The2010–11St. Louis Bluesseason was the team's44th season for theNational Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 5, 1967.^[1]

The Blues posted a regular season record of 38 wins, 33 losses and 11 overtime/shootout losses for 87 points, failing to qualify for theStanley Cup playoffs for the second consecutive season. Until the2017–18 NHL season, this was the final season that the Blues did not make the playoffs.

On April 14, the Blues announced thatDavis Payne would be retained as head coach, making him the 23rd head coach of the franchise.
Doug Armstrong was named the new general manager, replacingLarry Pleau, who will serve in a different capacity in the organization.^[2] On June 1, former playerScott Mellanby was hired as an assistant coach.^[3] On June 18, the Blues hired former NHL goaltenderCorey Hirsch as their new goaltending coach. He joined the Blues on July 1.^[4]

On July 1,Doug Armstrong became the team's new general manager.^[5] Also on July 1,Dave Taylor became the new director of player personnel. He was previously with theDallas Stars for three years and prior to that with theLos Angeles Kings organization as both a player and in their front office for 30 years.^[6]

On August 12, Dr. Jerome Gilden, the Blues' team doctor since their inception in 1967, died.^[7]

On August 27, forwardPaul Kariya (a free agent at the time) announced that he would sit out the entire 2010–11 season due topost-concussion syndrome.^[8][9]

bold – qualified for playoffs;y – Won division;p – Won President's Trophy (best record in NHL)
CE – Central Division,NW – Northwest Division,PA – Pacific Division

Blues Schedule
OnFSN, unless noted otherwise onVS.

• Green background indicates win (2 points).
• Red background indicates regulation loss (0 points).
• White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).

T. J. Oshie broke his ankle in Columbus on November 10 during a fight midway in the third period playing theColumbus Blue Jackets when a Blue Jacket player fell on him; he will be out at least three months. He had surgery the next day.^[12] Just before that game, after a November 7 shutout (game #4) win, the Blues were off to their best start in team history, with seven consecutive wins for 20 points (9–1–2) in only 12 games.^[13]

Ratings have soared for the Blues onFSN with 16 telecasts averaging 3.6, a whopping 59% higher than the 2.3 rating compared to the same time last year. October was the best-season opening month in Blues' history for games on the network. A record 5.6 rating was achieved on November 4 (Blues at home against theSan Jose Sharks) beating the 5.0 rating for a game on March 29, 2000. The team has also sold out each one of its nine home games so far with 19,150 per game, for a total of 172,350.^[14]

The slew of key injuries this season continued with theconcussion thatAndy McDonald received on the last play of the December 4 game against theEdmonton Oilers in an overtime loss. He is the fourth Blue to suffer the debilitating injury withCam Janssen andCarlo Colaiacovo returning, butDavid Perron still out with his since November 4.^[15]

T. J. Oshie began a light skate on December 23, six weeks after suffering a broken ankle on November 10,^[16] and could return by the end of January.^[17]

David Backes was named the lone Blues' representative for theNHL All-Star Game for January 30, his first.^[18]

T. J. Oshie was activated and available for the game on January 18 after missing 31 games since a broken ankle on November 10.^[19]

On January 20, the Blues updated the status of two forwards withconcussions: Andy McDonald and David Perron. McDonald passed a baseline concussion test and has resumed light skating. He has been out of the lineup since December 4. Perron is still experiencing symptoms but will begin light exercise to see how his body responds. He has been out of the lineup since November 4.^[20]

On February 1, the Blues announced that the day's home game against theColorado Avalanche was postponed due to severe weather. No make-up date has been set.^[21]

On February 2, the Blues announced that February 22 at 7pm is to be the make-up date for the February 1 postponed game.^[22]

Andy McDonald has been activated from injured reserve and will play against the Edmonton Oilers on February 4. He has missed 24 games since his December 4 concussion. To make room for him, the Blues sentPhilip McRae down to theAmerican Hockey League'sPeoria Rivermen.^[23]

On February 18, the Blues traded their captain,Eric Brewer to theTampa Bay Lightning in exchange for unsigned draft choiceBrock Beukeboom and a third-round pick in the upcoming2011 NHL entry draft.^[24]

On a second consecutive day of trading, the Blues tradedErik Johnson,Jay McClement and a 2011 or2012 first-round draft choice to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for former first-round draft choicesChris Stewart,Kevin Shattenkirk and a conditional 2011 or 2012 second-round draft choice.^[25]

The team responded to the changes in the next game that same February 19 evening. After spotting theAnaheim Ducks an 0–2 deficit, they scored two quick goals to tie the game, and then two others in the first period for a slender 4–3 lead. They then blasted four more goals in the second period, including two consecutive goals late in the period by newcomer Chris Stewart (with Kevin Shattenkirk setting him up for his second goal), and one more in the third in a runaway 9–3 win. It was the highest number of goals scored by the Blues in a single game since they scored their all-time high of 11 against theOttawa Senators in 1994.^[26]

David Perron has been trying to get back onto the ice since his November 4 concussion. He has missed 50 games (through game #60 on February 24). He passed a baseline test last month and has begun light exercises.^[27]

Ben Bishop recorded his first NHL shutout against the Edmonton Oilers, stopping all 39 shots in a 5–0 win inEdmonton on February 25.^[28]

In the third major trade in barely over a week, on February 27, the Blues tradedBrad Boyes to theBuffalo Sabres for a second-round draft pick.^[29]

