Santa Claus is Coming to Town

(In honor of Bob Plager, who passed away exactly a month ago on March 24, 2021, here is a comical article I wrote about him and had published in the November 1992 issue of The Sports Journal of Calgary, Alberta.  By the time it hit the papers, Plager had likely already resigned as St. Louis Blues’ head coach…a stint that lasted just 11 games before returning to his position as vice-president of player development.)

  Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus, and he is coaching the St. Louis Blues this season. 

There was a myriad of wide-open mouths in National Hockey League circles last May when Bob Plager was named Brian Sutter’s coaching replacement.

     This is the same Bob Plager of the Jolly Old St. Nick demeanor, who for more than a decade reigned as one of the top NHL jokesters and pranksters.

     One of Plager’s classic deeds was to cut the stitching out of teammate Noel Picard’s trousers.  Naturally, the pants would give out just at the right moment.  One of Plager’s most memorable actions for fans was dumping a whole bucket of pucks onto the ice to protest a call in a 1970’s televised game.

     “There was always something being pulled,” Plager said.  “It’s great!  It brought the team together.  You did a few stupid things, something that was funny, and people laughed and relaxed.  If something wasn’t going right, I’d tell a funny story or something.  It helps relax me.  I’m very nervous, but people don’t know it.”

     Plager is indeed intense, but not to the extreme of uptightness that seemed to constitute Sutter’s personality.

     He’s still a jokester, but there’s also a serious side to Plager.  Maybe it’s because he will turn 50 next March.  Maybe Plager has mellowed a bit because of all the recent hardships in his life. 

     Beloved brother Barclay died of brain cancer in February 1988.  Their father, Gus Plager, had passed away several months earlier.  Plager’s mother has had a variety of health-related problems, and Plager and his wife Melissa have suffered through several miscarriages.

     But Plager still dishes out his share of anecdotes.  Maybe it’s as much comedic relief to cover up his own anguish.  In either case, Plager is serious about hockey.

     “Below the exterior of the Bobby you’re used to seeing—and he’s got the latest quip, quote or joke—is a very intelligent hockey man with a great knowledge of how the game should be played,” Blues’ president Jack Quinn said.  “There’s a serious side to Bobby that I’ve been able to see on a daily basis over the last several years that led me to believe he has the qualities to coach.”

     As they say, ‘The proof is in the pudding.’

     Just two seasons ago, Plager displayed his coaching acumen with the Peoria Rivermen of the International Hockey League.  Plager’s club won a professional hockey record 18 games in succession en route to a 58-19-5 mark and the Turner Cup, the playoff championship trophy.

      That helped earn Plager status as the 16^th coach in the Blues’ 27-year history.  Plager announced that he is ready, willing and able to do the job.

     “I believe in the organization; I believe in the team; I believe in myself,” Plager said.  “I also believe I know a lot about hockey.  I expect great things out of our team this year.

     “A lot of times, coaches come in and say they’re going to build for the future.  Well, the future is right now in St. Louis.  It’s not two or three years from now.  We want to have a winning team here next year.  I will work with and for the players to bring a Stanley Cup to St. Louis.”

     That would be one of the most precious gifts Santa could bring to St. Louis’ winter sports enthusiasts!