ST. LOUIS — 42 years ago, the St. Louis Blues retired defenseman and coach Barclay Plager's number.
Barclay Plager, the oldest of the Plager brothers, came to the Blues during the 1967 NHL Expansion when he was acquired alongside Red Berenson from the New York Rangers who held his rights at the time.
Plager became a leader for the team and was named the second captain in team history in 1970. He played with his other two brothers, Bill and Bob, in St. Louis for a total of four seasons. Barclay and Bob were together on the Blues' defense for a total of 11 seasons.
The defenseman retired following the 1977-78 season after two seasons in the CHL. He retired with 231 points (44 goals and 187 assists) in 614 games, all with the Blues.
He served as the team's head coach but was relieved of his duties in 1979 after the team recorded their worst season in franchise history. In 1981, he was named assistant coach and had another stint as interim head coach in 1983.
On March 24, 1981, the Blues retired Barclay Plager's No. 8 during a night in his honor against the New York Islanders.
He was diagnosed with a brain tumor and in early 1987 had an operation to remove it. The operation was successful but a new tumor was discovered later that year.
Plager died on Feb. 6, 1988. He was survived by both of his brothers.
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