The Blues suffered a rare shutout at the Buffalo game after 111 consecutive games, the longest in the NHL and only eight games shy of the Blues' record.^[30]

The Blues on February 28, the Blues placed goaltenderTy Conklin on waivers, but he cleared them with no team picking him up, so he remains a Blue for now. The team can either send him to the Peoria Rivermen, or ask goaltender Ben Bishop to be demoted.^[31][32]

In a move just before theNHL trade deadline at 3pm EST, on February 28, the Blues traded left-wingerBrad Winchester for a third-round draft pick from the Anaheim Ducks in 2012.^[33]

After a glittering 9–1–2 (20 points in 12 games) start, the Blues plagued by injuries and sub-par performances by key personnel, dropped to an even record (28–28–9) with a loss to theNew York Islanders on March 5. They have since struggled to a 19–27–7 (45 points in 53 games) record after that November 7 high point.

Prior to the March 7 game, a 5–4 shootout win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team honored its four greatest players to wear the number 7 jersey in a"Salute to No. 7":Red Berenson,Garry Unger,Joe Mullen, andKeith Tkachuk. Transcripts of the four speeches arehere.^[34]

DefensemanBarret Jackman and forwardAlexander Steen (bothalternate captains), will miss four-to-six weeks due to injuries suffered in the overtime win on March 9.^[35][36] The team subsequently elevated 21-year-old, up-and-coming defensemanAlex Pietrangelo and veteran Andy McDonald to alternate captains.^[37]

On March 16, ChairmanDave Checketts announced he was putting up for sale his 20% stake in the franchise and theScottrade Center.TowerBrook Capital Partners owns 70% and other minority investors (including a local beer distributor Tom Stillman) own the other 10%.^[38]On March 17, it was announced that both the St. Louis Blues franchise and the Scottrade Center were for sale.^[39]

On March 30, the Blues defeated theDetroit Red Wings 10–3 atJoe Louis Arena.^[40] It was the first time an NHL team had scored 10 goals in a regular season game since February 6, 2009, when theDallas Stars defeated theNew York Rangers at home by a score of 10–2.^[41] It was also the first time that the Blues had scored 10 goals in a regular-season game since February 26, 1994, when they defeated the Ottawa Senators in an 11–1 road win.^[42]

On April 1, the Blues were officially eliminated from the playoffs with a 3–2 loss to theCalgary Flames with a record of 35–33–10 (80 points) and four games to play. Calgary now has 89 points while the Blues can now only get to 88 points.Jarome Iginla got two goals plus an assist in the win to become the 77th player to reach 1,000 points in his career with the game-winningwrist shot on abreakaway with only 5:03 remaining in the third period.^[43] He has 39 goals and 41 assists in 79 games this season, and 480 goals plus 520 assists in 1,103 career regular-season games.^[44]

On April 9, David Backes earned aplus-minus team-high of +32, Alexander Steen scored his 20th goal with 49 seconds remaining in the game – which was also his 100th career NHL goal – and T. J. Oshie scored the first goal in a 2–0 shutout byJaroslav Halak for the third time this season over theNashville Predators.^[45]

The Blues finished in fourth place in the Central Division and 11th place in the Western Conference with a 38–33–11 (87 points) record.

The Blues concluded the regular season having allowed the fewest shorthanded goals in the NHL, with just one.^[46]

The Blues failed to qualify for theplayoffs again after having failed to qualify in2009–10.

(Updated through games of April 9, 2011) FINAL
Stats

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

* indicates not currently on the active roster.
⁺ indicates on Injured Reserve.
^‡Traded away mid-season, date of last game in ( ). Stats reflect time with Blues only.
^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Blues, date of first game in ( ). Stats reflect time with Blues only.Bold = leading team in category.

(Updated through games of April 9, 2011, FINAL)
Stats

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; SA= Shots against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts

The Blues have been involved in the followingtransactions during the 2010–11 season.

St. Louis's picks at the2010 NHL entry draft inLos Angeles, June 25–26, 2010. The Blues had the 14th choice by virtue of finishing ninth in the conference in2009–10.^[98]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (League)
1	14	Jaden Schwartz	C	Canada	Tri-City Storm (USHL)
1	16 (from Ottawa)	Vladimir Tarasenko	C	Russia	Sibir Novosibirsk (KHL)
2	44	Sebastian Wannstrom	C	Sweden	Brynäs IF (J20 SuperElit)
3	74	Max Gardiner	C	United States	Minnetonka High School (USHS-MN)
4	104	Jani Hakanpaa	D	Finland	Kiekko-Vantaa Jr. (Finland Jr-2)
5	134	Cody Beach	RW	Canada	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
6	164	Stephen MacAulay	LW	Canada	Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)

ThePeoria Rivermen are the BluesAmerican Hockey League affiliate in2010–11.

TheAlaska Aces are the Blues affiliate in theECHL.

• 2010–11 NHL season
• St. Louis Blues seasons
• St. Louis (sports)

• 2010–11 St. Louis Blues season at ESPN
• 2010–11 St. Louis Blues season at Hockey Reference

• St. Louis Blues seasons
• 2010–11 NHL season by team
• 2010 in sports in Missouri
• 2011 in sports in Missouri

• Webarchive template wayback links
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from April 2019
• Articles with permanently dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from June 2023
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023
• Articles with hCards