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178-757: Frölunda Hockey Club , previously known as the Frölunda Indians , is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg . They currently play in the highest Swedish league, the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), formerly the Elitserien, where they have played for most of the club's existence. They last played in the lower division, the Allsvenskan , in 1995. Frölunda have won the national championship title five times: in 1965, 2003, 2005, 2016 and 2019. The club
356-419: A centre and two wingers : a left wing and a right wing . Forwards often play together as units or lines , with the same three forwards always playing together. The defencemen usually stay together as a pair generally divided between left and right. Left and right side wingers or defencemen are generally positioned on the side on which they carry their stick. A substitution of an entire unit at once
534-401: A penalty shootout . If the score remains tied after an extra overtime period, the subsequent shootout consists of three players from each team taking penalty shots. After these six total shots, the team with the most goals is awarded the victory. If the score is still tied, the shootout then proceeds to sudden death . Regardless of the number of goals scored by either team during the shootout,
712-573: A "lovable loser" (much like the Cubs) with the St. Louis hockey team. NHL president Clarence Campbell said during the 1967 expansion meetings, "We want a team in St. Louis because of the city's geographical location and the fact that it has an adequate building." 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. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make
890-482: A bid for the team. Former St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial and Musial's business partner Julius "Biggie" Garagnani were also members of the 16-man investment group that made the initial formal application for the franchise. Garagnani would never see the Blues franchise take the ice, as he died from a heart attack on June 19, 1967, less than three months before the Blues played their first preseason game. Upon acquiring
1068-566: A career-ending injury on 14 December 1967. The duo of Lundvall and Pettersson was one of the reason behind Frölunda's success in the 60's and secured that hockey got a strong foothold in Gothenburg. The number 19 worn by Jörgen Pettersson during his two stints with Frölunda. Pettersson joined the club in 1970 and played ten seasons for the club before joining the St. Louis Blues of the NHL . After five seasons in
1246-405: A chest protector, a goalie mask, and a large jersey. Goaltenders' equipment has continually become larger and larger, leading to fewer goals in each game and many official rule changes. Ice hockey skates are optimized for physical acceleration, speed and manoeuvrability. This includes rapid starts, stops, turns, and changes in skating direction. In addition, they must be rigid and tough to protect
1424-399: A family of sports called hockey . Two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance, and shoot a vulcanized rubber hockey puck into the other team's net. Each goal is worth one point. The team with the highest score after an hour of playing time is declared the winner; ties are broken in overtime or a shootout . In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at
1602-537: A forward. The seventh defenceman may play as a substitute defenceman, spend the game on the bench, or if a team chooses to play four lines then this seventh defenceman may see ice-time on the fourth line as a forward. A professional ice hockey game consists of three periods of twenty minutes, the clock running only when the puck is in play. The teams change ends after each period of play, including overtime. Recreational leagues and children's leagues often play shorter games, generally with three shorter periods of play. If
1780-703: A franchise-worst 18–50–12 record with 48 points in 1979 , the Blues made the playoffs the following year, the first of 25 consecutive postseason appearances. After being one of the worst teams a couple of years before, they were one of the best in 1981 , as they finished with a then-franchise-best record of 45–18–17 record which translated to 107 points and the second-best record in the league. Ten players reached at least 20 goals, including Wayne Babych , future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko , and team captain Brian Sutter . They also had strong goaltending led by Mike Liut . They would get rewarded as head coach Red Berenson won
1958-534: A game is tied after regulation, then a 20-minute period of 5-on-5 sudden-death overtime will be added. If the game is still tied after the overtime, another period is added until a team scores, which wins the match. Since 2019, the IIHF World Championships and the gold medal game in the Olympics use the same format, but in a 3-on-3 format. In ice hockey, infractions of the rules lead to a play stoppage whereby
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#17331428709822136-412: A goal scored by the other team. Major penalties assessed for fighting are typically offsetting, meaning neither team is short-handed and the players exit the penalty box upon a stoppage of play following the expiration of their respective penalties. The foul of boarding (defined as "check[ing] an opponent in such a manner that causes the opponent to be thrown violently in the boards") is penalized either by
2314-528: A larger blade and a wide, flat shaft. This stick is primarily intended to block shots, but the goaltender may use it to play the puck as well. Ice hockey is a full-contact sport and carries a high risk of injury. Players are moving at speeds around approximately 20–30 mph (30–50 km/h) and much of the game revolves around the physical contact between the players. Skate blades, hockey sticks, shoulder contact, hip contact, and hockey pucks can all potentially cause injuries. Lace bite , an irritation felt on
2492-504: A minor or major penalty at the discretion of the referee, based on the violent state of the hit. A minor or major penalty for boarding is often assessed when a player checks an opponent from behind and into the boards. Some varieties of penalty do not require the offending team to play a man short. Concurrent five-minute major penalties in the NHL usually result from fighting. In the case of two players being assessed five-minute fighting majors, both
2670-572: A mostly advisory role. The former New York Rangers goaltender promptly made multiple blockbuster deals, picking up Jay McKee , Bill Guerin and Manny Legace from free agency, and bringing Doug Weight back to St. Louis after a brief ( and productive ) stopover in Carolina . Weight was again traded in December 2007 to the Anaheim Ducks , along with a minor league player, in exchange for Andy McDonald . At
2848-436: A neck protector. Goaltenders use different equipment. With hockey pucks approaching them at speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h) they must wear equipment with more protection. Goaltenders wear specialized goalie skates (these skates are built more for movement side to side rather than forwards and backwards), a jock or jill, large leg pads (there are size restrictions in certain leagues), blocking glove, catching glove,
3026-535: A penalty, but was an infraction in the NHL before recent rules changes, is the two-line offside pass . Prior to the 2005–06 NHL season, play was stopped when a pass from inside a team's defending zone crossed the centre line, with a face-off held in the defending zone of the offending team. Now, the centre line is no longer used in the NHL to determine a two-line pass infraction, a change that the IIHF had adopted in 1998. Players are now able to pass to teammates who are more than
3204-409: A player may receive up to nineteen minutes in penalties for one string of plays. This could involve receiving a four-minute double-minor penalty, getting in a fight with an opposing player who retaliates, and then receiving a game misconduct after the fight. In this case, the player is ejected and two teammates must serve the double-minor and major penalties. A penalty shot is awarded to a player when
3382-416: A representative, which led the Blues to forfeit their picks. The day after the draft, the NHL filed a $ 78 million counter-suit against Ralston, accusing Ralston of "damaging the league by willfully, wantonly and maliciously collapsing its St. Louis Blues hockey operation." The NHL also said that Ralston broke a league rule that an owner had to give two years' notice before dissolving a franchise. Ralston called
3560-526: A season-ending injury, and Jaden Schwartz missed a large portion of the season. The Blues also dealt away Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets at the trade deadline for their first-round pick as they won only 23 games of their remaining 51, but they still had a chance to get into the playoffs on the last day of their season against the Colorado Avalanche. After losing Vladimir Tarasenko to injury during
3738-640: A second-round exit in 1996, and he was fired on December 19, 1996. Caron was reinstated as interim general manager for the rest of the season, and general manager Larry Pleau was hired on June 9, 1997. Hull, who had a lengthy feud with Keenan, left for the Dallas Stars in 1998. 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
