# 2009–10 St. Louis Blues season

The 2009–10 St. Louis Blues season was the team's 43rd season in the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Blues fired Andy Murray as head coach on January 2, 2010, after a below expectation record (17–17–6, 40 points), sitting in 12th place in the Western Conference. Especially galling were the frequent blown leads after two periods, and with the poorest home record (6–13–3, including one win in Sweden) in the NHL. Davis Payne was named the Blues' interim head coach, the 23rd head coach in the Blues' history. Payne was previously head coach of the Blues' top minor league affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League (AHL). After the season, Payne was named as Head Coach, removing the interim tag.
On January 18, 2010, the Blues hired goaltending consultant Tyler Love.
Keith Tkachuk announced his retirement from professional hockey on April 7, 2010, three days before the final game of the season, April 10, which he declined to play. The Blues saluted him in a tribute after the last home game, his final game ever in the NHL on April 9.

## Regular season

Despite being the most penalized team in the League with 342 power-play opportunities against, the Blues had the best penalty-kill percentage, at 86.84%.

### Divisional standings

Central Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | y – Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 271 | 209 | 112 |
| 2 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 44 | 24 | 14 | 229 | 216 | 102 |
| 3 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 47 | 29 | 6 | 225 | 225 | 100 |
| 4 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 225 | 223 | 90 |
| 5 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 32 | 35 | 15 | 216 | 259 | 79 |

### Conference standings

Western Conference :
| R | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | z – San Jose Sharks | 82 | 51 | 20 | 11 | 264 | 215 | 113 |
| 2 | y – Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 271 | 209 | 112 |
| 3 | y – Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 49 | 28 | 5 | 272 | 222 | 103 |
| 4 | Phoenix Coyotes | 82 | 50 | 25 | 7 | 225 | 202 | 107 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 44 | 24 | 14 | 229 | 216 | 102 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 241 | 219 | 101 |
| 7 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 47 | 29 | 6 | 225 | 225 | 100 |
| 8 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 244 | 233 | 95 |
| 8.5 |||||||||
| 9 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 225 | 223 | 90 |
| 10 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 204 | 210 | 90 |
| 11 | Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 238 | 251 | 89 |
| 12 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 37 | 31 | 14 | 237 | 254 | 88 |
| 13 | Minnesota Wild | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 219 | 246 | 84 |
| 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 32 | 35 | 15 | 216 | 259 | 79 |
| 15 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 214 | 284 | 62 |
bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Won conference (and division)

### Game log

* Green background indicates win (2 points).
* Red background indicates regulation loss (0 points).
* White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).
2009–10 game log :

## Playoffs

The St. Louis Blues attempted to make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2004–05 NHL lockout, but were eliminated with 3 games remaining in the season after the Colorado Avalanche achieved 93 points in locking up the 8th and final playoff spot on April 6, 2010.

## Player statistics
### Skaters

(final, April 10, 2010)
Stats
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Andy McDonald | 79 | 24 | 33 | 57 | -9 | 18 |
| David Backes | 79 | 17 | 31 | 48 | -4 | 106 |
| T. J. Oshie | 76 | 18 | 30 | 48 | -1 | 36 |
| Alexander Steen | 68 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 6 | 30 |
| David Perron | 82 | 20 | 27 | 47 | -10 | 60 |
| Paul Kariya | 75 | 18 | 25 | 43 | -7 | 36 |
| Brad Boyes | 82 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 1 | 26 |
| Erik Johnson | 79 | 10 | 29 | 39 | 1 | 79 |
| Keith Tkachuk | 67 | 13 | 19 | 32 | -2 | 56 |
| Carlo Colaiacovo | 67 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 8 | 60 |
| Jay McClement | 82 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 0 | 22 |
| Patrik Berglund | 71 | 13 | 13 | 26 | -5 | 16 |
| Roman Polak | 78 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 7 | 59 |
| Barret Jackman | 66 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 3 | 81 |
| Eric Brewer | 59 | 8 | 7 | 15 | -17 | 46 |
| B. J. Crombeen | 79 | 7 | 8 | 15 | -5 | 168 |
| Mike Weaver | 77 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 |
| Darryl Sydor | 47 | 0 | 8 | 8 | -6 | 15 |
| Brad Winchester | 64 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 108 |
| Alex Pietrangelo | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -9 | 6 |
| Tyson Strachan | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Jonas Junland | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 0 |
| Lars Eller | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Yan Stastny$^‡$ | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Derek Armstrong | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 |
| Cam Janssen | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 190 |
| D. J. King | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 33 |
| Matt D'Agostini$^†$ | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 2 |

