“I was part of the team that moved him out of Titleist into a Nike golf ball. The process of taking the world’s best golfer, making a seismic shift in his equipment and being involved in the marketing of that, was an amazing experience.”

In three years in Vancouver, Zimmerman was credited with connecting with corporate partners and creating new ways of generating revenue for the Canucks. He acknowledged that hockey perhaps sells itself in Canada, but added, “whether it’s Vancouver, Los Angeles or St. Louis, fundamentally it’s about relationships ... how we interact, how people feel about us.

“Every piece of that is about a relationship that we have with our fans, with the community. And so the fundamentals of what I’ve been doing for the last 20 years, they all apply. Creating, if you will, that belief around the business operations, that’s critical.”

Stillman and Zimmerman hadn’t kept in touch much in recent years — they met on opposite sides when the Blues faced the Canucks in the 2009 playoffs. But when the team’s owner was seeking the right person to fill the position, he knew who to call.