1997–98 St. Louis Blues season

The highlight of the 1997–98 St. Louis Blues season would mark an end of an era as Brett Hull was not re-signed following the season.

1997–98 St. Louis Blues
Division	3rd Central
Conference	4th Western
1997–98 record	45–29–8
Home record	26–10–5
Road record	19–19–3
Goals for	256
Goals against	204
Team information
General Manager	Larry Pleau
Coach	Joel Quenneville
Captain	Chris Pronger
Arena	Kiel Center
Team leaders
Goals	Geoff Courtnall (31)
Assists	Pierre Turgeon (46)
Points	Brett Hull (72)
Penalty minutes	Kelly Chase (231)
Plus/minus	Chris Pronger (+47)
Wins	Grant Fuhr (29)
Goals against average	Jamie McLennan (2.17)

Off-season

In his first full season as head coach, Joel Quenneville decided to employ a defensive formula. The move worked wonders as even Brett Hull bought into the new system as the Blues finished in third place with a solid 45–29–8 record. In the first round of the playoffs, the Blues would sweep the Los Angeles Kings in four games. In the second round, the Blues were eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings in six games. The season would mark an end of an era, as Brett Hull was not signed to a new contract after the season, joining the Dallas Stars as a free agent during the summer.[1]

Defenseman Chris Pronger was named team captain, a role that had been vacant during the previous season.

Regular season

The Blues were one of only two teams out the NHL's 26 to score at least 3 goals per game (The Detroit Red Wings were the other team). The Blues' 256 goals for led all teams.[2]

Final standings

Central Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Dallas Stars	82	49	22	11	242	167	109
2	3	Detroit Red Wings	82	44	23	15	250	196	103
3	4	St. Louis Blues	82	45	29	8	256	204	98
4	7	Phoenix Coyotes	82	35	35	12	224	227	82
5	9	Chicago Blackhawks	82	30	39	13	192	199	73
6	12	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	30	43	9	194	237	69

Western Conference[3]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Dallas Stars	CEN	82	49	22	11	242	167	109
2	x – Colorado Avalanche	PAC	82	39	26	17	231	205	95
3	Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	44	23	15	250	196	103
4	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	45	29	8	256	204	98
5	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	38	33	11	227	225	87
6	Phoenix Coyotes	CEN	82	35	35	12	224	227	82
7	Edmonton Oilers	PAC	82	35	37	10	215	224	80
8	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	34	38	10	210	216	78
9	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	30	39	13	192	199	73
10	Toronto Maple Leafs	CEN	82	30	43	9	194	237	69
11	Calgary Flames	PAC	82	26	41	15	217	252	67
12	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	26	43	13	205	261	65
13	Vancouver Canucks	PAC	82	25	43	14	224	273	64

