Glenn Hall

The NHL doubled its size from six to 12 teams for the 1967-68 season, and Hall, unprotected by Chicago at age thirty-six, found a new home. Rather than develop young players for the long term, the St. Louis Blues, looking for instant success, opted for older players who had won elsewhere. Hall split the net-tending in St. Louis with Jacques Plante, who backstopped Montreal's championship teams in the 1950s and was lured out of retirement. The likes of Dickey Moore and Doug Harvey, both former Montreal mainstays, and others came to St. Louis. The expansion teams comprised a six-team Western Division and were assured a spot in the Stanley Cup final.

The Blues reached the final in their first season and lost four straight, as expected, to Montreal, but all four games were by one goal. Hall is one of only four playoff MVPs from a non-champion since the Conn Smythe Trophy's inception in 1965.

St. Louis also lost four straight in the 1969 and 1970 finals to Montreal and Boston, respectively, and Hall, who finally donned a mask for his last three seasons, retired in 1971 at age 40.