In the 102-year history of the National Hockey League, 348 individuals have played 1,000 or more regular season games. 44 of them, or 12.6%, have played some part of their career with the Atlanta or Calgary Flames. We call these players Long-Timers.
Let’s take a look at Steve Staios.
A Hamilton product, Staios played three seasons in the OHL split between the Niagara Falls Thunder and the Sudbury Wolves. He was a second round selection of the St. Louis Blues in the 1991 NHL Draft.
Staios went pro in 1993-94, and spent the better part of three seasons in the Blues farm system before a late season trade to Boston with Kevin Sawyer for Steve Leach. He played parts of two seasons in Boston before being claimed off waivers by Vancouver. He spent two seasons as a depth defender for the Canucks.
His time in Vancouver ended via the 1999 expansion draft, getting selected by the Atlanta Thrashers. After an injury-filled initial season he was traded to New Jersey for a late round pick, then subsequently required the following month. He had a career offensive season upon his return to Atlanta and served as team captain.
He headed to free agency following that campaign, cashing in with a deal with the Edmonton Oilers. He spent parts of eight seasons with the Oil, including a pair of career-high 28 point seasons sandwiched around the 2004-05 lockout. He eventually made some NHL history, being part of the first-ever trade between the two Alberta clubs: he was sent to Calgary for Aaron Johnson and a third round pick.
His time in Calgary was unremarkable. He was decent depth, but was limited by injuries to 47 games and 13 points. (His superfluousness led FlamesNation editor Kent Wilson to create the “Staios! Is! Available!” meme.) He spent one more season in the NHL after signing a free agent deal with the New York Islanders before ending his playing career in 2012.
Post-playing career, Staios has stayed busy. He spent three seasons with the Leafs in various roles, including briefly as assistant coach. Since then, he’s served as president and GM of the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. Staios never received a single vote for an NHL award, but he was a steady presence on the teams he played on. He just wasn’t ever particularly amazing at anything.