The St. Louis Blues were founded in 1967 as one of the six expansion teams
during the NHL';s 1967 expansion era. The Blues have yet to win a Stanley Cup
in their 50-year history but have made it to the Stanley Cup Final on three
separate occasions and have always been looked at as one of the better and more
 consistent teams in the NHL. The Blues own the third-highest consecutive
playoff streak record of 25 seasons and have won one Presidents'; Trophy
(during the 1999-2000 season).

St. Louis, Missouri has always been a fantastic place to play hockey. The Blues
 always have always had near-the-top attendance ratings and boast an excellent
 list of alumni players such as Wayne Gretzky, Bernie Federko, Al MacInnis,
Brett Hull, Chris Pronger and potential Hockey Hall-of-Fame inductee, Keith
Tkachuk. Out of all the alumni, who is the best St. Louis-born player to play
for his hometown?Patrick Maroon

The moment Patrick Maroon steps onto the ice to play his first official game as
 a member of the St. Louis Blues, he will be the best hometown Blues player in
 the team';s history. On July 10, the St. Louis native decided to sign a
one-year contract with the Blues worth $1.75 million.

The 30-year-old will be entering his 8th season in the NHL, and before signing
with the Blues, he played for the New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers and
Anaheim Ducks. Maroon entered the NHL scene permanently in 2012-2013, where he
has since made a name for himself as a trusted top-nine forward who provides
size, grit and the ability to put the puck in the net.

Maroon 5 wasn't possible since #5 is retired, but Maroon 7 will do just fine.
#stlblues pic.twitter.com/mV2WTiswEn

- St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) July 11, 2018

Maroon just turned 30 and will be a vital part of the Blues'; offense this
season. The signing of Maroon is one of the many offseason moves that general
manager Doug Armstrong has made to get his club back into the playoffs after
missing it in 2017-18 by just a single point.Cam Janssen

If you were an avid follower of the NHL from 2005 to 2012, you knew just who
this guy was. What is one way to sum up Cam Janssen';s career? A very loved but
 hated player. Janssen played a total of 165 games for his hometown from
2008-2011 and tallied a total of two goals and nine points. Janssen was not
known for his scoring abilities but still often found the scoresheet in a
different way, as he tallied 470 penalty minutes over his four seasons with the
 Blues.St. Louis native Cam Janssen played for the St. Louis from 2008 to 2011.

Janssen made a living of being a fourth-line pest and was a fan favorite no
matter what city he played in. He was traded to the Blues in exchange for Bryce
 Salvador in 2008, and as soon as Janssen was acquired, John Davison, the
Blues'; President at the time, said the following: 

"We feel that Cam';s style of play will bring energy and grit to our lineup and
 being from St. Louis, feel that he will be an instant fan favorite here."

Players like Janssen at the NHL level are almost extinct-you just do not see
them much anymore. Now largely gone from the game, back in the early 2000ss the
 game of hockey was played much differently, as team';s fourth lines were often
 stacked by grinders that could fight and add grit, toughness and intimidation.
 In 2018, if you look around the NHL, the fourth line narrative has changed;
there is no room for a player like Janssen-it is all about speed and
skill.Chris ButlerSt. Louis native Chris Butler with the Blues in 2016 (Chris
Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports)

Chris Butler is the most recent St. Louis-born player to play a game for the
Blues. Butler, a 31-year-old veteran, has most recently spent his time floating
 between the NHL and AHL over the past couple of seasons. Before joining the
Blues in 2014, Butler played for three NHL teams, where he was known as a
reliable and steady two-way defenseman. Butler was drafted by the Buffalo
Sabres in 2004 and played 3 full seasons for the Sabres before he was traded to
 the Calgary Flames for a second round pick in 2012 (now Jake McCabe). In July
of 2014, Butler was a free agent and opted to sign with his hometown Blues.

Butler played 33 games for the Blues in 2014-15 where he tallied 9 points and
had a plus-8 rating. Since his 2014-2015 season, Butler has struggled to stick
in the NHL as he has only played in a total of 12 games over that span. Last
season, Butler appeared in six games for the Blues, where he had a plus-1
rating and logged just over 13 minutes of ice time per game.

Butler should realistically see some time for the Blues during the 2018-19
season, but it should only be for a handful of games once again since the Blues
 have a deep defensive corps. Butler has put up solid numbers in the AHL the
past two seasons, with 55 points in a combined 133 games.What Could Have Been

Pat LaFontaine is by far the top St. Louis-born player who never played for his
 hometown. LaFontaine played in a total of 865 games for the New York
Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers and tallied an impressive 1,013
points. The NHL considers him one of the top 100 players to ever play the
game of hockey.St. Louis native Pat Lafontaine playing for the New York
Islanders. He tallied over 1,000 points during his NHL career.

Other notable St. Louis born players that never played for their hometown were
Paul Ranhiem, who played over 1,000 games in the NHL, and Landon Wilson (375
NHL games).What Could Be: Future St. Louis-Born Blues

Even though the current list of St. Louis-born players is a little bit thin,
there are still some players that can strengthen the list in the future. Two of
 the biggest prospects to headline the future St. Louis born Blues players are
Keith Tkachuk';s son, Brady Tkachuk, and Ryan MacInnis, who is the son of
former Blues captain Al MacInnis. Both Brady and Ryan both grew up playing
minor hockey with the St. Louis AAA Blues U16 and have yet to play a game in
the NHL but have bright futures.Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, 2018 NHL Draft,
 Dallas, TX, June 22, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Other current NHL players that were born in St. Louis that have not yet played
for the Blues are Winnipeg Jets center Adam Lowry,  Ottawa Senators
defenseman Chris Wideman, New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield, Ottawa
Senators goaltender Mike McKenna and Boston Bruins 2016 first-round pick Trent
Frederic.

The post Best St. Louis Blues Hometown Players appeared first on The Hockey
Writers.

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