[2] The team played in its first Winter Classic game on January 2, 2017, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 4–1 at Busch Stadium with 46,556 in attendance.
It was the Blues' first participation in an NHL Winter Classic game, while the Blackhawks lost for the third time in three appearances in the event.
[6] On December 28, Robby Fabbri became just the second Blues' player to record a hat-trick before the age of 21, joining Bernie Federko.
[7][8] On January 20, two days after his 25th birthday, the Blues recalled goalie Pheonix Copley from their minor league affiliate Chicago Wolves, to cover Jake Allen's absence as he stayed home for the birth of his daughter.
[13] Ken Hitchcock was relieved of his duties as head coach by GM Doug Armstrong on February 1, with the Blues sitting in 4th place in the Central Division with 53 points.
But following a 15-7-4 start in the 2016-17 season, the team sputtered to a 9-14-1 record in the following 24 games, a point percentage of just .395; only the Colorado Avalanche (.196) and Arizona Coyotes (.375) were worse over that stretch.
Clinging to the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, in danger of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2010–11, Blues' GM Doug Armstrong cited the team's inconsistency in his decision to fire Hitchcock before the end of the season.
Bob and Barclay Plager joined only one other pair of brothers to have their jerseys retired by the same team: Maurice "The Rocket" and Henri Richard of the Montreal Canadiens.
He joined the club as a 21-year-old in an expansion draft trade with the New York Rangers in 1967 and became an instant fan-favorite thanks to his tenacious style of defense and his famous hip checks.
Yeo spent ten seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization and captured the 2009 Stanley Cup as an assistant.
[21] Robby Fabbri (C) was injured midway through the first period in a February 4 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, suffering a torn ACL in his left knee.
[22] Carter Hutton and Jake Allen scored back-to-back shutouts on the road on February 6–7 of the Philadelphia Flyers (2–0), and Ottawa Senators (6–0), respectively.
[23] Patrik Berglund (C) scored the first "hat trick" of his career in a 4-2 win (February 11) over the Montreal Canadiens for their fourth consecutive win for the Blues in a tough five-game road trip, pushing them into the top three in the Central Division's guarantee of a playoff spot with 63 points, three points ahead of the next two teams.
[27] The Blues clinched a playoff spot on March 31, in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center.
They joined the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers as the only teams to have reached the playoffs in each of the previous six seasons.
[29] On April 8, the Blues clinched third place in the Central Division with a 5-4 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh.
The Blues (46-29-7; 99 pts., 235-218 GF–GA) played the second-place Minnesota Wild (49-25-8; 106 pts., 266-208 GF–GA) in the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which began on Wednesday, April 12 with the first two games in St.
Sobotka played in his first playoff game with the Blues since 2014, after spending the three seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Zach Parise of the Wild ended Allen's 1-0 shutout bid when he scored with 22 seconds remaining in the third period, forcing the overtime frame.
On April 23, the Blues assigned Jordan Schmaltz (D) to the Chicago Wolves, and recalled prospect Thomas Vannelli (D), 22, who was acquired in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft #47 in round 2.
After a 12-1-1 record in road games after Mike Yeo replaced Ken Hitchcock as head coach, including 3 road wins in the first-round series win over Minnesota, the Blues lost all three games in Nashville, held to a single goal in each loss.
Below are the St. Louis Blues' selections at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, to be held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.
St. Louis Blues (from Washington Capitals) - Tage Thompson, C, Connecticut (H-EAST) NHL Central Scouting final North American ranking: 20 2015-16: 36 games, 14-18-32 "A right-handed power forward, Thompson began the season on the fourth line but soon was playing top line minutes.
NHL.com quick hit: The Blues needed a big, strong center and Thompson, at 6-foot-5 and 195 pounds, has a giant frame that can get even bigger.