Bob Plager

Robert Bryant Plager (born March 11, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 14 seasons from 1964 until 1978, primarily for the St. Louis Blues. Plager has spent over half a century with the Blues organization in various capacities.

Bob Plager
Plager in 2014
Born (1943-03-11) March 11, 1943
Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for New York Rangers
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 1962–1978

Early career

Plager grew up in Kirkland Lake, Ontario in a hockey family. His father was the chief official in the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Plager played junior hockey with the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters and the Guelph Royals. Known for his aggressive, highly physical play, Plager broke what was then the Ontario Hockey Association record for penalty minutes in a season in 1961-62. He signed a professional contract with the New York Rangers in 1964 but only played 29 games with this club over the next three years, spending most of his time with the minor league Baltimore Clippers. The NHL's expansion gave Plager his chance to become an NHL regular; he was traded to St. Louis with Gary Sabourin, Tim Ecclestone and Gord Kannegiesser for Rod Seiling on June 6, 1967.[1]

Blues playing career

Plager was reunited with his brothers as the St. Louis Blues started their existence with a hard-hitting, defensive-oriented squad that appeared in three straight Stanley Cup Finals. Plager earned a reputation as a bruising player with a devastating hip check. Off the ice, he was known as a prankster who was able to bond teammates through his lighthearted demeanor.[2] Despite injuries, Plager was able to play 615 games over 11 years on the St. Louis blue line.[3]

Post-playing career

Plager retired from on-ice action in 1978 and took a job with the Blues front office. He is credited with developing the process of advanced scouting. During the 1990–91 season, he took over as head coach of the Peoria Rivermen, a Blues affiliate club. In his one season behind the bench, he led the team to a Turner Cup championship and won the Commissioners' Trophy as coach of the year. During the 1992–93 season, he became the Blues' head coach, but, unhappy with his new role, he resigned after 11 games to return to his job as vice president of player development.[4]

His jersey was retired on February 2, 2017, the seventh for a Blues player.[5] He has been either a player, coach or executive for nearly all of the Blues' existence.

Personal life

Plager's brothers, Bill and Barclay, also played in the NHL, including all three together for four seasons with the St. Louis Blues.

Plager is a convert to Judaism.[6][7]

Career statistics
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1959–60 Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters OHA-Jr. 44 0 1 1 37 5 0 1 1 4
1960–61 Guelph Royals OHA-Jr. 43 3 12 15 99 14 3 8 11 73
1961–62 Guelph Royals OHA-Jr. 50 5 22 27 161 — — — — —
1961–62 Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers EPHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
1962–63 Guelph Royals OHA-Jr. 45 11 28 39 97 — — — — —
1962–63 Baltimore Clippers AHL 4 0 0 0 6 2 0 0 0 10
1963–64 St. Paul Rangers CPHL 61 13 35 48 158 8 3 6 9 21
1964–65 New York Rangers NHL 10 0 0 0 18 — — — — —
1964–65 Vancouver Canucks WHL 31 5 12 17 103 — — — — —
1964–65 Baltimore Clippers AHL 19 2 12 14 27 5 0 0 0 6
1965–66 New York Rangers NHL 18 0 5 5 22 — — — — —
1965–66 Minnesota Rangers CPHL 44 7 12 19 145 — — — — —
1966–67 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1966–67 Baltimore Clippers AHL 63 3 16 19 169 9 0 5 5 15
1967–68 St. Louis Blues NHL 53 2 5 7 86 18 1 2 3 69
1968–69 St. Louis Blues NHL 32 0 7 7 43 9 0 4 4 47
1968–69 Kansas City Blues CHL 5 1 3 4 16 — — — — —
1969–70 St. Louis Blues NHL 64 3 11 14 113 16 0 3 3 46
1970–71 St. Louis Blues NHL 70 1 19 20 114 6 0 2 2 4
1971–72 St. Louis Blues NHL 50 4 7 11 81 11 1 4 5 5
1972–73 St. Louis Blues NHL 77 2 31 33 107 5 0 2 2 2
1973–74 St. Louis Blues NHL 61 3 10 13 48 — — — — —
1974–75 St. Louis Blues NHL 73 1 14 15 53 2 0 0 0 20
1975–76 St. Louis Blues NHL 63 3 8 11 90 3 0 0 0 2
1976–77 St. Louis Blues NHL 54 1 9 10 23 4 0 0 0 0
1976–77 Kansas City Blues CHL 4 0 2 2 15 — — — — —
1977–78 Salt Lake Golden Eagles CHL 11 0 3 3 52 6 0 3 3 6
CPHL/CHL totals 125 21 55 76 386 14 3 9 12 27
NHL totals 644 20 126 146 802 74 2 17 19 195

Coaching record
TeamYearRegular seasonPost season
GWLTPtsDivision rankResult
St. Louis Blues1992–93 11461(9)(resigned)—
gollark: The *seeeecret* supporters channel...
gollark: It's more of a thing of "general server attitude towards creative use of features".
gollark: The Cactus Event.
gollark: In theory OC does, but for some reason its stuff seems to mysteriously turn off.
gollark: The server goes off and CC doesn't do persistence.

See also

References
  1. Legends of Hockey - NHL Player Search - Player - Bob Plager
  2. Honored Numbers - Bob Plager - St Louis Blues - History
  3. https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/p/plagebo01.htm
  4. Archives - Philly.com
  5. "Plager retirement ceremony set for 6:30 p.m." NHL.com. January 23, 2017.
  6. "Plager, Bob : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum". Jewsinsports.org. 1943-03-11. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  7. All-Time List of Jewish Skaters in the NHL
Preceded by
Brian Sutter		 Head coach of the St. Louis Blues
1992		 Succeeded by
Bob Berry
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