### Goaltenders

(final, April 10, 2010)
Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; SA= Shots against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts
Regular season :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Chris Mason | 61 | 3,512 | 30 | 22 | 8 | 148 | 2.53 | 1,699 | .913 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ty Conklin | 26 | 1,451 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 60 | 2.48 | 764 | .921 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| TOTALS | 82 | 4,963 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 208 | 2.51 | 2,463 | .916 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 |

## Awards and records
### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| B. J. Crombeen | 100th NHL game | October 29, 2009 |
| Lars Eller | 1st NHL game, goal | November 5, 2009 |
| David Perron | 1st Hat Trick | November 10, 2009 |
| David Perron | Highlight goal | November 21, 2009 |
| Keith Tkachuk | 200th NHL goal with Blues | November 23, 2009 |
| Davis Payne (coach) | 1st NHL win | January 9, 2010 |
| T. J. Oshie | 100th NHL game | January 16, 2010 |
| David Perron | 200th NHL game (youngest Blue ever) | February 4, 2010 |
| Mike Weaver | 1st NHL goal in 185 games (3/23/07) | March 18, 2010 |
| Paul Kariya | 400th NHL goal | March 18, 2010 |

### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Keith Tkachuk | NHL Third Star of the Week | October 5, 2009 |
| Chris Mason | NHL Second Star of the Week | January 18, 2010 |
| Alex Pietrangelo | Named #1 NHL Prospect | March 6, 2010 |

## Transactions

The Blues have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 27, 2009 | To Nashville Predators 7th-round pick in 2010 | To St. Louis Blues 7th-round pick (202nd overall) in 2009 |
| December 8, 2009 | To Columbus Blue Jackets Brendan Bell Tomas Kana | To St. Louis Blues Pascal Pelletier |
| February 11, 2010 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Steven Wagner | To St. Louis Blues Nate Guenin |
| March 1, 2010 | To Chicago Blackhawks Hannu Toivonen Danny Richmond | To St. Louis Blues Joe Fallon |
| March 2, 2010 | To Montreal Canadiens Aaron Palushaj | To St. Louis Blues Matt D'Agostini |
| March 3, 2010 | To Vancouver Canucks Yan Stastny | To St. Louis Blues Pierre-Cedric Labrie |
Player signings
PlayerContract terms
Jay McClement3 years, $4.35 million
Keith Tkachuk1 year, $2.15 million
Mike Weaver1 year, $800,000
Brad Winchester1 year, $800,000
B. J. Crombeen2 years, $1.745 million
Ian Schultzundisclosed
Justin Fletcherundisclosed
Danny Richmondundisclosed
Steven Wagnerundisclosed
Roman Polakundisclosed
Brett Ponichundisclosed
Tyler Shattockundisclosed
Anthony Nigroundisclosed :

## Draft picks

St. Louis's picks at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal on June 26–27, 2009.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (League) |
| 1 | 17 | David Rundblad | D | Sweden | Skelleftea AIK (Elitserien) |
| 2 | 48 | Brett Ponich | D | Canada | Portland Winterhawks (WHL) |
| 3 | 78 | Sergei Andronov | RW | Russia | Lada Togliatti (KHL) |
| 4 | 108 | Tyler Shattock | F | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 6 | 168 | David Shields | D | United States | Erie Otters (OHL) |
| 7 | 202 (from Philadelphia via Nashville) | Maxwell Tardy | C | United States | East High School (Duluth) (USHS-MN) |