Sep 28: Stewart wasn’t out of work long. The Flyers have hired Stewart as a player development coach. GM Chuck Fletcher released a statement:
The Flyers are excited to have Chris Stewart join our team in a hockey operations role after an excellent career in the NHL. I’ve known Chris for a long time and have admired the way he plays the game, but also how he conducts himself off the ice as a true professional and leader in the locker room. He will be a valuable asset to help mentor our young players and shape their future as Flyers.
Sep 27: Pending unrestricted free agent Chris Stewart has decided to not test the market when it opens up next month. Instead, the veteran winger announced his retirement via his Twitter account and is hanging up his skates at the age of 32.
This past season, Stewart signed a two-way deal with Philadelphia early in the season and got into 16 games with the Flyers, collecting one assist while averaging just 7:47 per game. He cleared waivers in mid-January and was sent to AHL Lehigh Valley where he remained until the pandemic ended that season prematurely. He was not a part of Philadelphia’s playoff roster.
While Stewart’s career ended somewhat quietly, he was a reasonably productive player over his 11 NHL seasons. A first-round pick of Colorado back in 2006, he was a part of two significant trades in his career, joining St. Louis in 2011 in a deal that also saw Erik Johnson and Kevin Shattenkirk trade places. Three years later, he was part of the trade that saw the Blues try to make a big splash at the deadline by landing Ryan Miller from Buffalo. All told, he played in 668 career games with seven teams, picking up 160 goals and 162 assists.
Yes he had a career. I know he was a around, but didn’t seem he did much the last 5 years.Didn’t have the career expected of him for sure.