Long-Timers: Brad Stuart

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 Brad Stuart.

A product of scenic Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Stuart grew up big and played on the blueline in the Western Hockey League – primarily for the Regina Pats, but also briefly for the Calgary Hitmen. He was selected third overall in the 1998 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks.

Going pro at 20, Stuart scored 10 goals as a rookie for the Sharks in 1999-2000 and finished second in Calder Trophy voting – Scott Gomez won it that season. Weirdly, that’s the only time that Stuart ever received votes for an NHL trophy during a pretty distinguished 16 season career. Stuart stuck with the Sharks through 2005, at which point he was sent to Boston in a blockbuster trade alongside Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau in exchange for Joe Thornton.

Stuart wasn’t in Beantown long. Within two years he was traded, again with Primeau; this time they went to Calgary in exchange for Chubk Kobasew and Andrew Ference. Following a brief stop with the Flames he became a free agent, so Stuart went Hollywood and signed with the Los Angeles Kings.

But he was moved quickly again. Within his first season he was traded to Detroit as a deadline day rental. It worked out well, as he won a Stanley Cup and so he re-signed with the Red Wings for four years. He was traded back to the Sharks before his deal was up for Andrew Murray and a seventh round pick, then re-signed there. He was traded to Colorado, re-signed there, and then retired after two seasons (with a year left on his contract).

Since retiring, Stuart has dipped his toe into coaching youth hockey in the Los Angeles area.

Stuart wasn’t an all-time great player, but he was a reliable two-way defender whose skills were seemingly always in demand. Some team was always willing to trade for and/or re-sign him, so he must have been doing something right.