Back in the 2016-17 season, the Boston Bruins were just a few seasons removed from making it back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012-13. It was also the Centennial Season of the NHL. The Edmonton Oilers were playing in a new arena in downtown Edmonton, the Detroit Red Wings were playing in their final season at Joe Louis Arena, and the aforementioned Red Wings faced off against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a snow-filled Centennial Classic at BMO Field in Toronto.
The Bruins still had their core of Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, and Tuukka Rask, but had a down season, at least by their standards. They barely made it into the playoffs as a seventh seed, finishing third in the Atlantic Division.
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Boston had some other big names on the roster, such as Anton Khudobin, Jimmy Hayes, and David Backes. Mixed in there was Drew Stafford.
Stafford Grew Up Around Hockey
Stafford’s family was a hockey family through and through, to say the least. He was born in Milwaukee, WI, but grew up in Fairbault, where his father, Gordie, was the girls’ hockey director at Shattuck-Saint Mary’s boarding school – a co-ed boarding school where Drew eventually played hockey himself.
Gordie (or Gord as he is more widely known) played professional hockey himself, making it up to the International Hockey League (IHL) where he played 355 games, all with the Milwaukee Admirals. In those 355 games, Gord scored 131 goals and added 219 assists to his scoring totals (350 points), which added up to nearly a point per game. He retired after the 1985-86 season.
Drew’s uncle, Barrie, also helped influence the youngster in ways that every kid dreams of. Barrie was the equipment manager for the Oilers from 1984 to 2012, when he retired from working in the NHL.
Drew began his journey to the NHL in AAA hockey when he played for the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals. While playing at Shattuck-Saint Mary’s – his first stint on a hockey team called the Sabres – he played in 109 games. Drew also scored 84 goals and racked up 120 assists, leaving the school with 204 career points.
Stafford’s Years Leading to Boston
Before coming to the Bruins, Stafford had some very successful seasons, including eight with their division rivals, the Buffalo Sabres. Stafford spent seven full seasons with the Sabres, including two where he topped 50 points, one of which he scored a career-high 31 goals. After the 2010-11 season, Stafford signed a four-year, $16 million extension.
However, halfway through his eighth season, the Sabres traded Stafford to the Winnipeg Jets along with Tyler Myers, Brendan Lemieux, Joel Armia and a first-round pick in exchange for Zach Bogosian, Evander Kane, and the rights to goaltending prospect Jason Kasdorf.
In his first full season with the Jets, the 2015-16 season, Stafford seemed to regain his form, putting together his best season since 2011-12, when he racked up 50 points. Stafford didn’t quite eclipse the 50-point margin, but he did play in 78 games, all while scoring 21 goals and tacking on 17 assists (38 points). That season, unfortunately, was Stafford’s final one in which he scored more than eight goals.
Stafford’s Time In/Following Boston
In his final season with Winnipeg, Stafford was traded to Boston in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick.
Stafford’s time with the Bruins was limited, but he made the most of it and even made it onto their playoff roster in the 2016-17 season. He played in 18 regular-season games with Boston, as well as six playoff games. In that time, he scored six total goals (two playoff goals) and also tallied four assists.
Stafford picked up his first assist with the Bruins in his first game on March 4, 2017, when he assisted on a Ryan Spooner game-winning goal against the New Jersey Devils. He picked up his first goal with Boston four days later when he put the Bruins up 3-0 at TD Garden against the Red Wings.
Following his stint with Boston, Stafford signed with the Devils, where he played for two seasons. In New Jersey, he played in 118 games, which consisted of only two playoff games. He scored 13 goals with just as many assists. In his 800th career game, on Jan. 4, 2019, Stafford scored the game-winning shootout goal.
Stafford’s Life Outside of Hockey
Stafford has been married to his wife, Hali Stafford, since 2013, and the two reside in Edina, Minnesota. They have three children: a 10-year-old son, and twin eight-year-old daughters who were born soon after he was traded to Boston.
Stafford was also in two bands when he was younger, where he played guitar, one called Invisible Children and the other called Red Seal Peach with fellow North Dakota teammate and goaltender Jordan Parise. Stafford also appeared in the music video for “Decayin With The Boys” by Every Time I Die, a Buffalo-based metalcore band.