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#17331428709823916-415: A shot or pass play. Officials also stop play for puck movement violations, such as using one's hands to pass the puck in the offensive end, but no players are penalized for these offences. The sole exceptions are deliberately falling on or gathering the puck to the body, carrying the puck in the hand, and shooting the puck out of play in one's defensive zone (all penalized two minutes for delay of game). In
4094-486: A star. While the Blues remained competitive, they were unable to keep many of their young players. 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. In fact, several of the Blues' young stars, such as Rob Ramage , Joe Mullen and Gilmour, were main cogs in the Flames' 1989 Stanley Cup win . Sutter and Federko were
4272-410: 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 . On January 4, 2007, the Blues had a record of 6–1–3 in their previous ten games, which was the best in the NHL during that stretch. Despite a healthy 24-point jump from the previous season,
4450-492: A team losing a skater during regulation instead causes the other side to add a skater. Once the penalized team's penalty ends, the penalized skater exits the penalty box and the teams continue at 4-on-4 until the next stoppage of play, at which point the teams return to three skaters per side. International play and several North American professional leagues, including the NHL (in the regular season), now use an overtime period identical to that from 1999–2000 to 2003–04 followed by
4628-409: A tie occurs in tournament play, as well as in the NHL playoffs, North Americans favour sudden death overtime , in which the teams continue to play twenty-minute periods until a goal is scored. Up until the 1999–2000 season, regular-season NHL games were settled with a single five-minute sudden death period with five players (plus a goalie) per side, with both teams awarded one point in the standings in
4806-546: A time, barring any penalties, including a goaltender . It is a full contact game and one of the more physically demanding team sports. The modern sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal , where the first indoor game was played on March 3, 1875. Some characteristics of that game, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck, have been retained to this day. Amateur ice hockey leagues began in
4984-402: A year during its six-year ownership of the Blues. However, Dean took the losses philosophically, having taken over out of a sense of civic responsibility. In 1981, Dean retired. His successor, William Stiritz, wanted to refocus on the core pet food business, and his personal sporting interests were in horse racing rather than hockey. He saw the Blues as just another money-bleeding division, and put
5162-462: Is a full-contact sport, body checks are allowed so injuries are a common occurrence. Protective equipment is mandatory and is enforced in all competitive situations. This includes a helmet with either a visor or a full face mask, shoulder pads, elbow pads, mouth guard, protective gloves, heavily padded shorts (also known as hockey pants) or a girdle, athletic cup (also known as a jock, for males; and jill, for females), shin pads, skates, and (optionally)
5340-410: Is also a penalty in certain leagues in order to reduce the chance of injury to players. Often the term checking is used to refer to body checking, with its true definition generally only propagated among fans of the game. One of the most important strategies for a team is their forecheck . Forechecking is the act of attacking the opposition in their defensive zone. Forechecking is an important part of
5518-459: Is called a line change . Teams typically employ alternate sets of forward lines and defensive pairings when short-handed or on a power play . The goaltender stands in a, usually blue, semi-circle called the crease in the defensive zone keeping pucks out of the goal. Substitutions are permitted at any time during the game, although during a stoppage of play the home team is permitted the final change. When players are substituted during play, it
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5696-418: Is called changing on the fly . An NHL rule added in the 2005–06 season prevents a team from changing their line after they ice the puck. The boards surrounding the ice help keep the puck in play and they can also be used as tools to play the puck. Players are permitted to bodycheck opponents into the boards to stop progress. The referees, linesmen and the outsides of the goal are "in play" and do not stop
5874-422: Is ice hockey. While the general characteristics of the game remain constant, the exact rules depend on the particular code of play being used. The two most important codes are those of the IIHF and the NHL. Both of these codes, and others, originated from Canadian rules of ice hockey of the early 20th century. Ice hockey is played on a hockey rink . During normal play, there are six players on ice skates on
6052-528: Is if a team opts to pull their goalie in exchange for an extra skater during overtime and is subsequently scored upon (an empty net goal), in which case the losing team receives no points for the overtime loss. Since the 2015–16 season, the single five-minute sudden-death overtime session involves three skaters on each side. Since three skaters must always be on the ice in an NHL game, the consequences of penalties are slightly different from those during regulation play; any penalty during overtime that would result in
6230-403: Is the left wing lock , which has two forwards pressure the puck and the left wing and the two defencemen stay at the blueline. Offensive tactics include improving a team's position on the ice by advancing the puck out of one's zone towards the opponent's zone, progressively by gaining lines, first your own blue line, then the red line and finally the opponent's blue line. NHL rules instated for
6408-457: The dump and chase strategy (i.e. shooting the puck into the offensive zone and then chasing after it). Each team uses their own unique system but the main ones are: 2–1–2 , 1–2–2, and 1–4. The 2–1–2 is the most basic forecheck system where two forwards go in deep and pressure the opposition's defencemen, the third forward stays high and the two defencemen stay at the blueline. The 1–2–2 is a bit more conservative system where one forward pressures
6586-464: The 1983–84 season . While the fans were stunned, the players were aware of this. When the Blues faced the Oilers on December 7, 1982, brochures were distributed titled "Saskatchewan in the NHL". These distractions would greatly affect their performance as they squeezed into the playoffs with a 25–40–15 record in the 1983 season , good enough for 65 points. This led to a Norris Division semifinals exit against
6764-690: The Boston Bruins 3–2 in overtime. On June 12, 2019, the Blues defeated the Bruins 4–1 in game 7 to win their first Stanley Cup. Ryan O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. Up until that point, the Blues were the oldest franchise to never win the Stanley Cup; they were also the last of the five surviving 1967 expansion teams to win the Cup for the first time. This all but assured that Berube would have
6942-548: The Boston Bruins in exchange for Wideman, became the fastest Blues player to reach 40 goals since Brett Hull , doing so during the 2007–08 season . During the 2007 off-season, the Blues signed free agent Paul Kariya to a three-year contract worth $ 18 million, re-signed defenseman Barret Jackman to a one-year contract, lost their captain Dallas Drake to the Detroit Red Wings , and traded prospect Carl Soderberg to
7120-586: The International Ice Hockey Federation 's Hall of Fame . Forward Ulf Sterner , played three seasons for Frölunda before becoming the first European-trained player to play in the NHL during his short sojourn with the New York Rangers during the 1964–65 NHL season ; he was inducted in 2001. Forward Ronald "Sura Pelle" Pettersson, represented team Sweden in three olympic games and ten IIHF World Championships , totaling 252 games played for
7298-698: The Jack Adams Award , Mike Liut finished a close second to Wayne Gretzky in the Hart Trophy voting, and earned the top spot on the NHL All-Star team , Larry Patey finished third in the Frank J. Selke Trophy voting, and Blake Dunlop won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy . Their regular season success, however, did not transfer into the playoffs, as they were eliminated by the New York Rangers in
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7476-649: The Lady Byng Trophy for the Blues in 1970 and New York Rangers castoff Red Berenson became the expansion team's first major star at center. The arena quickly became one of the loudest buildings in the NHL, a reputation it maintained throughout its tenure as the Blues' home. During that time, Salomon gained a reputation throughout the NHL as the top players' owner. He gave his players cars, signed them to deferred contracts and treated them to vacations in Florida . The players, used to being treated like mere commodities, felt
7654-642: The Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace , in Paris , France, the precursor to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The sport was played for the first time at the Olympics during the 1920 Summer Games —today it is a mainstay at the Winter Olympics . In 1994, ice hockey was officially recognized as Canada's national winter sport. While women also played during the game's early formative years, it
