Chris Stewart (ice hockey, born 1987)

Chris Stewart
Born	(1987-10-30) October 30, 1987 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Professional ice hockey forward (retired)
Years active	2006–2020
Known for	NHL career with Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers

Chris Stewart (born October 30, 1987) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward. Throughout his NHL career, he played for multiple teams including the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, and Philadelphia Flyers. Stewart honed his abilities with the Kingston Frontenacs in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He is the younger sibling of Anthony Stewart, who also competed in the NHL.

Early years

Born as the second child among seven siblings to Sue and Norman Stewart, Chris has roots tracing back to Jamaican and Irish ancestry. Growing up in humble surroundings, he exhibited remarkable determination on the ice from a young age. Both he and his brother Anthony were part of the North York Jr. Canadiens, where a team official generously covered all his hockey-related expenses. Although he participated in football during his time at West Hill Collegiate Institute, hockey remained his main athletic pursuit. Raised in Toronto, Stewart also developed a close relationship with fellow NHL player Wayne Simmonds.

Junior

Prior to the 2004–05 OHL season, Anthony Stewart—captain of the Kingston Frontenacs—persuaded general manager Larry Mavety to offer Chris a tryout as an undrafted free agent. Successfully making the roster allowed the brothers to compete side by side. Assigned a role emphasizing energy and physicality, Chris tallied 18 goals and accumulated 30 points over 64 games in his rookie year. His first game took place on September 26, 2004, with his inaugural goal scored on October 3. The Frontenacs concluded the season ninth in the Eastern Conference, missing out on playoff contention.

In the 2005–06 campaign, Stewart emerged as assistant captain and significantly improved his output with 37 goals and 87 points across 62 games, ranking second on the team. He contributed two goals during six playoff matches before Kingston was ousted in the opening round. That summer marked a milestone as he was selected 18th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Elevated to captain for the 2006–07 season, Stewart once again finished second in scoring for Kingston by posting 36 goals and 82 points in 61 contests. During five playoff games that year, he recorded four goals and six points before another first-round exit.

Colorado Avalanche

Stewart’s professional debut came late in the 2006–07 season with Albany River Rats of the AHL. He notched his first assist on April 6 followed by his initial goal on April 14. Albany’s postseason run ended with a first-round loss.

The following year (2007–08), after Colorado relocated their AHL affiliate to Cleveland (Lake Erie Monsters), Stewart led that squad with 25 goals and ranked third in total points (44), though they did not qualify for playoffs. Notably, he achieved a hat trick on November 17, 2007.

Beginning the 2008–09 season back with Lake Erie, Stewart amassed five goals and eleven points over nineteen games before earning a call-up to Colorado on December 5. He debuted in the NHL that night and scored his first league goal on December 9 against Los Angeles. On January 21, he accomplished his first Gordie Howe hat trick—combining a goal, an assist, and a fight in one game. Stewart ended that season with eleven goals and nineteen points across fifty-three NHL appearances; Colorado failed to reach postseason play.

During the 2009–10 season, Stewart primarily suited up for Colorado while appearing sparingly (two games) in the AHL. On December 2, he recorded another Gordie Howe hat trick along with his first three-point performance. On March 6, he secured his first NHL hat trick plus an assist for a four-point outing. Leading Colorado with twenty-eight goals and totaling sixty-four points overall, he helped guide them into the playoffs where he added three goals over six games before elimination.

After signing a two-year deal in summer 2010, Stewart started strongly in the subsequent season. He earned his second NHL hat trick on October 28 during a victory against Calgary. On February 19, 2011, Colorado traded him along with Kevin Shattenkirk and a second-round draft pick to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement, and a first-round selection. At that point in the season with Colorado, Stewart had tallied thirteen goals and thirty points through thirty-six games.

St. Louis Blues

Stewart wrapped up the 2010–11 campaign with the St. Louis Blues, immediately making a mark by netting two goals in his first game on February 19, 2011, versus the Anaheim Ducks. He concluded the season with 15 goals and 23 points over 26 contests, although the Blues failed to qualify for the 2011 postseason.

During the 2011–12 season, Stewart found it challenging to sustain his scoring momentum within Head Coach Ken Hitchcock's defense-oriented system. Trade speculation surrounded him as he was assigned a reduced checking role and experienced healthy scratches at times during the 2012 playoffs. He finished that year with 15 goals and 30 points across 79 games before agreeing to a one-year contract aimed at regaining form.

