Bob Stewart

Robert Harold Stewart (November 10, 1950 – February 3, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, California Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Playing career Stewart was drafted in the first round, 13th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1970 NHL entry draft. When he became an NHL player in the 1971-72 season, he was the seventh player from Prince Edward Island to play in the league as a skater.

Playing most of his career for poorly performing teams, his career plus-minus rating of minus 257 is the lowest total in NHL history among players for whom the statistic has been recorded; for players that played into the 21st century, only Mike Sillinger has gotten close with a rating of -191.

While with the Cleveland Barons, the team missed payroll in 1977. The Washington Post interviewed Stewart about the problems that caused. In his final season, spent between the St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins (acquired for Blair Chapman in November) Stewart reached the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first and only time, where he scored one goal as the team lost in the first round.

In his years after hockey, he worked for Ralston-Purina and US Bank. In 2002, he was inducted into the PEI Sports Hall of Fame. When selecting an All-Time Team for PEI natives in 2017 Dave Holland and the PEI Sports Hall of Fame named Stewart to the second line for defence. He died at the age of 66 in 2017.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1967–68 Oshawa Generals OHA-Jr. 50 2 11 13 172 — — — — — 1968–69 Oshawa Generals OHA-Jr. 52 7 32 39 226 — — — — — 1969–70 Oshawa Generals OHA-Jr. 44 11 24 35 159 6 1 3 4 12 1970–71 Oklahoma City Blazers CHL 61 6 16 22 270 5 0 1 1 23 1971–72 Boston Bruins NHL 8 0 0 0 15 — — — — — 1971–72 Oklahoma City Blazers CHL 10 1 3 4 34 — — — — — 1971–72 Boston Braves AHL 39 1 7 8 102 — — — — — 1971–72 California Golden Seals NHL 16 1 2 3 44 — — — — — 1972–73 California Golden Seals NHL 63 4 17 21 181 — — — — — 1973–74 California Golden Seals NHL 47 2 5 7 69 — — — — — 1974–75 California Golden Seals NHL 67 5 12 17 93 — — — — — 1975–76 California Golden Seals NHL 76 4 17 21 112 — — — — — 1976–77 Cleveland Barons NHL 73 1 12 13 108 — — — — — 1977–78 Cleveland Barons NHL 72 2 15 17 84 — — — — — 1978–79 St. Louis Blues NHL 78 5 13 18 47 — — — — — 1979–80 St. Louis Blues NHL 10 0 1 1 4 — — — — — 1979–80 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 65 3 7 10 52 5 1 1 2 2 NHL totals 575 27 101 128 809 5 1 1 2 2