7832-579: The Minnesota North Stars , Los Angeles Kings , Philadelphia Flyers , Pittsburgh Penguins , and California Seals . St. Louis was the last of the six expansion teams to gain entry into the League; the market was chosen over Baltimore at the insistence of the Black Hawks owners, James D. Norris and Arthur Wirtz . Following the Black Hawks' championship in 1961 , the team became much more successful at
8010-565: The National Hockey League had a labour stoppage due to negotiations between the league and the players association . Many professional hockey players who could not play in the NHL chose to play in European or North American leagues. The largest number of professional NHL players were in Sweden during the season, including Gothenburg native Daniel Alfredsson , who joined his hometown club for
8188-458: The Original Six . Although frequent postseason contenders for most of their history, the franchise has usually struggled in the playoffs, including consecutive Stanley Cup Finals defeats at the end of their first three seasons. With the Blues' victory in their fourth Stanley Cup Finals, 49 years after their last appearance and in their 52nd year of existence, they became the final active team from
8366-530: The Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars to reach the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals. However, St. Louis was swept in their first Finals appearance by the heavily favored Montreal Canadiens . Under Bowman, the Blues dominated the West for the next two seasons, becoming the only expansion team to compile a winning record, and they captured division titles by wide margins each year. However, they were swept in
8544-507: The Western Conference . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the six teams from the 1967 NHL expansion and is named after the W. C. Handy song " Saint Louis Blues ". They play their home games at the 18,096 seat Enterprise Center in downtown St. Louis, which has been their arena since moving from St. Louis Arena in 1994. The Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and have the most Stanley Cup playoff appearances outside of
8722-473: The lockout ), the Blues were in the playoffs. They faced the third-seeded Vancouver Canucks in the first round, but despite the team's tremendous run to end the season, the Blues would ultimately lose the series in a quick four-game sweep. The Blues fired head coach Andy Murray on January 2, 2010, after a disappointing record (17–17–6, 40 points), sitting in 12th place in the Conference. Especially galling were
8900-483: The "Golden Jet"), became one of the League's top stars and a scoring sensation, netting 86 goals in 1990–91 en route to earning the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player. Hull's 86 goals set the record for most goals in a single season by a right-winger (and the third-most overall at the time). Only Wayne Gretzky found the net more than Hull during any given three-year period. Despite posting
9078-520: The "interim" tag removed from his title, which occurred two weeks after their Cup victory. 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 bill was signed into law by Mike Parson , the Governor of Missouri , with
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#17331428709829256-457: The 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup , emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was initially commissioned in 1892 as the "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup" and was first awarded in 1893 to recognise the Canadian amateur champion and later became the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). In the early 1900s, the Canadian rules were adopted by
9434-485: The 18th and 19th centuries in Britain, Ireland, and elsewhere, primarily bandy , hurling , and shinty . The North American sport of lacrosse , derived from tribal Native American games, was also influential. The former games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules developed, such as shinny and ice polo, but later were absorbed into a new organized game with codified rules which today
9612-659: The 1930s, hockey was an on-side game, meaning that only backward passes were allowed. Those rules emphasized individual stick-handling to drive the puck forward. With the arrival of offside rules, the forward pass transformed hockey into a true team sport, where individual performance diminished in importance relative to team play, which could now be coordinated over the entire surface of the ice as opposed to merely rearward players. The six players on each team are typically divided into three forwards, two defencemen, and one goaltender. The term skaters typically applies to all players except goaltenders. The forward positions consist of
9790-652: The 1967 expansion to win their first Stanley Cup. The Blues have a rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks , with whom they have shared a division since 1970. The Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Florida Everblades of the ECHL are the team's minor league affiliates. Although the St. Louis Arena was not originally designed with hockey in mind, it met NHL standards of
9968-416: The 1970–71 season following a power-sharing dispute with Sid Salomon III (who was taking an increasing role in team affairs), as well as Hall, Plante, Goyette and ultimately Berenson, who were all lost to retirement or trade. Veteran player Al Arbour hastily stepped in to coach the team. Under Arbour, the Blues essentially matched their 1969–70 regular season performance in their fourth season, and were still
10146-416: The 2006 season redefined the offside rule to make the two-line pass legal; a player may pass the puck from behind his own blue line, past both that blue line and the centre red line, to a player on the near side of the opponents' blue line. Offensive tactics are designed ultimately to score a goal by taking a shot. When a player purposely directs the puck towards the opponent's goal, he or she is said to "shoot"
10324-579: The Blues became the first team to reach 100 points and clinch a playoff berth in the 2011–12 season under Hitchcock, qualifying for their first playoffs since 2008–09. They would finish second in the Western Conference, behind the Vancouver Canucks. During the 2012 playoffs, they won their first playoff series since 2002, eliminating the San Jose Sharks in five games. The Blues were swept by
10502-521: The Blues contended during this time period, they never passed the second round of the playoffs. Nonetheless, their on-ice success was enough for a consortium of 19 companies to buy the team. They also provided the capital to build the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center ), which opened in 1994. Hull, nicknamed the "Golden Brett" (a reference to his father, NHL legend Bobby Hull , who was nicknamed
10680-533: The Blues ended up in the Smythe Division after a League realignment. This division was particularly weak, and in 1976–77 , the Blues won it while finishing five games below .500, though this would be their last playoff appearance in the decade. In the meantime, the franchise was on the brink of financial collapse. This was partly due to the pressures of the World Hockey Association (WHA), but mostly
10858-402: The Blues fired head coach Mike Yeo after starting the season with a 7–9–3 record and replaced him with Craig Berube on an interim basis. On March 29, 2019, the Blues became the seventh team in NHL since the 1967–68 season to qualify for the playoffs after being placed last after January 1. This resurgence included an eleven-game winning streak between February and March, in large part thanks to
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#173314287098211036-591: The Blues traded goaltender Jake Allen , who had spent 10 years in the Blues organization, to the Montreal Canadiens . The Blues play in the 19,150 (not counting standing room) capacity Enterprise Center , where they have played since 1994. The arena was previously known as Scottrade Center, the Savvis Center, and before that as the Kiel Center. From 1967 until 1994, the team played in the St. Louis Arena (known as The Checkerdome from 1977 until 1983 ), where
11214-647: The Blues, as team captain David Backes left the team to sign with the Boston Bruins , and goaltender Brian Elliott was traded to the Calgary Flames , while veteran forward Troy Brouwer also signed with Calgary as a free agent. Steve Ott also left the team, signing a free-agent deal with the Red Wings. Jake Allen was now the starting goaltender for the Blues, while the team also signed former Nashville Predators backup Carter Hutton . Former Blues forward David Perron
11392-532: The Bruins in exchange for yet more depth in the goal crease, Hannu Toivonen . On October 2, 2007, the Blues finalized the season-starting roster, which included rookies David Perron, Steven Wagner and Erik Johnson. On October 10, the Blues introduced a new mascot, Louie . Two months later, they traded Doug Weight, a 38-year-old four-time All-Star center, to the Anaheim Ducks as part of a package to acquire 30-year-old center Andy McDonald. On February 8, 2008, it
11570-550: The Canadiens, having won two out of three games against the Habs in the regular season. After that season, Ornest sold the team to a group led by St. Louis businessman Michael Shanahan. St. Louis kept chugging along through the late 1980s and early 1990s. General manager Ron Caron made astute moves, landing forwards Brett Hull , Adam Oates and Brendan Shanahan , defenseman Al MacInnis and goaltender Curtis Joseph , among others. While
