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head coach: Joel Quenneville

roster: C - Pierre Turgeon, Darren Turcotte, Craig Conroy, Pascal Rheaume, Mike Eastwood; LW - Geoff Courtnall, Tony Twist, Pavol Demitra, Scott Pellerin, Michel Picard; RW - Brett Hull, Jim Campbell, Kelly Chase, Terry Yake, Blair Atcheynum; D - Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger, Steve Duchesne, Marc Bergevin, Chris McAlpine, Jamie Rivers, Ricard Persson, Todd Gill, Rudy Poeschek; G - Grant Fuhr, Jamie McLennan, Brent Johnson.

standings:

Western Conference - Central Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
p-Dallas     82  49  22  11   109  242  167  
x-Detroit    82  44  23  15   103  250  196  
x-St Louis   82  45  29   8    98  256  204  
x-Phoenix    82  35  35  12    82  224  227  
Chicago      82  30  39  13    73  192  199  
Toronto      82  30  43   9    69  194  237  

x - Clinched playoff spot
p - Clinched President's Trophy

team news:

by Tom Cooper, St. Louis Correspondent

The Season Synopsis

For the St. Louis Blues, the 1997-98 season was one big surprise.

The Blues finished the regular season campaign with the fourth-best record in the NHL, not bad for a team that many people expected to just barely qualify for the postseason, if they even made it at all.

And the major reason they shocked their doubters was goal scoring, a crutch they have relied on to stay standing for the majority of the 90s. The Blues put the puck in the net a league-leading 256 times. On 31 occasions St. Louis scored four or more goals, winning 28 times and losing only once. And, although most of their goals occurred during even -strength situations, their power play was a force to be reckoned with.

The man-advantage for the Blues produced a goal 16.8 percent of the time, the ninth best percentage in the league. But why should it be a surprise to anyone that the power play was so impressive? Just look at the names they throw out there: Brett Hull, Al MacInnis, Pierre Turgeon, Geoff Courtnall, Steve Duchesne. Those names have been synonymous with scoring for the majority of this decade. With a first unit like that, and a second unit that can hold its own with any team in the league, it's no wonder teams didn't want to commit penalties against the Blues all season long. (Right, Los Angeles?)

If people were surprised by the offense, then the quality of the defensive play must have made them pinch themselves to see if they were dreaming.

The Blues actually presented a defensive unit this year that played defense. In the past, the Blues were a "let's score goals and pray our goalie keeps us in this one" team. This season, with the emergence of Chris Pronger, the Blues could play a physical, defensive game. Pronger's play was so important to his team that it earned his a nomination for the Norris Trophy.

But the rest of his blue line mates could keep their own, too. Veteran defenseman MacInnis and Duchesne helped Pronger solidify the back of the forces, while bringing along start-up defenseman Chris McAlpine, Jamie Rivers, and Rudy Poeschek, defenseman who, if the St. Louis front office plays their cards right, could be a vital part of Cup runs in the years to come.

No matter who the Blues have on defense, the play of the goaltending is what the defense will be known for. And their goaltending stepped up this year. Once again, Grant Fuhr showed the hockey world that, yeah, he may be 35 years old, but he can still move around like he's in his 20s. His goals against average of 2.53 is the best of his 17-year career. But when he was sidelined for the majority of March after surgery to repair some torn cartilage in his right knee, the Blues needed somebody to come up big and fill the big shoes. And they found that man in Jamie McLennan.

When the Blues called on him, McLennan was outstanding. The 27-year-old netminder won 16 games this season, nearly half of his career total. Every time he was asked to play in place of Fuhr, he always came up with the big performance.

But if his play was impressive, then the fact that he was able to play was astonishing to all.

Two years ago, McLennan contracted a life-threatening case of bacterial meningitis. His condition was so bad that McLennan lost the ability to walk. But, after a year of hard work in therapy and dedication to the game he loves, he was able to not only walk again, but put on a sweater and pair of skates and play in goal once again. For his efforts, McLennan received the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, handed out to the player that best displays perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.

From overcoming hardships to proving "the critics" wrong, the St. Louis Blues certainly turned some heads this season. No longer are they a member of the mediocre teams in the NHL. Now they are expected to play with the league's elite. With its potent offense, its powerful defense and its solid goaltending, this St. Louis Blues team is poised on the brink of greatness, but it must be very careful. The moves made this off-season will decide the future of not only the franchise, but the future of hockey in the city of St. Louis. It's an exciting time for Blues hockey, but the wrong off-season move may cause this team with so much potential to take a swift fall from stardom.

