Barclay Graham Plager (March 26, 1941 – February 6, 1988) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

and coach for the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

Playing career

The oldest of three hockey playing brothers (with

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

and

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Bob (surname) * Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II * Bob t ...

), Plager played junior league hockey with the

Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

before spending six seasons in the minor leagues, cementing a reputation as a hard-nosed defensive defenceman. His reputation was established while still in juniors, when he had a notable fight with his own brother

, who was playing for the rival Guelph Royals. Plager spent the 1964 season with the

Omaha Knights Omaha Knights may refer to: * Omaha Knights (AHA) an ice hockey team that played from (1939–1942) in the American Hockey Association and from (1945–1951) in the United States Hockey League * Omaha Knights (IHL) an ice hockey team that played ...

of the

Central Professional Hockey League Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

(CPHL), leading the league in assists and winning best defenceman accolades before being sold by the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

for $20,000. He played the majority of the next three seasons with the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were two separate minor professional ice hockey franchises, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The original Indians were founding members of the American Hockey Leagu ...

of the AHL. With the

1967 NHL Expansion The 1967 National Hockey League (NHL) expansion added six new franchises for the 1967–68 NHL season, 1967–68 season, doubling the size of the league to 12 teams. It was the largest expansion undertaken at one time by an established major spor ...

, many new jobs opened up in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

, and Plager was acquired with

Red Berenson Gordon Arthur "Red" Berenson (born December 8, 1939) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre, world champion, Stanley Cup champion and head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team from 1984 to 2017. Berenson was indu ...

by the St. Louis Blues from the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

, which held his rights. The deal proved extremely successful for the Blues, for Berenson became the first great offensive star of the newly minted Western Division, while Plager anchored a stingy defence that allowed the fewest goals in the NHL in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

, the second fewest in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, and the third fewest in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

. Behind Plager's leadership—he was named the second captain in team history in 1970 and served longer than any other Blues' captain save for

Brian Sutter Brian Louis Allen Sutter (born October 7, 1956) is a Canadian former ice hockey forward and former head coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). Brian is the second oldest of the famous Sutter brothers and the oldest of the six that played in ...

—the Blues made the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

finals their first three seasons. The three Plager brothers played together for four seasons in St. Louis, with Barclay and Bob together on the Blues' defence for eleven seasons, then widely seen as the "Plagers' team".

Post-NHL career

With his career winding down, Plager was named player-coach of the Blues'

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

CHL farm team in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, leading his club into the finals and being named the league's most valuable player. He retired as a player during the following season when he was named as head coach of the Blues, succeeding

Leo Boivin Leo Joseph Boivin (August 2, 1931 – October 16, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey Defenceman (ice hockey), defenceman and coach who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston ...

. In his one full season as Blues' coach,

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, however, the Blues had their worst season in franchise history, and he was relieved of duties the following season. On March 24, 1981, prior to a game with the New York Islanders, Barclay Plager Night was held and his No. 8 was retired. In 1981, Plager was named assistant coach of the Blues, and save for another stint as interim head coach in the 1983 season, served as such until his death from cancer in 1988.

Death

In 1984, he was diagnosed with inoperable

brain tumors A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cancero ...

and had to undergo chemotherapy treatments after suffering dizzy spells thought to be the result of an old head injury. In early 1987, Plager had a successful operation to remove a brain tumor with a heat treatment, but when a new and rapidly growing tumor was discovered later that year, he refused treatment because he was informed that extensive brain damage might occur. He entered the hospital late in January 1988, and died on February 6, 1988, of brain cancer. At the All-Star Game February 9, 1988, a moment of silence was held at the

St. Louis Arena St. Louis Arena (known as the Checkerdome from 1977 to 1983) was an indoor arena in St. Louis, Missouri. The country's second-largest indoor entertainment venue when it opened in 1929, it was home to the St. Louis Blues and other sports franchis ...

in his memory.

Career achievements and facts

* Retired with 44 goals, 187 assists, 231 points and 1115 penalty minutes in 614 games, all with St. Louis * Was the Blues' career leader in games played and penalty minutes at the time of his retirement * Played in NHL All-Star Game in 1970, 1971, 1973 and 1974 * Led the NHL in penalty minutes in 1968 with 153 playing only 49 games * His No. 8 jersey has been retired by the St. Louis Blues

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plager, Barclay 1941 births 1988 deaths Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Edmonton Flyers (WHL) players National Hockey League players with retired numbers Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players Pittsburgh Hornets players Quebec Aces (AHL) players St. Louis Blues coaches St. Louis Blues players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Springfield Indians players Ice hockey people from Kirkland Lake Canadian ice hockey coaches 20th-century Canadian sportsmen