Despite his backup role, he achieved international glory with the Czech Republic national team, backstopping them to a gold medal at the 1996 World Championships.

The Stars, fearing they would lose Turek to the Atlanta Thrashers in the upcoming expansion draft, traded him to the St. Louis Blues in the 1999 off-season, and Turek finally got his chance to shine as he topped the league with seven shutouts and won the William M. Jennings Trophy in his first season.

However, St. Louis was eliminated in seven games by the eighth-seeded San Jose Sharks, with some aggravated Blues fans pinning responsibility on Turek because of some soft goals he allowed, including one in game 7 that was fired from centre ice by Sharks captain Owen Nolan.

He put up good numbers again, this time helping the Blues reach the playoffs as the fourth seed, where they again faced the Sharks in the first round.

However, Turek was a dependable backup, as Kiprusoff led the Flames to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning.