Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB.  Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives.  As such, it is important to us that the St. Louis Blues have announced their three-man Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

The Blues Hall will be joined by Alexander Steen, Al Arbour, and Barret Jackman in a ceremony on January 12.  They will be honoured the following night during their home game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Alexander Steen was traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2008-09 Season, and he remained with the Blues until he retired in 2020.  The Forward scored 496 Points for St. Louis and was part of their 2019 Stanley Cup Championship Team.  He is currently in the Blues front office and will be the team’s General Manager in 2026.

Al Arbour was a grizzled and bespectacled 35-year-old veteran defenseman when he was allocated to the expansion St. Louis Blues, where he played four years and served as their first Captain.  In the first three seasons, the Blues reached the Stanley Cup Finals, and at times, he served as a player/coach.  He would later enter the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder for his work as the Head Coach of the New York Islanders, which led to four consecutive Stanley Cups. 

Barret Jackman played 13 of his 14 seasons with the Blues, where he won the 2003 Calder Trophy.   The stay-at-home Defenseman scored 181 Points for St. Louis.

We at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the incoming members of the St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a sad day for the New York Islanders and the National Hockey League as it was announced that Al Arbour passed away at his home in Sarasota, Florida from complications of Parkinson’s and Dementia.  He was 82 years old.

Arbour was best known as the Head Coach of the Islanders dynasty that won four consecutive Stanley Cups (1980, 1981, 1982 & 1983) and won nineteen playoff series.  He would coach an even 1,500 games for the Islanders, and would be selected for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996.

Al Arbour may have been best known for building the Islanders into a powerhouse but he also won another four Stanley Cups as a player, (one with Detroit 1954, one with Chicago 1961 and two with Toronto 1962 & 1964).  Arbour was viewed by many as a master tactician, and many of his former players have cited him as the best coach they ever had.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com offer our condolences to the friends and family of Al Arbour. 

Al Arbour had a respectable career in the National Hockey League playing in over 600 games and winning three Stanley Cups.  However, it was as a Head Coach that he entered the Hall of Fame.  As soon as Arbour retired as a player with the St. Louis Blues, he was inserted as their Head Coach, but it was in Long Island where he found his chance to shine.  Arbour took over the second year New York Islanders and he brought them to respectability and later four consecutive Stanley Cups.  As always, as any Head Coach of a dynasty can punch their ticket to the Hall of Fame.  Al Arbour was no exception.