Former Blues and Cardinals executive Mark Sauer died on Thursday, the Cardinals announced on Friday night.
Sauer spent around two decades in St. Louis, highlighted by his 10-year run as Blues president and chief executive officer from 1996 to 2006. Sauer also worked for Anheuser-Busch in the 1980s, and became the chief operating officer of the Cardinals in 1989 before running the Pirates as CEO and president from 1991 to 1996.
During Sauer's tenure running the Blues, the franchise owned the seventh-best record in the NHL, and the ninth-most playoff victories. They won the club's only Presidents' Trophy in 2000, and advanced to the Western Conference Final in 2001.
Sauer helped (with Ron Caron) hire Joel Quenneville as Blues coach in 1996, and watched as Quenneville became the organization's all-time leader in games coached and wins, both in the regular season and the playoffs.
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Sauer also found Caron's replacement as general manager, hiring Larry Pleau as GM in 1997. Pleau was the team's GM for the next 13 years, becoming the longest-tenured GM in franchise history before Doug Armstrong took over as general manager in 2010.
Sauer took over as Blues president from Jack Quinn, who was fired at the same time as Mike Keenan in 1996.
Sauer oversaw the sale of the Blues twice: in 1999 to Bill and Nancy Laurie and in 2006 to David Checketts. When the Lauries announced they were selling the Blues after the 2004-05 work stoppage, Sauer was tasked with slashing the payroll.
That included trading Chris Pronger to Edmonton for Eric Brewer, Doug Lynch and Jeff Woywitka. Pavol Demitra went to Los Angeles as a free agent. Chris Osgood went back to Detroit, and Scott Mellanby joined Atlanta.
During Sauer's last year running the team, the Blues had the worst record in the NHL and earned the No. 1 pick in the following draft. It was the only time under Sauer that the Blues missed the playoffs.
Sauer retired in 2006 following the sale of the Blues to Checketts, and was succeeded by John Davidson.
Sauer lost his son Peter in 2012 because of an enlarged heart. Peter was 35 years old and a former captain on the Stanford basketball team that reached the Final Four in 1998.
Sauer moved to Delray Beach, Florida, and founded Bound For College, a charitable college readiness program that included SAT/ACT tutoring and college tours in Florida. Among the students he mentored was Tre'Quan Smith, who spent six years in the NFL.
Derrick Goold contributed to this story.
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