ST. LOUIS — 32 years ago, the St. Louis Blues retired the number of a Blues legend to hang in the rafters forever.
On March 16, 1991, the Blues retired Bernie Federko's No. 24 in his honor less than a year after he retired from the National Hockey League.
Federko played with the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League before being drafted seventh overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1976 NHL Draft.
He played for the Kanas City Blues in the Central Hockey League before being called up during the 1976-77 season and played 31 games with the Blues. In those 31 games, Federko scored three hat tricks.
Federko would play 13 seasons with St. Louis, recording four 100-point seasons in that time. In 1989, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for future Blues star Adam Oates, and Paul MacLean.
He would spend one season with the Red Wings and decided to retire after the 1989-90 season. He ended his career with exactly 1,000 NHL games and recorded 1,130 points (369 goals and 761 assists).
Federko owns many Blues records that stand to this day. He is the leader for career games played (927), career assists (721), career points (1073) and more.
After his number was retired, he was also inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.
Federko continues to work closely with the Blues as he is a color commentator for Bally Sports Midwest during the team's broadcasts.
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