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

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

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 1, 1997	1–3	Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	0–1–0
2	W	October 3, 1997	7–2	Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	1–1–0
3	W	October 4, 1997	2–1	@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)	2–1–0
4	W	October 9, 1997	3–2 OT	Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	3–1–0
5	W	October 11, 1997	5–3	Florida Panthers (1997–98)	4–1–0
6	W	October 13, 1997	3–1	Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	5–1–0
7	W	October 17, 1997	2–0	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	6–1–0
8	W	October 18, 1997	5–3	New York Rangers (1997–98)	7–1–0
9	T	October 20, 1997	3–3 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	7–1–1
10	L	October 22, 1997	3–4	@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)	7–2–1
11	W	October 23, 1997	4–1	Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	8–2–1
12	W	October 25, 1997	5–2	Washington Capitals (1997–98)	9–2–1
13	W	October 29, 1997	3–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	10–2–1
14	T	October 30, 1997	2–2 OT	Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)	10–2–2
15	W	November 1, 1997	2–0	San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	11–2–2
16	L	November 3, 1997	1–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)	11–3–2
17	L	November 6, 1997	1–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	11–4–2
18	L	November 8, 1997	1–4	@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)	11–5–2
19	W	November 10, 1997	7–1	@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)	12–5–2
20	W	November 13, 1997	4–2	Boston Bruins (1997–98)	13–5–2
21	W	November 15, 1997	5–2	Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	14–5–2
22	W	November 17, 1997	3–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	15–5–2
23	L	November 20, 1997	0–3	Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	15–6–2
24	L	November 22, 1997	0–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	15–7–2
25	L	November 25, 1997	2–3	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	15–8–2
26	T	November 27, 1997	2–2 OT	Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	15–8–3
27	L	November 29, 1997	2–4	@ New York Islanders (1997–98)	15–9–3
28	W	December 2, 1997	3–1	@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	16–9–3
29	W	December 4, 1997	4–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	17–9–3
30	W	December 6, 1997	4–3 OT	Calgary Flames (1997–98)	18–9–3
31	W	December 8, 1997	5–1	Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	19–9–3
32	L	December 10, 1997	3–4 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	19–10–3
33	W	December 11, 1997	2–1	@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	20–10–3
34	L	December 13, 1997	1–4	Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	20–11–3
35	L	December 15, 1997	1–3	Ottawa Senators (1997–98)	20–12–3
36	T	December 18, 1997	4–4 OT	New Jersey Devils (1997–98)	20–12–4
37	W	December 20, 1997	4–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	21–12–4
38	T	December 22, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)	21–12–5
39	W	December 23, 1997	3–2	@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)	22–12–5
40	L	December 26, 1997	1–4	Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	22–13–5
41	T	December 27, 1997	5–5 OT	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	22–13–6
42	L	December 29, 1997	2–4	@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)	22–14–6
43	L	December 31, 1997	2–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	22–15–6
44	W	January 3, 1998	4–3	Calgary Flames (1997–98)	23–15–6
45	W	January 6, 1998	5–1	@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	24–15–6
46	W	January 7, 1998	3–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	25–15–6
47	W	January 10, 1998	5–1	@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)	26–15–6
48	L	January 12, 1998	1–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	26–16–6
49	L	January 14, 1998	1–2 OT	Dallas Stars (1997–98)	26–17–6
50	L	January 20, 1998	1–3	@ New York Rangers (1997–98)	26–18–6
51	T	January 22, 1998	3–3 OT	New York Islanders (1997–98)	26–18–7
52	L	January 24, 1998	4–5	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	26–19–7
53	L	January 26, 1998	2–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)	26–20–7
54	T	January 27, 1998	3–3 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)	26–20–8
55	W	January 29, 1998	2–0	Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	27–20–8
56	W	January 31, 1998	6–3	Dallas Stars (1997–98)	28–20–8
57	L	February 4, 1998	2–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	28–21–8
58	W	February 5, 1998	3–1	@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)	29–21–8
59	W	February 7, 1998	4–1	Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	30–21–8
60	L	February 26, 1998	1–3	@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	30–22–8
61	W	February 28, 1998	5–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	31–22–8
62	W	March 1, 1998	6–2	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	32–22–8
63	W	March 3, 1998	5–3	Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	33–22–8
64	W	March 5, 1998	4–0	Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)	34–22–8
65	W	March 7, 1998	2–1	Dallas Stars (1997–98)	35–22–8
66	W	March 9, 1998	4–0	@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)	36–22–8
67	L	March 11, 1998	2–3	@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)	36–23–8
68	L	March 14, 1998	0–2	Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	36–24–8
69	L	March 21, 1998	0–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)	36–25–8
70	L	March 22, 1998	3–5	@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)	36–26–8
71	W	March 26, 1998	3–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)	37–26–8
72	W	March 28, 1998	3–2	Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	38–26–8
73	W	March 30, 1998	6–2	San Jose Sharks (1997–98)	39–26–8
74	W	April 1, 1998	6–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)	40–26–8
75	W	April 4, 1998	4–1	Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)	41–26–8
76	L	April 7, 1998	3–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)	41–27–8
77	W	April 9, 1998	3–2	Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)	42–27–8
78	L	April 11, 1998	3–4	Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	42–28–8
79	L	April 12, 1998	3–4	@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)	42–29–8
80	W	April 16, 1998	7–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)	43–29–8
81	W	April 18, 1998	5–4	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)	44–29–8
82	W	April 19, 1998	5–3	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)	45–29–8

The Stanley Cup

Playoffs

	Conference Quarter-finals					Conference Semi-finals					Conference Finals					Stanley Cup Finals
	1	Stars	4			1	Stars	4
	8	Sharks	2			7	Oilers	1
	2	Avalanche	3							Western Conference
	7	Oilers	4
											1	Stars	2
										3	Red Wings	4
	3	Red Wings	4
	6	Coyotes	2
	4	Blues	4			4	Blues	2
	5	Kings	0			3	Red Wings	4
																W3	Red Wings	4
		(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.)
																E4	Capitals	0
	1	Devils	2			4	Capitals	4
	8	Senators	4			8	Senators	1
	2	Penguins	2
	7	Canadiens	4
											4	Capitals	4
										6	Sabres	2
	3	Flyers	1
	6	Sabres	4								Eastern Conference
	4	Capitals	4			6	Sabres	4
	5	Bruins	2			7	Canadiens	0

