Barclay Plager
| Barclay Plager | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
March 26, 1941 Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada |
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| Died | February 6, 1988 (aged 46) Creve Coeur, Missouri, U.S. |
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| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | St. Louis Blues | ||
| Playing career | 1961–1978 | ||
Barclay Graham Plager (March 26, 1941 – February 6, 1988) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach for the St. Louis Blues.
The oldest of three hockey playing brothers (Bill, Bob and Barclay), Plager played junior league hockey with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey Association 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 Bob, who was playing for the rival Guelph Royals. Plager spent the 1964 season with the Omaha Knights of the Central Professional Hockey League (CPHL), leading the league in assists and winning best defenceman accolades before being sold by the Detroit Red Wings to the Montreal Canadiens for $20,000. He played the majority of the next three seasons with the Springfield Indians of the AHL.
With the 1967 NHL Expansion, many new jobs opened up in the National Hockey League, and Plager was acquired with Red Berenson by the St. Louis Blues from the New York Rangers, 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, the second fewest in 1970, and the third fewest in 1971. 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—the Blues made the Stanley Cup finals their first three seasons. With brother Bob a fellow mainstay of the Blues' defence for eleven seasons and youngest brother Bill a teammate for four, it was widely seen as the "Plagers' team".
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