Glenn Hall was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy 1968.

The Blues enjoyed some team success, too, reaching the Cup finals in the first three seasons out of the expansion bracket. From 1979-80 through 2003-04, the club has reached the playoffs 25 consecutive times yet the team still seeks its first Stanley Cup title after 39 seasons. The franchise has also been scarred by tragedies. Young defenseman Bobby Gassoff was killed in a motorcycle crash after attending a team function. Broadcaster Dan Kelly lost his battle with cancer while still in his prime. Barclay Plager succumbed to brain tumors while serving as an assistant coach.

Photo Courtesy of Missouri Historical Society

Hockey began auspiciously in St. Louis in 1967-68. The Blues were the best of the NHL's six expansion teams, playing a disciplined defensive game that allowed them to outperform the other fledgling franchises. Midway through their inaugural campaign, Scotty Bowman convinced future Hall of Fame forward Dickie Moore to make a comeback. Moore, who hadn't laced up the blades since retiring at the end of the 1964-65 season, quickly established himself as the team leader.

Hall and Jacques Plante were stellar in goal and the Plager brothers, Barclay and Bob, led a gritty defense that also featured Al Arbour and Doug Harvey. Red Berenson, Ab McDonald and Gary Sabourin led the offense. Berenson's six-goal game in Philadelphia during the 1968-69 season remains one of the great milestones for the franchise.

Bowman added the general manager's portfolio to his resume in 1968 and he continued to mold his oldtimers into a lovable team that filled the old St. Louis Arena. Alas, the good times would not last. The Blues continued to be the best of the bunch in the West Division, reaching the Stanley Cup finals again in both 1969 and 1970. Once there, however, they were unable to win a game against their Original Six opponents, dropping four-game decisions to Montreal and Boston. Then, in 1971, Sidney Salomon III took a larger role in running his father's franchise and the result was constant upheaval from 1971, when Bowman left, until 1977.

The coaches came and went, with Arbour, Sid Abel, Bill McCreary, Jean-Guy Talbot, Lou Angotti, Garry Young, Leo Boivin and Emile Francis spending time behind the bench. General managers also came and went, with Abel, Charles Catto, Gerry Ehman and Dennis Ball holding the job from 1972 to 1976. Only Garry Unger's flashy scoring kept fans interested until the Salomons' final day. The challenge of the World Hockey Association, escalating costs and declining revenues pushed the franchise to the brink of financial ruin. Out of the gloom came Emile "The Cat" Francis, who took over as general manager, caretaker, security guard and saviour. If "The Cat" was going to save the Blues, he would need all of his nine lives to do it.

After a financially devastating 1976-77 season that saw the Blues pare down their staff to three employees, Francis was able to convince Ralston Purina chairman R. Hal Dean to invest in the team. On July 27, 1977, Francis announced the St. Louis Blues had been reborn. On paper, at least. In 1978-79, the Blues slipped off the bottom rung of the NHL ladder, winning just 18 games under coach Barclay Plager. Yet, once again, Francis was able to rebuild the crumbling foundation. Ralston Purina repainted the old bandbox known as the Arena and rechristened it the Checkerdome. In the 1976 Amateur Draft, Francis had selected Bernie Federko, Brian Sutter and Mike Liut, who would go on to become the cornerstones of the team in the 1980s. Such runners-and-gunners as Wayne Babych (picked third overall in 1978) and Perry Turnbull (taken second in 1979) were added to the nucleus and by 1980-81, the Blues had a 107-point juggernaut for Red Berenson, who had taken over as coach during the previous season.

"It was a very exciting time for me,'' Francis says. "There we were, on the brink of extinction, then to come all the way back the way we did and get the support we needed · that was like a dream come true.'' Almost as quickly, it all came tumbling down. The Blues finished eight games under .500 in 1981-82 and slid to 65 points the following season, the fourth-lowest total in club history. Berenson got canned, Dean retired and Ralston Purina soon lost interest in hockey. Citing losses of $1.8 million per year, the company put the team up for sale. When the league blocked the sale of the Blues to Saskatoon interests in 1983, the company padlocked the Checkerdome and left the franchise on the NHL's doorstep. The Blues, with their ownership unresolved, did not participate in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft.

