Tim Ecclestone, a forward and original member of the St. Louis Blues, died Saturday. He was 76.
The Toronto native was chosen by the New York Rangers with the No. 9 pick in the 1964 NHL Draft and was traded to St. Louis following the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. He helped the Blues reach the Stanley Cup Final in their first three seasons, getting swept in the best-of-7 series by the Montreal Canadiens in 1968 and 1969, and by the Boston Bruins in 1970.
The Blues traded Ecclestone and forward Red Berenson to the Detroit Red Wings for forwards Wayne Connelly and Garry Unger on Feb. 6, 1971. He finished that season with an NHL career-high 19 goals and 53 points in 74 games and scored 18 goals in each of his next two seasons with the Red Wings while equaling his career high in points in 1971-72.
Ecclestone, a 1971 NHL All-Star, had 359 points (126 goals, 233 assists) in 692 regular-season games for the Blues, Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Flames and 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 48 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He retired following the 1977-78 season and was an assistant coach for the Flames for the next two seasons before they relocated to Calgary in 1980.
