprise Center) in 1994. 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. The Blues got off to a slow start in their initial season. 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. 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. "[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. 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. [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. The NHL also said that Ralston broke a league rule that an owner had to give two years' notice before dissolving a franchise. Pronger, Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger were all sent packing. 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. 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. #19 St Louis Blues Team Value 1 $880M Calculated December 2022 Owner (s) Tom Stillman Championships 1 Year Purchased 2012 Price Paid $180M Revenue 2 $180M Operating Income 3 $56M Debt/Value 4. Under the expansion playoff format, Bowman's leadership was enough as the Blues qualified for the playoffs in their inaugural season. The bottom of the numbers taper off to give way to the aforementioned stripes. 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. 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. "[50][51] And it did take them to the Stanley Cup. To this day, in terms of contention, the Salomon group remains the most successful of the Blues owners. 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. But the roller coaster started to descend in the mid-1970s. However, they were swept in the Stanley Cup Finals by the Montreal Canadiens in 1969 and then by the Boston Bruins in 1970. He was introduced on October 10, 2007. Dean retired and his successor, William Stiritz, had no interest in continuing the involvement in hockey. The Blues are still looking for their first Stanley Cup. Among the first things Ornest did during his three-year tenure was change the name of the building back to the "Arena." 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. On June 13, 2016, it was announced that Mike Yeo would replace Hitchcock as head coach of the Blues following the 201617 season. 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. QR Code Link to This Post. They also provided the capital to build the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center), which opened in 1994. All that hardware notwithstanding, hopes for a Stanley Cup run turned to stunning disappointment. 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. After missing the playoffs for the first time in 197374, the Blues ended up in the Smythe Division after a League realignment. Jake Allen was now the starting goaltender for the Blues, while the team also signed former Nashville Predators backup Carter Hutton. The Blues would underachieve greatly the following year as they posted a 32408, but they beat the Winnipeg Jets 31 in the Norris Division Semi-Finals before dropping to the Chicago Black Hawks in the Norris Division 24. C Dave Checketts D John Danforth L Bill Laurie O Harry Ornest S SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC The Black Hawks owners felt they could establish a "lovable loser" (much like the Cubs) with the St. Louis hockey team. Steve Ott also left the team, signing a free-agent deal with the Red Wings. The moneyline in this contest implies a 35.7% chance for the Blues to win. While the Blues remained competitive, they were unable to keep many of their young players. In late September, 2005, the Lauries signed an agreement to sell the team to SCP Worldwide, a consulting and investment group led by Dave Checketts, former president of New York's Madison Square Garden. However, they never made an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. Blues Chairman Tom Stillman confirmed . 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. 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 the then-Vancouver Grizzlies), and it was thought that this desire caused him to neglect the Blues. Beginnings and Stanley Cup Finals' appearances (19671970), Financial problems, near-relocation, and playoff streak (19701987), End of the playoff streak, lockout, and rebuild (19982011), Return to contention, first Stanley Cup championship (2011present), Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 16:20, "City Gets Big League Hockey; New Team Begins NHL Play in 196768 Season", "Musial Partner 'Biggie' Dies; Political Figure", "PHT Time Machine: When Blues skipped NHL draft", "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search", "The Lewiston Daily Sun - Google News Archive Search", "Davis Payne will remain team's head coach St Louis Blues", "St. Louis Blues for sale after five years of Dave Checketts' ownership", "Predators defeat Blues, advance to first conference final", "Gameday Lineup: Sept. 18 at Dallas; O'Reilly, Maroon, Parayko, Thomas and Kyrou expected to play vs. Stars", "Yeo fired as coach of Blues, replaced by Berube on interim basis", "Blues clinch spot in Stanley Cup Playoffs", "Blues Beat the Bruins and Get Their First Stanley Cup Finals Victory", "Blues win Stanley Cup for first time, defeat Bruins in Game 7 of Final", "St. Louis Blues beat Boston Bruins, 41, to win first Stanley Cup", "Black senator from St. Louis passed bill to make Blues official state hockey team", "Chapter 10 10.225. Instead, a Return to Play tournament was organized, starting in August 2020. The long-term partnership between KMOX and the Blues had its problems, however, namely during spring when the ever-popular St. Louis Cardinals began their season. The moves kept sportswriters busy and fans captivated, and often infuriated opposing executives. [30] In 201011, the team sold out every home game. 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. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com Photo by J.B. Forbes, staff photographer. On February 12, 2020, the Blues suffered another loss as defenseman Jay Bouwmeester suddenly collapsed on the bench in a game against the Anaheim Ducks, and would not come back to play again in the season. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . He also purchased the Checkerdome from Ralston Purina for $5 million, then raised $3 million in operating expenses. 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. This setupKelly as commentator, with either Kyle, Bob Plager, or Noel Picard (whose heavy French-Canadian . Initially, the front of the jersey featured the team name above the crest logo, but was removed in 1987. The NHL Board of Governors has approved the sale of the St. Louis Blues to a group headed. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game. 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. The team started the season by posting a record of 1012 in their first 13 home games. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. The Blues simplified their design, with only the blue note logo on the front; there were no third jerseys for the season. The jersey introduced the short-lived trumpet logo on the shoulders and featured thin diagonal stripes on the tail and sleeves. The Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and have the most Stanley Cup playoff appearances outside of the Original Six. Lynn Patrick initially served as general manager and head coach. When the period of exclusivity expired without a deal, SCP jumped back into the picture. 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. In 1980-81, with Berenson behind the bench, the Blues had a 107-point season and put hockey back on the St. Louis radar. Contact Information: print. St. Louis Blues tends to be a variation on jump blues or piano blues, featuring solo singers or a pianist performing with small combos or large bands. These are the top-ten point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise regular-season history. The move proved both ill-conceived and ill-timed, as the renamed St. Louis Eagles continued to lose money. But with former Blues goaltender and nationally renowned broadcaster John Davidson at the point, they turned the worm. 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. Ralston Purina lost an estimated $1.8 million a year during its six-year ownership of the Blues. Trending. The following season, 201314, the team hit the 100-point mark for the sixth time in franchise history, and gained a franchise record of 52 wins. 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. Sutter and Federko were the only untouchables on the Blues during that era. He scored 16 points in 13 games after his arrival, but the season ended in frustration as the Blues lost Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals to Detroit. Incensed, Ralston Purina sued the NHL, padlocked the Checkerdome and abandoned the franchise, leaving a mess for the league to sort out. 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. This was partly due to the pressures of the World Hockey Association (WHA), but mostly the result of financial decisions made when the Salomons first acquired the franchise. 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. [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. In 201213, the Blues completed the lockout-shortened season in fourth place in the Western Conference. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. However, the station was never financially competitive in the market. ST. LOUIS (KTVI) - There's been talk that the Rams move is great news for the St. Louis Blues: freeing up more money for St. Louis sports fans to spend on hockey. Center David Backes has been named a finalist for the Frank Selke Trophy as the league's top two-way player. During most of Ornest's tenure, the Blues had only 26 players under contract23 in St. Louis, plus three on their farm team, the Montana Magic. 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. For the first time in five years (that is, since the lockout), the Blues were in the playoffs. Ten days before the deadline NHL President John Ziegler set for dissolving the franchise, Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Harry Ornest stepped up with the only formal bid. However, after the period of exclusivity, SCP entered the picture again. I really respect the fact that he puts the needs of the many ahead of the needs of the few. 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. He had 70 or more goals in three consecutive seasons, including 1990-91 when he scored 86 and the team finished with 105 points. In 201415, the Blues won their second Central Division championship in four years and faced the Minnesota Wild in round one of the 2015 playoffs.