1969–70 St. Louis Blues season

The 1969–70 St. Louis Blues season involved finishing in first place in the West Division for the second consecutive season. The Blues were the only team in the West Division with a winning record, as they finished 22 points ahead of the second-placed Pittsburgh Penguins. The Blues matched their previous season's total of 37 wins, but finished with 86 points, two points shy of the previous season's points total. NHL legend Camille Henry played his final game with the St. Louis Blues. Henry got 3 points in 4 games.

From a goaltending standpoint, the franchise experienced many changes. Glenn Hall had retired at the end of the 1968–69 season but returned. Despite an appearance in the All-Star Game, Jacques Plante played his final season in St. Louis. He was sold by the Blues to the Toronto Maple Leafs for cash on May 18, 1970. Ernie Wakely was acquired from the defending Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens and became the Blues starting goaltender for the following season.

In the playoffs, St. Louis defeated the Minnesota North Stars 4–2 and the Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 to advance to their third consecutive Stanley Cup final, where they were swept by the Boston Bruins. Phil Goyette became the first Lady Byng Trophy winner in franchise history as he led the team with 78 points.

Offseason

NHL draft

Tommi Salmelainen was the first European drafted by an NHL franchise.^[1]

Main article: 1969 NHL Amateur Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality
2	19	Mike Lowe	Canada
3	30	Bernie Gagnon	Canada
4	42	Vic "Skeeter" Teal	Canada
5	54	Brian Glenwright
6	66	Tommi Salmelainen	Finland
6	70	Dale Yutsyk
7	73	Bob Collyard
7	77	David Pulkkinen
8	80	Patrick Lange
9	82	John Converse

Regular season

Glenn Hall

As he did with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1966, Glenn Hall retired from St. Louis at the end of the 1968–69 season.^[2] He was talked into returning, usually with a promise of more money, but he didn't profess to enjoy his livelihood.^[2] Although Hall stayed in St. Louis, he still got nauseous before each game as he did earlier in his career.

Ernie Wakely

Ernie Wakely played two games for the Montreal Canadiens from 1962 to 1969. On June 27, 1969, Wakely got his big break when the Canadiens dealt the 28-year-old to the St. Louis Blues for Norm Beaudin and Bobby Schmautz.^[3] The 1969–70 season was a career season for Wakely. He appeared in 30 games for St. Louis, registering a 2.11 GAA and four shutouts.^[3]

Wakely had to take over from the legendary Glenn Hall. Wakely made the most of his opportunity as he helped lead the Blues to the Stanley Cup finals. The Blues were defeated in four straight games by Bobby Orr's Boston Bruins.^[3]

Final standings

West Division^[4]
		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	St. Louis Blues	76	37	27	12	224	179	+45	86
2	Pittsburgh Penguins	76	26	38	12	182	238	−56	64
3	Minnesota North Stars	76	19	35	22	224	257	−33	60
4	Oakland Seals	76	22	40	14	169	243	−74	58
5	Philadelphia Flyers	76	17	35	24	197	225	−28	58
6	Los Angeles Kings	76	14	52	10	168	290	−122	38

