# 1967–68 St. Louis Blues season

The 1967–68 St. Louis Blues season was the inaugural season in the history of the franchise. The Blues were one of the six new teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion. The other franchises were the Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and California Seals. The league doubled in size from its Original Six.
St. Louis was the last of the expansion teams to officially get into the league. The Blues were chosen over Baltimore at the insistence of the Chicago Black Hawks. The Black Hawks were owned at that time by the Wirtz family, who also owned the St. Louis Arena. The team's first owners were insurance tycoon Sid Salomon Jr., his son, Sid Salomon III, and Robert L. Wolfson. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. Salomon then spent several million dollars on renovations for the 38-year-old Arena, which increased the number of seats from 12,000 to 15,000 and provided its first significant maintenance since the 1940s.
Because the playoff format required an expansion team to make it to the Stanley Cup finals, the Blues became the first expansion team to reach that mark. However, they were the last of the still operating 1967 expansion teams to win the cup, which they did in 2019.

## Offseason
### NHL draft

The Blues attempted to select Saskatoon Blades forward Dale Fairbrother with their first round pick, but the pick was ruled invalid since Fairbrother was on the Portland Buckaroos' sponsored list. The Blues passed on making selections in the second and third rounds.

## Regular season

The franchise's first game was played on October 11, 1967. The Blues and Minnesota North Stars played to a 2–2 tie at the St. Louis Arena, with the Blues' first ever team goal scored by Larry Keenan of North Bay, Ontario. A St. Michaels product, Keenan had his career end prematurely due to injuries. He relocated back to North Bay where he coached a local Midget AAA team for many years.
The Blues were originally coached by Lynn Patrick who resigned in late-November and was replaced by Scotty Bowman. Although the league's rules effectively kept star players with the Original Six teams, the Blues were one of the stronger teams of the Western Division. The playoff format required an expansion team to make it to the Stanley Cup finals, and the Blues made it to the final round.

