1967–68 St. Louis Blues | |
Division | 3rd West |
---|---|
1967–68 record | 27–31–16 |
Goals for | 177 |
Goals against | 198 |
Team information | |
General manager | Lynn Patrick |
Coach | Lynn Patrick Scotty Bowman |
Captain | Al Arbour |
Alternate captains | Red Berenson Jimmy Roberts Noel Picard |
Arena | St. Louis Arena |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Red Berenson (22) |
Assists | Gerry Melnyk (35) |
Points | Red Berenson (51) |
Penalty minutes | Gary Sabourin (50) |
Wins | Glenn Hall (19) |
Goals against average | Glenn Hall (2.48) |
The 1967–68 St. Louis Blues season was the team's inaugural season in the National Hockey League (NHL). They finished 3rd in the West Division and lost in the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals to the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 0.
Off-season[]
The Blues were one of the six new teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion. The other franchises were the Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and California Seals. The league doubled in size from its Original Six.
St. Louis was the last of the expansion teams to officially get into the league. The Blues were chosen over Baltimore at the insistence of the Chicago Black Hawks. The Black Hawks were owned at that time by the Wirtz family, who also owned the St. Louis Arena. The team's first owners were insurance tycoon Sid Salomon Jr., his son, Sid Salomon III, and Robert L. Wolfson. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. Salomon then spent several million dollars on renovations for the 38-year-old Arena, which increased the number of seats from 12,000 to 15,000 and provided its first significant maintenance since the 1940s.
The Blues inaugural jersey colours were blue, white and yellow with a primarily blue home jersey and a primarily white away jersey. The jerseys had three stripes on the arms and body of the blue jersey and five on the white. There were no names on the back, the jersey numbers were outlined and the white jersey had an outlined shoulder yolk. The logo was a blue, white and yellow winged music note. These jerseys would remain in use for this season only.
Expansion Draft[]
St. Louis Blues selections
# | Player | Drafted From |
---|---|---|
1. | Glenn Hall (G) | Chicago Black Hawks |
2. | Don Caley (G) | Detroit Red Wings |
3. | Jim Roberts (D/W) | Montreal Canadiens |
4. | Noel Picard (D) | Montreal Canadiens |
5. | Al Arbour (D) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
6. | Rod Seiling (D) | New York Rangers |
7. | Ron Schock (C) | Boston Bruins |
8. | Terry Crisp (C) | Boston Bruins |
9. | Don McKenney (C) | Detroit Red Wings |
10. | Wayne Rivers (RW) | Boston Bruins |
11. | Billy Hay (C) | Chicago Black Hawks |
12. | Darryl Edestrand (D) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
13. | Norm Beaudin (RW) | Detroit Red Wings |
14. | Larry Keenan (LW) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
15. | Ron Stewart (C) | Boston Bruins |
16. | Fred Hucul (D) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
17. | John Brenneman (LW) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
18. | Gerry Melnyk (C) | Chicago Black Hawks |
19. | Gary Veneruzzo (LW) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
20. | Max Mestinsek (RW) | New York Rangers |
Pre-season[]
The Blues held their training camp in St. Louis.
Regular Season[]
On October 11, 1967 the Blues played their first game. The Blues and Minnesota North Stars played to a 2–2 tie at the St. Louis Arena with Larry Keenan scoring the first goal in franchise history while Wayne Rivers scored a late goal to tie the game.
Claude Cardin played his only NHL game on November 25, 1967 against the Philadelphia Flyers and was held scoreless.
The Blues were originally coached by Lynn Patrick who resigned in late November and was replaced by Scotty Bowman. Soon after, on November 29, St. Louis made a trade with the New York Rangers that would shape the franchise for the next decade.
Red Berenson and Barclay Plager were acquired for Ron Stewart and Ron Attwell. Both immediately became regulars, both would become captain of the team and Plager would play his entire career for the Blues. Berenson led the Blues in scoring in 1967-68, more than doubling his career point total in only 55 games.
Goalie Don Caley played his only NHL game on December 30, 1967 as the Blues were thrashed 8-1 by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Caley came into the game in relief of Seth Martin with the score 5-0.
Although the league's rules effectively kept star players with the Original Six teams, the Blues were one of the stronger teams in the Western Division. The playoff format required an expansion team to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals which the Blues made.
