Blues January 1991

[DawgDad]

Yeah. The Courtnall-Ronning (et al) trade turned the Blues into a one-line offense. Quinn never developed synergy with the remaining checkers to boost their production; his offense maybe offset the loss of Ronning but then there was no Courtnall, no Momesso and lesser two-way play. Butcher was an upgrade but not enough to offset the lopsided mess left in the forward lines.

[PPG]

In response to MRK's post-
I don't ever recall Butcher breaking Roenicks jaw after scoring an OT goal.
I do recall Derian Hatcher breaking Roenicks jaw around 1999 & Roenick had to wear the football style helmet to keep playing.
Not saying it didn't happen. Just didn't remember it

[BrummerStealsHome]

Watching a Blues classic game on Matrix Midwest from January 1991. The game where Hull scored 50 goals in 50 games. What struck me is how good that team was. How did they not win a Stanley Cup before 2019.

That team was loaded. Hull, Oates, Brindamour, Courtnall, Ronning, Lowry, Bassen, McLean, Meaghar, R Sutter, the Cavallini boys, Stevens, Jeff Brown, Snepts, Fetherstone, CuJo. Amazing how much talent they had BUT never won a cup.

One reason they didn't win the Stanley Cup that year was the stupid Dan Quinn trade. Nothing against Dan Quinn, but that trade didn't need to happen and it screwed up the team chemistry before the stretch run of the season. Sometimes GMs think they need to make trades so it looks like their doing something. That was a year to sit tight and let things play out, but it didn't happen that way. Yes, I'm still (upset) about it.

[Old_Goat]

Excellent thread and posts. The '91 trade was a big hurt, likely the worst trade ever for the Blues, visible then and now. Some of the posters have brought up some great points as to potential rationale as to why it came about. It certainly is a great example of the importance of depth and balance in the lineup, rather than the one or two shiny ones in the spotlight.
A bit of a pivot on the subject, but since he has been brought up...Brian Sutter is an excellent human being. He has fantastic strengths as a leader and therefore that helped carry him as a Coach. He was worthy of the Jack Adams award. Probably his biggest achilles as coach is he was not strong with the X's & O's. I don't believe that he still harbors resentment towards the Blues nor St. Louis. All of those folks running the show back then are gone. He's a strong family man, has a lot of responsibility now as the head of the family's massive ranching operation and living back where he grew up. That profession practically has no days off, exceptionally busy and a long distance from here. Like many of us, he turned off the switch, has moved on and is probably refreshed to not be immersed in the past... and is really enjoying something else that he loves and is in his blood. His hockey attention is likely now focused on his nephews & grandchildren's play.

[seattleblue]

Brian Sutter defined a way of playing. As a coach yes he had some drawbacks but as a player it was our privilege to watch that

[DawgDad]

Brian Sutter defined a way of playing. As a coach yes he had some drawbacks but as a player it was our privilege to watch that

I was in my late 20's when Brian Sutter broke in. If I would have been buying a replica jersey it would have been his.

[SameOldBlues]

I don't remember Butcher and Quinn hardly at all. Did either of them do anything notable while here? Those were the years of perpetual playoff disappointment. Just one bad decision after another.

Butcher broke Roenick's jaw I think after Roenick scored a game winner in OT. That's about all I remember.

I am 99.99999% that never happened. You’re probably innocently thinkin of someone else.

On the subject of Butcher tho, I really couldn’t stand him. What I remember most of his tenure was him cross-checking every opposing player after he let them score, and him rarely ever winning a fight. Oh, and his slow plodding skating like he was in molasses. Other than that tho, he was super duper groovy.

[seattleblue]

Replacing Stevens with Butcher was on par with replacing Pronger with Brewer, it was an immediate end

I know they played on the 91 playoff squad together but when Butcher took Stevens place the next year there wasn't a real chance for them to win. Nobody is winning a Cup with Butcher as a main guy, He was brutal

[somni]

Replacing Stevens with Butcher was on par with replacing Pronger with Brewer, it was an immediate end

I know they played on the 91 playoff squad together but when Butcher took Stevens place the next year there wasn't a real chance for them to win. Nobody is winning a Cup with Butcher as a main guy, He was brutal

So adding Curt Giles in his 30's in March didn't move the needle for you either.