• During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Brett Hull	RW	66	27	45	72	26	-1	10	0	6
Pierre Turgeon	C	60	22	46	68	24	13	6	0	4
Geoff Courtnall	LW	79	31	31	62	94	12	6	0	5
Steve Duchesne	D	80	14	42	56	32	9	5	1	1
Pavol Demitra	LW	61	22	30	52	22	11	4	4	6
Al MacInnis	D	71	19	30	49	80	6	9	1	2
Craig Conroy	C	81	14	29	43	46	20	0	3	1
Jim Campbell	RW	76	22	19	41	55	0	7	0	6
Chris Pronger	D	81	9	27	36	180	47	1	0	2
Scott Pellerin	LW	80	8	21	29	62	14	1	1	0
Blair Atcheynum	RW	61	11	15	26	10	5	0	1	3
Terry Yake	C	65	10	15	25	38	1	3	1	4
Darren Turcotte	C	62	12	6	18	26	6	3	0	1
Pascal Rheaume	C	48	6	9	15	35	4	1	0	0
Joe Murphy	RW	27	4	9	13	22	8	2	0	0
Harry York	C	58	4	6	10	31	0	0	0	0
Marc Bergevin	D	81	3	7	10	90	-2	0	0	0
Chris McAlpine	D	54	3	7	10	36	14	0	0	0
Todd Gill	D	11	5	4	9	10	2	3	0	1
Michel Picard	LW	16	1	8	9	29	3	0	0	0
Rudy Poeschek	RW/D	50	1	7	8	64	-5	0	0	0
Kelly Chase	RW	67	4	3	7	231	10	0	0	1
Jamie Rivers	D	59	2	4	6	36	5	1	0	1
Tony Twist	LW	60	1	1	2	105	-4	0	0	0
Grant Fuhr	G	58	0	2	2	6	0	0	0	0
Chris Kenady	RW	5	0	2	2	0	1	0	0	0
Mike Eastwood	C	10	1	0	1	6	0	0	0	1
Libor Zabransky	D	6	0	1	1	6	-3	0	0	0
Jamie McLennan	G	30	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0
Rich Parent	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ricard Persson	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Grant Fuhr	3274	58	29	21	6	138	2.53	3	1354	1216	.898
Jamie McLennan	1658	30	16	8	2	60	2.17	2	618	558	.903
Rich Parent	12	1	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	1	1	1.000
Team:	4944	82	45	29	8	198	2.40	5	1973	1775	.900

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Jim Campbell	RW	10	7	3	10	12	-1	4	0	2
Geoff Courtnall	LW	10	2	8	10	18	-2	1	0	0
Chris Pronger	D	10	1	9	10	26	-2	0	0	0
Pierre Turgeon	C	10	4	4	8	2	-5	2	0	0
Al MacInnis	D	8	2	6	8	12	1	1	0	0
Pavol Demitra	LW	10	3	3	6	2	-3	0	0	0
Brett Hull	RW	10	3	3	6	2	-3	1	0	1
Todd Gill	D	10	2	2	4	10	-3	1	1	0
Pascal Rheaume	C	10	1	3	4	8	0	1	0	0
Steve Duchesne	D	10	0	4	4	6	-8	0	0	0
Terry Yake	C	10	2	1	3	6	-3	2	0	1
Craig Conroy	C	10	1	2	3	8	-1	0	0	1
Scott Pellerin	LW	10	0	2	2	10	1	0	0	0
Mike Eastwood	C	3	1	0	1	0	-1	0	0	1
Marc Bergevin	D	10	0	1	1	8	-1	0	0	0
Grant Fuhr	G	10	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
Blair Atcheynum	RW	10	0	0	0	2	-2	0	0	0
Kelly Chase	RW	7	0	0	0	23	-2	0	0	0
Chris McAlpine	D	10	0	0	0	16	-1	0	0	0
Jamie McLennan	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rudy Poeschek	RW/D	2	0	0	0	6	-2	0	0	0
Darren Turcotte	C	10	0	0	0	2	-4	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Grant Fuhr	616	10	6	4	28	2.73	0	297	269	.906
Jamie McLennan	14	1	0	0	1	4.29	0	4	3	.750
Team:	630	10	6	4	29	2.76	0	301	272	.904

[4]

Note:

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

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

Awards and records

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Jamie McLennan, St. Louis Blues
King Clancy Memorial Trophy:	Kelly Chase, St. Louis Blues

Transactions

Roster

	Center Pierre Turgeon Pavol Demitra Craig Conroy Terry Yake Darren Turcotte Pascal Rheaume Harry York Mike Eastwood		Right wing Brett Hull Jim Campbell Blair Atcheynum Joe Murphy Kelly Chase Chris Kenady		Left wing Geoff Courtnall Scott Pellerin Michel Picard Tony Twist		Defense Steve Duchesne Al MacInnis Chris Pronger Chris McAlpine Marc Bergevin Todd Gill Rudy Poeschek Jamie Rivers Libor Zabransky Ricard Persson		Goalie Rich Parent Jon Casey Grant Fuhr General manager: Larry Pleau Coach: Joel Quenneville

Draft picks

St. Louis's draft picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
2	40	Tyler Rennette	Canada	North Bay Centennials (OHL)
4	86	Didier Tremblay	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
4	98	Jan Horacek	Czech Republic	Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)
4	106	Jame Pollock	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
6	149	Nicholas Bilotto	Canada	Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
7	177	Ladislav Nagy	Slovakia	HC Košice (Slovakia)
8	206	Bob Haglund	United States	Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)
9	232	Dmitri Plekhanov	Russia	Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (Russia)
9	244	Marek Ivan	Czech Republic	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)

Farm teams

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1996 NHL Entry Draft
• 46th National Hockey League All-Star Game
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• NHL All-Rookie Team
• 1997 in sports
• 1997 in sports

References

1. St. Louis Blues (1967-Present)
2. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1998.html
3. "1997-1998 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
4. "1997-98 St. Louis Blues Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.

External links

• Blues on Hockey Database
• Hickok Sports
• The National Hockey League Web Site
• Official website of the St. Louis Blues
• The HockeyNut