Blues will open on road against Chicago, at home vs. Minnesota

The St. Louis Blues will begin their 2016-17 season with back-to-back games, opening on the road with an Oct. 12 game against the Chicago Blackhawks before returning home to face the Minnesota Wild for the Oct. 13 home opener.

The Blues are celebrating their 50th season and the home opener promises plenty of festivities and special guests that date from team’s first season in the league in 1967-68.

Another important game for the 2016-17 season will be the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Game Jan. 2, 2017 against the Blackhawks at Busch Stadium.

The Blues will release their full 2016-17 schedule Tuesday afternoon.

It should be a busy week for the Blues, who are scheduled to pick 28th overall Friday in the first round of the NHL Draft barring a trade. The Blues also have several major free agents to deal with during the offseason, most notably captain David Backes and forwards Jaden Schwartz and Troy Brouwer.

Anyone interested in purchasing season tickets, which also are available in half-season and 12-ticket packages, should call 314-622-BLUE (2583) or visit stlouisblues.com/tickets.

The Blues will place single-game tickets on sale later this summer.

The Blues open their 2016 preseason schedule with a split-squad game Sept. 25 at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Among the eight preseason games are an Oct. 5 game against Washington at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Blues home games are noon Sept. 25 against Columbus, 7 p.m. Sept. 30 against Dallas and 7 p.m. Oct. 8 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Blues visit Columbus on Sept. 25 (split squad game), visit Dallas on Sept. 26, visit Chicago on Oct. 1 and visit Washington Oct. 3.

This story was originally published June 20, 2016 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Blues will open on road against Chicago, at home vs. Minnesota."