“Everything begins with an idea.” – Earl Nightingale. Recently on Last Word On Hockey, an article was posted listing the best Pittsburgh Penguin players to wear numbers one through ten. This has inspired the idea to do the same for the St. Louis Blues. The Blues played their first season in 1967. For 57 seasons, many players have worn the Blues uniform. Some have stood out more than others. The goal of this series is to identify the best who have worn each number. We will start by looking at the best Blues to wear jersey numbers one through ten.
Best St. Louis Blue by Jersey Numbers: 1-10
#1 Mike Liut (Goaltender)
Liut spent five seasons with the Blues from 1980-1985. Liut’s best season with the Blues came in the 1980-81 season. He became a top goalie in the league with a 33-14-13 record. Furthermore, Liut was voted the runner-up for the NHL’s Hart Trophy for league MVP. The player who finished ahead of Liut? No other than the “Great One” himself, Wayne Gretzky.
Liut has the most wins by a Blues goaltender with 151. For the 2017 Alumni Game at Busch Stadium, Liut started in goal for the Blues alumni team. In 2024, Liut was selected to the Blues Hall of Fame as part of the franchise’s second Hall of Fame class.
#2 Al MacInnis (Defenceman)
The Blues only have three statues in front of the Enterprise Center. MacInnis and his legendary slap shot is one of them. One of MacInnis’s many highlights with the Blues was winning the Norris Trophy in 1999. The following season, MacInnis helped the Blues win the President’s Trophy.
MacInnis’s trade to the Blues is considered one of the best trades in team history. Despite an early retirement, MacInnis’s time with the Blues did not end there. MacInnis took a job as an executive in the Blues front office. Furthermore, as a Blues executive, MacInnis won his second Stanley Cup when the Blues won it in 2019.
#3 Al Arbour (Defenceman)
Arbour has the distinction of being the last player to wear glasses while playing on the ice.
Arbour was the original captain of the Blues in 1967. As the captain, Arbour led the Blues to each of their three appearances in the Stanley Cup Final. Furthermore, Arbour coached the Blues for a couple of seasons following his retirement from playing.
#4 Noel Picard (Defenceman)
Another member of the original Blues team, Picard helped the Blues reach the Stanley Cup Final in 1968, 1969, and 1970. After he retired, Picard became a broadcaster for the Blues and even purchased and owned a restaurant in Missouri.
Picard is known for tripping Boston Bruin legend Bobby Orr after the latter scored the Cup-winning goal in 1970. The image of Orr in the air, arms raised in celebration, with Picard looking at him from behind, is a one of the most famous pictures in professional sports history.
#5 Bob Plager (Defenceman)
Bob Plager may just be the most beloved of former Blues. Plager joined his brothers, Bill and Barclay, on the Blues in their inaugural season. The team started its existence with a hard-hitting, defensive-oriented strategy. Bob Plager earned a reputation as a bruising player with a devastating hip check. Off the ice, he was known as a prankster who was able to bond teammates through his lighthearted demeanor. Despite injuries, Plager was able to play 615 games over 11 years with the Blues.
After retirement, Plager took a job in the front office and even briefly served as the team’s head coach. Plager’s number five was retired in 2017. It was emotional ceremony, which included the Blues lowering Barclay’s already retired number 8 banner to meet Bob’s rising banner. Reunited again, both banners were raised simultaneously to the rafters.
5 years ago today, #5 Bobby Plager went up into the rafters to join his brother #8 Barclay Plager forever.
?? #STLBlues?? pic.twitter.com/nvrMgaChsw— Jeremy A. Boyer ? (@JABsMusic) February 2, 2022
#6 Larry Platey (Centre)
Platey spent eight and a half seasons with the Blues. In five of those seasons, Platey scored over 15 goals. Patey scored eight shorthanded goals in the 1980-81 season, which is a Blues single-season record. In total with the Blues, Platey scored 22 shorthanded goals, which a Blues all-time record.
#7 Red Berenson (Centre)
Berenson was acquired by the Blues early in their first season. The centre quickly became a star in the league. Soon after, Berenson had a notable scoring on November 7 against the Philadelphia Flyers. Berenson scored six goals, including four over nine minutes. He became the first player to score a double hat trick on a road game. The six-goal total was one shy of the all-time NHL record. Since Berenson, the feat has only been accomplished once, by Darryl Sittler in 1976.
After retiring, Berenson coached the Blues for three seasons. In 2023, Berenson was elected as part of the Blues first Hall of Fame class.
#8 Barclay Plager (Defenceman)
Like his brothers, Barclay played with the Blues in their first season. Like Bob, Barclay played a physical game and was considered a gritty player. In 1969, behind Barclay’s leadership on the blue line, the Blues defence allowed the fewest goals in the league. Barclay was the Blues captain for six seasons, which is the second-longest tenure as captain.
Barclay was a coach for the Blues for four seasons after retirement. His number 8 has been retired since 1981.
#9 Doug Gilmour (Centre)
Gilmour spent four seasons with the Blues. After scoring 21 and 25 goals in first two seasons, Gilmour broke out in 1987 and 1988. He scored a career-high 42 goals with the Blues in 1987. He followed that with 36 goals in 1988. Gilmour was also a physical player on the ice. Furthermore, teammate Brian Suter would even nickname Gilmour, “Charlie,” after Charles Manson, due to Gilmour’s physical play and his apparent resemblance.
Gilmour had a long and successful NHL career. However, he never reached the career highs in goals that he did with the Blues.
#10 Brayden Schenn (Centre)
The Blues acquired Schenn in the off-season of 2017. Schenn immediately became a scorer on the Blues. He scored a career-high 70 points in 82 regular season games. In the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, Schenn scored three goals, including a Game 7 goal that gave the Blues a comfortable 3-0 lead.
The Blues extended Schenn in the 2019-20 season with an 8-year contract. Schenn scored 25 goals that season. Furthermore, in the following four seasons, Schenn scored 20+ goals in three of them. Schenn is currently the team captain.
Final Thoughts
This was not an easy list to make. Many great players have worn the same number for the Blues. Keith Tkachuk and Gary Unger both wore number seven. Bob Gassoff, also number three, is a legend in St. Louis. It is a testament to the success of the Blues franchise history that this was a hard list to make. Many great players have worn the blue note.
Same Bat Time, Same Bat….Website?
Next week, we will continue the series by looking at the best Blues to wear jersey numbers 11-20.
Main Photo: Jeff Le-USA TODAY Sports