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 11, 1969	7–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	1–0–0
2	W	October 15, 1969	4–1	Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	2–0–0
3	W	October 18, 1969	4–2	Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	3–0–0
4	L	October 19, 1969	2–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	3–1–0
5	T	October 22, 1969	3–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	3–1–1
6	L	October 25, 1969	2–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	3–2–1
7	T	October 26, 1969	0–0	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	3–2–2
8	T	October 30, 1969	2–2	Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	3–2–3
9	W	November 1, 1969	8–0	Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	4–2–3
10	L	November 2, 1969	4–6	@ New York Rangers (1969–70)	4–3–3
11	T	November 5, 1969	4–4	@ Boston Bruins (1969–70)	4–3–4
12	W	November 6, 1969	5–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	5–3–4
13	L	November 8, 1969	2–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	5–4–4
14	W	November 13, 1969	4–0	Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	6–4–4
15	L	November 15, 1969	2–3	Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	6–5–4
16	L	November 16, 1969	2–4	@ New York Rangers (1969–70)	6–6–4
17	W	November 19, 1969	4–0	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	7–6–4
18	W	November 20, 1969	3–1	Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	8–6–4
19	L	November 22, 1969	0–5	New York Rangers (1969–70)	8–7–4
20	W	November 26, 1969	4–1	Oakland Seals (1969–70)	9–7–4
21	W	November 29, 1969	3–1	Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	10–7–4
22	L	November 30, 1969	1–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	10–8–4
23	W	December 3, 1969	3–1	Oakland Seals (1969–70)	11–8–4
24	L	December 6, 1969	1–5	Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	11–9–4
25	W	December 7, 1969	4–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	12–9–4
26	T	December 10, 1969	3–3	@ Oakland Seals (1969–70)	12–9–5
27	W	December 13, 1969	8–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	13–9–5
28	W	December 16, 1969	6–4	Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	14–9–5
29	T	December 18, 1969	3–3	Boston Bruins (1969–70)	14–9–6
30	W	December 20, 1969	3–0	Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	15–9–6
31	L	December 21, 1969	0–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	15–10–6
32	W	December 23, 1969	5–3	Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	16–10–6
33	W	December 26, 1969	3–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	17–10–6
34	L	December 27, 1969	1–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	17–11–6
35	W	December 30, 1969	5–0	@ Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	18–11–6
36	W	January 3, 1970	6–0	Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	19–11–6
37	T	January 7, 1970	2–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	19–11–7
38	L	January 10, 1970	2–6	Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	19–12–7
39	L	January 14, 1970	2–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	19–13–7
40	W	January 15, 1970	2–0	Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	20–13–7
41	W	January 17, 1970	3–1	Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	21–13–7
42	W	January 22, 1970	4–3	New York Rangers (1969–70)	22–13–7
43	L	January 24, 1970	2–5	Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	22–14–7
44	L	January 25, 1970	0–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	22–15–7
45	W	January 28, 1970	6–1	@ Oakland Seals (1969–70)	23–15–7
46	W	January 29, 1970	3–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	24–15–7
47	L	January 31, 1970	1–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	24–16–7
48	L	February 4, 1970	0–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	24–17–7
49	L	February 6, 1970	1–2	Oakland Seals (1969–70)	24–18–7
50	L	February 8, 1970	1–7	@ Boston Bruins (1969–70)	24–19–7
51	L	February 11, 1970	2–3	Boston Bruins (1969–70)	24–20–7
52	L	February 12, 1970	2–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	24–21–7
53	W	February 14, 1970	2–1	Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	25–21–7
54	T	February 15, 1970	3–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	25–21–8
55	W	February 18, 1970	5–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	26–21–8
56	W	February 20, 1970	3–1	@ Oakland Seals (1969–70)	27–21–8
57	W	February 21, 1970	4–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	28–21–8
58	L	February 25, 1970	1–2	@ New York Rangers (1969–70)	28–22–8
59	W	February 28, 1970	3–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	29–22–8
60	L	March 1, 1970	1–3	@ Boston Bruins (1969–70)	29–23–8
61	W	March 4, 1970	3–1	Boston Bruins (1969–70)	30–23–8
62	W	March 6, 1970	3–1	New York Rangers (1969–70)	31–23–8
63	T	March 7, 1970	2–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	31–23–9
64	W	March 11, 1970	9–1	@ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	32–23–9
65	W	March 12, 1970	4–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	33–23–9
66	L	March 14, 1970	2–6	Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	33–24–9
67	T	March 17, 1970	5–5	Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	33–24–10
68	W	March 19, 1970	3–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	34–24–10
69	L	March 21, 1970	0–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	34–25–10
70	L	March 22, 1970	0–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	34–26–10
71	W	March 24, 1970	4–0	@ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	35–26–10
72	L	March 27, 1970	2–3	@ Oakland Seals (1969–70)	35–27–10
73	T	March 29, 1970	5–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	35–27–11
74	T	April 1, 1970	2–2	Oakland Seals (1969–70)	35–27–12
75	W	April 2, 1970	1–0	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	36–27–12
76	W	April 4, 1970	3–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	37–27–12

Playoffs

West Division semi-finals

In the West Division playoffs, the St. Louis Blues ousted the Minnesota North Stars in six games. The Blues won the first two games at the St. Louis Arena. Game three at the Metropolitan Sports Center featured Gump Worsley's sharp goaltending and Bill Goldsworthy scoring two goals in a 4–2 win for the North Stars. Cesare Maniago played in goal for Minnesota in game four and picked up a 4–0 shutout, tying the series. Game five at St. Louis Arena was tied 3–3 when St Louis scored three goals in the third period by Red Berenson, Terry Gray and Jim Roberts, and the Blues won 6–3. In game six, Ab McDonald scored two goals as the Blues eliminated the North Stars by a score of 4–2.

