Nels Stewart

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Nels Stewart
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1952

Nels Stewart in a Montreal Maroons uniform
Born (1902-12-29)December 29, 1902
Montreal, QC, CAN
Died August 21, 1957(1957-08-21) (aged 54)
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Montreal Maroons
Boston Bruins
New York Americans
Playing career 19251940

Robert Nelson "Old Poison" Stewart (December 29, 1902 August 21, 1957) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Maroons, New York Americans and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League. He is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Playing career

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Stewart began play as an amateur at age 18 for the Cleveland Indians of the United States Amateur Hockey Association, leading the league in goals scored in four out of the five seasons he played before he and Babe Siebert were signed by the expansion Montreal Maroons of the NHL in 1925. Nicknamed "Old Poison," and with Siebert and veteran stars Clint Benedict, Punch Broadbent and Reg Noble, he would lead the Maroons to the Stanley Cup championship that season. Stewart himself led the league in goal- and point-scoring that year, and became one of the few rookies in history to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player.

Stewart would later center the legendary "S Line", with Hooley Smith and Siebert, and star for the Maroons for seven seasons in all, winning a second Hart Trophy in 1930, having led the league once more with 39 goals in 44 games. As the Great Depression deepened, though, the Maroons had increasing financial problems eventually folding in 1938 and sold Stewart to the Boston Bruins for cash. His glittering play continued for the Bruins, finishing second in team scoring each of his three full seasons with the team, despite being moved back to defence a fair bit.

In 1935 he was traded to the New York Americans, for whom he played for most of his final five seasons in the league. Stewart starred through his penultimate season (in which he was fourth on the Amerks in scoring) with 35 points in 46 games at age 36. The season following, in 1939, his foot speed (never regarded as fast) deserted him entirely. He retired thereafter as the NHL's career leading goal scorer, a mark he set in the 1937 season and held until Maurice Richard broke it in 1952.

On August 21, 1957, he was found dead at his summer home near Toronto, apparently of natural causes, possibly a heart attack.

Stewart was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1952.[1] In 1998, he was ranked number 51 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

Career achievements and facts

  • Won the Hart Trophy in 1926 and 1930.
  • Played in the first NHL All-Star Game in 1934.
  • Led the playoffs in scoring in 1926 with six goals, three assists and nine points in eight games.
  • Led the league in penalty minutes in 1927 with 133.
  • Holds the NHL record for fastest two goals (four seconds apart) set on January 3, 1931, against the Boston Bruins (matched by Deron Quint in 1995–96).

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1925–26Montreal MaroonsNHL36348421198639
1926–27Montreal MaroonsNHL431742113320004
1927–28Montreal MaroonsNHL4227734104922413
1928–29Montreal MaroonsNHL442182974
1929–30Montreal MaroonsNHL443915558141122
1930–31Montreal MaroonsNHL432514397521016
1931–32Montreal MaroonsNHL382211336140112
1932–33Boston BruinsNHL471818366252024
1933–34Boston BruinsNHL4822173968
1934–35Boston BruinsNHL472118394540110
1935–36New York AmericansNHL481415291651234
1936–37Boston BruinsNHL103256
1936–37New York AmericansNHL3320103031
1937–38New York AmericansNHL481917362962352
1938–39New York AmericansNHL461619353320000
1939–40New York AmericansNHL356713630000
NHL totals 652 324 191 515 943 46 9 10 19 37

References

  • Hockey Hall of Fame (2003). Honoured Members: Hockey Hall of Fame. Bolton, Ontario: Fenn Publishing. ISBN 1-55168-239-7. 
Notes
  1. Hockey Hall of Fame 2003, p. 23.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Dunc Munro
Montreal Maroons captain
192832
Succeeded by
Hooley Smith
Awards
Preceded by
Billy Burch
Winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy
1926
Succeeded by
Herb Gardiner
Preceded by
Roy Worters
Winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy
1930
Succeeded by
Howie Morenz
Preceded by
Babe Dye
NHL Scoring Champion
1926
Succeeded by
Bill Cook
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