Amid the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Stewart inked a one-month deal with Germany’s Eispiraten Crimmitschau of the 2nd Bundesliga alongside Wayne Simmonds. Over nine games, he tallied five goals and 11 points but opted not to extend his stay. Subsequently, he signed with HC Bílí Tygři Liberec in the Czech Extraliga; after five scoreless appearances, he returned to Crimmitschau for the remainder of the lockout. In December 2012, Stewart was released from his contract to avoid injury ahead of the NHL’s return, finishing with 20 points in 15 outings for the German club.

In the 2013–14 NHL season, Stewart earned First Star of the Week recognition on December 23, 2013, following a standout week where he recorded six goals and one assist.

Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild and Anaheim Ducks

On February 28, 2014, Stewart was part of a trade that sent him, Jaroslav Halák, William Carrier, a first-round pick in 2015, and a conditional pick in 2016 from the Blues to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Ryan Miller and Steve Ott.

Just before the 2015 NHL trade deadline, Stewart was dealt to the Minnesota Wild in return for a second-round draft choice in 2017. After fulfilling his role as a deadline acquisition for Minnesota, he signed a one-year contract worth $1.7 million with the Anaheim Ducks on July 12, 2015.

Return to Minnesota and Calgary Flames

Stewart rejoined the Minnesota Wild on July 1, 2016, signing a two-year deal valued at $2.3 million. During the 2017–18 season, after being placed on waivers by Minnesota near the trade deadline, he was claimed by the Calgary Flames on February 26, 2018. He appeared in seven regular-season games with three points as Calgary missed out on playoff qualification.

Later career

As an unrestricted free agent in 2018, Stewart agreed to a one-year contract with HC Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia competing in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), but did not participate after missing an introductory press event. He was subsequently located and chose to retire from professional hockey citing family priorities.

Back in Canada, Stewart joined the semi-professional Hamilton Steelhawks for Allan Cup competition in October 2018. On January 3, 2019, he ended his retirement by signing with the Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL, where he contributed 13 points over 23 games.

In July 2019, Stewart accepted a professional tryout offer from the Philadelphia Flyers and secured a one-year contract by October. On June 8, 2020, he became one of the founding executive board members of the Hockey Diversity Alliance dedicated to addressing intolerance and racism within hockey. Stewart announced his retirement on September 27, 2020 after thirteen professional seasons and transitioned into a player development coaching position within the Flyers organization.

International competition

Stewart donned the Canadian jersey at the 2011 IIHF World Championship held in Slovakia, where he tallied two goals and amassed four points across seven matches. The Canadian squad concluded the event in fifth place.

Regular season and postseason

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2004–05	Kingston Frontenacs	OHL		64	18	12	30	45		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Kingston Frontenacs	OHL		62	37	50	87	118		6	2	0	2	13
2006–07	Kingston Frontenacs	OHL		61	36	46	82	108		5	4	2	6	6
2006–07	Albany River Rats	AHL		5	1	2	3	2		1	0	0	0	0
2007–08	Lake Erie Monsters	AHL		77	25	19	44	93		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Lake Erie Monsters	AHL		19	5	6	11	23		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		53	11	8	19	54		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		77	28	36	64	73		6	3	0	3	4
2009–10	Lake Erie Monsters	AHL		2	0	0	0	2
2010–11	Colorado Avalanche / St. Louis Blues	NHL		62	28	25	53	53
2011–12	St. Louis Blues	NHL		79	15	15	30	109		7	2	0	2	12
2012–13	St. Louis Blues / European leagues*	NHL / ELH /2.GBun		68	24	33	57	66
2013–14	St. Louis Blues / Buffalo Sabres	NHL		63	15	11	26	118
2014–15	Buffalo Sabres / Minnesota Wild	NHL		81	14	22	36	88
2015–16 NHL season |Anaheim Ducks |NHL |56 |8 |12 |20 |73 |7 |1 |2 |3 |0 |-
2016–17 NHL season |Minnesota Wild |NHL |79 |13 |8 |21 |94 |5 |0 |0 |0 |0 |-
2017–18 NHL season |Minnesota Wild / Calgary Flames |NHL |54 |10 |6 |16 |29 |— |— |— |— |— |-
2018–19 EIHL season |Nottingham Panthers |Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) |23 |6 |7 |13 |27 | 3 |1 |3 |4 |0 |-
2019–20 NHL season / 2019–20 AHL season		Philadelphia Flyers / Lehigh Valley Phantoms			NHL / AHL		22	1		3	4	21

• Includes participation in German and Czech leagues during the NHL lockout.

|- style="background: #e0e0e0;" ! colspan="3" | NHL career totals !668 !!160 !!162 !!322 !!750 !39 !!6 !!5 !!11 !!18 |}

International

Year	Team	Tournament	Placement		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2011	Canada	World Championship	5th place		7	2	2	4	0
Overall senior statistics					7	2	2	4	0