Stanley Cup Finals

Boston Bruins vs. St. Louis Blues

Date	Visitors	Score	Home	Score	Notes
May 3	Boston	6	St. Louis	1
May 5	Boston	6	St. Louis	2
May 7	St. Louis	1	Boston	4
May 10	St. Louis	3	Boston	4	OT

For the third consecutive year, the Blues were swept in the Stanley Cup finals. This time, they faced the Boston Bruins, who, with stars like Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, were more than a match for them. The first three games were not close. The Blues managed to force overtime in game 4, but Orr scored the most famous goal in NHL history to end the series.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Goyette, PhilPhil Goyette	C	72	29	49	78	16	13	0	5
Berenson, RedRed Berenson	C	67	33	39	72	38	16	0	8
St. Marseille, FrankFrank St. Marseille	RW	74	16	43	59	18	3	0	1
McDonald, AbAb McDonald	LW	64	25	30	55	8	11	0	4
Sabourin, GaryGary Sabourin	RW	72	28	14	42	61	11	0	5
Ecclestone, TimTim Ecclestone	LW	65	16	21	37	59	5	0	2
Keenan, LarryLarry Keenan	LW	56	10	23	33	8	3	0	0
McCreary, BillBill McCreary	LW	73	15	17	32	16	2	1	1
Plager, BarclayBarclay Plager	D	75	6	26	32	128	1	1	1
Roberts, JimJim Roberts	D/RW	76	13	17	30	51	1	2	4
Anderson, RonRon Anderson	RW	59	9	9	18	36	0	0	0
Boudrias, AndreAndre Boudrias	LW	50	3	14	17	20	1	0	2
Talbot, Jean-GuyJean-Guy Talbot	D	75	2	15	17	40	0	1	0
Plager, BobBob Plager	D	64	3	11	14	113	0	0	0
Crisp, TerryTerry Crisp	C	26	5	6	11	2	0	0	1
Gray, TerryTerry Gray	RW	28	2	5	7	17	0	0	2
Fortin, RayRay Fortin	D	57	1	4	5	19	0	0	0
Picard, NoelNoel Picard	D	39	1	4	5	88	1	0	0
Plager, BillBill Plager	D	24	1	4	5	30	0	0	0
Dennis, NormNorm Dennis	C	5	3	0	3	5	0	0	0
Maki, WayneWayne Maki	LW	16	2	1	3	4	0	0	1
Henry, CamilleCamille Henry	C	4	1	2	3	0	1	0	0
Arbour, AlAl Arbour	D	68	0	3	3	85	0	0	0
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante	G	32	0	2	2	0	0	0	0
Buchanan, RonRon Buchanan	C	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Edwards, GaryGary Edwards	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hall, GlennGlenn Hall	G	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jirik, JaroslavJaroslav Jirik	LW	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wakely, ErnieErnie Wakely	G	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante	1839	32	18	9	5	67	2.19	5
Wakely, ErnieErnie Wakely	1651	30	12	9	4	58	2.11	4
Hall, GlennGlenn Hall	1010	18	7	8	3	49	2.91	1
Edwards, GaryGary Edwards	60	1	0	1	0	4	4.00	0
Team:	4560	76	37	27	12	178	2.34	10

