This post was originally published at TheHockeyWriters.com.

The end of the season brought more joy than anyone in the Blues’ organization could have imagined.

It was announced Wednesday morning that the sale of the St. Louis Blues, the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL and a “significant interest” in the Peabody Opera House, which sits just behind Scottrade Center, was approved by the NHL Board Of Governors by majority vote.  It is believed that the price of the sale is around $130 million.

Tom Stillman heads a team of investors that will be embarking on a new ownership venture.  Stillman is the CEO of Summit Distributing, a successful St. Louis beer distributor.  Stillman has been the minority owner of the Blues since 2007.

The team has been up for sale since now former owner, Dave Checketts, announced in May 2010 that top investor TowerBrook Capital Partners was divesting their interest.

Checketts tried to find another investor for months, then decided to put the entire organization up for sale.  Chicago businessman and sports nut Matthew Hulsizer came the closest to purchasing the team; after signing an exclusive purchase agreement with Checketts and the Blues, the NHL enforced a December 31, 2011 deadline to complete the deal.  Obviously, things did not pan out for Hulsizer.

The better alternative came to light.  Stillman is a local businessman who has more than just an investment to protect.  Summit Distributing is a St. Louis company that is known for its reliability and ableness to distribute beer in a timely manner.  Needless to say, Tom Stillman has a reputation to protect.

Stillman’s first expected move is to announce that former Blues great Brett Hull will have a management position inside the organization.  Hull, a Hall of Famer, is the Blues’ all-time leader in regular season goals (527), game-winning goals (70), power-play goals (195) and shots on goal (3,367).  Hull served as a Co-General Manager for the Dallas Stars from November 11, 2007 to May 31, 2009.

It is expected that President John Davidson and current GM of the Year nominee Doug Armstrong will remain in their current roles.

This post was originally published at TheHockeyWriters.com.

It’s hard to find any bright spots after being swept in a playoff series.  If one team can, it is the St. Louis Blues.

The Blues had their season end Sunday afternoon, as the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings took the Semifinal Series, 4-0.  The Kings out-scored the Blues 15-6 in the series and the Blues were scoreless with the extra man after receiving 17 power-play opportunities.

Those are not the bright spots.

While the Blues may not have ended the 2011-12 season on a high note, they battled through a tough season that earned them 109 points in the regular season and a first-round playoff victory.  These were not the expectations heading into this campaign.

After missing the playoffs in 2010-11 by ten points, the Blues made some shake-ups over the summer.  GM Doug Armstrong brought in many new faces, all of whom were proven NHL veterans.  Forwards Jamie Langenbrunner, Jason Arnott and Scott Nichol, along with defenseman Kent Huskins and goaltender Brian Elliott, were all fresh faces arriving in training camp in September.  The Blues upped the average age of the roster while also bringing in a quality backup for starter Jaroslav Halak.

Blues media and personnel expected a good fight for the playoffs.  They were given much more than that.

This post was originally published at TheHockeyWriters.com.

It is safe to say that the St. Louis Blues were missing something in Game 2 of their best-of-7 series with the Los Angeles Kings Monday night.

The Blues were on the sour end of a 4-goal first period en route to a 5-2 loss. 

This included a Mike Richards rebound goal just 31 seconds into the game in which Richards and winger Dustin Penner went untouched to the net to create the goal.  14 minutes later, Anze Kopitar scored a shorthanded goal after a steal in the offensive zone by Kings Captain Dustin Brown. 

Jeff Carter added a goal minutes later, and Kopitar capped off the period with just 17 seconds remaining, scoring his second tally of the game. 

“They scored four goals… it was pretty easy,” Blues Head Coach Ken Hitchcock said.  “They [get] full marks.  They checked us hard.  They checked us hard and we coughed up the puck.  We made mistakes.”

Justin Williams scored the other goal for the Kings at 1:26 of the second period while Andy McDonald and Matt D’Agostini both scored for St. Louis. 

Blues goaltender Brian Elliott faced 16 shots in the first period but was forced to make just 4 saves the rest of the game after Williams’ goal. 

The standing-room only crowd witnessed the Blues fall to a 2-0 series deficit in their Western Conference Semifinal Series.

“It was embarrassing, the work ethic we had as a team,” said forward T.J. Oshie.  “That’s not the start we need, especially in front of the fans and in front of [Elliott].  He’s battled for us all year.  For our team defense to be that poor… it’s embarrassing to do that in front of them.”

This post was originally published at TheHockeyWriters.com.

On April 25, 2002, the St. Louis Blues defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 5 of their Conference Quarterfinal Series.  Who knew that this would be the last series-clinching victory for ten years?

The Blues finally overcame the playoff-round winless streak, eliminating the San Jose Sharks from the 2012 playoffs Saturday night with a 3-1 victory at Scottrade Center.

“I’ve been here through a few ups and downs,” Blues defenseman Barret Jackman said.  “It’s very gratifying that I’ve been here the whole time and been a small piece of this puzzle.  It’s a great feeling right now.”

The first period went as expected.  It was a low shot count for both sides, 7-3 favoring the Blues, with no goals put on the board.  Hitting was apparent and some bad blood spilled over to the second period as Blues winger Chris Stewart and Sharks forward Tommy Wingels dropped the gloves and had an old-fashioned joust.

“Stewie [had] a really good fight tonight,” said Blues Captain David Backes.  “He’s finding ways to contribute and that’s what we need from each and every guy.”

With the offense a little more apparent in the second period, San Jose finally found the back of the net on their 16^th shot of the night.  Captain Joe Thornton received a pass from Daniel Winnick in front of the net and beat goaltender Brian Elliott to put the Sharks up 1-0 with just .41 seconds remaining in the second period.

The Blues came out to start the third period as calm as they have been all season.  Elliott made some saves early while his teammates waited for their chances to come.  The fourth line and the team’s veterans would be the ones to start the end of the Sharks’ season.

After Scott Nichol took a wrist shot from far out, Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi fumbled the puck on the top of his crease.  Jamie Langenbrunner was there to knock in the rebound while streaking to the net, marking his first goal of the playoffs.

Langenbrunner has earned the nickname “The Legend” from his teammates for a reason.