1997–98 St. Louis Blues season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1997–98
Year:	1997
Team:	St. Louis Blues
Conferencerank:	4th
Divisionrank:	3rd
Record:	45–29–8
Homerecord:	26–10–5
Roadrecord:	19–19–3
Goalsfor:	256
Goalsagainst:	204
Attendance:	18,414
Goalsleader:	Geoff Courtnall (31)
Assistsleader:	Pierre Turgeon (46)
Pointsleader:	Brett Hull (72)
Plusminusleader:	Chris Pronger (+47)
Pimleader:	Kelly Chase (231)
Winsleader:	Grant Fuhr (29)
Gaaleader:	Jamie McLennan (2.17)

The highlight of the 1997–98 St. Louis Blues season would mark an end of an era as former captain Brett Hull was not re-signed following the season.

Off-season

In his first full season as head coach, Joel Quenneville decided to employ a defensive formula. The move worked wonders as even Brett Hull bought into the new system as the Blues finished in third place with a solid 45–29–8 record. In the first round of the playoffs, the Blues would sweep the Los Angeles Kings in four games. In the second round, the Blues were eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings in six games. The season would mark an end of an era, as Brett Hull was not signed to a new contract after the season, joining the Dallas Stars as a free agent during the summer.^[1]

Defenseman Chris Pronger was named team captain, a role that had been vacant during the previous season.

Regular season

The Blues were one of only two teams out the NHL's 26 to score at least 3 goals per game (The Detroit Red Wings were the other team). The Blues' 256 goals for led all teams.^[2]

Final standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|1||L||October 1, 1997||1–3 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) ||0–1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |2||W||October 3, 1997||7–2 || align="left"| Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) ||1–1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |3||W||October 4, 1997||2–1 || align="left"| @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) ||2–1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |4||W||October 9, 1997||3–2 OT|| align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) ||3–1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |5||W||October 11, 1997||5–3 || align="left"| Florida Panthers (1997–98) ||4–1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |6||W||October 13, 1997||3–1 || align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) ||5–1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |7||W||October 17, 1997||2–0 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) ||6–1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |8||W||October 18, 1997||5–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1997–98) ||7–1–0 || |- align="center" |9||T||October 20, 1997||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) ||7–1–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|10||L||October 22, 1997||3–4 || align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) ||7–2–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |11||W||October 23, 1997||4–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) ||8–2–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |12||W||October 25, 1997||5–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1997–98) ||9–2–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |13||W||October 29, 1997||3–2 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) ||10–2–1 || |- align="center" |14||T||October 30, 1997||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) ||10–2–2 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |15||W||November 1, 1997||2–0 || align="left"| San Jose Sharks (1997–98) ||11–2–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|16||L||November 3, 1997||1–5 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) ||11–3–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|17||L||November 6, 1997||1–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) ||11–4–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|18||L||November 8, 1997||1–4 || align="left"| @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) ||11–5–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |19||W||November 10, 1997||7–1 || align="left"| @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) ||12–5–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |20||W||November 13, 1997||4–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1997–98) ||13–5–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |21||W||November 15, 1997||5–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) ||14–5–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |22||W||November 17, 1997||3–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) ||15–5–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|23||L||November 20, 1997||0–3 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) ||15–6–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|24||L||November 22, 1997||0–2 || align="left"| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) ||15–7–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|25||L||November 25, 1997||2–3 || align="left"| @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) ||15–8–2 || |- align="center" |26||T||November 27, 1997||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) ||15–8–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|27||L||November 29, 1997||2–4 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1997–98) ||15–9–3 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |28||W||December 2, 1997||3–1 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) ||16–9–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |29||W||December 4, 1997||4–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) ||17–9–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |30||W||December 6, 1997||4–3 OT|| align="left"| Calgary Flames (1997–98) ||18–9–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |31||W||December 8, 1997||5–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) ||19–9–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|32||L||December 10, 1997||3–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) ||19–10–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |33||W||December 11, 1997||2–1 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) ||20–10–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|34||L||December 13, 1997||1–4 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) ||20–11–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|35||L||December 15, 1997||1–3 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (1997–98) ||20–12–3 || |- align="center" |36||T||December 18, 1997||4–4 