St. Louis Blues: Best American Players In The Note

Third Line

Joe Mullen
Paul Stastny
Lee Stempniak

The line is an odd one, but full of talent. The main reason it feels odd is because it feels like none of the players were with the Blues very long, but that was not quite the case.

Joe Mullen is a Hall of Fame player and a multiple time Stanley Cup winner, but he still accomplished a decent amount with the Blues, whom he came into the NHL with. Mullen scored 40-plus goals twice with the Blues, in addition to 25 goals in his rookie year. His last full season with the Blues saw 92 points put up on the board.

Mullen basically had a goal every other game, scoring 151 goals in 301 games with St. Louis. His time was cut short as the team traded him to Calgary for peanuts – no offense to Gino Cavalini.

Paul Stastny‘s main problem was he came in with a lot of hype. The team brought him in to basically do what Ryan O’Reilly and Pat Maroon did, but it all just worked against him. He couldn’t be the hometown hero and couldn’t deliver the same way O’Reilly did.

Still, Stastny was not a disappointment – he just played on some disappointing teams – he just did not put up the same numbers as Colorado. Blues fans wanted the 28 goals and 78 points. Instead, the best they got was 18 goals and 49 points. Nevertheless, Stastny was very consistent despite some injury plagued seasons.

Lee Stempniak was always an intriguing player. He would give you just enough to think there was more in there, but he almost never got to settle into a team long enough.

Even so, he had a season with 27 goals and 52 points out of nowhere for the Blues. He finished his four years in St. Louis with 56 goals and 150 points. Not eye-popping stuff, but enough to be included on a third line where he would not be the focal point and would also play with a solid, play-making center and a winger that would take off all the pressure.