1996–97 St. Louis Blues season

The highlight of the 1996–97 St. Louis Blues season was, after losing Wayne Gretzky the Blues were in turmoil as an ugly public feud between Brett Hull and coach Mike Keenan developed. This was the last season until early 2009, that a huge Blue note would appear at center ice.

1996–97 St. Louis Blues
Division	4th Central
Conference	6th Western
1996–97 record	36–35–11
Home record	17–20–4
Road record	19–15–7
Goals for	236
Goals against	239
Team information
General manager	Mike Keenan (Oct.–Dec.) Ron Caron (Dec.–Apr.)
Coach	Mike Keenan (Oct.–Dec.) Jim Roberts (Dec.–Jan.) Joel Quenneville (Jan.–Apr.)
Captain	Vacant
Arena	Kiel Center
Average attendance	16,806
Minor league affiliate(s)	Worcester IceCats Baton Rouge Kingfish
Team leaders
Goals	Brett Hull (42)
Assists	Pierre Turgeon (49)
Points	Brett Hull (82)
Penalty minutes	Mike Peluso (158)
Plus/minus	Chris Pronger (+15)
Wins	Grant Fuhr (33)
Goals against average	Grant Fuhr (2.72)
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

Offseason

On July 21, Wayne Gretzky's short tenure with the Blues ended when he signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent, rejoining longtime Oilers teammate Mark Messier.^[1]

Regular season

The Blues were in turmoil as an ugly public feud between Brett Hull and Coach Mike Keenan developed, as the Blues got off to a slow start. On December 19 the Keenan era would come to a sudden end as he is fired as GM and Coach. Eventually he would be replaced by assistant coach Jim Roberts.

Roberts' stint as interim head coach lasted nine games, as the team would hire Colorado Avalanche assistant coach Joel Quenneville to serve as the team's head coach. The change worked with Quenneville behind the bench as the Blues recovered and made the playoffs for the 18th straight season with a 36–35–11 record. However, once again the Blues would make a quick exit in the playoffs as they are beaten by the Detroit Red Wings in 6 games.^[2]

Final standings

Central Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Dallas Stars	82	48	26	8	252	198	104
2	3	Detroit Red Wings	82	38	26	18	253	197	94
3	5	Phoenix Coyotes	82	38	37	7	240	243	83
4	6	St. Louis Blues	82	36	35	11	236	239	83
5	8	Chicago Blackhawks	82	34	35	13	223	210	81
6	11	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	30	44	8	230	273	68

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference^[3]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Colorado Avalanche	PAC	82	49	24	9	277	205	107
2	Dallas Stars	CEN	82	48	26	8	252	198	104
3	Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	38	26	18	253	197	94
4	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	36	33	13	245	233	85
5	Phoenix Coyotes	CEN	82	38	37	7	240	243	83
6	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	36	35	11	236	239	83
7	Edmonton Oilers	PAC	82	36	37	9	252	247	81
8	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	34	35	13	223	210	81
9	Vancouver Canucks	PAC	82	35	40	7	257	273	77
10	Calgary Flames	PAC	82	32	41	9	214	239	73
11	Toronto Maple Leafs	CEN	82	30	44	8	230	273	68
12	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	28	43	11	214	268	67
13	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	27	47	8	211	278	62

