Chris Stewart was signed by Flyers General Manager Chuck Fletcher to a one-year deal this past season, worth an annual average of $750,000. Stewart was brought in to provide a physical presence, but pot a big goal or two, as well. After playing in 668 career NHL games Stewart has decided to hang up his skates via Twitter:
It wasn’t until I interviewed him in early December that I realized he took the place of former Flyer Wayne Simmonds inside the locker room. I’ll never forget Stewart choking up in his stall as he answered a question I had on Nolan Patrick:
“It’s the toughest job in the league to be hurt or injured, or scratched. It’s long days we are creatures of habits. I keep telling him, take it day by day. Worry about what you have to do next. He’s the second overall pick, there’s a lot of pressure on him. That’s outside pressure, that’s not us. If it takes 40 or 50 games for him to get healthy, it doesn’t matter. He’s going to come back when he is ready, and make an impact for sure.”
Chris Stewart on Nolan Patrick December 5, 2019
What Stewart provided inside that locker room was leadership, and there is a reason a lot of people called him the ‘Sheriff’ when he was sent from the Flyers to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Stewart is a former 25+ goal scorer as he tallied 28 goals with the Colorado Avalanche in 2009-10. He also played for seven different NHL teams.
Stewart was nothing but class during his brief tenure with the orange and black. We would like to wish you the best of luck with your retirement, and congratulations on one heck of an NHL career. Thanks for having Nolan Patrick’s back.