Enter entrepreneur Harry Ornest, who bought the franchise off the scrap heap. He, new general manager Ron Caron and coach Jacques Demers quickly made the Blues profitable and competitive. Federko, Sutter and Doug Gilmour, a gritty two-way center whose desire and determination more than made up for his lack of size, led the charge back up the NHL ladder. Caron traded furiously, shuffling stars (like Liut and Joe Mullen) and draft picks for lots of affordable, competent veterans whose work ethic helped transform the team into the type of blue-collar hockey club that the city had rallied behind so vigorously in the early years.

This regime peaked in the 1986 playoffs with the "Monday Night Miracle'' game. After being stretched to the limit to eliminate Minnesota and Toronto, the Blues had their backs against the wall once again in their semifinal series against the Calgary Flames. Needing a home-ice victory to force a seventh game, the Blues trailed 5-2 with less than 12 minutes remaining in the game and their season. The unlikely hero on this madcap Monday night was Greg Paslawski, a hard-plugging foot soldier. "Paws" notched a pair of late third-period goals to even the affair after Brian Sutter had lit the comeback torch at 8:08.

Twenty minutes later, Doug Wickenheiser-who had received his fair share of hard knocks when the Montreal Canadiens selected him ahead of hometown hero Denis Savard in the 1980 Entry Draft-slipped a rebound past Mike Vernon to give the Blues a comeback win for the ages. Paslawski notched 10 playoff goals in the greatest spring of his career, more than he would score in the rest of his postseason career combined. The 6-5 victory forced a decisive seventh game of the Western Conference finals, but the Flames extinguished the Blues' Stanley Cup aspirations with a 2-1 win back in the Saddledome. Doug Gilmour and Bernie Federko tied for the playoff lead in points, becoming the first players to lead the postseason scoring parade without making it to the finals.

Demers left for Detroit after that season and Ornest, like the other owners before him, also decided to move on. He sold the team to a local ownership group led by Michael Shanahan during the 1986-87 season. However, with Ron Caron still aboard, the club remained in capable hands. Within two years, Caron had landed Brett Hull, Adam Oates and Curtis Joseph. Later, through astute trades and eye-opening free agent acquisitions, Caron brought such high-profile names as Scott Stevens, Brendan Shanahan, Phil Housley and Al MacInnis into the St. Louis fold. Still, the manager's coup remained the steal of Brett Hull from the Calgary Flames.

Deemed uncoachable, lazy and uninterested in improving his game, Hull was an enigma to many of the scouts and coaches who took him under their wing. In St. Louis, however, the offensive system was molded around Hull, his deadly accurate shot and his uncanny ability to find open ice, and once there, deliver the goods. With Adam Oates supplying picture-perfect passes, Hull became the NHL's top sniper. Hull reached the 70-goal plateau in three consecutive seasons, including his Hart Trophy-winning campaign of 1990-91, when he slipped 86 pucks past enemy goaltenders-the most by any player in NHL history not named Gretzky. Hull's exploits helped to broaden local interest in the team. The Blues filled the arena, made the playoffs every year and began multiplying both their revenue and payroll in a giddy bid for greatness.

In 1990-91, the Blues had a breakout 105-point season behind Hull but the club couldn't get past the second round of the playoffs. Though this front office never got to the final four with coaches Jacques Martin, Brian Sutter, Bob Plager and Bob Berry, it did turn the Blues into a mainstream sports success. The team's success inspired the top St. Louis corporations to come together, buy the team from Shanahan and build the new Kiel Center (now the Scottrade Center), which opened in downtown St. Louis in 1994.

Shanahan's last stab at glory was to hire Mike Keenan as general manager and coach. Keenan brought a lot of baggage with him, but he also carried a reputation as a winner. He tested the patience of the Blues fans early, unloading Petr Nedved, Craig Janney and Brendan Shanahan within a year of stepping into the front office. Dedicated St. Louis fans were slow to forgive Keenan for casting off Shanahan, as the player he was traded for (Chris Pronger) was slow to develop. The quick-witted power forward had been a local favorite and one of the most outgoing of all the pro athletes in the city, who generously gave his time and effort to charities and special events. There was another tempest brewing, as well.

Relations between Keenan and Brett Hull were acrimonious at best, and when Iron Mike stripped Hull of his captaincy, the battle of wills was on. In an effort to stem the tide of unrest, Keenan made a bold move, acquiring potential free agent Wayne Gretzky for the final playoff push in the 1995-96 season. Any hopes for a lengthy playoff run were dashed early when Grant Fuhr suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first game of the postseason against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although backup Jon Casey performed admirably, the Blues lacked the consistent offensive attack required to reach the highest level. Gretzky came close to resurrecting the club's Stanley Cup hopes with 16 points in 13 games, but in the end, the Blues' lack of firepower caught up to them. The Blues did manage to stretch Detroit to double overtime in the seventh game in the Western Conference semifinal, but a Steve Yzerman goal gave the Wings a 1-0 victory and ended Keenan's quest for the Cup.

