Another team that joined the NHL in 1967, when the Expansion Era began, the St. Louis Blues were named after a W.C. Handy song of the same name. Though the Blues have had a steady amount of success for much of their existence, they will always be linked to the Bobby Orr goal in the 1970 Finals (You know the one: just Google it). In the team's existence, they have had eighteen different captains.
The early years of the Blues were captained by Al Arbour, who led the team from 1967 until 1970. The following season, Red Berenson would lead the team, but would be traded to Detroit prior to the conclusion of the season, and Arbour would finish the season as captain. A season of Jim Roberts as captain followed before Barclay Plager would take over the captaincy, holding it from 1972 until 1976. However, Plager would not finish the 1975-76 season as captain, as a returning Berenson would finish the season with the C. A season of Gerry Unger would follow, which were followed by seasons of Berenson and Barry Gibbs. Brian Sutter would inherit the C in 1979, holding it until 1988. Sutter is the longest tenured captain in Blues history. The next four seasons would see single season reigns from Bernie Federko, Rick Meagher, Scott Stevens, and Garth Butcher before Brett Hull would take over the captain duties in 1992. A very public drama with then-coach Mike Keenan would result in Hull losing the C prior to the 1995-96 season, with Shayne Corson taking over. Corson would give up the C before the season was done, as the Blues had acquired Wayne Gretzky in February 1996. When Gretzky left for New York after the season, the Blues went without a captain the following season. The 1997-98 season began the Chris Pronger captaincy, and Pronger rewarded the Blues with a Hart Trophy performance, winning it in 2000. He would give up the role in 2003 to Al MacInnis, who is best known for the slapshot from the point that shattered one of the plexiglass panes in a game. MacInnis would hold the captaincy for a season before retiring. After the lockout, Dallas Drake would take over the captain duties for two seasons. Part of the 2007-08 season saw the team go without a captain until February 2008, when Eric Brewer was named captain, a role he still holds to this day.
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