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Playoffs

The Blues lost 4 games to 2 to the Detroit Red Wings, the eventual Stanley Cup champions, in the first round.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1996–97 regular season[4]
October: 5–7–0 (home: 2–3–0; road: 3–4–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 W October 4, 1996 4–2 Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 1–0–0 Recap 2 L October 6, 1996 1–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 1–1–0 Recap 3 W October 9, 1996 3–1 @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 2–1–0 Recap 4 W October 11, 1996 3–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 3–1–0 Recap 5 L October 12, 1996 3–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 3–2–0 Recap 6 W October 17, 1996 6–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 4–2–0 Recap 7 L October 18, 1996 1–2 @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 4–3–0 Recap 8 L October 20, 1996 2–3 San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 4–4–0 Recap 9 W October 22, 1996 2–1 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 5–4–0 Recap 10 L October 24, 1996 4–6 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 5–5–0 Recap 11 L October 26, 1996 4–6 Washington Capitals (1996–97) 5–6–0 Recap 12 L October 30, 1996 3–6 @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 5–7–0 Recap
November: 8–4–0 (home: 5–2–0; road: 3–2–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 13 L November 1, 1996 2–4 Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 5–8–0 Recap 14 W November 3, 1996 6–3 Dallas Stars (1996–97) 6–8–0 Recap 15 L November 5, 1996 3–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 6–9–0 Recap 16 W November 8, 1996 4–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 7–9–0 Recap 17 W November 9, 1996 3–2 @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 8–9–0 Recap 18 W November 14, 1996 5–3 Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 9–9–0 Recap 19 W November 16, 1996 2–0 Calgary Flames (1996–97) 10–9–0 Recap 20 W November 17, 1996 4–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 11–9–0 Recap 21 L November 19, 1996 2–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 11–10–0 Recap 22 W November 21, 1996 4–3 OT Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 12–10–0 Recap 23 L November 23, 1996 1–3 Florida Panthers (1996–97) 12–11–0 Recap 24 W November 27, 1996 3–2 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 13–11–0 Recap
December: 4–9–2 (home: 2–6–0; road: 2–3–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 25 L December 1, 1996 3–4 San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 13–12–0 Recap 26 L December 3, 1996 0–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 13–13–0 Recap 27 L December 5, 1996 0–3 Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 13–14–0 Recap 28 W December 6, 1996 4–3 @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 14–14–0 Recap 29 W December 8, 1996 3–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 15–14–0 Recap 30 T December 11, 1996 5–5 OT @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 15–14–1 Recap 31 L December 13, 1996 1–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 15–15–1 Recap 32 L December 15, 1996 0–8 Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 15–16–1 Recap 33 L December 17, 1996 3–5 @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 15–17–1 Recap 34 L December 19, 1996 0–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 15–18–1 Recap 35 L December 21, 1996 0–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 15–19–1 Recap 36 W December 22, 1996 7–4 Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 16–19–1 Recap 37 T December 26, 1996 4–4 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 16–19–2 Recap 38 L December 27, 1996 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 16–20–2 Recap 39 W December 29, 1996 4–2 Boston Bruins (1996–97) 17–20–2 Recap
January: 8–3–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 7–1–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 40 T January 2, 1997 2–2 OT Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 17–20–3 Recap 41 T January 3, 1997 2–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 17–20–4 Recap 42 W January 5, 1997 5–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 18–20–4 Recap 43 L January 7, 1997 2–5 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 18–21–4 Recap 44 W January 9, 1997 4–3 @ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 19–21–4 Recap 45 L January 11, 1997 1–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 19–22–4 Recap 46 W January 15, 1997 4–1 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 20–22–4 Recap 47 W January 20, 1997 6–4 @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 21–22–4 Recap 48 W January 23, 1997 4–3 Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 22–22–4 Recap 49 W January 25, 1997 8–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 23–22–4 Recap 50 L January 27, 1997 1–4 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 23–23–4 Recap 51 W January 29, 1997 4–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 24–23–4 Recap 52 W January 30, 1997 5–2 @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 25–23–4 Recap
February: 3–6–4 (home: 3–4–2; road: 0–2–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 53 L February 1, 1997 1–4 Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 25–24–4 Recap 54 T February 4, 1997 1–1 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 25–24–5 Recap 55 W February 6, 1997 6–4 Dallas Stars (1996–97) 26–24–5 Recap 56 T February 8, 1997 3–3 OT @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 26–24–6 Recap 57 L February 10, 1997 2–4 Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 26–25–6 Recap 58 W February 13, 1997 4–1 New York Rangers (1996–97) 27–25–6 Recap 59 L February 15, 1997 2–5 Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 27–26–6 Recap 60 W February 17, 1997 4–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 28–26–6 Recap 61 T February 20, 1997 1–1 OT Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 28–26–7 Recap 62 T February 22, 1997 2–2 OT Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 28–26–8 Recap 63 L February 23, 1997 3–5 Calgary Flames (1996–97) 28–27–8 Recap 64 L February 25, 1997 2–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 28–28–8 Recap 65 L February 27, 1997 2–3 OT @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 28–29–8 Recap