OT|| align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1997–98) ||20–12–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |37||W||December 20, 1997||4–1 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) ||21–12–4 || |- align="center" |38||T||December 22, 1997||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) ||21–12–5 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |39||W||December 23, 1997||3–2 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (1997–98) ||22–12–5 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|40||L||December 26, 1997||1–4 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) ||22–13–5 || |- align="center" |41||T||December 27, 1997||5–5 OT|| align="left"| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) ||22–13–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|42||L||December 29, 1997||2–4 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) ||22–14–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|43||L||December 31, 1997||2–5 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) ||22–15–6 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |44||W||January 3, 1998||4–3 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1997–98) ||23–15–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |45||W||January 6, 1998||5–1 || align="left"| @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) ||24–15–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |46||W||January 7, 1998||3–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) ||25–15–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |47||W||January 10, 1998||5–1 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) ||26–15–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|48||L||January 12, 1998||1–2 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) ||26–16–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|49||L||January 14, 1998||1–2 OT|| align="left"| Dallas Stars (1997–98) ||26–17–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|50||L||January 20, 1998||1–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1997–98) ||26–18–6 || |- align="center" |51||T||January 22, 1998||3–3 OT|| align="left"| New York Islanders (1997–98) ||26–18–7 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|52||L||January 24, 1998||4–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) ||26–19–7 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|53||L||January 26, 1998||2–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) ||26–20–7 || |- align="center" |54||T||January 27, 1998||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) ||26–20–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |55||W||January 29, 1998||2–0 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) ||27–20–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |56||W||January 31, 1998||6–3 || align="left"| Dallas Stars (1997–98) ||28–20–8 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|57||L||February 4, 1998||2–3 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) ||28–21–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |58||W||February 5, 1998||3–1 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) ||29–21–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |59||W||February 7, 1998||4–1 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) ||30–21–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|60||L||February 26, 1998||1–3 || align="left"| @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) ||30–22–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |61||W||February 28, 1998||5–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) ||31–22–8 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |62||W||March 1, 1998||6–2 || align="left"| @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) ||32–22–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |63||W||March 3, 1998||5–3 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) ||33–22–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |64||W||March 5, 1998||4–0 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) ||34–22–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |65||W||March 7, 1998||2–1 || align="left"| Dallas Stars (1997–98) ||35–22–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |66||W||March 9, 1998||4–0 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) ||36–22–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|67||L||March 11, 1998||2–3 || align="left"| @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) ||36–23–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|68||L||March 14, 1998||0–2 || align="left"| Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) ||36–24–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|69||L||March 21, 1998||0–2 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) ||36–25–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|70||L||March 22, 1998||3–5 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) ||36–26–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |71||W||March 26, 1998||3–2 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) ||37–26–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |72||W||March 28, 1998||3–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) ||38–26–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |73||W||March 30, 1998||6–2 || align="left"| San Jose Sharks (1997–98) ||39–26–8 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |74||W||April 1, 1998||6–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) ||40–26–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |75||W||April 4, 1998||4–1 || align="left"| Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) ||41–26–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|76||L||April 7, 1998||3–5 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) ||41–27–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |77||W||April 9, 1998||3–2 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) ||42–27–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|78||L||April 11, 1998||3–4 || align="left"| Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) ||42–28–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|79||L||April 12, 1998||3–4 || align="left"| @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) ||42–29–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |80||W||April 16, 1998||7–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) ||43–29–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |81||W||April 18, 1998||5–4 || align="left"| @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) ||44–29–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |82||W||April 19, 1998||5–3 || align="left"| @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) ||45–29–8 || |-|-| Legend:

