Steve Ott
Pesky centre turned Blues assistant coach and Stanley Cup winner.
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Steve Ott is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 848 NHL games for the Dallas Stars, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens. He was selected in the first round, 25th overall, by the Dallas Stars in the 2000 NHL entry draft and later became head coach of the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League.
Lore & Background
Ott played his minor hockey with the Sun County Panthers and Belle River Canadiens before joining the Leamington Flyers Junior B club. He was selected in the second round of the 1998 OHL Priority Selection by the Windsor Spitfires. During his playing career, Ott became known for his 'peskiness,' learning offensive phrases in other languages to annoy opponents. He set a Hamilton Bulldogs team record for penalty minutes in a season with 279 during the 2004–05 NHL lockout.
Ott was suspended multiple times: three games in 2007–08 for a hit to the head of Jordan Leopold, and one game in 2009 for an incident involving eye gouging Travis Moen, which Ott claimed was accidental. He scored his first NHL hat-trick on March 31, 2010, against the San Jose Sharks. Ott was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in 2012 and later became the team's sole captain after Thomas Vanek was traded.
At the 2013–14 trade deadline, he was sent to the St. Louis Blues alongside Ryan Miller. In 2015, Ott suffered a season-ending torn hamstring after missing a check on Dion Phaneuf. He retired in 2017 and was named an assistant coach for the Blues, winning the Stanley Cup in 2019. In 2026, he became head coach of the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Reader's Guide
Steve Ott's significance lies in his transition from a hard-nosed, penalty-minute-leading NHL forward to a coach who helped the St. Louis Blues win their first Stanley Cup in 2019. As a player, he was a first-round pick who carved out a 848-game career defined by physicality, agitation, and occasional offensive flashes—such as his lone NHL hat-trick. His tenure with the Blues, though shortened by injury, included a deep playoff run to the Western Conference Final. After retiring, Ott immediately joined the Blues' coaching staff and was part of the 2019 championship team.
His later appointment as head coach of the Springfield Thunderbirds in 2026 extended his involvement in professional hockey. Ott's career also includes representing Canada at the 2001 World Junior Championship, winning bronze, and serving as captain of the Buffalo Sabres. His off-ice background in powerboat racing, a family tradition, adds a distinctive personal dimension to his hockey story.
Career statistics and honours
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1998–99 | Leamington Flyers | WOHL | 48 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 110 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–2000 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 66 | 23 | 39 | 62 | 131 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 21 |
| 2000–01 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 55 | 50 | 37 | 87 | 164 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 27 |
| 2001–02 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 53 | 43 | 45 | 88 | 178 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 49 |
| 2002–03 | Utah Grizzlies | AHL | 40 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 98 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002–03 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 26 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 73 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 152 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004–05 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 67 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 279 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 2005–06 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 82 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 178 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2006–07 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 19 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2006–07 | Iowa Stars | AHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007–08 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 73 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 147 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 22 |
| 2008–09 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 64 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 135 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2009–10 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 73 | 22 | 14 | 36 | 153 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2010–11 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 82 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 183 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011–12 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 74 | 11 | 28 | 39 | 156 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2012–13 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 48 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 93 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013–14 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 59 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013–14 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 23 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 37 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 2014–15 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 78 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 86 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| 2015–16 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 21 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 34 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 2016–17 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 42 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016–17 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NHL totals | 848 | 109 | 179 | 288 | 1555 | 61 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 80 | ||
International
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| OHL | ||
| Third All-Star Team | 2001 | |
| CHL Second All-Star Team | 2001 | |
| Second All-Star Team | 2002 | |
| NHL | ||
| Stanley Cup champion (coaching staff) | 2019 | |
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Steve Ott (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
Did You Know?
- He raced kneeldown outboard hydroplanes before focusing on hockey at age 17.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Steve Ott (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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