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The Blues were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion, along with the Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and California Seals. The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "Saint Louis Blues,"

Scotty Bowman

CheckerDome

Right away, the blues saw a lot of successes in the late 1960s, however, did not continue into the 1970s. The blues lost hall of fame coach Scotty Bowman to the Montreal Canadians, Hall of Fame-Scotty Bowman, and the core of their team resulting in only making the playoffs one time through the 1970s. At this time the Blues were going through all kinds of financial problems resulting in a change of ownership, change of arena (checkerdome), and change in hockey standard. Following the s

eason of 1978-1979 where the blues only won 18 games (worst in franchise history), the blues ended the following year with a playoff spot. This would be the first of 25 consecutive seasons making the playoffs. During this period of time the blues were blessed with massive amounts of talents like hall of famers:

Bernie Federko, C, 1976–1989, inducted 2002, Doug Gilmour, C, 1983–1988, inducted 2011, Brett Hull, RW, 1988–1998, inducted 2009, Chris Pronger, D, 1995–2004, inducted 2015, and Brendan Shanahan, LW, 1991–1995, inducted 2013.

The 25 years of playoffs came to an in 2005. Because of several questionable personnel moves and an unstable ownership situation, the Blues finished the 2005–06 season with their worst record in 27 years. During the next five years the blues would run through numbers of coaches and owners. The 2011 off-season would be the turning point year for the blues. The blues found new ownership fired there then coach Davis Payne, and hired their current coach Ken Hitchcock. The organization instilled a new standard, picked up many free agents and have not had a losing season since. They still wait for their first Stanley Cup but are inching closer every season.

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The return of Jaden Schwartz! Jaden Schwartz missed the first eight games of the season this year after hurting his left elbow in a practice. For five years now Jaden Schwartz has been a crucial part of St. Louis offense but has been injury stricken. Last season Schwartz skated with Blues leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko and Jori Lehtera but was held to only in for 33 games because of an ankle injury. In the 2014-2015 season Schwartz posted career highs in all categories accumulating 28 goals, 35 assists, and 63 points in 75 games.  For complete statistics go to: ttp://www.rotoworld.com/player/nhl/3344/jaden-schwartz

The blues continue to impress winning a low scoring battle last night, October 29, 2016, against the La Kings. https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-stl/boxscore None other than Jaden Schwartz had the lone goal! For full re-cap and highlights visit: https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-stl/recapAfter a few days off games will take off again when the blues take a trip to play an out of conference game against the New York Rangers on Tuesday, November 1, 2016.



At this point in the season the blues are ranked 4th according to espn.com power rankings. http://www.espn.com/nhl/powerrankings While the blues may have slipped two spots since the last rankings, blues fans have nothing to worry about. The season has merely just started and Coach Ken Hitchcock has them playing better than ever.

For everyday updates visit: https://twitter.com/AICSTLBLUES

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With the first month of the season winding down the St. Louis Blues currently sit in second place in the central division and third place in the western conference. Full league standing go to https://www.nhl.com/standings The blues started the year hot with three straight wins against the Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, and New York rangers but since then have been hot and cold exchanging wins and losses every other game ending up with a 5-2-2 record. The stereotypical St. Louis Blues team is led by blue collar players and this year appears to be a bit different. During the offseason the blues picked up players like David Perron and Nail Yakupov who have no shortage of high-end skill. These players should amp up the offensive resulting in nearly forty more goals This link gives all f the transactions made during the 2016 season thus far thus far http://www.espn.com/nhl/team/transactions/_/name/stl/st-louis-blues I believe with this new look to the offense the blues will have a much greater amount of success and will make the blues one of the most lethal teams in the west.

Currently Vladimir Tarasenko, who is known for his blistering snap shot, sits at the top of the team in points earning his living on the power play with four with an extra man. He had a season career high in goals last season with forty and should be right around those same totals this season if he avoids injury.

Jaden Schwartz

A blues fan should feel very optimistic of the season with a good start to the season and the return of Tarasenko’s line-mate Jaden Schwartz to the lineup. http://archauthority.com/2016/10/20/jaden-schwartz-return-st-louis-blues-lineup-thursday/ This should impact the offense of the blues profoundly. Schwartz was a vital piece of the Blues offense in the 2015-2016 season and helped to lead the team to the western conference finals. http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=33907 The blues will continue to run on all cylinders through November and December but we will have to see if Coach Ken Hitchcock can keep them going when the tough months in the middle of the season take a toll on the players.

For more everyday updates: https://twitter.com/AICSTLBLUES

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Last years exit in the western conference finals to the San Jose Sharks still leaves a bad taste in the mouth of all of the hardcore St. Louis Blues fans. A very inactive off-season for the General Manager, Doug Armstrong, led to the loss of many of the familiar faces like captain David Backes, Troy Brower, and Brian Elliot. But still Blues fans should remain extremely optimistic about the growth of the organization in St. Louis.




As a blue fan I can say I am very excited to have preseason finally behind us. Blues fans have a lot to look forward to this season and it all starts with the season opener in Chicago on October 12. Just a day later the Blues will be back in front of a home crowd with the home opener against the Minnesota Wild on October 13 at the Scottrade Center. Don't waste time pick up a jersey from the online store- http://shop.nhl.com/St_Louis_Blues_Gear - and be ready to sing the blues come opening night.



The biggest news of the 2016 off-season is the signing of 2012 1st overall draft pick Nail Yakupov. This massive pickup for the blues couldn't have happened at a better time, just days before the first puck drops. Nail started his career off very slowly in Edmonton, never racking up more than 35 points in a season, but to his defense the Oilers have struggled as an organization ending near the bottom of the standings for as long as I can remember. Blues fans should be excited for this pickup, this means more depth for the Blues and a skill set and speed on the right wing that is almost unmatched in the NHL.


For a full schedule and game times for the entire National Hockey League visit: NHL.com