11748-598: The Chicago Black Hawks. Following their playoff exit, Ralston authorized the deal to Hunter's company, renamed Coliseum Holdings, Ltd., for $ 12 million on April 21. Emile Francis would call it quits on May 2, leaving to become president and general manager of the Hartford Whalers . The Blues then fired 60 percent of their employees. The remaining staff included the accounting department, scouting staff, and coach Barclay Plager. They waited for an authorization by 75% of
11926-417: The Cup for Dallas. 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. Defenseman Chris Pronger (acquired from the Hartford Whalers in 1995 for Brendan Shanahan ), Keith Tkachuk , Pavol Demitra , Pierre Turgeon , Al MacInnis and goaltender Roman Turek kept the Blues a contender in the NHL. In 1999–2000 ,
12104-523: The NHL Board of Governors for the sale and transfer of the club. However, the NHL Board of Governors rejected the deal by a 15–3 vote on May 18. feeling that Saskatoon was not big enough to support an NHL team, and also wary of Hunter's involvement based on his roles in the WHA. Ralston then filed a $ 60 million anti-trust lawsuit in U.S. District Court, claiming that the NHL broke federal antitrust laws and breached
12282-606: The NHL he returned and played another three seasons for the club. The number 29 worn by Stefan Larsson during his sixteen seasons with Frölunda. With the exception of two seasons, Larsson played for Frölunda his entire professional career. Since then an additional four players have had their numbers retired; number 14 a second time for Patrik Carnbäck on October 4, 2014. Number 23 for Ronnie Sundin on October 15, 2016. Number 24 for Niklas Andersson on October 21, 2017. And number 5 for Christian Bäckman on January 27, 2024. Five former Frölunda players have been inducted into
12460-455: The NHL in attendance. In 2010–11, the team sold out every home game. The Blues have worn blue and white jerseys with the famous "Blue Note" crest and gold accents since their inception in 1967. From 1967 to 1984, the Blues jerseys featured a lighter shade of blue along with contrasting shoulder yoke and stripes. The blue jerseys lacked the contrasting yoke until 1979. In 1984, the Blues drastically redesigned their look, adding red and darkening
12638-410: The NHL, a unique penalty applies to the goalies. The goalies now are forbidden to play the puck in the "corners" of the rink near their own net. This will result in a two-minute penalty against the goalie's team. Only in the area in front of the goal line and immediately behind the net (marked by two red lines on either side of the net) can the goalie play the puck. An additional rule that has never been
12816-538: The National Hockey League, a number of leagues have implemented the "four-official system", where an additional referee is added to aid in the calling of penalties normally difficult to assess by one referee. The system is used in every NHL game since 2001, at IIHF World Championships , the Olympics and in many professional and high-level amateur leagues in North America and Europe. Officials are selected by
12994-469: The Philadelphia Flyers by giving away Jori Lehtera . Before the season began, the Blues were hit hard with injuries as they lost Robby Fabbri before the season began. Other players like Patrik Berglund , and Alex Steen did not return in time for the season. Despite these losses, the Blues raced out to a 21–8–2 start in their first 31 games. The Blues lost more players as Jay Bouwmeester suffered
13172-465: The St. Louis Arena came under the control of the owners of the Chicago Black Hawks . 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 1950s while the team still struggled to sell tickets at Chicago Stadium . The Blues were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion , along with
13350-696: The Stanley Cup Finals by the Montreal Canadiens in 1969 and then by the Boston Bruins in 1970 . 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 . Phil Goyette won
13528-529: The Stanley Cup Finals. In fact, they made it to the conference finals only two times in their streak (1986 and 2001). Amid several questionable personnel moves and an unstable ownership situation, the Blues finished the 2005–06 season with their worst record in 27 years. They missed the playoffs for only the fourth time in franchise history. Moreover, for the first time in club history, the normally excellent support seen by St. Louisans began to decrease, with crowds normally numbering around 12,000, notably less than
13706-471: The Western Conference and second in the NHL. However, as the season was put on pause due to the pandemic, no team would play the full 82 games. Instead, a round-robin tournament for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs was organized, starting in August 2020. In the round-robin tournament for the four top-seeded teams of the conference, the Blues failed to get a win, and thus despite having the best regular season record in
13884-412: The acquisition of the legendary-but-aging Wayne Gretzky and goaltender Grant Fuhr , both from the declining Los Angeles Kings . During the season, he publicly criticized Gretzky, who entered free agency after the season, declined an offer from the Blues, and took a less lucrative contract with the New York Rangers . Ultimately, Keenan's playoff resume with St. Louis included a first-round exit in 1995 and
14062-415: The app determines that a particular impact has the potential to cause brain injury, it will alert the coach who can in turn seek medical attention for the individual. Defensive ice hockey tactics vary from more active to more conservative styles of play. One distinction is between man-to-man oriented defensive systems, and zonal oriented defensive systems, though a lot of teams use a combination between
14240-561: The beginning of the 2006–07 season , the Blues looked to be competitive in the Central Division. However, injuries plagued the team all season, and the lack of a bona fide scorer hampered them as well. Fan support was sluggish during the first half of the campaign, and the end of the calendar year was capped by an 11-game losing streak. On December 11, 2006, the Blues fired head coach Mike Kitchen and replaced him with former Los Angeles Kings head coach Andy Murray . Davidson also installed
14418-465: The bench in a game against the Anaheim Ducks , and would not come back to play again in the season. The game against Anaheim was suspended during the first period and postponed to March 11. This ended up being the Blues' last game in the regular season, as the season would be cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic shortly afterwards. The Blues had remained in strong form throughout the season, finishing first in
14596-461: The best of the expansion teams; however, it was only good enough for second place in the West as St. Louis finished 20 points behind Chicago. 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. Arbour, who officially retired as a player after the 1970–71 season, would remain behind the Blues' bench for
14774-477: The blue and centre ice red line away. The NHL has taken steps to speed up the game of hockey and create a game of finesse, by reducing the number of illegal hits, fights, and "clutching and grabbing" that occurred in the past. Rules are now more strictly enforced, resulting in more penalties, which provides more protection to the players and facilitates more goals being scored. The governing body for United States' amateur hockey has implemented many new rules to reduce
14952-485: The bottom of the Western Conference standings, the Blues began to turn things around behind the solid goaltending of Chris Mason . After a strong second-half run, the Blues made the 2009 playoffs on April 10, 2009, after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3–1. On April 12, the Blues clinched the sixth seed in the West with a 1–0 win against the Colorado Avalanche. For the first time in five years (that is, since
15130-471: The box office in Chicago, thus St. Louis was no longer useful as a secondary market. Nevertheless, the Black Hawks owners still owned the St. Louis Arena. 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. The Black Hawks owners felt they could establish
15308-531: The champions after a 38-year hiatus. The final game in Scandinavium on 7 April against Färjestad BK was ended by late season recruit Tomi Kallio in the third overtime period. In the 2004–05 season, the club's 60th anniversary and 20th as independent club, the team won the league title, by having the best record during the regular season, and the Swedish Championship. That particular year was notable because
15486-459: The conference, they ended up being the fourth seed in the Western Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the Vancouver Canucks , to whom they lost in six games. 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. On September 2, 2020,
15664-455: 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. The Board of Governors rejected the offer and "terminated" the team on June 13, one day before Ralston's supposed deadline. It then took control of the franchise and began searching for a new owner. League president John Ziegler said they would try to keep
15842-416: The duty of good faith and fair dealing by voting to reject the sale and transfer of the Blues to Hunter's group. They also requested that the court allow them to give up the team and bar the NHL from interfering with the sale of the team. On June 3, Ralston announced that it had no interest in running the team anymore. Because they were not required to participate in the 1983 NHL entry draft , they did not send
