As the St. Louis Blues march closer to a wild-card playoff berth, sitting just a couple of wins away at the moment at 5th in the Central Division, one player has vastly improved their overall team defense, something they'd struggled with in past seasons. Since his trade deadline acquisition from the Anaheim Ducks, 33-year-old defenseman Cam Fowler has notched a modest 7 goals and 17 assists for 24 points in 37 games.
Fowler has been a consistently large assister throughout his 15-year NHL career, spending all but half of one of those with Anaheim, with his career totals with the Ducks measuring out at 96 goals, 361 assists, and 457 points. He's also been nominated for the Norris Trophy for the league's best defenseman, although never finishing near the top, plus an All-Star appearance in the 2016/17 season. Fowler also finished in the top 10 in voting for the Calder Trophy, the NHL's best rookie, back in the 2010/11 season.
Since joining St. Louis for his first season not wearing a Ducks sweater, Fowler has led the Blues' top defensive line pairing alongside veteran D-man Nick Leddy. His 7 goals and 17 assists for 24 points land him in the top 10 on the team in points this season, and remember, virtually half of this season has already been played. That's not bad for someone who ended up being a mid-season trade. Most of the time, players aren't able to replicate their old playing prowess with a new team. But Fowler is no ordinary player since he's notched 3 consecutive 30+ point seasons before this season. And with 14 games left and Fowler at 24 points, a few more assists or even some goals will make it 4 seasons in a row with 30 or more points.
Current projections have Fowler finishing the 2024/25 regular season with 9 goals and 26 assists for 35 points, so the consistency is still active even for someone of his age. Fowler's contract with St. Louis will go into the 2025/26 season, the final year of an 8-year $52 million deal that was originally signed before the 2017/18 season in Anaheim. The Blues have just gotten that deal from Anaheim along with Fowler himself.
And one last thing- when Fowler returned to Anaheim wearing a Blues sweater, back on March 7, he picked up 2 assists in the Blues' 4-3 win. Before the game, he got a warm welcome back and no doubt earned some new praise from the Anaheim fans with his stellar performance afterward. Fowler was, after all, the Ducks' longest-tenured defenseman in franchise history with 14 and a half seasons technically spent in Anaheim. Fowler was also one of the Ducks' all-time leading game players, playing almost 1000 games behind Ryan Getzlaf at nearly 1200 career games. Fowler also managed the 5th most career assists in Anaheim's history, with 361, and the 5th most points, with 457.