ST. LOUIS — It was Aug. 17, 1983 when the St. Louis Blues named the 13th coach in franchise history when they hired Jacques Demers.
Demers was a gamble at the time for the Blues, with just one year of coaching experience with the Quebec Nordiques in 1979-80, going 25-44 with 11 ties.
Demers replaced the co-coaching duo of Emile Francis and Barclay Plager, who coached the Blues with Francis for five seasons starting in 1978; Francis began in 1977.
Demers would go on to coach the Blues for three seasons and take them to the playoffs each season from 1983-1986. He was 106-106 with 28 ties in the regular season and 16-17 in the Stanley Cup playoffs, with a best run in 1985-86 when the Blues reached the Campbell Conference Final before losing to the Calgary Flames in seven games.
It was believed there was a building block with Demers and the franchise, but he ultimately left to join the Detroit Red Wings in the same capacity and the Blues accused the Red Wings of tampering after then-owner Harry Ornest believed he had a "binding agreement ' of a three-year contract but one was never signed.
The Blues would try to sue Demers from coaching the Red Wings but the NHL would rule in favor of the coach and he would be behind the Red Wings bench for the ensuing four seasons. He would then be hired and win a Stanley Cup his first season with the Montreal Canadiens in 1992-93 and coach the Habs for four seasons, then the Tampa Bay Lightning from 1997-99.
Eventually, Jacques Martin would replace Demers in St. Louis and coach the Blues for two seasons from 1986-88.
For those that remember that far back and that Blues era, where does Demers, who is now 80, rank among the 28 coaches in Blues history? Comment below and let The Hockey News know what you think.