16020-549: The emergence of the eventual Calder Trophy nominee, rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington . On May 21, the Blues advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1970 , defeating the San Jose Sharks in a six-game conference finals series. 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 (1968–1970), when they defeated
16198-532: The end of the season, when they gained most points in the league from February 1, when Hitchcock was fired, to the end of the season, the Blues were eliminated in the second round by the Nashville Predators in six games. In the off-season for the 2017–18 season , the Blues would lose David Perron to the Vegas Golden Knights via an expansion draft . They would also pick up Brayden Schenn from
16376-452: The era for size and had good sight lines for the game. After an ice plant was installed, the minor league St. Louis Flyers began play there in 1929. St. Louis soon began to attract the interest as a potential NHL market, eventually leading the owners of the moribund Ottawa Senators to move there for the 1934–35 season . The move proved both ill-conceived and ill-timed, as the renamed St. Louis Eagles continued to lose money. Their situation
16554-452: The event of a tie. With a goal, the winning team would be awarded two points and the losing team none (just as if they had lost in regulation). The total elapsed time from when the puck first drops, is about 2 hours and 20 minutes for a 60-minute game. From the 1999–2000 until the 2003–04 seasons, the National Hockey League decided ties by playing a single five-minute sudden-death overtime period with each team having four skaters per side (plus
16732-478: The eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings , in the following round. In 2012–13 , the Blues completed the lockout -shortened season in fourth place in the Western Conference. They were again eliminated by Los Angeles, however, this time in six games in the first round of the playoffs, despite taking an initial 2–0 series lead. The following season, 2013–14 , the team hit the 100-point mark for
16910-411: The final score recorded will award the winning team one more goal than the score at the end of regulation time. In the NHL if a game is decided in overtime or by a shootout the winning team is awarded two points in the standings and the losing team is awarded one point. Ties no longer occur in the NHL. Overtime in the NHL playoffs differs from the regular season. In the playoffs there are no shootouts. If
17088-495: The first-round series in six games. 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 2–0. In 2014–15 , the Blues won their second Central Division championship in four years and faced the Minnesota Wild in round one of the 2015 playoffs . However, for the third straight year, they lost in the first round and in six games. During
17266-417: The franchise in 1966, Salomon then spent several million dollars on extensive renovations for the 38-year-old arena, expanding it from 12,000 seats to 15,000. Lynn Patrick initially served as general manager and head coach. However, he resigned as head coach in late November after recording a 4–13–2 record. He was replaced by assistant coach Scotty Bowman , who thereafter led the team to a winning record for
17444-480: The frequent blown leads after two periods, and with the worst home record (6–13–3) posted in the entire NHL. After his duties as interim coach for the rest of the 2009–10 season , Davis Payne was named the 23rd head coach in the Blues' history on April 14. Payne was previously the head coach of the Blues top minor league affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League (AHL). On March 17, 2011, it
17622-502: The front of the foot or ankle, is a common ice hockey injury. Compared to athletes who play other sports, ice hockey players are at higher risk of overuse injuries and injuries caused by early sports specialization by teenagers. According to the Hughston Health Alert, prior to the widespread use of helmets and face cages, "Lacerations to the head, scalp, and face are the most frequent types of injury [in hockey]." One of
17800-417: The full season-by-season history, see List of Frölunda HC seasons . Updated July 24, 2024 Frölunda retired the numbers of four players, all on March 3, 2002. The number retired were; the number 13 worn by Lars Erik Lundvall , who spent eight seasons with Frölunda, all of them serving as team captain . The number 14 worn by Ronald Pettersson , who spent seven seasons with Frölunda before suffering
17978-427: The game , too many players on the ice , boarding , illegal equipment, charging (leaping into an opponent or body-checking him after taking more than two strides), holding, holding the stick (grabbing an opponent's stick), interference, hooking , slashing , kneeing, unsportsmanlike conduct (arguing a penalty call with referee, extremely vulgar or inappropriate verbal comments), "butt-ending" (striking an opponent with
18156-411: The game when the puck or players either bounce into or collide with them. Play can be stopped if the goal is knocked out of position. Play often proceeds for minutes without interruption. After a stoppage, play is restarted with a faceoff . Two players face each other and an official drops the puck to the ice, where the two players attempt to gain control of the puck. Markings (circles) on the ice indicate
18334-520: The game, the Blues lost to the Avalanche 5–2 as they missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years. During the 2018 off-season, the Blues acquired forward Ryan O'Reilly from the Buffalo Sabres via trade and re-signed Perron to a third stint with the team in free agency, while also signing forwards Tyler Bozak , St. Louis native Pat Maroon , and goaltender Chad Johnson . On November 19, 2018,
18512-406: The game. There are typically two linesmen who are mainly responsible for calling "offside" and " icing " violations, breaking up fights, and conducting faceoffs, and one or two referees , who call goals and all other penalties. Linesmen can report to the referee(s) that a penalty should be assessed against an offending player in some situations. The restrictions on this practice vary depending on
18690-401: The goalie). In the event of a tie, each team would still receive one point in the standings but in the event of a victory the winning team would be awarded two points in the standings and the losing team one point. The idea was to discourage teams from playing for a tie, since previously some teams might have preferred a tie and 1 point to risking a loss and zero points. The exception to this rule
18868-402: The goaltender carries a stick consisting of a long, relatively wide, and slightly curved flat blade, attached to a shaft. The curve itself has a big impact on its performance. A deep curve allows for lifting the puck easier while a shallow curve allows for easier backhand shots. The flex of the stick also impacts the performance. Typically, a less flexible stick is meant for a stronger player since
19046-404: The governing rules. On-ice officials are assisted by off-ice officials who act as goal judges, time keepers, and official scorers. The most widespread system is the "three-man system", which uses one referee and two linesmen. A less commonly used system is the two referee and one linesman system. This system is close to the regular three-man system except for a few procedure changes. Beginning with
19224-465: The head and most types of forceful stick-on-body contact are illegal. A delayed penalty call occurs when an offence is committed by the team that does not have possession of the puck. In this circumstance the team with possession of the puck is allowed to complete the play; that is, play continues until a goal is scored, a player on the opposing team gains control of the puck, or the team in possession commits an infraction or penalty of their own. Because
19402-559: The heads, as well as checks to unsuspecting players. Studies show that ice hockey causes 44.3% of all sports-related traumatic brain injuries among Canadian children. Some teams in the Swiss National League are testing out systems that combine helmet-integrated sensors and analysis software to reveal a player's ongoing brain injury risk during a game. These sensors provide players and coaches with real-time data on head impact strength, frequency, and severity. Furthermore, if
19580-458: The ice per side, one of them being the goaltender. The objective of the game is to score goals by shooting a hard vulcanized rubber disc, the puck , into the opponent's goal net at the opposite end of the rink. The players use their sticks to pass or shoot the puck. With certain restrictions, players may redirect the puck with any part of their body. Players may not hold the puck in their hand and are prohibited from using their hands to pass
19758-467: The ice. Loafing , also known as cherry-picking , is when a player, usually a forward, skates behind an attacking team, instead of playing defence, in an attempt to create an easy scoring chance. St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis . The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in
19936-417: The illegal actions of another player stop a clear scoring opportunity, most commonly when the player is on a breakaway . A penalty shot allows the obstructed player to pick up the puck on the centre red-line and attempt to score on the goalie with no other players on the ice, to compensate for the earlier missed scoring opportunity. A penalty shot is also awarded for a defender other than the goaltender covering
