A Look Back at the NHL Blocking a Blues Move to Saskatoon

I actually remember the TV reports back in 1983 which made it sound like this was definitely going to happen until it didn't.

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[ricopedrajrs]

Thanks for the memories, Hockey Guy! Saskatoon did at least get a new arena out of the quagmire, which is comparable in capacity to the current Winnipeg rink, and at least got on the concert radar. I remember seeing Eric Clapton's 25th Anniversary Tour with Mark Knopfler there. It became the home of the WHL Saskatoon Blades and pro basketball and lacrosse teams. It's old now, though, and there's a plan for a new arena and entertainment zone downtown. All the best to Saskabush!

[jert]

The history of the st louis blues is a rich tapestry. This chapter is quite the ordeal. The Ornest era that followed was interesting as well. I'm just really grateful that they stayed in st louis.

[tbell]

It was R. Hal Dean, I believe, who was the head of Ralston Purina at the time. I always felt he did this as a civic gesture of keeping the Blues in St. Louis, and was more interested in the NHL than the Ralston board. Harry Ornest was the next in a long line of 'saviors' for the Blues franchise. An unsung hero for this portion of Blues' history is the great Emile 'The Cat' Francis, who wore just about every hat in keeping the franchise going just before the Saskatoon thing came up.

[kylestruckmann]

Thanks for this video, and all the work you did! I was a teenager in St. Louis at the time. I remember the St. Louis side of the story, but never knew the details about the Saskatoon side of the story or the NHL’s viewpoint. Thanks for bringing this all together! Let’s Go Blues!

[tomsloger]

I have been a Blues fan since 1974 and I remember this wel lbut, I had never heard an explanation of what actually happened.
Thank you for putting it out there again.
If they would have moved St.Louis would not be the same place.
We would be a only "baseball" town and not have a Stanley Cup in 2019.
Thanks again for the video and keep up the good work.

[LSA]

As part of their 1984 rebrand, the Blues added a small “St. Louis” text inside the logo’s wing, which lasted well into the 90s.

I have always said that this was a nod to this near relocation to Saskatoon and fact that the team stayed, almost worn like a badge of pride.

[nolankuffner]

I will say, I know that Wild Bill took this VERY hard.
Ended up very depressed and passed away 22 years ago from cancer.
But a few HUGE pluses for Mr. Hunter would be how the WHA was amalgamated into the NHL.
And not just that, but some of those teams (like Edmonton) have been some of the most successful since amalgamation.
I don't know if he was ever able to see past the end of the WHA and not getting the Blues, despite all his efforts, but I really hope that that brought him some measure of joy.
Canadian hockey is in a better place, on all levels, because of his suggestions and his group pushing for the advancement of the sport.
Whatever a person thinks about this or other moves he made, he had an indelible passion for the sport of hockey and should be celebrated for how he championed the sport.

[jonsachs]

I recommend a similar video on how the New Jersey Devils were flirting with a move to Nashville in 1995 just as they were marching to a Stanley Cup and how that storyline affected the cup run. Notably, the cup-clinching game 4, which was on Fox Sports (a cup finals game on network TV in and of itself was a novelty at that point) featured an interview between periods with Gary Bettman in which the New Jersey crowd was out for blood, angrily booing and heckling the commissioner to the point where the interview was nearly drowned out. The footage can easily be found on YT

[danielochoa]

I'm so happy that the team stayed in St. Louis. Even though they didn't win until 5 years ago, we've seen a lot of good teams and players over the years. Unfortunately Mike Keenan was there too.

[KarpWrangler]

The population growth around Saskatoon has been considerable. That combined with Potash money flowing in, makes for future market potential.

[DanoFSmith-yctg]

I just moved to Saskatchewan from the Niagara falls/ Hamilton area.

I think Saskatchewan could support an NHL team, it would be like the Winnipeg Jets though, they'd barely brake even every year, and would probably have to have a smaller rink.

But Baseball....Saskatchewan is shockingly baseball crazy, I think they could have the most attended MLB franchise in the whole league if they got an MLB team. The amount of Jay's hats I've seen out here, and times I've heard "yeah, we flew to Toronto, or Minnesota to see the Jays play" is truly astonishing

[workmanvlogs]

Was there for the original video and I am here again.... Love videos of NHL history

[GrinderCB]

I hope I'm remembering this correctly. In Ken Dryden's book "Home Game" (about hockey being a big part of Canadian culture) he starts off about the then-state-of-the-art arena they built in Saskatoon in the hope of getting an NHL club. Don't know if that was for the Blues or for an expansion club but somehow they got it built and used it for other events. I loved the part about how people would park for an event in the dead of winter and would leave the car engine running so it wouldn't freeze. And after it was over there was a fleet of trucks going up and down giving peoples' cars a boost.

[timsmith]

Bobby's contract was for $175, 000 per year for 10 yrs, plus $1 million signing bonus...

[GrandTomah]

as a blues fan this was a super interesting video

[williamhinchcliff]

I'm always fascinated by right decisions being made for wrong reasons and this sounds like exactly that.

[TheDolfanar]

I guess you could say that under Ralston Purina that the Blues fortunes had gone to the dogs…

[ianwilson]

St. Louis was only granted a franchise in 1967 because Bill Wirtz owned the St. Louis Arena and made a deal to sell the arena to local interests in exchange for an expansion team. Had the deal fallen through, Baltimore would have been granted an expansion team.

[jayryan]

Thanks for highlighting the blues. I feel like we're missed a whole bunch!

[LeoWhalen]

I love your channel. Youre the only person who loves and thinks about hockey more than i do.

Saskatoon has always intrigued me because my favorite wrestler won his first world title there in 1992.