Preseason NHL hockey will return to Kansas City with St. Louis Blues vs. Dallas Stars

The St. Louis Blues will return to Kansas City for a second year in a row.

The Cable Dahmer Arena will host the Blues on Oct. 1 as they play the Dallas Stars in a preseason NHL game, the Kansas City Mavericks announced Wednesday.

Lamar Hunt Jr., the Mavericks owner, helped schedule a preseason game between the Blues and Chicago Blackhawks last year to further his goal of growing hockey in Kansas City.

“When we were given the opportunity to bring the game to Kansas City last year, I felt it was a no brainer,” Hunt Jr. said in a statement. “We sold out last year’s game in six hours and we expect a similar result this year once tickets go on sale.”

Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, which is home to the Mavericks, seats 5,800 and hosted an NHL exhibition game for the first time last year.

Tickets will go on sale at noon July 7.

Previous preseason NHL games, including a game between the Blues and Minnesota Wild in 2017, were played at the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City.

The Mavericks, who play in the ECHL, the third tier behind the NHL and AHL, are the longest-running professional hockey team in Kansas City. The Kansas City Scouts, a former NHL team, played in the city from 1974-76 before moving to Denver and eventually becoming the New Jersey Devils.

In 2015, Hunt bought the Mavericks with the goal of bringing high level hockey back to Kansas City.

Scheduling NHL preseason games is his first step toward that goal.

“These NHL exhibition games certainly help us in our mission to continue to grow the sport of hockey in the Kansas City metro area,” Hunt Jr. said.