NHL All-Star Weekend in St. Louis was the first time a defending Stanley Cup champion hosted the festivities since '89 when the Oilers rolled out the red carpet for the mid-season event in Edmonton. Blues President & CEO of Business Operations Chris Zimmerman said that this season was the first time the team sold out of season tickets, and it also now has a waiting list. "We sold almost 4x the number of new season tickets," he said of the impact winning the Stanley Cup had. Sponsorship revenue has grown another '15 to 20%" since the win. For years, the team had attempted to re-enter the airline category to no avail, Zimmerman said, but after the championship, it secured a major sponsorship deal with Southwest. The team also signed a new deal with PetSmart, among others. "Winning or losing, you either have a headwind or tailwind. The Stanley Cup is the maximum tailwind," he said. Zimmerman added that the team has climbed the ladder in terms of average per-game revenue since ownership changed hands in '12. Back then, the club was "probably 28th or 29th in the league." Now, it is in the teens. Meanwhile, according to Twitter, the Blues' account has had the second biggest follower uptick (3.5%) since the start of the season, the fourth most Twitter mentions of any NHL team account and also the fourth most mentioned hashtag (#stlblues).