Whatever happens in the summer, fans of hockey both inside and outside of St. Louis are sure to be in for an exciting season once the 1998- 99 St. Louis Blues take the ice next November.

TEAM MVP: When announcing the re-signing of superstar defenseman Al MacInnis, Blues' general manager Larry Pleau declared his hot-shooting defensman to be "our most valuable player." Although MacInnis's presence on the St. Louis roster is vital, I wouldn't go as far as saying he's the team's most valuable player.

This year, my MVP nod goes to goaltender Grant Fuhr.

Fuhr finished up the regular season with a 29-21-6 record with a 2.53 GAA and a .898 save percentage. Although these aren't exactly stellar numbers, his presence on the ice was what primarily made this team the success it was.

With Grant Fuhr, the Blues know that they have a goaltender who can come up with the big save. It's a lot easier to play a game knowing you have a goaltender behind you who can stop almost anything that comes his way instead of having the defense worry about every player that charges the blue line.

Congratulations, Grant Fuhr. Your trophy's in the mail, that is if I can find enough stamps to ship it.

SURPRISE: Well, let's see. What could be a surprise?

The team having the best record in the NHL up until early November?

The team leading the league in scoring?

The team finishing fourth in the league?

Well, those are all good and pleasant surprises, but, when it comes to one player's performance that shocked the poop out of me, I have to go with the play of Chris Pronger.

Now, don't get me wrong, "Prongs" was playing well last season. What surprises me is how much his play and his importance to the team has changed in one season. Ever since coach Joel Quenneville gave him the captain's "C" at the beginning of the season, Chris Pronger has become not just one of the leaders on this team, but also one of the best players this club has to put on the ice.

Now, instead of figuring out ways to nuetralize Brett Hull, opposing clubs need to find some way to get around the 6-foot-5, 207-pound defenseman. His presence on the ice is only topped by his physicality. His punishing hits and vicious body checks helped to set the tone for the Blues' defense this season.

Chris Pronger, a Norris Trophy finalist this season, will only get better. And that's good news for St. Louis.

DISAPPOINTMENT: Not too many things have been disappointing this year when it comes to the Blues. Maybe one thing that stands out is the fact that they lost to the frickin' Red Wings again in the playoffs. (That will get to you.)

But when it comes to a player performances, I have to say the most disappointing aspect of the season was the scoring, or lack of scoring, of Brett Hull. At one point in his career, Hull was the most feared goal-scorer in skates, but not right now. The man who made a career of finding the right place on the ice to wait for the puck scored only 27 goals this season, the fewest he's scored in a full season since the 1987-88 campaign when he was still with Calgary. Hell, he scored 29 goals in the lockout shortened 1994-95 season.

Luckily, for Hull and his team, the rest of the lineup decided to pitch in and score some goals, making Hull's short-comings seem insignificant. The team did lead the league in goals, so things can't be that bad.

So, in summary, I'd like to say, "Come on, Brett. What are you doing? Let's go. Get with the program here.

"You know something, if you would really like that big free-agent contract, you need to make the puck hit the twine a little more."

OFF-SEASON CHANGES: Well, it's gonna be interesting, to say the least.

Three of the team's big named players - Brett Hull, Steve Duchesne, and Geoff Courtnall - are all unrestricted free-agents as of July 1. They have already made moves to keep other potential free agents. Around the trading deadline back in March, the Blues locked up goaltenders Grant Fuhr and Jamie McLennan for another three years. And, in mid-June, the Blues announced they had reached a deal with defenseman Al MacInnis.

So, the money's flying, but who it will be going to is the major question. But an even bigger question is how much money will be thrown around, considering the fact that Blues management has already announced its intentions to cut the team payroll by a couple million dollars, meaning not all of the big-named free agents are going to be signed.

Will the Blues decide to stay loyal to the man that has meant so much to the franchise for the past 10 seasons? Or will they decide to go with someone else, someone that may mean more to their franchise in the long-run?

Whatever choice is made will be an interesting one, but, if I were a betting man, I would put my money on the fact that Bobby Hull's number with the Blackhawks is coming out of retirement next season.

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