Final Standings[]
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia Flyers | 74 | 31 | 32 | 11 | 173 | 179 | 73 |
Los Angeles Kings | 74 | 31 | 33 | 10 | 200 | 224 | 72 |
St. Louis Blues | 74 | 27 | 31 | 16 | 177 | 191 | 70 |
Minnesota North Stars | 74 | 27 | 32 | 15 | 191 | 226 | 69 |
Pittsburgh Penguins | 74 | 27 | 34 | 13 | 195 | 216 | 67 |
Oakland Seals | 74 | 15 | 42 | 17 | 153 | 219 | 47 |
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Game Log[]
Regular Season Results | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
1 | T | October 11, 1967 | 2–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 0–0–1 |
2 | L | October 13, 1967 | 1–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 0–1–1 |
3 | W | October 14, 1967 | 4–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 1–1–1 |
4 | L | October 18, 1967 | 1–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 1–2–1 |
5 | T | October 21, 1967 | 3–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 1–2–2 |
6 | L | October 22, 1967 | 0–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) | 1–3–2 |
7 | L | October 25, 1967 | 2–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 1–4–2 |
8 | L | October 28, 1967 | 1–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) | 1–5–2 |
9 | W | November 1, 1967 | 5–1 | Boston Bruins (1967–68) | 2–5–2 |
10 | W | November 4, 1967 | 3–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) | 3–5–2 |
11 | L | November 8, 1967 | 1–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 3–6–2 |
12 | W | November 11, 1967 | 5–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 4–6–2 |
13 | L | November 12, 1967 | 2–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) | 4–7–2 |
14 | L | November 15, 1967 | 1–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) | 4–8–2 |
15 | L | November 18, 1967 | 3–5 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 4–9–2 |
16 | L | November 19, 1967 | 2–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 4–10–2 |
17 | L | November 22, 1967 | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) | 4–11–2 |
18 | L | November 25, 1967 | 1–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 4–12–2 |
19 | L | November 26, 1967 | 0–1 | @ New York Rangers (1967–68) | 4–13–2 |
20 | W | November 29, 1967 | 3–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 5–13–2 |
21 | L | December 2, 1967 | 1–5 | Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 5–14–2 |
22 | L | December 3, 1967 | 2–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 5–15–2 |
23 | L | December 6, 1967 | 2–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 5–16–2 |
24 | W | December 9, 1967 | 1–0 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 6–16–2 |
25 | W | December 10, 1967 | 2–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) | 7–16–2 |
26 | W | December 13, 1967 | 3–1 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 8–16–2 |
27 | T | December 14, 1967 | 2–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 8–16–3 |
28 | L | December 16, 1967 | 0–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 8–17–3 |
29 | L | December 17, 1967 | 3–5 | @ New York Rangers (1967–68) | 8–18–3 |
30 | W | December 20, 1967 | 2–1 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 9–18–3 |
31 | L | December 23, 1967 | 0–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 9–19–3 |
32 | W | December 25, 1967 | 1–0 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 10–19–3 |
33 | W | December 27, 1967 | 4–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 11–19–3 |
34 | W | December 29, 1967 | 2–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 12–19–3 |
35 | L | December 30, 1967 | 1–8 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) | 12–20–3 |
36 | W | January 3, 1968 | 4–0 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 13–20–3 |
37 | W | January 6, 1968 | 2–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 14–20–3 |
38 | T | January 10, 1968 | 2–2 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 14–20–4 |
39 | T | January 11, 1968 | 2–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 14–20–5 |
40 | L | January 13, 1968 | 1–3 | New York Rangers (1967–68) | 14–21–5 |
41 | T | January 14, 1968 | 2–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) | 14–21–6 |
42 | W | January 17, 1968 | 5–0 | Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 15–21–6 |
43 | T | January 21, 1968 | 2–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 15–21–7 |
44 | W | January 24, 1968 | 5–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 16–21–7 |
45 | T | January 25, 1968 | 4–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) | 16–21–8 |
46 | W | January 27, 1968 | 4–3 | New York Rangers (1967–68) | 17–21–8 |