After the season, Gretzky joined the New York Rangers via free agency. The war of words between Keenan and Hull escalated and the product on the ice suffered. Finally, on December 19, 1996, the Keenan era ended, with both him and Jack Quinn being ushered out of town. Ron Caron came out of quasi-retirement to serve as interim general manager, helping new team president Mark Sauer hire coach Joel Quenneville and general manager Larry Pleau. Together, they tried to get the franchise back to the basics of drafting talent, grooming players and building up for another run at the Stanley Cup.

The Blues made another remarkable recovery in 1997-98. Even Brett Hull bought into Quenneville's defense-first philosophy, proving himself a better-than-adequate penalty killer and checker. Still, the Blues had enough all-around firepower to lead the NHL with 256 goals and finished with 98 points for the league's fourth-best record. The Blues overwhelmed the Los Angeles Kings with a four-game sweep to open the playoffs and were given an excellent chance of knocking off defending champion Detroit in round two. It was not to be, however, as the Red Wings eliminated St. Louis for the third year in a row en route to their second straight Stanley Cup title.

The Brett Hull era came to an end in St. Louis, after a decade of highlight reel goals and mile-wide smiles, when Hull signed as a free agent with Dallas. The Blues did re-sign veteran rearguard Al MacInnis, ensuring that the league's most powerful shooter would have a chance to finish his career in St. Louis. MacInnis won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman for the first time in his career in 1998-99. The emergence of Chris Pronger as a potential superstar continued that year. Pavol Demitra developed into a top-flight scorer with 37 goals and helped St. Louis overcome the loss of Hull. In the playoffs, the Blues rebounded from a 3-1 deficit in games to eliminate Phoenix, then engaged in a thrilling six-game series with Dallas that featured four overtime matches before the Blues were beaten by the eventual Stanley Cup champions for the third straight season.

In September, 1999, the consortium of 19 St. Louis companies which owned the Blues and the Kiel Center announced that the team and the rink had been sold to Bill and Nancy Laurie. (Nancy is the daughter of Wal-Mart co-founder James "Bud" Walton.) New on the ice that season was Roman Turek, who had been acquired from Dallas within days of the Stars' 1999 Stanley Cup title. He proved to be a dominant netminder in 1999-2000. Turek led the league with seven shutouts, while his 1.95 goals-against average was just edged out by Brian Boucher of the Philadelphia Flyers. He also posted a club-record 42 victories in leading St. Louis to a franchise high 51 wins and 114 points and the first Presidents' Trophy title in club history. With a defense led by Pronger and MacInnis, the Blues also won the Jennings Trophy by allowing the fewest goals in the NHL. In fact, with just 165 goals against, the Blues allowed the fewest goals in any full season since 1973-74 when both Philadelphia and Chicago surrendered 164 goals in 78 games. Offensively, the club was once again led by Pavol Demitra, who collected 28 goals and 75 points (though an injury late in the season would keep him out of the playoffs). Pierre Turgeon had 26 goals and 40 assists in just 52 games. Even with the club's defensive brilliance, only the Red Wings and the New Jersey Devils scored more goals than St. Louis, which netted 248.

Hopes were high for the club's first Stanley Cup championship entering the playoffs. But after taking game one from the San Jose Sharks, St. Louis suddenly lost three in a row and was down three games to one. Things looked good for yet another comeback, especially after the Blues trounced the Sharks 6-2 in San Jose in Game 6, but a 3-1 loss in Game 7 made St. Louis the first 1st-place club to be bounced in the opening round of the playoffs since the 1991 Chicago Blackhawks. At least there was some consolation at the 2000 NHL Awards, where Chris Pronger won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player, Pavol Demitra earned the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play and Joel Quenneville won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year.

Though not quite up to their Presidents' Trophy performance of 1999-2000, the Blues bounced back from their surprising playoff defeat with another solid season in 2000-01. With a record of 43-22-12-5, the Blues had 103 points-their second straight 100-point season and just the fourth in team history. In the playoffs, St. Louis advanced to the Western Conference final for the first time since 1986. Offensively, the club was led by Pierre Turgeon, whose 82 points (30 goals, 52 assists) were his best total since 1995-96 and ranked him 16th in the league. Scott Young's 40 goals topped the team and were 10 more than he had ever scored in one season. Keith Tkachuk was added to the team in a late-season trade with Phoenix. Defensively, of course, the Blues were led by MacInnis and Pronger. Rookie Brent Johnson played 31 games in goal as the backup to Roman Turek and ranked fifth in the league with a 2.17 goals-against average.

