Top 5 Captains In St. Louis Blues History
By Austin Oakes
#4 – Brett Hull
It feels weird to place Brett Hull in a spot on a list when he’s not number one.
In 1988, Hull was a part of a multi-player trade, where the St. Louis Blues sent Rob Ramage and Rick Wamsley to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Hull and Steve Bozek. After arriving in St. Louis, Hull immediately lead the team in goals, but his poor skating and defensive abilities left some to be desired by the organization.
Head coach Brian Sutter pushed Hull to become a more all-around better player, making him work on his conditioning in the offseason, and it worked. Hull returned the following season with a drive and passion that surprised everyone.
In addition to his improvements in his physical condition, Hull also acquired an exceptional center in Adam Oates when Bernie Federko was traded to the Detroit Red Wings. The two players formed such a prolific scoring line, that they earned themselves a famous nickname: “Hull and Oates” (named after the band Hall & Oates). With Oates’ help, Hull scored 228 goals from 1989-1992, the second-highest three season scoring record of any player ever.
He became the fifth player in NHL history to score 50 goals in 50 games in the 1990-91 season, and he did the same the next season.
Hull lead the league in scoring three different seasons. He won the Lady Byng, the Hart, and the Lester B. Pearson Award. He played in a total of eight NHL All-star games.
In 1992, Hull was named the 13th captain of the St. Louis Blues franchise. He was very competent in his captaincy, having held the position until 1995. In that time, he lead by example. Players knew that with just one shift, with just one pass, Hull could completely change the course of any game.
Just like MacInnis, Hull was also very active in the community, and he lead a lot of St. Louisans getting into hockey in a very big way.
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Unfortunately, despite Hull’s success, the St. Louis Blues never even made it to the Conference Finals during his time with the team. Heated arguments between Hull and head coach Mike Keenan lead to Keenan’s firing, and Hull’s captaincy being stripped from him. In the media, Hull and Keenan spoke very poorly about each other, leading to a lot of tension in the organization.
Hull retained a leadership position, but he left the team when, upon his free agency, the Blues refused to include a no-trade clause. He signed with the Dallas Stars.
Hull was a great captain, and his legacy is cemented here in St. Louis as probably the best player to ever wear the blue note. But his temper often lead to issues with the organization, and frankly, the people above him on the list were just better captains. Still, he has recently joined the Blues organization, and fans here will never stop loving him.
Despite winning the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings, he will forever be remembered as a St. Louis Blue
Next: #3