Former St. Louis Blues defenseman Bob Plager was killed Wednesday in a car crash in St. Louis. He was 78.
Plager was an original Blue, moving from the New York Rangers on draft day when the NHL expanded in 1967. He played 11 seasons for St. Louis—teaming with brothers Barclay and, for a time, Bill—then kept working for the organization in a variety of roles. He coached the team for 11 games in 1992.
From Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Plager had 20 goals, 126 assists, and 802 penalty minutes in 644 regular-season NHL games, and added two goals, 17 assists, and 195 penalty minutes in 74 playoff games. His passion for hockey, penalty minute totals, and trademark hip check made him a fan favorite from the start.
The Blues retired his No. 5 jersey in 2017, and it joined Barclay’s No. 8 in the rafters.
A team statement said it’s hard to imagine the Blues without him, adding that he was “an original in every sense of the word. Bobby’s influence at all levels of the Blues organization was profound and everlasting, and his loss to our city will be deep.”
