Hockey Trivia: St. Louis Blues Retired Numbers

The St. Louis Blues entered the National Hockey League for the 1967-68 season, along with five other teams which doubled the NHL in size. The Blues immediately made their mark, making it to the Stanley Cup finals in their first three seasons, something they have not done since.

The team has officially retired the jersey numbers of six players and unofficially has honoured three others. Test and expand your knowledge of St. Louis Blues retired number hockey trivia with the following four questions.

Q. Number 24 is retired by the St. Louis Blues for what player?

A. Bernie Federko was the seventh overall pick in the 1976 NHL Entry Draft by the Blues. Federko played with St. Louis from 1976-77 to 1988-89 and was team captain in his final year with the club. His final year in the National Hockey League was spent with the Detroit Red Wings. Over the summer of 1989, Bernie, along with Tony McKegney, was traded to Detroit for Adam Oates and Paul MacLean. He was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002, way too long after retiring.

Q. The Blues retired number 2 in honour of what defenseman?

A. Al MacInnis was the 15^th overall pick of the Calgary Flames in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. McInnis played for the Blues from 1994-95 to 2003-04. In 1990-91, while still a member of the Flames, Al totalled 103 points. The point total makes one of just five defensemen in National Hockey League history to reach the 100 point plateau. The other four are Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Denis Potvin and Brian Leetch. Al was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.

Q. Number 3 is retired by the St. Louis Blues in honour of which player?

A. Bob Gassoff played just four years with the Blues before his life was cut short due to a fatal motorcycle accident in the off-season after the 1976-77 season. The third round pick by St. Louis at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, Gassoff played in 245 regular season NHL games, all with the Blues. He scored just 11 goals and totalled 58 points but filled a specific role with 866 penalty minutes.

Q. St. Louis retired number 8 to recognize what player?

A. Barclay Plager was an original St. Louis Blue, getting his start in the NHL with St. Louis during their inaugural season, 1967-68. He played with the team until the end of the 1976-77 season and was part of the team’s coaching staff until his death in 1988 from cancer. From 1972-73 to 1975-76, Plager served as team captain. After four years of junior hockey in the OHA with the Peterborough Petes, Barclay’s pro career started in 1961-62. He played several years of minor pro hockey in the EPHL, AHL, CPHL and WHL before catching on with the Blues.

 

Hockey Trivia: NHL Records Not Belonging to Wayne Gretzky

Believe it or not, there are actually some individual NHL records not owned by Wayne Gretzky. Of course, you have to look to categories that Wayne didn’t involve himself in like penalties and defenseman scoring.

Test and expand your knowledge of the NHL’s single season individual records with these four trivia questions.

Q. Who holds the record for the most goals in a single NHL season by a defenseman?

A. No, it’s not Bobby Orr. Paul Coffey broke Orr’s record of 46 goals during the 1985-86 season when he put 48 past opposing goaltenders. Coffey and Orr are the only defensemen to score 40 or more in a single season with Coffey doing it twice and Orr just the once.

The only current blue liner to surpass 30 in a season is Mike Green of the Washington Capitals, scoring 31 in 2008-09. The list of defensemen throughout the history of the NHL scoring 30 or more in a season is slim with just Doug Wilson, Kevin Hatcher, Ray Bourque, Denis Potvin and Phil Housley added to Coffey, Orr and Green.

Q. With 76, what player holds the record for the most goals by a rookie?

A. Teemu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets broke Mike Bossy’s previous record by a whopping 23 goals in 1992-93. Selanne, Bossy and Joe Nieuwendyk are the only first year NHL players to surpass the 50 goal plateau.

In a weird twist of fate, Selanne did not share the league lead in goal scoring in 1992-93. Alexander Mogilny of the Buffalo Sabres also scored 76. Mogilny was in his fourth year in the National Hockey League and nearly doubled his previous career high of 39 goals, set the previous year. Mogilny would surpass the 50 goal plateau just once more in his career while Selanne would do it just twice more.

Q. Who holds the record for the most points in a single season by a defenseman?

A. No, it’s not Paul Coffey! Bobby Orr won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading point getter in 1970-71 with 139 points. Orr still remains the only defenseman to win the Art Ross. Coffey came within one point of the record with 138 in 1985-86.

Just five defensemen in NHL history have topped the 100 point plateau. Along with Coffey and Orr, Denis Potvin, Al MacInnis and Bryan Leetch have accomplished the feat. Leetch was the last to do it with 102 points way back in 1991-92, over 20 years ago.

Q. What 1970’s super goon holds the record for the most penalty minutes in a single season?

A. Dave ‘The Hammer’ Schultz sat out 472 minutes in the penalty box during the 1974-75 season. This number amounts to nearly eight whole hours in the sin bin! Paul Baxter was the next closest challenger with just 409 minutes in 1981-82.

Current member of the Calgary Flames, Brian McGrattan, holds the American Hockey League record with 551 PIM in 2004-05 with the Binghamton Senators. Joel Theriault, a fourth round pick by the Washington Capitals in 1995, holds the CHL record with 573 PIM in 1995-96 in a QMJHL season split between the Halifax Mooseheads and Drummondville Voltigeurs.