ST. LOUIS — The first inductee in the St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame ceremony Monday night was Al Arbour. The defenseman, who played four seasons with the team in the late 1960s and early ’70s, was enshrined posthumously after passing away in 2015 at age 82.
So when Arbour’s name was announced to the capacity crowd at the Missouri Athletic Club, it was former teammate Red Berenson who took the microphone and described him.
“He was a glue type of player,” Berenson said. “He didn’t lead the team in scoring. He wasn’t an All-Star. But he was a player that made the team better, and he helped the young guys play the right way. He wore glasses, no helmet, which was unheard of, and yet he was a defensive defenseman. We saw right away — it wasn’t what he said; it was what he did and how he did it.”
Berenson went on to explain that Arbour played against the top forwards of his time, such as Bobby Hull. Hull would come down the wing, wind up and try to shoot the puck through Arbour.
“Al would go down, and he’s blocking a shot from about six feet away that could kill you if it hits you in the wrong spot,” Berenson said. “I went back in the medical room in between periods to see how Al was doing. They had his shin pad off and cleaned up all the blood and stitched him up, and then they put some cotton batting on like that was going to make it better. They put the shin pad back on, and we get out on the ice.”
The next period, here was Hull coming again, thinking Arbour would now be getting out of the way.
“I thought that our players played with that passion and intensity of a lot of the great players and teams that have played here before wearing the Blue Note.”
Hear from Joel Hofer, Nick Bjugstad and Jim Montgomery after Tuesday’s win over Carolina. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/he45dZhcOg
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 14, 2026
“No chance,” Berenson said. “Arbour goes down, blocks the shot and never says a word. Our team, just — ‘Holy s—!’ That made us a better team. Pretty soon, Barclay Plager was blocking shots, Bob Plager was blocking shots, and we took on a defensive posture that started with Al Arbour. He wasn’t an overly physical player, but he was a smart player, and he was a team player.”
As Berenson and several Hall of Famers spoke Monday, one couldn’t help but wonder what a table full of current Blues players were thinking. Sure, they’ve heard a lot of the stories from yesteryear. But was a club trying to reestablish its culture listening? Would it matter? Would it have any impact?
For one night, it seemed that it did, as the Blues blanked the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 on Tuesday night with many of those alumni in attendance at Enterprise Center.
Yes, the Metropolitan Division-leading Canes were playing on the second night of a back-to-back set against a rested club, but Blues coach Jim Montgomery called it the smartest his team has played this season as far as playing a simple and effective game. Afterward, many attributed the win to the passion that played out in front of them at the ceremony, which also honored fellow inductees Barret Jackman and Alexander Steen, as well as True Blue Award winner Kelly Chase.
“About 15 of our players were in attendance,” Montgomery said, “and when you’re hearing the Hall of Famers — Jackman, and Steener did a great job, and Chaser, with everything he’s done for the Blue Note … the stories about Bobby Plager by Brett Hull and Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger, Keith Tkachuk, Garry Unger and Red Berenson … there was a lot of history there last night, and I think it really soaked in about how special it is to play for this city and our fans.
“I thought that our players played with that passion and intensity of a lot of the great players that have played here before, wearing the Blue Note.”
In a win that ended a three-game losing streak, several players who showed up to the ceremony also showed up on the stat sheet, and in an ode to Arbour, the club finished with 19 blocked shots.
Goaltender Joel Hofer was one of those at the players’ table Monday, and he pitched a 33-save shutout Tuesday — his fourth of the season, which tied him for the NHL lead.
“It was very important to us,” Hofer, 25, said. “Lots of us went to the ceremony last night, and, yeah, those guys are big role models for all of us. For them to all tell their stories, each and every one of them, was so important to this organization.
“It’s special. You can’t really describe it much — just the love for the city and the passion. The Blue Note means a lot more; it’s not just a logo. Everybody is working toward a goal, and it’s a big community. It was huge for us to get a win for them tonight.”
Former Blues goalie Curtis Joseph came back to town for the event, and after hearing Berenson highlight Arbour’s on-ice heroics, he quipped: “You know what I got from the stories that I just heard? We were soft. Every generation gets a little softer, but we were soft compared to those guys.”
After Arbour, another example was Chase, who had 200-plus fights and 2,000-plus penalty minutes in his 11-year NHL career.
“You’ve got that right,” Brett Hull said. “He was the toughest I’ve ever been around. I had a front-row seat to a lot of tilts. I always say that he didn’t win them all, because he’d fight the biggest and the baddest, but I never saw him lose one.”
There was Jackman, too, who ranks No. 2 in franchise history with 803 games played (most by a defenseman).
MacInnis, who helped break Jackman into the league, said, “He had a quiet confidence, knew what he wanted, knew his identity, and took ownership.”
And there was Steen, who ranks No. 10 in club history in goals (195), No. 7 in assists (301) and No. 6 in points (496).
Blues associate coach Steve Ott pointed to a pair of action photos of Steen and Jackman at the ceremony and said, “If you look at those two pictures up there, and you stare at their eyes, the competitiveness that that speaks, the character in those eyes, you knew what you were in for every night. And then the support and people they are, that’s special.”
Like Hofer, Blues rookie Jimmy Snuggerud, 21, said it was “super important” to witness the ceremony in person. Snuggerud went out Tuesday against the Hurricanes and scored his seventh goal of the season.
“It was really cool to hear all of those things. I can see things from their eyes and what it really means to be a Blue,” Snuggerud said. “Just a huge congratulations to those guys inducted: Steener and Barret and Al Arbour. It means a lot to put this jersey on, and you just kind of realize it more and more each day.”
But you don’t have to be a youngster to understand and appreciate what the alumni have done.
Nick Bjugstad, 33, whose first season with the Blues marks his seventh team in a 14-year NHL career, returned to the lineup Tuesday and scored the first goal, his fifth of the season.
“It was a fun game to come back for, Hall of Fame night,” Bjugstad said. “We stressed that this morning and before the game. It’s an honor to be wearing the Blue Note. I’ve played on a few teams, and I’ve never experienced an alumni like this. It’s a strong culture, and you can tell everyone kind of keeps tabs on what’s going on, even if they’ve been out of the league for a while.
“It’s fun for the players to get to know guys and hear stories and hear about the history of the Blues. A lot of guys were in the building tonight, so we wanted to play hard for them and the fans.”
