The Game of Numbers is an exclusive THW series looking at upcoming milestones around the NHL. Each team will be looked at individually in three parts – individual player milestones, franchise player milestones, and players that rank in the top 100 in NHL history in any big statistical category.
The St. Louis Blues are a young team full of talent. Prior to the 2014-15 season, the Blues added Paul Stastny from the Colorado Avalanche. The addition of the former Avs forward was supposed to help the team take the next step.
While the season didn’t work out the way St. Louis hoped, the team started their movement towards handing the reigns over to Jake Allen in net. Regardless, this young team filled with talent all took the next step in their development as they hunted down milestones on an individual and franchise basis.
St. Louis Blues Individual Milestones
While they are certainly a younger team, the Blues’ players are still in search of personal milestones. In 2015-16, this young team will be taking the steps to better their team mentality as well as move closer to those individual marks.
Games Played:
- 800 games played: Steve Ott (774)
- 700 games played: Alexander Steen (679)
- 400 games played: Alex Pietrangelo (386), Chris Butler (382), Carl Gunnarsson (365), Colin Fraser (359)
- 300 games played: Brian Elliot (281), Ryan Reaves (275)
- 200 games played: Vladimir Tarasenko (179), Chris Porter (173)
- 100 games played: Jori Lehtera (75), Dmitrij Jaskin (74), Jake Allen (52)
Goals:
- 200 goals: David Backes (185), Alexander Steen (180), Paul Stastny (176)
- 100 goals: Jay Bouwmeester (78), Marcel Goc (75), Vladimir Tarasenko (66), Jaden Schwartz (62)
Assists:
- 300 assists: Jay Bouwmeester (279)
- 200 assists: Alex Pietrangelo (174), Steve Ott (173), Kevin Shattenkirk (157), Barret Jackman (153)
- 100 assists: Carl Gunnarsson (81), Jaden Schwartz (73), Chris Butler (71), Vladimir Tarasenko (69)
Points:
- 800 points: Olli Jokinen (750)
- 400 points: Jay Bouwmeester (357)
- 300 points: Steve Ott (279)
- 200 points: Kevin Shattenkirk (198), Marcel Goc (188), Barret Jackman (181), Zbynek Michalek (171)
- 100 points: Carl Gunnarsson (98), Chris Butler (84), Magnus Paajarvi (71), Colin Fraser (58)
St. Louis Blues Franchise Milestones
Established in 1967, the St. Louis Blues have won a Presidents’ Trophy (1999-00) and nine division titles in their 47 year existence. Players like Bernard Federko, Al MacInnis and Red Berenson have worn the Blues’ gold and blue over the years, but it’s current players like Barret Jackman and David Backes that seem to be in the hunt for these franchise marks.
Games Played:
- Barret Jackman (803) needs 125 games played to pass Bernard Federko (927) for 1st on the team’s all-time list.
- David Backes (648) needs 15 games played to pass Garry Unger (662) for 5th on the team’s all-time list.
- Patrik Berglund (513) needs 7 games played to pass Red Berenson (519) for 14th on the team’s all-time list.
- Brian Elliot (139) needs 2 games played to pass Glenn Hall and Manny Legace (140) for 8th on the team’s all-time goalie list.
Goals:
- David Backes (185) needs 20 goals to pass Pavol Demitra (204) for 6th on the team’s all-time list.
- Alexander Steen (130) needs 5 goals to pass Pierre Turgeon (134) for 16th on the team’s all-time list.
Assists:
- David Backes (230) needs 11 assists to pass Red Berenson (240) for 8th on the team’s all-time list.
- T.J. Oshie (200) needs 2 assists to pass Blake Dunlop (201) for 17th on the team’s all-time list.
Points:
- David Backes (415) needs 13 points to pass Keith Tkachuk (427) for 7th on the team’s all-time list.
- T.J. Oshie (310) needs 23 points to pass Jorgen Pettersson (332) for 15th on the team’s all-time list.
- Alexander Steen (303) needs 4 points to pass Brendan Shanahan (306) for 17th on the team’s all-time list.
Powerplay Goals:
- David Backes (50) needs 3 powerplay goals to pass Brendan Shanahan (52) for 9th on the team’s all-time list.
Game-Winning Goals:
- Alexander Steen (29) needs 1 game-winning goal to pass Red Berenson, Keith Tkachuk and Brian Sutter (29) for 5th on the team’s all-time list.
- David Backes (23) needs 2 game-winning goals to pass Brendan Shanahan (24) for 11th on the team’s all-time list.
- T.J. Oshie (20) needs 2 game-winning goals to pass Gary Sabourin and Jorgen Pettersson (21) for 14th on the team’s all-time list.
Wins:
- Brian Elliot (81) needs 3 wins to pass Jaroslav Halak (83) for 5th on the team’s all-time list.
- Jake Allen (31) needs 5 wins to pass Chris Osgood (35) for 19th on the team’s all-time list.
Shutouts:
- Jake Allen (5) needs 1 shutout to pass Chris Osgood and Curtis Joseph (5) for 15th on the team’s all-time list.
‘Top 100’ Milestones
In 1997, the Los Angeles Kings drafted Olli Jokinen third overall. Since then, Jokinen’s played parts of 17 NHL seasons with 10 different teams. While some would define this as a journeyman, others take notice in the numbers he’s put up over his career – numbers that have notched him a place among hockey’s greatest skaters.
- Jokinen (1,231) needs 2 games played to pass Dino Ciccarelli (1,232) for 90th on the NHL’s all-time list.
- Jokinen (54) needs 1 game-winning goal to pass Garry Unger, Bill Barber and Peter Stastny (54) for 95th on the NHL’s all-time list.
A ninth-round pick in 2003, Brian Elliot was taken by the Ottawa Senators with the 291st overall pick. Now, at age 30, Elliot’s the veteran on a young Blues team. While he played backup to Jake Allen in the 2015 playoffs, Elliot’s numbers remain impressive over his eight-year career.
- Elliot (30) needs 1 shutout to pass Cesare Maniago and Roger Crozier (30) for 59th on the NHL’s all-time list.
More from the ‘Game of Numbers’ series:
Eastern Conference: BOS | BUF | CAR | CLB | DET | FLA | MTL | NJD | NYI | NYR | OTT | PHI | PIT| TBL | TOR | WSH
Western Conference: ANA | ARZ | CAL | CHI | COL | DAL | EDM | LAK | MIN | NSH | SJS | STL | VAN | WPG
NOTE: The ‘Game of Numbers’ series is subject to updates as the 2014-15 season progresses. Individual marks will only appear if the player is within 50 of the specific statistical milestone, while franchise marks only recognize the top 20 in club history.
For more, follow Andrew on Twitter at @AndrewGForbes or his THW column at @Tape2TapeTHW.