St. Louis Blues: Who Wore It Best, Jersey Number 12

There have been many players to wear number 12 for the St. Louis Blues throughout their storied history.  Let’s look at who was the best.

Overall, 36 players have donned the number 12 for the St. Louis Blues.  Dating back to Ron Stewart during the 1967-68 season, all the way through to Zach Sanford currently.

Looking at that list, it has been a who’s who of players, the great Dickie Moore, Noel Picard, Joe Micheletti, known more for his off-ice achievements than on the ice, Cory Stillman, Lee Stempniak, and Derek Roy, whom I forgot even had a run with the Blues.

Out of all the players to wear number 12, there is only one choice for who wore it best, Adam Oates.

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Oates played 1337 games thru 19 years in the NHL and spent 195 of those games with the Blues.

Oates was acquired in the 1988 off-season from the Detroit Red Wings along with Paul MacLean for Bernie Ferderko and Tony McKegney.

Just a few months earlier the Blues had traded for elite sniper Brett Hull and needed a playmaker to feed him the puck.

Once Oates was paired with Hull, they quickly formed the prolific duo Hull and Oates, a play on the band Hall and Oates.

In his first season with St. Louis, Oates set a then career-high in assists and points with 79 assists and 102 points.  In his second season with Hull as a line-mate, Oates set new career highs with 90 assists and 115 points.

During his second season Hull scored 86 goals, still, the third most goals scored in a season behind Wayne Gretzky’s 92 and 87 goal seasons.

Oates signed a four-year $3 million contract extension after this season, but after the Blues offered up significant deals to Brendan Shanahan, Garth Butcher, and Ron Sutter, Oates felt he was underpaid.

This led to a dispute with management that was resolved when Oates was traded to the Boston Bruins during the 1991-92 season for Craig Janney and Stephane Quintal, ending the Hull and Oates duo.

Back on June 27, 2012, Oates spoke with Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post Dispatch about his time with Hull in St. Louis.

“The year he scored 86, it was just magical.  It was one of those years, wherever we went Brett would score two goals or a hat trick.  It was just fantastic.  I can’t believe we only played together for 2 ½ years because it felt like 10.  It was just so special.  We really hit it off as buddies, friends.  We played the game the same way; the chemistry was just excellent.”

After Oates was traded to Boston, he topped his 90 assist total once, and Hull never beat 57 goals again.  Although he only spent a little over two seasons with the Blues, these are the reasons he wore it best.