6 St. Louis Blues With 100 Point Seasons

The St. Louis Blues entered the National Hockey League for the 1967-68 season along with five other teams, doubling the league in size. It took until the 1980-81 season before the Blues had a player surpass the 100 point plateau in a single season. Six different players to date have accomplished the feat in St. Louis history, two have done it four times and one has done it twice. 1993-94 was the last time a Blues player surpassed 100.

Bernie Federko

Bernie Federko was the first ever St. Louis Blues player to reach 100 points in a season. Bernie accomplished the feat a total of four times over his career with St. Louis. In 1980-81, he totalled 104 then topping that with 107 in 1983-84. He added 103 in 1984-85 and 102 the following season. In the first three years, he finished ninth in the NHL for points. In 1985-86, his 102 points weren’t good enough to make the top 10.

Federko played with St. Louis from 1976-77 to 1988-89 after being the seventh overall pick by the club at the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft. In junior hockey, he was awarded the Brownridge Trophy as the WHL’s top scorer, accumulating 187 points with the Saskatoon Blades. The Brownridge Trophy has since been renamed the Bob Clarke Trophy.

Brett Hull

Brett Hull also surpassed 100 points four times as a member of the Blues. In four consecutive seasons, starting in 1989-90, he accomplished the feat. In 1990-91, he recorded 131 points with the help of 86 goals. The point total is a St. Louis Blues record and the 86 goals is the second highest total in NHL history, behind Wayne Gretzky’s 92. In 1989-90, Hull has 113 points, in 1991-92 it was 109 and in 1992-93 he totalled 101.

Hull was originally drafted in the sixth round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames. He played with St. Louis from 1987-88 to 1997-98. Brett was awarded the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 1990-91 for his stellar performance.

Adam Oates

Adam Oates twice recorded more than 100 points in a season with the Blues, 1989-90 (102) and 1990-91 (115). He would accomplish the feat twice more with the Boston Bruins, topping out at 142 points in 1992-93. Oates was undrafted and started out his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings. Adam played for the Blues from 1989-90 to 1991-92.

Doug Gilmour

Doug Gilmour contributed 105 points in 1986-87, finishing fifth in the NHL. Gilmour played with St. Louis from 1983-84 to 1987-88 after being a late seventh round pick by the club at the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He topped 100 points twice more in his career, both times with Toronto, topping out at 127 points in 1992-93. Gilmour earned the Eddie Powers Trophy in the Ontario Hockey League after a 177 point performance with the Cornwall Royals.

Craig Janney

Craig Janney had a 106 point season in 1992-93. The total didn’t even place in the top ten that season, with Mark Recchi’s 123 points holding down tenth spot. Janney played with St. Louis from 1991-92 to 1994-95. He was originally a first round pick of the Boston Bruins in 1986.

Brendan Shanahan

Brendan Shanahan was the last St. Louis player to crack the 100 point plateau. In 1993-94, Shanahan reached 102 points and finished eighth in the NHL. Brendan played for the Blues from 1991-92 to 1994-95. He was originally a second overall pick by the New Jersey Devils in 1987.

Saskatoon Blades Individual Scoring Records

The Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League are a charter member of the league with the origins of the franchise dating back to 1964. The Blades are infamously known for never winning an Ed Chynoweth Cup as playoff champions, despite putting together some great teams. The individual single season scoring records are impressive, with one record even held by a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Goals – Frank Banham

Banham exploded for 83 goals in 1995-96, his fourth of four years with the Blades. Frank finished the season 152 points in 72 games. He led the league in goals with twenty more than the runner-up, Jarome Iginla of the Kamloops Blazers. His point total placed him second to teammate Mark Deyell. Deyell recorded 159 points on a Saskatoon team with the fourth worst record in the WHL with just 59 points.

Frank was drafted into the National Hockey League after just his first year in the WHL. He was taken in the sixth round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals, 147^th overall. In total, Banham played 32 games in the NHL between 1996-97 and 2002-03 with the Anaheim Ducks and Phoenix Coyotes.

Banham has been in Europe since 2004-05, playing in Russia, Finland, Switzerland, Austria and Sweden. He played the 2012-13 season with Szekesfehervar of Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL) and will play with the club again in 2013-14.

Assists – Bruce Eakin

Soft handed Eakin assisted on 125 goals in 1981-82. He also scored 42 goals of his own to total 167 points in 66 games with the Blades. Bruce was responsible for two of his teammates, Marc Habscheid and Todd Strueby, both scoring over 60 goals that year. It was his second of two years with Saskatoon and Eakin led the WHL in assists while finishing third in the league for points.

Bruce went into the 1981-82 season a prospect of the Calgary Flames. He was selected in the tenth round of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft by Calgary, 204^th overall. He ended up playing 13 games in the National Hockey League with the Flames and Detroit Red Wings. Eakin played in Europe from 1987-88 until retiring after the 1998-99 season. He appeared on teams in Finland, Germany and England.

Points – Bernie Federko

In his third of three seasons with Saskatoon, 1975-76, Bernie scored 72 goals and assisted on 115 for a team record 187 points in 72 games. He led the league in points and was awarded the Brownridge Trophy for his efforts. The Brownridge was renamed the Bob Clarke Trophy in 1987, in honour of the Flin Flon Bombers and Philadelphia Flyers legend.

Federko was popular at hockey drafts following his 1975-76 offensive outburst. The St. Louis Blues chose him seventh overall at the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft and the Edmonton Oilers chose him sixth overall at the 1976 WHA Amateur Draft. Of course, he took the NHL route.

After playing half of his first year of pro hockey with the Kansas City Blues of the Central Hockey League, earning rookie of the year honours, Federko became a regular star with the St. Louis Blues and never looked back. He played exactly 1,000 NHL regular season games in a career that spanned from 1976-77 to 1989-90.

His entire career was spent with the Blues, with exception of his last, which was in a Detroit Red Wings jersey. You couldn’t fault the Blues for trading him. Federko and Tony McKegney went to Michigan for Paul MacLean and Adam Oates. MacLean was in the twilight of his career but Oates became a superstar for the Blues, forming a dynamic duo with Brett Hull. Oates is now in the Hockey Hall of Fame with Federko. Both Oates and MacLean were head coaches in the NHL in 2012-13.

Bernie was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. His jersey number 15 is retired by the Saskatoon Blades. His number 24 is retired by the St. Louis Blues.

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.