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
McDonald, AbAb McDonald	LW	16	5	10	15	13	3	0	0
Goyette, PhilPhil Goyette	C	16	3	11	14	6	1	0	2
Keenan, LarryLarry Keenan	LW	16	7	6	13	0	4	0	2
St. Marseille, FrankFrank St. Marseille	RW	15	6	7	13	4	3	0	1
Berenson, RedRed Berenson	C	16	7	5	12	8	3	1	1
McCreary, BillBill McCreary	LW	15	1	7	8	0	0	0	0
Ecclestone, TimTim Ecclestone	LW	16	3	4	7	48	1	1	0
Talbot, Jean-GuyJean-Guy Talbot	D	16	1	6	7	16	0	0	0
Boudrias, AndreAndre Boudrias	LW	14	2	4	6	4	1	0	0
Sabourin, GaryGary Sabourin	RW	16	5	0	5	10	0	0	1
Crisp, TerryTerry Crisp	C	16	2	3	5	2	1	0	0
Roberts, JimJim Roberts	D/RW	16	2	3	5	29	0	0	0
Gray, TerryTerry Gray	RW	16	2	1	3	4	1	0	1
Plager, BobBob Plager	D	16	0	3	3	46	0	0	0
Picard, NoelNoel Picard	D	16	0	2	2	65	0	0	0
Plager, BarclayBarclay Plager	D	13	0	2	2	20	0	0	0
Arbour, AlAl Arbour	D	14	0	1	1	16	0	0	0
Anderson, RonRon Anderson	RW	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Dennis, NormNorm Dennis	C	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Fortin, RayRay Fortin	D	3	0	0	0	6	0	0	0
Hall, GlennGlenn Hall	G	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Plager, BillBill Plager	D	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante	G	6	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Wakely, ErnieErnie Wakely	G	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Hall, GlennGlenn Hall	421	7	4	3	21	2.99	0
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante	324	6	4	1	8	1.48	1
Wakely, ErnieErnie Wakely	216	4	0	4	17	4.72	0
Team:	961	16	8	8	46	2.87	1

^[5]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Clarence S. Campbell Bowl
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: || Phil Goyette
Jacques Plante, goaltender, NHL All-Star Game

Roster

1969–1970 St. Louis Blues Roster

Goaltenders

1 – Gary Edwards
1 – Glenn Hall
30 – Jacques Plante
31 – Ernie Wakely

Defensemen

2 – Ray Fortin
3 – Al Arbour – C
4 – Noel Picard
5 – Bob Plager
8 – Barclay Plager
17 – Jean-Guy Talbot
23 – Bill Plager

Wingers

6 – Jim Roberts
9 – Frank St. Marseille
11 – Gary Sabourin
12 – Jaroslav Jirik
12 – Wayne Maki
14 – Tim Ecclestone
15 – Bill McCreary
16 – Ron Anderson
18 – Larry Keenan
20 – Ab McDonald
22 – Terry Gray

Centers

7 – Red Berenson
10 – Phil Goyette
12 – Terry Crisp
19 – Andre Boudrias
21 – Camille Henry
22 – Ron Buchanan
25 – Norm Dennis
GM/Coach:
Scotty Bowman

References

↑ Hockey's Book of Firsts, p. 46, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9.
1 2 Legends of Hockey – The Legends – Honoured Player – Hall, Glenn – Biography Archived August 8, 2004, at the Wayback Machine.
1 2 3 Montreal Canadiens Goaltenders: Ernie Wakely 1962–69
↑ "1969–1970 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
↑ "1969-70 St. Louis Blues Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.

"1969–70 St. Louis Blues Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
Blues on Hockey Database

St. Louis Blues

Founded in 1967 Based in St. Louis, Missouri

Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks Seasons Current season

History	1967 expansion Expansion Draft Records Award winners

Personnel	Owner(s) SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC (Tom Stillman, chairman) General manager Doug Armstrong Head coach Ken Hitchcock Team captain Alex Pietrangelo Current roster

Arenas	St. Louis Arena Scottrade Center

Rivalries	Chicago Blackhawks

Affiliates	AHL Chicago Wolves

General managers	Patrick Bowman Abel Catto Ehman Ball Francis Caron Keenan Caron Pleau Armstrong

Head coaches	Patrick Bowman Arbour Bowman Abel McCreary, Sr. Arbour Talbot Angotti Patrick Young Patrick Boivin Francis Boivin Plager Berenson Francis Plager Demers Martin Sutter Plager Berry Keenan Roberts Quenneville Kitchen Murray Payne Hitchcock

Media	TV FS Midwest Radio KMOX Newsradio (1120 AM)

Culture and lore	The Monday Night Miracle Louie the Bear Saint Louis Blues (song) "When the Blues Go Marching In" Dan Kelly 2017 NHL Winter Classic

St. Louis Blues seasons

1960s	1967–68 1968–69 1969–70

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

1969–70 NHL season

East	Boston Chicago Detroit Montreal New York Toronto

West	Los Angeles Minnesota Oakland Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis

See also	Draft All-Star Game Stanley Cup Finals

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.