[netboy65]

I don't remember Butcher and Quinn hardly at all. Did either of them do anything notable while here? Those were the years of perpetual playoff disappointment. Just one bad decision after another.

Butcher broke Roenick's jaw I think after Roenick scored a game winner in OT. That's about all I remember.

I am 99.99999% that never happened. You’re probably innocently thinkin of someone else.

On the subject of Butcher tho, I really couldn’t stand him. What I remember most of his tenure was him cross-checking every opposing player after he let them score, and him rarely ever winning a fight. Oh, and his slow plodding skating like he was in molasses. Other than that tho, he was super duper groovy.

For sure, he was a pylon out there

[Whatashame]

I’ve been a Blues fan since almost the beginning. Brian Sutter is my all time favorite. Loved the way he played. Hell, if I could play hockey a lick, Sutter is the kind of player I would have wanted to be like.

[esp31]

I think Ron Caron was a great GM. The BrindAmour trade was a knee jerk reaction to one of our top 4 defenseman getting hurt and Murry Baron was the key piece that RC wanted. BrindAmour had difficulty relaxing with the intensity of Brian Sutter.

The Canucks trade seemed like a good idea at the time. We were giving up spare parts not realizing how important the depth they provided. We were gutting a tough mean defensemen in Garth Butcher and Dan Quinn who was a good top-6 forward. Quinn could never find the success in St. Louis that he had in Vancouver. Things started to unravel when Oates wanted to renegotiate his contract after the Blues had already renegotiated his contract (in the middle of an existing contract) again. In hindsight, the Blues should have just given him a blank check because we never could find a 1C that Hull was happy with.

The Steven's signing was great for St. Louis. So was signing Shanahan. The NHL and judge Ed Houston screwed the Blues at the urging of the owners. They were scared to death that signings like that would be the death of the league.

That team, though, was probably better than the 2019 team.

No, no, no. We weren't giving up spare parts. We traded our entire second line. No, Caron was an interesting GM, not sound. Dismantled what should have been a championship team. There were extenuating circumstances for many, from ownership/money, to off-ice stuff with Gilmour, giving Sutter his way a couple times, but between all of them, they messed it up pretty good.

[moose-and-squirrel]

Brian Sutter defined a way of playing. As a coach yes he had some drawbacks but as a player it was our privilege to watch that

great player, BAD coach.. miserable person.. absolute jerk

[seattleblue]

Brian Sutter defined a way of playing. As a coach yes he had some drawbacks but as a player it was our privilege to watch that

great player, BAD coach.. miserable person.. absolute jerk

I only know him as a player and coach. His play on the ice to me is what Blues hockey is

[Sudsy 11]

I’ve been a Blues fan since almost the beginning. Brian Sutter is my all time favorite. Loved the way he played. Hell, if I could play hockey a lick, Sutter is the kind of player I would have wanted to be like.

Obviously, I was a fan of Sutter's playing style for the moment he joined the Blues. Sudsy was a true team player. However, he was allowed to have too much influence on personnel as a coach and that ended up hurting the team during that time period.

[Whatashame]

I’ve been a Blues fan since almost the beginning. Brian Sutter is my all time favorite. Loved the way he played. Hell, if I could play hockey a lick, Sutter is the kind of player I would have wanted to be like.

Obviously, I was a fan of Sutter's playing style for the moment he joined the Blues. Sudsy was a true team player. However, he was allowed to have too much influence on personnel as a coach and that ended up hurting the team during that time period.

We don’t know all of the nuances of what goes on behind the scenes that coaches go through. Not all coaches were players and not all players were meant to be coaches. Maybe his temperament just didn’t match what was needed to be a coach. As a player we need more of him. It’s early but I see a lot of him in Jake Neighbours. Neighbours doesn’t bring the intensity that Sutter did but few can. I was one of the first to mention Neighbours as a future captain for the Blues.