From the Desk of Tom Stillman

[67Blues]

Very nice letter I received today.

On behalf of the entire St. Louis Blues organization, I want to thank our season ticket holders, our corporate partners, and all of our other fans and friends for their tremendous support over the past season. It has been a magical year, filled with wonderful memories, proud achievements, and great strides.

I hope that you join me in taking great pride in our achievements this season. On the ice, the team once again put together a stellar regular-season campaign, finishing with our third consecutive 100-plus point total. Despite battling through numerous injuries to key players, the team finished with the third-best record in the NHL and the fifth-best regular-season point total in Blues history.

Our post-season adventure brought us a hard-fought Round 1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, the defending Stanley Cup champions and our biggest rival. The atmosphere at Scottrade Center was electric throughout the series, and our Game 7 victory is one of my fondest memories as a Blues fan. Round 2, a match-up between the top regular-season teams in the Western Conference, was another series for the ages, as our team took another Game 7 victory.

Unfortunately, our quest for the Cup ended in the Western Conference Final. While the loss still stings, it does not diminish our pride in the team’s accomplishments throughout the season; it only provides fuel and experience for our ongoing efforts to bring the Cup to St. Louis.

While the team and its play are the focal point of any season, there is much to be proud of off the ice as well. We have worked diligently to improve the fan experience at Scottrade Center, including the game-night atmosphere and entertainment. We have added free Wi-Fi for our fans, worked with our concessionaire partner to improve our food and beverage offerings, and improved the infrastructure of our building through numerous behind-the-scenes projects.

We have continued to connect with our fans through innovative and engaging social media campaigns, which have brought us league-wide and national recognition. Our television ratings rank among the best in the NHL, and our playoff run broke several viewership records in the St. Louis market.

In the community, we renamed our charitable efforts Blues for Kids, with a focus on programs and services that improve the health and wellness of youths in the area. With your support, we raised money and awareness for many local charities. We also launched our Hockey STL 2020 Campaign, with a goal to grow hockey participation in the region by 70 percent. We introduced more than 25,000 kids to the game of hockey through our Street Blues ball-hockey program in local schools. Teaming up with local youth hockey associations, we had great success with our Little Blues program. And we launched an ambitious initiative to develop much-needed new rink facilities in the area.

Both on the ice and off the ice, the St. Louis Blues 2015-2016 season has given us plenty of reason to reflect proudly as we move forward. It is, however, just another step as we continue to grow into a world-class organization for the people of St. Louis.

As we bring this tremendous season to a close, we are working on making next season even better. Head Coach Ken Hitchcock will return for his final season, eager to build on this year’s progress. With a compelling mix of seasoned players and young, breakthrough talents, the future is very promising.

Throughout the 2016-17 season, we will celebrate our 50th Anniversary with special events paying homage to the great players and memories of the past. And, over the holidays, we will host the NHL’s premier event, the Winter Classic (along with a Blues-Blackhawks Alumni Game) outdoors at Busch Stadium.

Once again, my primary message is THANK YOU, FANS! Thank you for your support, for your passion, and for continually pushing us to new heights. We will work hard to be the best in all we do and to give you a hometown team that makes you proud. I hope you are already looking forward to next season with as much enthusiasm as we are. We can’t wait to see you at Scottrade Center again.

Best,

Tom Stillman

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[Total Bender]

I am extremely grateful to have an owner like Tom Stillman.

 

[Mike Liut]

I am extremely grateful to have an owner like Tom Stillman.

He's a good one

 

[Celtic Note]

He really does a great job connecting with the community. It is a refreshing touch from a Blues owner.

 

[Burynai]

None of us have ever witnessed our team win the Cup but right now we're very lucky in that department and I have confidence it's coming soon with this man at the helm.

 

[TheDizee]

if army makes the right moves they will be in contention for a cup again. got to get rid of shatty and lehtera first.

 

[Ranksu]

What you guys think about Stillman is too fanatic about Armstrong and Hitchcock, is that holding down this team for now and future?

Like in bigger picture this Hitch one more year ---> Shaw, Muller and Ayette leaves. What about will Armstrong get new deal after his contract is end of 2018?

Is this team really going on right path or could Stillman's 'biased' opinion blinding his discernment about is Armstrong really right guy and this one more year of Hitch nonesense?

 

[67Blues]

To be fair to the next coach, Army couldn't just give longer term contracts with the assistants which would either hamstring the new coach, or cost the team a bunch of dead money paying coaches who aren't part of the new regime.

Hitchcock put them in a bit of a tough situation announcing that this is his last year, but it was self-inflicted as the Blues could have just said no and moved forward. Either way, you can't blame the assistant coaches for wanting job security past this year. I'm sure they had a sit down with the coaches and let them know that they weren't in the plans to replace Hitch next year. If they were, they wouldn't have left.

I suspect that they will hire the next coach as an assistant this year to start to learn the players and implement a new scheme piece by piece. That would make a smooth transition.

 

[Total Bender]

I trust that a man spending millions of his own money is as invested in the Blues' success as any of us here. On top of that I think that Stillman has demonstrated that he is a huge fan and is very engaged with the team on a level that not many owners of any pro team have in recent history.

I have no idea how Stillman could be criticized considering the performance of the team in the short time he's owned it. I don't blame anyone here for criticizing Army or Hitch's desicions but the situation is no where near dire enough for Stillman to step in and override any of Armstrongs decisions. The team and it's recent "failures" are just no where near as disappointing as some want to make it out.

Just because it's not your "path" doesn't mean it's isn't a path that could lead to sustainable success. If nothing else Hitch is guaranteed gone next year long before our core's prime has past. There really are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the Blues future... try it out.

FFS we could have Jim Benning for a gm.

 

[Bluenatic]

I am SO GRATEFUL to have Mr. Stillman as owner of my favorite sports team. His passion is amazing, I truly believe he is living "the dream". Like, "if I won the lottery I would........". I'd bet he'd shed tears if the Blues raised The Cup

 

[KingBran]

Stillman is a pretty cool guy. Doesn't really afraid of anything.

 

[SteenMachine]

There's a real difference between a confident owner and an arrogant one. We're lucky in that regard for sure.