20114-422: The knob of the stick), "spearing" (jabbing an opponent with the blade of the stick), or cross-checking . As of the 2005–2006 season, a minor penalty is also assessed for diving , where a player embellishes or simulates an offence. More egregious fouls may be penalized by a four-minute double-minor penalty, particularly those that injure the victimized player. These penalties end either when the time runs out or when
20292-482: The leading causes of head injury is body checking from behind. Due to the danger of delivering a check from behind, many leagues – including the NHL – have made this a major and game misconduct penalty. Another type of check that accounts for many of the player-to-player contact concussions is a check to the head resulting in a misconduct penalty (called "head contact"). In recent years, the NHL has implemented new rules which penalize and suspend players for illegal checks to
20470-492: The league they work for. Amateur hockey leagues use guidelines established by national organizing bodies as a basis for choosing their officiating staffs. In North America, the national organizing bodies Hockey Canada and USA Hockey approve officials according to their experience level as well as their ability to pass rules knowledge and skating ability tests. Hockey Canada has officiating levels I through VI. USA Hockey has officiating levels 1 through 4. Since men's ice hockey
20648-462: The letter H which stands for hockey. The proposed redesign received negative feedback from fans and media due to similarities of the Nazi Party flag. The previous logo was announced in 1995 and represented the club for 27 years. On April 20, 2022, Frölunda updated their logo, which had been accepted by members of the fan club. This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Frölunda. For
20826-562: The locations for the faceoff and guide the positioning of players. Three major rules of play in ice hockey limit the movement of the puck: offside , icing , and the puck going out of play. Under IIHF rules, each team may carry a maximum of 20 players and two goaltenders on their roster. NHL rules restrict the total number of players per game to 18, plus two goaltenders. In the NHL, the players are usually divided into four lines of three forwards, and into three pairs of defencemen. On occasion, teams may elect to substitute an extra defenceman for
21004-435: The misconduct (a two-and-ten or five-and-ten ). In this case, the team designates another player to serve the minor or major; both players go to the penalty box, but only the designee may not be replaced, and he is released upon the expiration of the two or five minutes, at which point the ten-minute misconduct begins. In addition, game misconducts are assessed for deliberate intent to inflict severe injury on an opponent (at
21182-580: The name of the team's home venue to the St. Louis Arena. To date, this is the closest that an NHL team has come to folding since the Cleveland Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars after the 1977–78 season. Ornest ran the Blues very cheaply, though the players did not mind. 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. For instance, Ornest asked many players to defer their salaries to help meet operating costs, but
21360-484: The national team; he was inducted in 2004. Ville Peltonen played the 1997–98 season for Frölunda, where he was both the team's and the league's leading scorer, he was inducted in 2016. Daniel Alfredsson played a total of four seasons for Frölunda, winning the Swedish Championships with Frölunda during the 2004–05 season. In 2006 he was a member of Sweden's gold medal-winning team at the Winter Olympics , he
21538-457: The next two seasons. The Berenson trade did bring then- Detroit Red Wings star center Garry Unger , who ultimately scored 30 goals in eight consecutive seasons while breaking the NHL's consecutive games played record . Defensively, however, the Blues were less than stellar and saw Chicago and the Philadelphia Flyers overtake the Division. After missing the playoffs for the first time in 1973–74 ,
21716-417: The number of stick-on-body occurrences, as well as other detrimental and illegal facets of the game ("zero tolerance"). In men's hockey, but not in women's, a player may use his hip or shoulder to hit another player if the player has the puck or is the last to have touched it. This use of the hip and shoulder is called body checking . Not all physical contact is legal—in particular, hits from behind, hits to
21894-521: The off-season, forward T. J. Oshie was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Troy Brouwer . In 2015–16 , the Blues finished in second place in the Central Division to the Dallas Stars . The Blues took on the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in the first-round series. The Blues jumped to a 3–1 series lead, but struggled in games 5 and 6. However, St. Louis ended their first-round losing streak by beating Chicago 3–2 in game 7 of
22072-442: The officials' discretion), or for a major penalty for a stick infraction or repeated major penalties. The offending player is ejected from the game and must immediately leave the playing surface (he does not sit in the penalty box); meanwhile, if an additional minor or major penalty is assessed, a designated player must serve out of that segment of the penalty in the box (similar to the above-mentioned "two-and-ten"). In some rare cases,
22250-521: The old St. Louis Eagles played, and which the original owners had to buy as a condition of the 1967 NHL expansion. The St. Louis Blues are one of the more successful NHL teams in terms of attendance. After the 2004–05 lockout , the Blues' attendance suffered, but has since improved every year since its all-time low in 2006–07 . In 2009–10 , 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
22428-423: The only team in the four major North American sports (ice hockey, basketball, baseball, and American football) to be owned by a private equity firm. Following the disappointing 2005–06 season, which saw the Blues with the worst record in the NHL, the new management focused on rebuilding the franchise. Under new management, the Blues promptly installed John Davidson as president of hockey operations, moving Pleau to
22606-511: The only untouchables on the Blues during that era. By 1986 , the team reached the Campbell Conference finals against the Flames. 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, 2–1. Years later, Sutter argued that had the Blues made it to the Stanley Cup Finals , they would have likely beaten
22784-483: The only way they could pay him back was to give their best on the ice every night. The Blues' successes in the late 1960s, however, did not continue into the 1970s. The Stanley Cup playoff format changed in such a way that a Western team was no longer guaranteed a Finals berth, and also the Chicago Black Hawks were moved into the Western Division following the 1970 expansion. The Blues lost Bowman, who left during
22962-540: The other team scores during the power play. In the case of a goal scored during the first two minutes of a double-minor, the penalty clock is set down to two minutes upon a score, effectively expiring the first minor penalty. Five-minute major penalties are called for especially violent instances of most minor infractions that result in intentional injury to an opponent, or when a minor penalty results in visible injury (such as bleeding), as well as for fighting. Major penalties are always served in full; they do not terminate on
23140-413: The other, the opposing team gets a power play for the remainder of the time); this applies regardless of current pending penalties. In the NHL, a team always has at least three skaters on the ice. Thus, ten-minute misconduct penalties are served in full by the penalized player, but his team may immediately substitute another player on the ice unless a minor or major penalty is assessed in conjunction with
23318-461: The penalty is still assessed to the offending player, but not served. In 2012, this rule was changed by the United States' National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for college level hockey . In college games, the penalty is still enforced even if the team in possession scores. A typical game of hockey is governed by two to four officials on the ice, charged with enforcing the rules of
23496-499: The play is restarted at a faceoff. Some infractions result in a penalty on a player or team. In the simplest case, the offending player is sent to the penalty box and their team must play with one less player on the ice for a designated time. Minor penalties last for two minutes, major penalties last for five minutes, and a double minor penalty is two consecutive penalties of two minutes duration. A single minor penalty may be extended by two minutes for causing visible injury to
23674-411: The player is looking for the right balanced flex that allows the stick to flex easily while still having a strong "whip-back" which sends the puck flying at high speeds. It is quite distinct from sticks in other sports games and most suited to hitting and controlling the flat puck. Its unique shape contributed to the early development of the game. The goaltender carries a stick of a different design, with
