Blues forward Chris Stewart is the NHL’s first star of the week after scoring five times, with two game-winners, in three St. Louis victories.
Stewart, 25, accounted for over half of the Blues’ nine total goals in those three wins and now has 14 goals on the season, tied for seventh most in the NHL.
It’s been a fine bounce-back season for Stewart, who managed just 15 goals in 79 games in 2011-12, and was even a healthy scratch twice in the playoffs.
In June, Stewart signed a one-year, $3 million contract extension. Safe to say, if he keeps producing at the same rate, he’ll be asking for a raise.
On that note, the budget-conscious Blues have a number of other key, pending restricted free agents, including defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk, as well as forward Patrik Berglund.
Thus, the Stewart trade rumors, as floated by TSN’s Darren Dreger last week (video).
Moving on, Ottawa forward Kyle Turris, with six points in four games, was the second star of the week.
Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, on the heels of being named first star of the week, was the third star, leading the NHL with a 0.62 goals-against average and .983 save percentage in three starts, as the Blue Jackets stretched their streak to 10 games without a regulation loss.