# 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.

## 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.

## 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.

### 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 :
| 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 in the first round.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1996–97 regular season :
October: 5–7–0 (home: 2–3–0; road: 3–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 4, 19964–2Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)1–0–0Recap
2LOctober 6, 19961–4Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)1–1–0Recap
3WOctober 9, 19963–1@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)2–1–0Recap
4WOctober 11, 19963–1@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)3–1–0Recap
5LOctober 12, 19963–5@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)3–2–0Recap
6WOctober 17, 19966–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)4–2–0Recap
7LOctober 18, 19961–2@ New York Rangers (1996–97)4–3–0Recap
8LOctober 20, 19962–3San Jose Sharks (1996–97)4–4–0Recap
9WOctober 22, 19962–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)5–4–0Recap
10LOctober 24, 19964–6@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)5–5–0Recap
11LOctober 26, 19964–6Washington Capitals (1996–97)5–6–0Recap
12LOctober 30, 19963–6@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)5–7–0Recap :
November: 8–4–0 (home: 5–2–0; road: 3–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
13LNovember 1, 19962–4Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)5–8–0Recap
14WNovember 3, 19966–3Dallas Stars (1996–97)6–8–0Recap
15LNovember 5, 19963–6@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)6–9–0Recap
16WNovember 8, 19964–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)7–9–0Recap
17WNovember 9, 19963–2@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)8–9–0Recap
18WNovember 14, 19965–3Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)9–9–0Recap
19WNovember 16, 19962–0Calgary Flames (1996–97)10–9–0Recap
20WNovember 17, 19964–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)11–9–0Recap
21LNovember 19, 19962–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)11–10–0Recap
22WNovember 21, 19964–3 OTPhoenix Coyotes (1996–97)12–10–0Recap
23LNovember 23, 19961–3Florida Panthers (1996–97)12–11–0Recap
24WNovember 27, 19963–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)13–11–0Recap :
December: 4–9–2 (home: 2–6–0; road: 2–3–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
25LDecember 1, 19963–4San Jose Sharks (1996–97)13–12–0Recap
26LDecember 3, 19960–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)13–13–0Recap
27LDecember 5, 19960–3Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)13–14–0Recap
28WDecember 6, 19964–3@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)14–14–0Recap
29WDecember 8, 19963–2@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)15–14–0Recap
30TDecember 11, 19965–5 OT@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)15–14–1Recap
31LDecember 13, 19961–4Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)15–15–1Recap
32LDecember 15, 19960–8Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)15–16–1Recap
33LDecember 17, 19963–5@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)15–17–1Recap
34LDecember 19, 19960–4Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)15–18–1Recap
35LDecember 21, 19960–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)15–19–1Recap
36WDecember 22, 19967–4Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)16–19–1Recap
37TDecember 26, 19964–4 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)16–19–2Recap
38LDecember 27, 19962–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)16–20–2Recap
39WDecember 29, 19964–2Boston Bruins (1996–97)17–20–2Recap :
January: 8–3–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 7–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
40TJanuary 2, 19972–2 OTMontreal Canadiens (1996–97)17–20–3Recap
41TJanuary 3, 19972–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)17–20–4Recap
42WJanuary 5, 19975–3@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)18–20–4Recap
43LJanuary 7, 19972–5Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)18–21–4Recap
44WJanuary 9, 19974–3@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)19–21–4Recap
45LJanuary 11, 19971–2@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)19–22–4Recap
46WJanuary 15, 19974–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)20–22–4Recap
47WJanuary 20, 19976–4@ New York Islanders (1996–97)21–22–4Recap
48WJanuary 23, 19974–3Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)22–22–4Recap
49WJanuary 25, 19978–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)23–22–4Recap
50LJanuary 27, 19971–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)23–23–4Recap
51WJanuary 29, 19974–0@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)24–23–4Recap
52WJanuary 30, 19975–2@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)25–23–4Recap :
February: 3–6–4 (home: 3–4–2; road: 0–2–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
53LFebruary 1, 19971–4Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)25–24–4Recap
54TFebruary 4, 19971–1 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)25–24–5Recap
55WFebruary 6, 19976–4Dallas Stars (1996–97)26–24–5Recap
56TFebruary 8, 19973–3 OT@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)26–24–6Recap
57LFebruary 10, 19972–4Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)26–25–6Recap
58WFebruary 13, 19974–1New York Rangers (1996–97)27–25–6Recap
59LFebruary 15, 19972–5Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)27–26–6Recap
60WFebruary 17, 19974–2Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)28–26–6Recap
61TFebruary 20, 19971–1 OTOttawa Senators (1996–97)28–26–7Recap
62TFebruary 22, 19972–2 OTDetroit Red Wings (1996–97)28–26–8Recap
63LFebruary 23, 19973–5Calgary Flames (1996–97)28–27–8Recap
64LFebruary 25, 19972–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)28–28–8Recap
65LFebruary 27, 19972–3 OT@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)28–29–8Recap :
March: 5–5–1 (home: 3–2–0; road: 2–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
66LMarch 5, 19972–3@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)28–30–8Recap
67LMarch 9, 19971–4Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)28–31–8Recap
68WMarch 11, 19974–3@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)29–31–8Recap
69WMarch 13, 19974–2@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)30–31–8Recap
70TMarch 14, 19974–4 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)30–31–9Recap
71LMarch 17, 19972–3@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)30–32–9Recap
72WMarch 20, 19974–1Hartford Whalers (1996–97)31–32–9Recap
73LMarch 23, 19971–4Dallas Stars (1996–97)31–33–9Recap
74LMarch 25, 19972–3@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)31–34–9Recap
75WMarch 27, 19972–1Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)32–34–9Recap
76WMarch 30, 19973–2Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)33–34–9Recap :
April: 3–1–2 (home: 1–1–1; road: 2–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
77TApril 1, 19971–1 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)33–34–10Recap
78TApril 3, 19975–5 OTNew York Islanders (1996–97)33–34–11Recap
79LApril 6, 19970–2New Jersey Devils (1996–97)33–35–11Recap
80WApril 9, 19971–0@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)34–35–11Recap
81WApril 10, 19975–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)35–35–11Recap
82WApril 13, 19973–1@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)36–35–11Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings: Red Wings win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WApril 16, 19972–0@ Detroit Red WingsBlues lead 1–0Recap
2LApril 18, 19971–2@ Detroit Red WingsSeries tied 1–1Recap
3LApril 20, 19972–3Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 2–1Recap
4WApril 22, 19974–0Detroit Red WingsSeries tied 2–2Recap
5LApril 25, 19972–5@ Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 3–2Recap
6LApril 27, 19971–3Detroit Red WingsRed Wings win 4–2Recap :
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 | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | 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 | 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 | 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 | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | 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 |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Jim Campbell (Forward) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Brett Hull |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Al MacInnis |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Jim Campbell (October) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Harry York (November) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Harry York | October 4, 1996 |
| First game | Konstantin Shafranov | October 6, 1996 |
| First game | Libor Zabransky | October 18, 1996 |
| First game | 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.
| 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) |