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 1 ||W || April 23, 1998 || 8–3 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings || Blues lead 1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 2 ||W || April 25, 1998 || 2–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings || Blues lead 2–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 3 ||W || April 27, 1998 || 4–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Blues lead 3–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 4 ||W || April 29, 1998 || 2–1 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Blues win 4–0 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 1 ||W || May 8, 1998 || 4–2 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings || Blues lead 1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 2 ||L || May 10, 1998 || 1–6 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings || Series tied 1–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | 3 ||L || May 12, 1998 || 2–3 2OT|| align="left"| Detroit Red Wings || Red Wings lead 2–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 4 ||L || May 14, 1998 || 2–5 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings || Red Wings lead 3–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 5 ||W || May 17, 1998 || 3–1 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings || Red Wings lead 3–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 6 ||L || May 19, 1998 || 1–6 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings || Red Wings win 4–2 || |-|-| Legend:

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.

	Player
	Player		scope=colgroup colspan=6	Regular season	scope=colgroup colspan=6	Playoffs
16		RW	66	27	45	72	−1	26	10	3	3	6	−3	2
77		C	60	22	46	68	13	24	10	4	4	8	−5	2
14		LW	79	31	31	62	12	94	10	2	8	10	−2	18
28		D	80	14	42	56	9	32	10	0	4	4	−8	6
38		LW	61	22	30	52	11	22	10	3	3	6	−3	2
2		D	71	19	30	49	6	80	8	2	6	8	1	12
22		C	81	14	29	43	20	46	10	1	2	3	−1	8
10		RW	76	22	19	41	0	55	10	7	3	10	−1	12
44		D	81	9	27	36	47	180	10	1	9	10	−2	26
33		LW	80	8	21	29	14	62	10	0	2	2	1	10
23		RW	61	11	15	26	5	10	10	0	0	0	−2	2
27		C	65	10	15	25	1	38	10	2	1	3	−3	6
9		C	62	12	6	18	6	26	10	0	0	0	−4	2
25		C	48	6	9	15	4	35	10	1	3	4	0	8
17		RW	27	4	9	13	8	22
37		C	58	4	6	10	0	31
4		D	81	3	7	10	−2	90	10	0	1	1	−1	8
19		D	54	3	7	10	14	36	10	0	0	0	−1	16
5		D	11	5	4	9	2	10	10	2	2	4	−3	10
34		LW	16	1	8	9	3	29
20		RW/D	50	1	7	8	−5	64	2	0	0	0	−2	6
39		RW	67	4	3	7	10	231	7	0	0	0	−2	23
6		D	59	2	4	6	5	36
18		LW	60	1	1	2	−4	105
31		G	58	0	2	2		6	10	0	1	1		2
12		RW	5	0	2	2	1	0
32		C	10	1	0	1	0	6	3	1	0	1	−1	0
43		D	6	0	1	1	−3	6
29		G	30	0	0	0		4	1	0	0	0		0
30		G	1	0	0	0		0
7		D	1	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

	Player
	Player	scope=colgroup colspan=10	Regular season	scope=colgroup colspan=9	Playoffs
31		58	29	21	6	1354	138	2.53	.898	3	3274	10	6	4	297	28	2.73	.906	0	616
29		30	16	8	2	618	60	2.17	.903	2	1658	1	0	0	4	1	4.25	.750	0	14
30		1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00	1.000	0	12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	Jamie McLennan	^[3]
King Clancy Memorial Trophy	Kelly Chase	^[4]
NHL Second All-Star Team	Chris Pronger (Defense)	^[5]
NHL Plus-Minus Award	Chris Pronger	^[6]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Al MacInnis	^[7]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
1,000th game played	Al MacInnis	October 23, 1997	^[8]
1,000th game played	Geoff Courtnall	March 3, 1998	^[9]
First game	Rich Parent	November 8, 1997	^[10]
First game	Chris Kenady	December 8, 1997	^[10]
1,000th point	Al MacInnis	April 7, 1998	^[11]

Draft picks

St. Louis's draft picks at the 1997 NHL entry draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[12]

Round		Player	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	40	Tyler Rennette	North Bay Centennials (OHL)
4	86	Didier Tremblay	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
4	98	Jan Horacek	Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)
4	106	Jame Pollock	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
6	149	Nicholas Bilotto	Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
7	177	Ladislav Nagy	HC Košice (Slovakia)
8	206	Bob Haglund	Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)
9	232	Dmitri Plekhanov	Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (Russia)
9	244	Marek Ivan	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)

References

Web site: St. Louis Blues 1997-98 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . July 6, 2023.
Web site: 1997-98 St. Louis Blues Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts . Hockey-Reference.com . July 6, 2023.

Notes and References

http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/stlouis/blues.html St. Louis Blues (1967-Present)
Web site: 1997-98 NHL Summary.
Web site: Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy . records.nhl.com . July 9, 2023.
Web site: King Clancy Memorial Trophy . records.nhl.com . July 9, 2023.
Web site: Postseason All-Star Teams . records.nhl.com . July 9, 2023.
Web site: Bud Light Plus-Minus Award award winners at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . July 9, 2023.
Web site: 1998 NHL All-Star Game Rosters . Hockey-Reference.com . August 29, 2024.
Web site: N.H.L.: LAST NIGHT; Lightning Coach On Thin Ice . The New York Times . July 9, 2023 . October 24, 1997 . Blues defenseman Al MacInnis, who played in his 1,000th game, was honored in a pregame ceremony..
Web site: ST. PETERSBURG TIMES POWER RANKINGS . Tampa Bay Times . July 9, 2023 . March 8, 1998 . ST. LOUIS (8): Can you believe Geoff Courtnall played his 1,000th NHL game last week?.
Web site: 1997-98 NHL Debuts . Hockey-Reference.com . October 8, 2024.
Web site: 1981 NHL Entry Draft -- Al MacInnis . www.hockeydraftcentral.com . July 9, 2023 . Scored his 1,000th career NHL point during St. Louis' April 7, 1998, game at Detroit..
Web site: 1997 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . July 9, 2023.

1997–98 St. Louis Blues season explained

Off-season

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Scoring

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Draft picks

See also

References

Notes and References