23852-508: The player with most career games for the club. Frölunda has claimed the Champions Hockey League title on four separate occasions in 2015–16 , 2016–17 , 2018–19 and 2019–20 , the most titles out of any club. On 2 February 2022, Frölunda Hockey Club presented their new logo. According to the club, the new logo represents the city of Gothenburg, Västra Frölunda, gentleness and excitement. The logo visualizes two F's, two hands and
24030-601: The players always got paid in the end. During most of Ornest's tenure, the Blues had only 26 players under contract–23 in St. Louis, plus three on their farm team, the Montana Magic . Most NHL teams during the mid-1980s had over 60 players under contract. Despite operating on a shoestring, the Blues remained competitive even though they never finished more than six games over .500 in Ornest's three years as owner. During this time, Doug Gilmour , drafted by St. Louis in 1982 , emerged as
24208-461: The players serve five minutes without their team incurring a loss of player (both teams still have a full complement of players on the ice). This differs with two players from opposing sides getting minor penalties, at the same time or at any intersecting moment, resulting from more common infractions. In this case, both teams will have only four skating players (not counting the goaltender) until one or both penalties expire (if one penalty expires before
24386-416: The playoffs. Under the expansion playoff format, Bowman's leadership was enough as the Blues qualified for the playoffs in their inaugural season. Although they had finished in third place, St. Louis was regarded as fairly evenly matched with the other three Western qualifiers since only four points separated first and fourth place. Ultimately, it was the Blues who prevailed by winning in seven games each over
24564-439: The puck carrier and the other two forwards cover the oppositions' wingers, with the two defencemen staying at the blueline. The 1–4 is the most defensive forecheck system, referred to as the neutral zone trap, where one forward applies pressure to the puck carrier around the oppositions' blueline and the other four players stand basically in a line by their blueline in hopes the opposition will skate into one of them. Another strategy
24742-406: The puck carrier in the neutral zone preventing him from entering the offensive zone. Body checking is using one's shoulder or hip to strike an opponent who has the puck or who is the last to have touched it (the last person to have touched the puck is still legally "in possession" of it, although a penalty is generally called if he is checked more than two seconds after his last touch). Body checking
24920-405: The puck in the goal crease, a goaltender intentionally displacing his own goal posts during a breakaway to avoid a goal, a defender intentionally displacing his own goal posts when there is less than two minutes to play in regulation time or at any point during overtime, or a player or coach intentionally throwing a stick or other object at the puck or the puck carrier and the throwing action disrupts
25098-443: The puck to their teammates unless they are in the defensive zone. Players can knock a puck out of the air with their hands to themselves. Players are prohibited from kicking the puck into the opponent's goal, though unintentional redirections off the skate are permitted. Players may not intentionally bat the puck into the net with their hands. Hockey is an off-side game, meaning that forward passes are allowed, unlike in rugby. Before
25276-409: The puck. A deflection is a shot that redirects a shot or a pass towards the goal from another player, by allowing the puck to strike the stick and carom towards the goal. A one-timer is a shot struck directly off a pass, without receiving the pass and shooting in two separate actions. Headmanning the puck , also known as breaking out , is the tactic of rapidly passing to the player farthest down
25454-425: The rest of the season. Like the other five expansion teams, the Blues' roster consisted primarily of castoffs from the Original Six and players who had previously never managed to break out of the minor leagues. As part of the expansion, the NHL had agreed to put all of the expansion teams in the new Western Division , an arrangement which was intended to ensure all of the new teams all had an equal chance of reaching
25632-490: The result of financial decisions made when the Salomons first acquired the franchise. The deferred contracts came due just as the Blues' performance began to slip. At one point, the Salomons cut the team's staff down to three employees. One of them was Emile Francis , who served as team president, general manager and head coach. In hopes of saving the franchise, Francis persuaded St. Louis-based pet food giant Ralston Purina to buy
25810-475: The revised statute becoming effective August 29, 2019. In the 2019–20 season , the Blues suffered an early blow as forward Vladimir Tarasenko suffered a season-ending injury on October 24. However, they would continue their strong play even despite being plagued with various other injuries, consistently remaining at or near the top of the Western Conference. On February 12, 2020, the Blues suffered another loss as defenseman Jay Bouwmeester suddenly collapsed on
25988-418: The right side" (of the puck). Another popular concept in ice hockey defensive tactics is that of playing a 200-foot game . An important defensive tactic is checking—attempting to take the puck from an opponent or to remove the opponent from play. Stick checking , sweep checking , and poke checking are legal uses of the stick to obtain possession of the puck. The neutral zone trap is designed to isolate
26166-629: The rink: The most gentlemanly player Swedish All star team Stora Grabbars Märke Big Boys' Badge: Honorary award within Swedish sports Coach of the Year Leader of the Year Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates , usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to
26344-462: The season. This increased the quality of play and many observers said that Elitserien was the best league in the world during 2004–05. Frölunda set a new Elitserien record on 6 April 2006, by winning the Elitserien playoff semi-finals against Linköpings HC 4–3 after trailing the series 1–3. The season ended with a 2–4 defeat against Färjestads BK in the finals. The second game in the finals Ronnie Sundin played his 685th game for Frölunda becoming
26522-618: The second round 2–4 after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round 3–2. The Blues would underachieve greatly the following year as they posted a 32–40–8, but they beat the Winnipeg Jets 3–1 in the Norris Division semifinals before dropping to the Chicago Black Hawks in the Norris Division 2–4. While the Blues had returned to respectability on the ice, they were struggling off it. Ralston Purina lost an estimated $ 1.8 million
26700-540: The second-best regular season record in the entire league in 1990–91, the Blues were upset in the second round of the playoffs to the Minnesota North Stars , a defeat that was symbolic of St. Louis' playoff struggles. Mike Keenan was hired as both general manager and coach before the abbreviated 1994–95 season , with the hope that he could end the postseason turmoil that Blues fans had endured for years. Keenan instituted major changes, including trades that sent away fan favorites Brendan Shanahan and Curtis Joseph, as well as
26878-455: The series. They moved on to the next round, where they defeated the Dallas Stars in another seven-game series to advance to their first conference finals since 2001. The Blues season would come to an end at the hands of the San Jose Sharks , who eliminated them in six games. On June 13, 2016, it was announced that Mike Yeo would replace Hitchcock as head coach of the Blues following the 2016–17 season . The 2016 off-season saw big changes for
27056-401: The shade of blue. Initially, the front of the jersey featured the team name above the crest logo, but was removed in 1987. In addition, the contrasting shoulder yoke was removed. For the 1994–95 season, the Blues introduced a more radical jersey set, featuring red in a more prominent role. The jersey introduced the short-lived trumpet logo on the shoulders and featured thin diagonal stripes on
27234-488: The sixth time in franchise history, and gained a franchise record of 52 wins. Their chance of winning the Central Division title, the top seed in the West, and the Presidents' Trophy would all evaporate, after they lost their final six games and wound up in second place in the Division, this time to the Colorado Avalanche. The slump haunted them, as they blew a 2–0 series lead to the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks , losing
27412-544: The skater's feet from contact with other skaters, sticks, pucks, the boards, and the ice itself. Rigidity also improves the overall manoeuvrability of the skate. Blade length, thickness (width), and curvature (rocker/radius) (front to back) and radius of hollow (across the blade width) are quite different from speed or figure skates. Hockey players usually adjust these parameters based on their skill level, position, and body type. The blade width of most skates are about 1 ⁄ 8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. Each player other than
27590-406: 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. Just before the 2007 NHL trade deadline , the Blues traded several key players, including Bill Guerin, Keith Tkachuk and Dennis Wideman , in exchange for draft picks, though they re-signed Tkachuk after the season ended. Brad Boyes , picked up from