47 | W | January 31, 1968 | 9–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 18–21–8 |
48 | L | February 1, 1968 | 0–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 18–22–8 |
49 | W | February 3, 1968 | 4–1 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 19–22–8 |
50 | L | February 7, 1968 | 4–6 | Boston Bruins (1967–68) | 19–23–8 |
51 | L | February 10, 1968 | 1–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 19–24–8 |
52 | T | February 11, 1968 | 3–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) | 19–24–9 |
53 | T | February 14, 1968 | 2–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 19–24–10 |
54 | W | February 16, 1968 | 3–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 20–24–10 |
55 | T | February 17, 1968 | 2–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 20–24–11 |
56 | W | February 21, 1968 | 5–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) | 21–24–11 |
57 | L | February 22, 1968 | 1–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) | 21–25–11 |
58 | L | February 25, 1968 | 2–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 21–26–11 |
59 | T | February 28, 1968 | 3–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) | 21–26–12 |
60 | T | March 2, 1968 | 3–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) | 21–26–13 |
61 | L | March 3, 1968 | 3–9 | @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) | 21–27–13 |
62 | W | March 6, 1968 | 4–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 22–27–13 |
63 | W | March 9, 1968 | 3–1 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 23–27–13 |
64 | W | March 10, 1968 | 1–0 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 24–27–13 |
65 | T | March 13, 1968 | 3–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) | 24–27–14 |
66 | T | March 15, 1968 | 1–1 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 24–27–15 |
67 | L | March 16, 1968 | 3–6 | Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) | 24–28–15 |
68 | L | March 20, 1968 | 2–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 24–29–15 |
69 | L | March 22, 1968 | 1–6 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 24–30–15 |
70 | T | March 23, 1968 | 3–3 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 24–30–16 |
71 | W | March 27, 1968 | 3–0 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 25–30–16 |
72 | L | March 28, 1968 | 0–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 25–31–16 |
73 | W | March 30, 1968 | 3–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 26–31–16 |
74 | W | March 31, 1968 | 5–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 27–31–16 |
Playoffs[]
St. Louis Blues 4, Philadelphia Flyers 3[]
1968 Stanley Cup Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Western Division Quarter-finals vs. Philadelphia
|
St. Louis Blues 4, Minnesota North Stars 3[]
The West Division Final between St. Louis and the Minnesota North Stars was one of the closest seven game series in NHL history. Games 2 (won by Minnesota on Parker MacDonald's goal), 4 (won by St. Louis' Gary Sabourin's goal) and 5 (won by St. Louis' Bill McCreary, Sr.'s goal) all went to overtime. Game 7 went to double overtime and was won by the Blues Ron Schock's breakaway goal.
Montreal Canadiens 4, St. Louis Blues 0[]
The St. Louis Blues made a series of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals although they lost in four straight games. Glenn Hall was sensational, especially in game three when the Blues were outshot 46 to 15. Wrote Red Burnett, the dean of hockey writers then: "A number of Hall's saves were seemingly impossible. Experts walked out of the Forum convinced no other goaltender had performed so brilliantly in a losing cause." In the overtime of game three, Hall made a spectacular save on Dick Duff and then, standing on his head, made another save. "It was a heartbreaker to see" said Burnett "After the saves on Duff, Bobby Rousseau came and batted home the second rebound." Hall's heroics won him the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs.
However, the Montreal Canadiens was not to be denied and won the Stanley Cup in game four as J.C. Tremblay fired home the winning goal. When the game ended, the fans came on the ice to celebrate, and balloons, hats and programs were thrown from the stands. Jean Beliveau, in a cast and crutches from his broken ankle, with Ralph Backstrom accepted the Cup from NHL president Clarence Campbell and the players did a victory lap with the Cup.
Less than 30 minutes after the Canadiens won the Cup, Canadiens coach Toe Blake announced his retirement. He gave reason that it had been a hard season, but the real reason was that his wife was dying of cancer and he wanted to spent his time with her. The celebration turned to a mournful event with players paying tribute to Blake, many in tears.
Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 5 | Montreal | 3 | St. Louis | 2 | OT |
May 7 | Montreal | 1 | St. Louis | 0 | |
May 9 | St. Louis | 3 | Montreal | 4 | OT |
May 11 | St. Louis | 2 | Montreal | 3 |
Player Stats[]
Forwards[]
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
# | Player | GP | G | AST | PTS | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 | Red Berenson | 55 | 22 | 29 | 51 | 22 |
16 | Gerry Melnyk | 73 | 15 | 35 | 50 | 14 |
9 | Frank St. Marseille | 57 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 12 |
17 | Don McKenney | 39 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 4 |
19 | Terry Crisp | 73 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 10 |
15 | Bill McCreary | 70 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 22 |
11 | Gary Sabourin | 50 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 50 |
18, 21 | Larry Keenan | 40 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 4 |
10 | Ron Schock | 55 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 17 |
14 | Tim Ecclestone | 50 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 16 |
12 | Ron Stewart | 19 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 11 |
21 | Craig Cameron | 32 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 8 |
12 | Dickie Moore | 27 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 9 |
11 | Wayne Rivers | 22 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 |
8 | Ron Attwell | 18 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 6 |
9 | Roger Picard | 15 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 21 |
12, 17, 20 | Gary Veneruzzo | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
21 | Norm Beaudin | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
21 | Claude Cardin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Defencemen[]
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
# | Player | GP | G | AST | PTS | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | Jim Roberts | 74 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 66 |
8 | Barclay Plager | 49 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 153 |
2 | Fred Hucul | 43 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 30 |
4 | Noel Picard | 66 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 142 |
3 | Al Arbour | 74 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 50 |
5 | Bob Plager | 53 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 86 |
22 | Jean-Guy Talbot | 23 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
2, 20 | Ray Fortin | 24 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
22 | Gordon Kannegiesser | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
8, 20, 23 | Darryl Edestrand | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Goaltending[]
Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against
# | Player | GP | MIN | W | L | T | SO | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Glenn Hall | 49 | 2858 | 19 | 21 | 9 | 5 | 2.48 |
30 | Seth Martin | 30 | 1552 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2.59 |
1 | Don Caley | 1 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 |
Playoff Stats[]
Forwards[]
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
# | Player | GP | G | AST | PTS | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 | Dickie Moore | 18 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 15 |
9 | Frank St. Marseille | 18 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 0 |
18 | Larry Keenan | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
16 | Gerry Melnyk | 17 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
7 | Red Berenson | 18 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
11 | Gary Sabourin | 18 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 30 |
19 | Terry Crisp | 18 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
15 | Bill McCreary | 15 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
10 | Ron Schock | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
14 | Tim Ecclestone | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
17 | Don McKenney | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
17 | Gary Veneruzzo | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
21 | Craig Cameron | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
Defencemen[]
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
# | Player | GP | G | AST | PTS | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8 | Barclay Plager | 18 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 73 |
6 | Jim Roberts | 18 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 20 |
2 | Doug Harvey | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
5 | Bob Plager | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 69 |
4 | Noel Picard | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 46 |
3 | Al Arbour | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
22 | Jean-Guy Talbot | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
2, 20 | Ray Fortin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Goaltending[]
Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against
# | Player | GP | MIN | W | L | T | SO | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Glenn Hall | 18 | 1108 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 2.44 |
30 | Seth Martin | 2 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.12 |
Awards and Records[]
Trivia[]
- No Blues recorded a hat trick this season.
Gallery[]
Video[]
Blues-Leafs game from December 30, 1967.
References[]
- Blues on Hockey Database
- 1967–68 St. Louis Blues Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-06.
St. Louis Blues Seasons | |
---|---|
1960s | 1968–69 • 1969–70 | 1967–68 •
1970s | 1970–71 • 1971–72 • 1972–73 • 1973–74 • 1974–75 • 1975–76 • 1976–77 • 1977–78 • 1978–79 • 1979–80 |
1980s | 1980–81 • 1981–82 • 1982–83 • 1983–84 • 1984–85 • 1985–86 • 1986–87 • 1987–88 • 1988–89 • 1989–90 |
1990s | 1990–91 • 1991–92 • 1992–93 • 1993–94 • 1994–95 • 1995–96 • 1996–97 • 1997–98 • 1998–99 • 1999–00 |
2000s | 2000–01 • 2001–02 • 2002–03 • 2003–04 • 2004–05 • 2005–06 • 2006–07 • 2007–08 • 2008–09 • 2009–10 |
2010s | 2010–11 • 2011–12 • 2012–13 • 2013–14 • 2014–15 • 2015–16 • 2016–17 • 2017–18 • 2018–19 • 2019–20 |
St. Louis Blues | |
---|---|
Franchise • Players • Coaches • GMs • Seasons • St. Louis Blues Records • St. Louis Blues Draft Picks • Scottrade Center • St. Louis Arena • San Antonio Rampage • Tulsa Oilers |
1967–68 NHL season by team | |
---|---|
East | Boston • Chicago • Detroit • Montreal • New York • Toronto |
West | Los Angeles • Minnesota • Oakland • Philadelphia • Pittsburgh • St. Louis |
See also | 1967 NHL Amateur Draft • 1967 NHL Expansion Draft • All-Star Game • 1968 Stanley Cup Finals |
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