St . Louis Eagles The St . Louis Eagles were a professional ice hockey team , a member of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) , that played during the 1934 - 35 NHL season in St . Louis , Missouri . They were a relocation of the ( 1917 – 1934 ) Ottawa Senators NHL franchise . History . The Senators are generally acknowledged as the greatest team in the early history of hockey , but Ottawa was far and away the smallest market in the league . In its early days , the city could offer good government jobs to players and keep expenses low . However , the NHL expansions in the 1920s hurt the Senators as fans were unwilling to come out to see visiting teams from the United States and revenues suffered . This , along with the Great Depression eventually took its toll on the team ' s finances . Even sitting out the 1931 - 32 season didn ' t relieve the pressure , and the team barely survived the 1933 - 34 season . The league ' s other owners , many also in difficulties , turned a deaf ear to the Senator ' s requests for financial assistance . However , the league was not willing to lose another team so soon after the Philadelphia Quakers suspended operations ( unlike Ottawa , they would never return ) . On May 14 , 1934 , the Senators were transferred to St . Louis , where they would be renamed the Eagles , named after the logo of Anheuser - Busch . At the time , St . Louis was the 7th largest city in the United States , and was far larger than Ottawa . A St . Louis group had originally applied for an NHL franchise in 1932 , but was turned down due to concerns about travel costs in the midst of the Great Depression . Most teams travelled by train at the time . It soon became apparent why the league was skittish about placing a team in St . Louis . While playing to large crowds in the St . Louis Arena , the team soon buckled under the strain of long train rides to Boston , Montreal and Toronto . The Eagles had to play a large number of games in Montreal and Toronto because they had assumed the Senators ' place in the Canadian Division , which resulted in the longest road trips in the NHL , and diluted a natural rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks . Under the circumstances , the results were predictable - - a record of 11 - 31 - 6 , dead last in the league . Eddie Gerard began the season as coach , only to be replaced by George Boucher . Escalating travel costs chewed through what money the team had on hand , and the club sold players Syd Howe and Ralph Bowman to meet expenses . After the season , the club asked to suspend operations for the coming season and this was declined by the league . On October 15 , 1935 , the NHL bought back the franchise and players contracts for $ 40 , 000 and suspended its operations again . Under the agreement , the NHL paid for the players , and took back possession of the franchise . If the franchise was resold , the proceeds would go to the Ottawa Hockey Association . The players were distributed as follows : The NHL nixed a bid to move the Montreal Maroons to St . Louis in 1938 . The NHL would not return to St . Louis until the St . Louis Blues joined the league in 1967 . A total of 29 different players suited up for the 1934 - 35 St . Louis Eagles . The last active Eagles player was Bill Cowley , who retired in 1947 . Season - by - season record . " Note : GP = Games played , W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , OTL = Overtime losses , Pts = Points , GF = Goals for , GA = Goals against , PIM = Penalties in minutes "