27768-485: The tail and sleeves. The bottom of the numbers taper off to give way to the aforementioned stripes. An updated version of the blue sweater, produced by Adidas, was brought back in 2019 as their "90s Vintage Jersey." Before the 1997–98 season, the Blues introduced a new alternate white jersey. The jersey brought back the contrasting shoulder yoke and returned to the lighter blue of previous eras. It also replaced red with navy blue as an accent color. A corresponding blue jersey
27946-470: The team in St. Louis. However, had the league not found a new owner by August 6, it would dissolve the team and hold a dispersal draft for the players. 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. Ornest had made plans to buy the team as early as March, but built up his efforts in late June to have enough money. Ornest immediately reverted
28124-511: The team notched a franchise-record 114 points during the regular season, earning the Presidents' Trophy for the League's best record. However, they were stunned by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2000 playoffs in seven games. In 2001 , the Blues advanced to the conference finals before bowing out in five games to the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche . Nonetheless,
28302-403: The team on the market. While there were a number of interested parties, none had enough cash to meet Ralston's asking price. On January 12, 1983, Batoni-Hunter Enterprises Ltd., led by WHA and Edmonton Oilers founder Bill Hunter , tendered an offer to buy the team. Hunter intended to build a $ 43 million, 18,000-seat arena in his hometown of Saskatoon , Saskatchewan , to house the team in time for
28480-407: The team on which the penalty was called cannot control the puck without stopping play, it is impossible for them to score a goal. In these cases, the team in possession of the puck can pull the goalie for an extra attacker without fear of being scored on. It is possible for the controlling team to mishandle the puck into their own net. If a delayed penalty is signalled and the team in possession scores,
28658-476: The team remained competitive for the next three years, despite never advancing beyond the second round. Despite years of mediocrity and the stigma of never being able to "take the next step," the Blues were a playoff presence every year from 1980 to 2004 – the third-longest streak in North American professional sports history (all three of which being held by NHL teams). However, they never made an appearance in
28836-510: The team's normal high (about 18,000 in a 19,500-seat arena). Wal-Mart heir Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill purchased the Blues in 1999. On June 17, 2005, the Lauries announced that they would sell the team. 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
29014-406: The team, arena, and the $ 8.8 million debt. The Salomons sold the Blues to Ralston on July 27, 1977. However, longtime Ralston Purina chairman R. Hal Dean said that he intended to keep the Blues as a Ralston subsidiary only temporarily until a more stable owner who would keep the team in St. Louis could be found. Ralston renamed the arena the "Checkerdome." After two awful years, including what is still
29192-428: The team. On December 27, 2005, it was announced that the Blues had signed a letter of intent to exclusively negotiate with General Sports and Entertainment, LLC. However, after the period of exclusivity, SCP entered the picture again. On March 24, 2006, the Lauries completed the sale of the Blues and the lease to the Savvis Center to SCP and TowerBrook Capital Partners , L.P., a private equity firm. The Blues are currently
29370-432: The then- Vancouver Grizzlies ), and it was thought that this desire caused him to neglect the Blues. 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 . On November 14, 2005, the Blues announced that SCP Worldwide had officially withdrawn from negotiations to buy
29548-399: The two. Defensive skills involve pass interception , shot blocking , and stick checking (in which an attempt to take away the puck or cut off the puck lane is initiated by the stick of the defensive player). Tactical points of emphasis in ice hockey defensive play are concepts like "managing gaps" (gap control), "boxing out"' (not letting the offensive team go on the inside), and "staying on
29726-498: The victimized player. This is usually when blood is drawn during high sticking. Players may be also assessed personal extended penalties or game expulsions for misconduct in addition to the penalty or penalties their team must serve. The team that has been given a penalty is said to be playing short-handed while the opposing team is on a power play . A two-minute minor penalty is often charged for lesser infractions such as tripping , elbowing , roughing , high-sticking , delay of
29904-582: The year Guldhjälmen The Gold Helmet: Most valuable player as judged by the league's players Honken Trophy Goaltender of the year Håkan Loob Trophy Top goal scorer Skyttetrofén Top point scorer Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy Playoffs' most valuable player SHL Rookie of the Year Årets junior Junior of the year in Swedish hockey Champions Hockey League MVP Most valuable player Salming Trophy Best Swedish-born defenceman Rinkens riddare Knight of
30082-409: Was announced that the St. Louis Blues were for sale. During the 2011 off-season, the team signed many key free agents, including Brian Elliott , Scott Nichol , Kent Huskins , Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner . They fired their head coach, Davis Payne, and named Ken Hitchcock as his replacement on November 6, 2011. David Backes was also announced as the new team captain. On March 17, 2012,
30260-538: Was announced that, after going much of the season without a captain, defenseman Eric Brewer was chosen as the team's 19th captain. The team later traded veteran defenseman Bryce Salvador to the New Jersey Devils for enforcer , and St. Louis native, Cam Janssen . He made his debut two days later, wearing number 55 against the Phoenix Coyotes . After spending the first half of the 2008–09 season at or near
30438-523: Was brought back on a free agent deal, while defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was named team captain. The team started the season by posting a record of 10–1–2 in their first 13 home games. However, they only won three games on the road during the first two months of the season. Despite defeating the Blackhawks in the 2017 Winter Classic by the score of 4–1, the Blues fired Hitchcock and promoted Yeo to head coach on February 1, 2017. Despite an impressive run into
30616-530: Was founded on 3 February 1938, as an ice hockey section in Västra Frölunda IF and became independent on 29 March 1984. Prior to the 1995/1996 season, the nickname Indians was adopted. This referring to the successful years of the 1960s, when fans started to call them the "Wild West" (Västra Frölunda is West Frölunda in English). But as they did not want a nickname like cowboys or something with firearms, Indians
30794-523: Was inducted in 2018. Petteri Nummelin played two seasons for Frölunda between 1995 and 1997, he was inducted in 2024. In 2003, former Frölunda players Christian Ruuttu and Jorma Salmi were inducted to the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame . Ville Peltonen was inducted in 2014. Trio of former Frölunda players who all won the Swedish Championships with Frölunda; Antti-Jussi Niemi , Fredrik Norrena , and Sami Salo were inducted in 2017. Petteri Nummelin
30972-436: Was inducted in 2019. These are the top-ten point-scorers of Frölunda HC since the 1975–76 season. Figures are updated after each completed regular season. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; = current Frölunda HC player Le Mat Trophy Swedish Champions Champions Hockey League Winners Guldpucken The Golden Puck: Player of
31150-545: Was introduced the following season, thus retiring the previous set. Like all NHL teams, the Blues updated their jerseys for the 2007–08 season with new Rbk Edge jerseys. The Blues simplified their design, with only the blue note logo on the front; there were no third jerseys for the season. The Blues announced plans for a navy third jersey featuring a new logo, with the Gateway Arch with the Blue Note superimposed over it inside
31328-587: 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 team finished last in the division and disbanded after one season. Following further contraction, the league stabilized at six teams after 1942. During this period, the NHL rebuffed attempts at further expansion. Eventually,
31506-436: Was not until organizers began to officially remove body checking from female ice hockey beginning in the mid-1980s that it began to gain greater popularity, which by then had spread to Europe and a variety of other countries. The first IIHF Women's World Championship was held in 1990, and women's play was introduced into the Olympics in 1998 . Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in
31684-475: Was selected. On 16 June 2004, the club shortened the name from Västra Frölunda Hockey Club to Frölunda Hockey Club . Frölunda's home venue is the Scandinavium arena in central Gothenburg, which has a capacity of 12,044 people. Frölundaborg is used when Scandinavium is occupied with other events. Frölunda's average home attendance has been the highest in the league for over a decade. In 2003 Frölunda became
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