St. Louis Blues of the 1980s: Ever so close

This is is the logo of the St. Louis Blues, who made

the Stanley Cup playoffs every year of the 1980s.
Source: https://www.brandsoftheworld.com/logo/st-louis-blues-1

(may be subject to copyright)

Much has been made about the St. Louis Blues making their first Stanley Cup final since 1970, but in the 1980s it wasn’t for a lack of trying.

They made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs every years and once to the semi-finals in dramatic fashion, coming ever so close.

Johnny on the spot

Throughout their history, the St. Louis Blues benefitted from the way the National Hockey League was aligned.

It started in 1968, the year they entered the league. When the NHL expanded from six to 12 teams in 1967, it decided to put the original six teams in one conference and the six expansion teams in the other conference. Since the conference champions met for the Stanley Cup, the expansion teams had a decidedly easier road to the Stanley Cup final. So, in those first three years – 1968, 1969, 1970 – the Blues made it to the final by beating weaker opponents to get there. That’s why, when they got there, they were swept four straight games all three years. That is the reason they were 0-12 lifetime coming in to this year’s final.

They benefitted in the 1980s from a similar situation. Now, starting in 1981, the league, which had expanded to 21 teams, was divided into four divisions. The top four teams in each division made the playoffs. First place played fourth and second played third. The winners played for the division championship. The division champions played for the conference championships and the two conference champions played for the Stanley Cup.

The worst division, by far, was the Norris Division, also called the “Snorris”, because the hockey was boring and the teams were mediocre at best. Routinely, fifth place teams from other divisions would finish with better records then the top four in the Norris, but were on the outside looking in. Worse, a Norris Division team was guaranteed a spot in the Stanley Cup semi-finals when, often, two or three Smythe Division teams were better. Not once in the 1980s, did the Norris champion make it to the Stanley Cup final.

So, a fair part of the St. Louis Blues’ playoff success was because they were Johnny on the spot.

Nevertheless, they still had to win the games.

In the beginning

The decade opened with the Blues making the playoffs for the first time in three years. They would go on to make the playoffs every season in the 1980s, and for 25 consecutive seasons overall.

They were swept in three straight games in 1980, but were back again in 1981 after winning the Smythe Division for the first time in four seasons with 45 wins, 18 losses, and 17 ties. They beat Pittsburgh 3-2 in the best-of-three opening round series, before falling 4-2 to the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup quarter-finals.

Realignment

Before the 1981-1982 season began, the National Hockey League realigned. The Blues moved into the Norris Division with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, Minnesota North Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets. The Smythe Division was the other half of the Campbell Conference, with the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, and Colorado Rockies (who would move to New Jersey the next season to become the Devils).

The Blues finished third in the Norris, setting up a divisional semi-final against Winnipeg which they won 3-1. They lost the division final 4-2 to Chicago, who would lose the conference final to Vancouver, who in turn lost the final to the New York Islanders.

More realignment occurred prior to the 1982-1983 season, as the New Jersey Devils, formally the Colorado Rockies, were moved to the Patrick Division. Winnipeg then moved from the Norris Division to the Smythe to replace Colorado/New Jersey. Now, four of the five teams in the Norris would make the playoffs.

The Blues finished fourth in the division with just 25 wins, earning a first-round date with Chicago, who won the series in four games.

Success

The Blues finished second in the Norris Division in the 1983-1984 season. They defeated Detroit 3-1 in the first round, before losing in the second round 4-3 to Minnesota. The North Stars were swept by Edmonton who then defeated the New York Islanders for their first Stanley Cup.

The Blues finally finished first in the Norris in 1984-1985 with 37 wins, 31 losses and 12 ties. They would have finished fourth in the Smythe Division behind Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary, and just four points ahead of Los Angeles. However, things came crashing down as the Blues were swept 3-0 in the first round by the North Stars.

The next season, 1985-1986, became one of their most successful in the post-season since expansion. Although they finished third in the Norris, they exacted revenge over Minnesota by defeating them 3-2 in the first round, then outlasted Toronto 4-3 in the second round, winning their first playoff division championship. Awaiting them in the Campbell Conference final were the Calgary Flames who jumped out to a 3-2 lead. The Blues mounted a massive comeback, including a stirring come-from-behind, overtime win in Game 6, to take the Flames to the brink. Calgary would win, but the Blues took so much out of them, they had little left for the Stanley Cup final, which Montreal won in five games.

The Blues won the Norris again in the 1986-1987 season with a losing record, at 32 wins, 33 losses and 15 ties. It was their last division championship until the 1999-2000 season. They again would have finished fourth in the Smythe behind Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. St. Louis again bowed out of the playoffs early, losing in the first round 4-2 to Toronto.

St. Louis finished second in the Norris in 1987-1988, defeating Chicago in the first round in five games, before losing in five games to Detroit in the division final.

The Blues rounded out the decade by finishing second in the Norris in 1988-1989 with 33 wins, 35 losses, and 12 ties. That set up a first-round date with Minnesota, which St. Louis won in five games. They in turn lost the division final in five games to Chicago.

Parting thoughts

The success of the St. Louis Blues in the 1980s mirrored the rest of the teams in their division. They would be competitive in their own division, making the playoffs every year, and occasionally winning one series. In one year, they did win two rounds, but suffered the same fate as Chicago, Detroit and Minnesota – losing, often badly, to the Smythe Division champion.

The conference never had competitive balance. From the time of realignment, the Smythe Division won every conference title in the 1980s and won five Stanley Cups in eight seasons. This situation was one of the main reasons the league would change the playoff format in the early 1990s.

It really would have been a miracle for the Blues to make the Stanley Cup Final, and they came within one goal of engineering that miracle in 1986. But that was as close as they would come for a very long time.

Yet, it still is a major accomplishment to make the playoffs all 10 years of the decade.

Now, they have a chance to put all that history behind them. They are currently tied 2-2 in the 2019 Stanley Cup final.