### Season standings

West Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 74 | 31 | 32 | 11 | 173 | 179 | −6 | 73 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Kings | 74 | 31 | 33 | 10 | 200 | 224 | −24 | 72 |
| 3 | St. Louis Blues | 74 | 27 | 31 | 16 | 177 | 191 | −14 | 70 |
| 4 | Minnesota North Stars | 74 | 27 | 32 | 15 | 191 | 226 | −35 | 69 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 74 | 27 | 34 | 13 | 195 | 216 | −21 | 67 |
| 6 | Oakland Seals | 74 | 15 | 42 | 17 | 153 | 219 | −66 | 47 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 11, 1967 | 2–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | L | October 13, 1967 | 1–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 0–1–1 |
| 3 | W | October 14, 1967 | 4–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | L | October 18, 1967 | 1–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 1–2–1 |
| 5 | T | October 21, 1967 | 3–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 1–2–2 |
| 6 | L | October 22, 1967 | 0–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) | 1–3–2 |
| 7 | L | October 25, 1967 | 2–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 1–4–2 |
| 8 | L | October 28, 1967 | 1–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) | 1–5–2 |
| 9 | W | November 1, 1967 | 5–1 | Boston Bruins (1967–68) | 2–5–2 |
| 10 | W | November 4, 1967 | 3–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) | 3–5–2 |
| 11 | L | November 8, 1967 | 1–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 3–6–2 |
| 12 | W | November 11, 1967 | 5–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 4–6–2 |
| 13 | L | November 12, 1967 | 2–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) | 4–7–2 |
| 14 | L | November 15, 1967 | 1–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) | 4–8–2 |
| 15 | L | November 18, 1967 | 3–5 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 4–9–2 |
| 16 | L | November 19, 1967 | 2–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 4–10–2 |
| 17 | L | November 22, 1967 | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) | 4–11–2 |
| 18 | L | November 25, 1967 | 1–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 4–12–2 |
| 19 | L | November 26, 1967 | 0–1 | @ New York Rangers (1967–68) | 4–13–2 |
| 20 | W | November 29, 1967 | 3–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 5–13–2 |
| 21 | L | December 2, 1967 | 1–5 | Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 5–14–2 |
| 22 | L | December 3, 1967 | 2–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 5–15–2 |
| 23 | L | December 6, 1967 | 2–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 5–16–2 |
| 24 | W | December 9, 1967 | 1–0 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 6–16–2 |
| 25 | W | December 10, 1967 | 2–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) | 7–16–2 |
| 26 | W | December 13, 1967 | 3–1 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 8–16–2 |
| 27 | T | December 14, 1967 | 2–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 8–16–3 |
| 28 | L | December 16, 1967 | 0–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 8–17–3 |
| 29 | L | December 17, 1967 | 3–5 | @ New York Rangers (1967–68) | 8–18–3 |
| 30 | W | December 20, 1967 | 2–1 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 9–18–3 |
| 31 | L | December 23, 1967 | 0–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 9–19–3 |
| 32 | W | December 25, 1967 | 1–0 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 10–19–3 |
| 33 | W | December 27, 1967 | 4–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 11–19–3 |
| 34 | W | December 29, 1967 | 2–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 12–19–3 |
| 35 | L | December 30, 1967 | 1–8 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) | 12–20–3 |
| 36 | W | January 3, 1968 | 4–0 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 13–20–3 |
| 37 | W | January 6, 1968 | 2–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 14–20–3 |
| 38 | T | January 10, 1968 | 2–2 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 14–20–4 |
| 39 | T | January 11, 1968 | 2–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 14–20–5 |
| 40 | L | January 13, 1968 | 1–3 | New York Rangers (1967–68) | 14–21–5 |
| 41 | T | January 14, 1968 | 2–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) | 14–21–6 |
| 42 | W | January 17, 1968 | 5–0 | Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 15–21–6 |
| 43 | T | January 21, 1968 | 2–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 15–21–7 |
| 44 | W | January 24, 1968 | 5–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 16–21–7 |
| 45 | T | January 25, 1968 | 4–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) | 16–21–8 |
| 46 | W | January 27, 1968 | 4–3 | New York Rangers (1967–68) | 17–21–8 |
| 47 | W | January 31, 1968 | 9–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 18–21–8 |
| 48 | L | February 1, 1968 | 0–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 18–22–8 |
| 49 | W | February 3, 1968 | 4–1 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 19–22–8 |
| 50 | L | February 7, 1968 | 4–6 | Boston Bruins (1967–68) | 19–23–8 |
| 51 | L | February 10, 1968 | 1–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 19–24–8 |
| 52 | T | February 11, 1968 | 3–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) | 19–24–9 |
| 53 | T | February 14, 1968 | 2–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 19–24–10 |
| 54 | W | February 16, 1968 | 3–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 20–24–10 |
| 55 | T | February 17, 1968 | 2–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 20–24–11 |
| 56 | W | February 21, 1968 | 5–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) | 21–24–11 |
| 57 | L | February 22, 1968 | 1–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) | 21–25–11 |
| 58 | L | February 25, 1968 | 2–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 21–26–11 |
| 59 | T | February 28, 1968 | 3–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) | 21–26–12 |
| 60 | T | March 2, 1968 | 3–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) | 21–26–13 |
| 61 | L | March 3, 1968 | 3–9 | @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) | 21–27–13 |
| 62 | W | March 6, 1968 | 4–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 22–27–13 |
| 63 | W | March 9, 1968 | 3–1 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 23–27–13 |
| 64 | W | March 10, 1968 | 1–0 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 24–27–13 |
| 65 | T | March 13, 1968 | 3–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) | 24–27–14 |
| 66 | T | March 15, 1968 | 1–1 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 24–27–15 |
| 67 | L | March 16, 1968 | 3–6 | Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) | 24–28–15 |
| 68 | L | March 20, 1968 | 2–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 24–29–15 |
| 69 | L | March 22, 1968 | 1–6 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 24–30–15 |
| 70 | T | March 23, 1968 | 3–3 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 24–30–16 |
| 71 | W | March 27, 1968 | 3–0 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 25–30–16 |
| 72 | L | March 28, 1968 | 0–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 25–31–16 |
| 73 | W | March 30, 1968 | 3–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 26–31–16 |
| 74 | W | March 31, 1968 | 5–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) | 27–31–16 |

## Playoffs

1968 Stanley Cup Playoffs :
Western Division Quarter-finals vs. Philadelphia – Blues win 4–3
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 4St. Louis1–0PhiladelphiaHall10,649Blues lead 1–0
2April 6St. Louis3–4PhiladelphiaHall11,111Series tied 1–1
3April 10Philadelphia2–3St. LouisOTHall10,867Blues lead 2–1
4April 11Philadelphia2–5St. LouisHall11,070Blues lead 3–1
5April 13St. Louis1–6PhiladelphiaHall10,587Blues lead 3–2
6April 16Philadelphia2–1St. LouisOTHall13,738Series tied 3–3
7April 18St. Louis3–1PhiladelphiaHall14,646Blues win 4–3 :

