Welcome to Last Word on Hockey’s One-Hit Wonder series. Each day, we will take a look at a new team’s three biggest one-hit wonders. These are players that had one great season or playoff run but never did anything like that again. Join us every day for a new team! Today we take a look at the St. Louis Blues One-Hit Wonders.
St. Louis Blues One-Hit Wonders
Eric Boguniecki
Eric Boguniecki was drafted by the Blues in 1993. Boguniecki showed offensive success in the minors, prompting the Florida Panthers to sign him in 1999. Boguniecki, however, only played four games with the Panthers before being traded back to the Blues. After scoring 38 goals in the minors in the 2001-02 season, Boguniecki finally got a full-time opportunity with the Blues in the 2002-03 season. Prior to the 2002-03 season, Boguniecki had only played in 13 NHL games.
One-Hit Season
Boguniecki made the most of his opportunity. The offensive success he had in the minors carried over to the NHL. In 80 games, Boguniecki scored 22 goals and had 27 assists for 49 points. Boguniecki was one of many Blues to find offensive success that season (six players scored 20 goals or more). The Blues made the playoffs for the 24th consecutive season. Despite the strong offence, the Blues lost in the first round to the Vancouver Canucks.
After The Wonder
Boguniecki was never the same player after that season. Boguniecki only played in 85 more NHL games, picking up just 26 points. Despite flashes in the minors of a possible return to his offensive success, Boguniecki was never able to sustain it consistently. Boguniecki ended up with just 34 goals in the NHL. 22 of them came in that 2002-03 season.
Brad Boyes
On February 27, 2007, in the final minutes before the trade deadline, the Blues traded defencemen Dennis Wideman to the Boston Bruins for forward Brad Boyes. Boyes had shown some offensive promise in his rookie year in 2006-07. He scored 26 goals and led the team with 43 assists. He was one of the few bright spots on a Bruins team that was one of the worst in the league that year. At the time of the trade, Boyes was in what many would call a “sophomore slump” scoring just 13 goals and a plus/minus rating of -17.
One-Hit Season
In his first full season with the Blues in the 2007-08 season, Boyes scored 43 goals and had 22 assists for 65 points. The 43 goals tied him for fifth in the NHL. Boyes scored more goals than players like Rick Nash, Dany Heatley, and Sidney Crosby. Boyes, along with forwards Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk, were the most consistent skaters for a Blues team that showed signs of possibly being a playoff team, but could not stay consistent.
After The Wonder
Boyes scored 33 goals the following season, helping the Blues reach the playoffs. The next two seasons, however, saw Boyes only score 14 and 17 goals. The Blues traded Boyes to the Buffalo Sabres at the 2010-11 trade deadline. Boyes would only score 20 or more goals once in the remainder of his career, scoring 21 goals with the Florida Panthers in the 2013-14 season.
Wayne Babych
Perhaps the biggest one-hit wonder in Blues history, Wayne Babych was drafted by the Blues in 1978. Prior to joining the Blues, Babych had a pair of 50-goal seasons while playing junior hockey in the Western Hockey League. Babych was a productive player in his first two years with the Blues, scoring 27 and 26 goals. Babych finished third for the Calder Memorial Trophy in his rookie season.
One-Hit Season
In the 1980-81 season, Babych scored 54 goals, more than doubling his totals from the previous two seasons. Perhaps more incredible than the 54 goals is that 40 of them came at even strength. Babych also added 42 assists, giving him 96 points for the year. Babych became the first Blue in franchise history to score 50 or more goals in a season. Babych’s 96 points is the second-most in a season by a Blues player. Interestingly enough, Bernie Federko, who owns the record with 104 points, achieved that feat in the same season as Babych’s 96 points.
After The Wonder
Babych tore his rotator cuff in a fight prior to the 1981-82 season. He missed 30 games as a result of the injury and was never the same player. Babych was claimed off of waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins three years later. Babych did score 20 goals with the Penguins in the 1984-85 season, but that was the closest he ever got to his incredible 54-goal season.
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