The Blues finished eight points behind Detroit in the Central Division and earned the fourth seed in the playoffs. Their first-round matchup offered a chance at revenge against San Jose and St. Louis took the series in six games. A sweep of the Stars followed before Colorado eliminated the Blues in five games.

St. Louis lost Turgeon to Dallas as a free agent in the offseason, but acquired Doug Weight from Edmonton. Brent Johnson was installed as the number-one goaltender and Roman Turek was traded to Calgary in a deal that brought in Fred Brathwaite to serve as a backup. The best news, though, was that Pavol Demitra was fully recovered from the eye and leg injuries that had limited him to just 44 games in 2000-01. His 78 points in 2001-02 (35 goals 43 assists) led the Blues and tied him for seventh in the NHL. Demitra's 10 game-winning goals led the league. Keith Tkachuk led the team with 38 goals in his first full season in St. Louis. As always, Pronger and MacInnis anchored the defense. They also helped Team Canada win an Olympic gold medal. As in 2000-01, the Blues finished second to Detroit in the Central Division. This year, the Red Wings also eliminated St. Louis in the second-round of the playoffs.

Despite the absence of Chris Pronger, who missed all but five games of the 2002-03 season with a wrist injury, and a series of other setbacks that forced St. Louis to use six goalies in the first half of the season (and eight in all), the Blues continued to rank among the NHL's best teams. Once again, however, they had to settle for second place behind Detroit in the Central Division, this time with 99 points. Al MacInnis wore the captain's 'C' in Pronger's absence and enjoyed another fine season, scoring 16 goals and leading all NHL defensemen with 52 assists and 68 points. He would finish second to Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom in voting for the Norris Trophy and was a key reason why Blues rookie defenseman Barret Jackman won the Calder Trophy. Pavol Demitra led the Blues in goals (36), assists (57) and points (93) to rank sixth in the NHL in scoring. Keith Tkachuk had 31 goals, while Scott Mellanby, Cory Stillman, Eric Boguniecki and Dallas Drake all topped the 20-goal plateau. Despite injuries, Brent Johnson and Fred Brathwaite handled most of the goaltending duties in St. Louis until the Blues acquired Chris Osgood from the Islanders at the trade deadline.

Yet again though, another promising season ended with an early playoff defeat. This time the loss came in the first round against the Vancouver Canucks. The Blues opened the series with a 6-0 victory and raced out to a 3-1 lead in games, only to see the Canucks storm back to win it in seven. St. Louis played most of the final six games without MacInnis, who injured his right shoulder early in game two. He returned for the finale but played just under 15 minutes. Game 7 started much like the series opener, with St. Louis grabbing a quick lead when Doug Weight set up Martin Rucinsky just a minute into the opening period. Weight was the leading scorer in the opening round of the playoffs with five goals and eight assists. Still, it did no good.

"We had the start we hoped for," said former coach Joel Quenneville.

But once again, the Blues didn't get the end result.

Dave Checketts and SCP Worldwide (SCP) were officially introduced as the new owners of the St. Louis Blues and Savvis Center on June 30, 2006.

Checketts, who formed SCP Worldwide in 2002, was accompanied at the dais by Ken Munoz and Mike McCarthy, the two principals and longtime colleagues who joined SCP in 2005.

Checketts' first order of business was announcing John Davidson as the Blues' new president, overseeing hockey operations and all hockey team-related business. Davidson, a former goaltender for the Blues and the team's first-round draft choice in 1973, boasts an impressive hockey career on and off the ice, including many years as an analyst for the Madison Square Garden Network and various national hockey broadcast partners in the United States and Canada. In 2004, Davidson was honored with one of hockey's most prestigious awards, the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.

On Sept. 7, 2006, SCP Worldwide and Scottrade, a St. Louis-based leading branch-supported online brokerage, announced a long-term partnership that includes naming rights for the Blues' downtown home arena which is currently known as the Scottrade Center.

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Excerpted from Total NHL, published by Dan Diamond and Associates, 2003. Available wherever books are sold and at www.nhlofficialguide.com.