March: 5–5–1 (home: 3–2–0; road: 2–3–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 66 L March 5, 1997 2–3 @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 28–30–8 Recap 67 L March 9, 1997 1–4 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 28–31–8 Recap 68 W March 11, 1997 4–3 @ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 29–31–8 Recap 69 W March 13, 1997 4–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 30–31–8 Recap 70 T March 14, 1997 4–4 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 30–31–9 Recap 71 L March 17, 1997 2–3 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 30–32–9 Recap 72 W March 20, 1997 4–1 Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 31–32–9 Recap 73 L March 23, 1997 1–4 Dallas Stars (1996–97) 31–33–9 Recap 74 L March 25, 1997 2–3 @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 31–34–9 Recap 75 W March 27, 1997 2–1 Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 32–34–9 Recap 76 W March 30, 1997 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 33–34–9 Recap
April: 3–1–2 (home: 1–1–1; road: 2–0–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 77 T April 1, 1997 1–1 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 33–34–10 Recap 78 T April 3, 1997 5–5 OT New York Islanders (1996–97) 33–34–11 Recap 79 L April 6, 1997 0–2 New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 33–35–11 Recap 80 W April 9, 1997 1–0 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 34–35–11 Recap 81 W April 10, 1997 5–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 35–35–11 Recap 82 W April 13, 1997 3–1 @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 36–35–11 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs[4]
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings: Red Wings win 4–2 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 W April 16, 1997 2–0 @ Detroit Red Wings Blues lead 1–0 Recap 2 L April 18, 1997 1–2 @ Detroit Red Wings Series tied 1–1 Recap 3 L April 20, 1997 2–3 Detroit Red Wings Red Wings lead 2–1 Recap 4 W April 22, 1997 4–0 Detroit Red Wings Series tied 2–2 Recap 5 L April 25, 1997 2–5 @ Detroit Red Wings Red Wings lead 3–2 Recap 6 L April 27, 1997 1–3 Detroit Red Wings Red Wings win 4–2 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blues only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blues only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
16	Brett Hull	RW	77	42	40	82	−9	10	6	2	7	9	4	2
77	Pierre Turgeon†	C	69	25	49	74	4	12	5	1	1	2	0	2
14	Geoff Courtnall	LW	82	17	40	57	3	86	6	3	1	4	0	23
17[a]	Joe Murphy	RW	75	20	25	45	−1	69	6	1	1	2	−2	10
10	Jim Campbell	RW	68	23	20	43	3	68	4	1	0	1	−1	6
2	Al MacInnis	D	72	13	30	43	2	65	6	1	2	3	−1	4
32	Stephane Matteau	LW	74	16	20	36	11	50	5	0	0	0	0	0
44	Chris Pronger	D	79	11	24	35	15	143	6	1	1	2	0	22
37	Harry York	C	74	14	18	32	1	24	5	0	0	0	−1	2
5	Igor Kravchuk	D	82	4	24	28	7	35	2	0	0	0	−1	2
36	Robert Petrovicky	C	44	7	12	19	2	10	2	0	0	0	1	0
39[b]	Scott Pellerin	LW	54	8	10	18	12	35	6	0	0	0	−1	6
22	Craig Conroy†	C	61	6	11	17	0	43	6	0	0	0	−1	8
25	Peter Zezel‡	C	35	4	9	13	6	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	Ricard Persson†	D	53	4	8	12	−2	45	6	0	0	0	−1	27
23	Craig MacTavish	C	50	2	5	7	−12	33	1	0	0	0	−1	2
28	Brian Noonan‡	RW	13	2	5	7	2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	Jamie Rivers	D	15	2	5	7	−4	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
43	Libor Zabransky	D	34	1	5	6	−1	44	—	—	—	—	—	—
20	Mike Peluso†	LW	44	2	3	5	0	158	5	0	0	0	−1	25
26	Sergio Momesso†	LW	31	1	3	4	−4	37	3	0	0	0	0	6
4	Marc Bergevin	D	82	0	4	4	−9	53	6	1	0	1	2	8
38	Pavol Demitra†	LW	8	3	0	3	0	2	6	1	3	4	3	6
9	Shayne Corson‡	LW	11	2	1	3	−4	24	—	—	—	—	—	—
27	Steve Leach	RW	17	2	1	3	−2	24	6	0	0	0	−2	33
26	Konstantin Shafranov	RW	5	2	1	3	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
12	Rob Pearson	RW	18	1	2	3	−5	37	—	—	—	—	—	—
18	Tony Twist	LW	64	1	2	3	−8	121	6	0	0	0	0	0
34	Murray Baron‡	D	11	0	2	2	−4	11	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Grant Fuhr	G	73	0	2	2		6	6	0	0	0		4
33	Trent Yawney	D	39	0	2	2	2	17	—	—	—	—	—	—
13	Yuri Khmylev	LW	2	1	0	1	−1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
38	Gary Leeman	RW	2	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
21	Jamal Mayers	RW	6	0	1	1	−3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Christer Olsson‡	D	5	0	1	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Jon Casey	G	15	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
42	Rory Fitzpatrick†	D	2	0	0	0	−2	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
19	Chris McAlpine†	D	15	0	0	0	−2	24	4	0	1	1	1	0
15	Alexander Vasilevski	RW	3	0	0	0	−1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season										Playoffs
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
31	Grant Fuhr	73	33	27	11	1940	193	2.72	.901	3	4261	6	2	4	183	13	2.18	.929	2	357
30	Jon Casey	15	3	8	0	299	40	3.40	.866	0	707	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL All-Rookie Team	Jim Campbell (Forward)	[5]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Brett Hull[c]	[7]
		Al MacInnis
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Jim Campbell (October)	[8]
		Harry York (November)

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Harry York	October 4, 1996	[9]
	Konstantin Shafranov	October 6, 1996
	Libor Zabransky	October 18, 1996
	Jamal Mayers	November 3, 1996

Draft picks

St. Louis's draft picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.^[10]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	14	Marty Reasoner	United States	Boston College (Hockey East)
3	67	Gordie Dwyer	Canada	Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
4	95	Jon Zukiwsky	Canada	Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
4	97	Andrei Petrakov	Russia	Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (Russia)
6	159	Stephen Wagner	Canada	Olds Grizzlys (AJHL)
7	169	Daniel Corso	Canada	Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
7	177	Reed Low	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
8	196	Andrej Podkonicky	Slovakia	ZTK Zvolen (Slovakia)
8	203	Anthony Hutchins	United States	Lawrence Academy (USHS–MA)
9	229	Konstantin Shafranov	Kazakhstan	Fort Wayne Komets (IHL)

See also

• 1996–97 NHL season

Notes

1. Murphy wore number 21 in his first seven games.
2. Pellerin wore number 36 in his first game and number 12 in his second game.
3. Hull was voted to the starting lineup.^[6]