### Stanley Cup Finals

The Blues beat the North Stars in a game 7 double overtime and made the Stanley Cup finals. Although they lost in four straight games, they played proudly, as all four games each were decided by just one goal (and two of the four were decided in overtime). Glenn Hall was especially noted for his goaltending, especially in game three when the Blues were outshot 46 to 15. Red Burnett, one of the most prominent hockey writers of the day, said of Hall's playing, "A number of Hall's saves were seemingly impossible. Experts walked out of the Forum convinced no other goaltender had performed so brilliantly in a losing cause." In overtime in game three, Hall made an exceptional save on Dick Duff and then, standing on his head, made another. Burnett said, "It was a heartbreaker to see. After the saves on Duff, Bobby Rousseau came and batted home the second rebound." Hall's playing won him the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs.
However, Montreal was not to be denied and won the Stanley Cup in game four as J. C. Tremblay fired home the winning goal. When the game ended, the fans came on the ice to celebrate, and balloons, hats and programs were thrown from the stands.
| Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| May 5 | Montreal | 3 | St. Louis | 2 | OT |
| May 7 | Montreal | 1 | St. Louis | 0 | |
| May 9 | St. Louis | 3 | Montreal | 4 | OT |
| May 11 | St. Louis | 2 | Montreal | 3 | |
Montreal wins the series 4–0.

## Player statistics
### Forwards

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
| Player | GP | G | AST | PTS | PIM |
| Gordon "Red" Berenson | 55 | 22 | 29 | 51 | 22 |
| Gerry Melnyk | 73 | 15 | 35 | 50 | 14 |
| Frank St. Marseille | 57 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 12 |
| Don McKenney | 39 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 4 |
| Terry Crisp | 73 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 10 |
| Bill McCreary | 70 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 22 |
| Gary Sabourin | 50 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 50 |
| Larry Keenan | 40 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 4 |
| Ron Schock | 55 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 17 |
| Tim Ecclestone | 50 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 16 |
| Ron Stewart | 19 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 11 |
| Craig Cameron | 32 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 8 |
| Dickie Moore | 27 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 9 |
| Wayne Rivers | 22 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 |
| Ron Attwell | 18 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 6 |
| Roger Picard | 15 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 21 |
| Gary Veneruzzo | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Norm Beaudin | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Claude Cardin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Defensemen

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
| Player | GP | G | AST | PTS | PIM |
| Jim Roberts | 74 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 66 |
| Barclay Plager | 49 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 153 |
| Fred Hucul | 43 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 30 |
| Noel Picard | 66 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 142 |
| Al Arbour | 74 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 50 |
| Bob Plager | 53 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 86 |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | 23 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Ray Fortin | 24 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Gordon Kannegiesser | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Darryl Edestrand | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |

### Goaltending

Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against
| Player | GP | MIN | W | L | T | SO | GAA |
| Glenn Hall | 49 | 2858 | 19 | 21 | 9 | 5 | 2.48 |
| Seth Martin | 30 | 1552 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2.59 |
| Don Caley | 1 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 |

## Post-season stats
### Forwards

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
| Player | GP | G | AST | PTS | PIM |
| Gordon "Red" Berenson | 18 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Gerry Melnyk | 17 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
| Frank St. Marseille | 18 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 0 |
| Don McKenney | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Terry Crisp | 18 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Bill McCreary | 15 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Gary Sabourin | 18 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 30 |
| Larry Keenan | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
| Ron Schock | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Tim Ecclestone | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Craig Cameron | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| Dickie Moore | 18 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 15 |
| Gary Veneruzzo | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |

### Defensemen

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
| Player | GP | G | AST | PTS | PIM |
| Jim Roberts | 18 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| Barclay Plager | 18 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 73 |
| Noel Picard | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 46 |
| Al Arbour | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| Bob Plager | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 69 |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Ray Fortin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Doug Harvey | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 12 |

### Goaltending

Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against; SV% = Save percentage
| Player | GP | MIN | W | L | T | SO | GAA | SV% |
| Glenn Hall | 18 | 535 | 8 | 10 | – | 1 | 2.44 | .916 |

## Awards and honors

* Glenn Hall, Conn Smythe Trophy

## Expansion draft

* St. Louis Blues selections
| # | Player | Drafted from |
| 1. | Glenn Hall (G) | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 2. | Don Caley (G) | Detroit Red Wings |
| 3. | Jim Roberts (D/W) | Montreal Canadiens |
| 4. | Noel Picard (D) | Montreal Canadiens |
| 5. | Al Arbour (D) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 6. | Rod Seiling (D) | New York Rangers |
| 7. | Ron Schock (C) | Boston Bruins |
| 8. | Terry Crisp (C) | Boston Bruins |
| 9. | Don McKenney (C) | Detroit Red Wings |
| 10. | Wayne Rivers (RW) | Boston Bruins |
| 11. | Billy Hay (C) | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 12. | Darryl Edestrand (D) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 13. | Norm Beaudin (RW) | Detroit Red Wings |
| 14. | Larry Keenan (LW) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 15. | Ron Stewart (C) | Boston Bruins |
| 16. | Fred Hucul (D) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 17. | John Brenneman (LW) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 18. | Gerry Melnyk (C) | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 19. | Gary Veneruzzo (LW) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 20. | Max Mestinsek (RW) | New York Rangers |