 The St. Louis Blues nearly relocated to Saskatoon in 1983 , as Bill Hunter , an original investor in the WHA , announced an intention to purchase and relocate the team . Hunter quickly convinced 18 @,@ 000 people to commit to season tickets in a proposed arena for the city . The other team owners rejected the sale and relocation by a 15 – 3 vote , prompting the Blues ' owner , Ralston Purina , to file a $ 60 million anti @-@ trust lawsuit against the league . Both the league as a whole and the individual teams filed $ 78 million counter suits against Purina . As part of the conflict , Purina turned the team over to the NHL at the beginning of June 1983 to " operate , sell or dispose of in whatever manner the league desires " , while the Blues refused to participate in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft , forfeiting all of their draft picks . By the end of July , the league had sold the team to Harry Ornest , who vowed the team would remain in St. Louis . Ralston Purina and the NHL settled their legal issues in 1985 , though terms of the settlements were not released . 
