50 Most Outstanding Players in St. Louis Blues History: 20-11
18. Adam Oates
Forward, 1989-92; 195 games, 58 goals, 228 assists, plus-20 rating, 71 PIM
Oates is yet another player who spent a very limited amount of time in a Blues uniform but absolutely made the most of it. The Blues acquired a then-27-year-old Oates from the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 1989 in exchange for fading superstar Bernie Federko and sharpshooter Tony McKegney. Oates, who went undrafted but had steadily improved through each of his four seasons in Detroit–to the point of a breakout 78-point season in 1988-89–turned into a superstar as soon as he began wearing the Blue Note.
Teaming up with scorer (and all-around megastar) Brett Hull to form the famous “Hull & Oates” duo, Oates began to produce offensively more than he ever had before. Oates came out firing to start 1989 and enjoyed a monster November during which he collected 24 points (seven goals and 17 assists) in 13 games while scoring on 26 percent of his shots. He collected 102 points (23 goals and 79 assists) with a plus-9 rating while playing in all 80 games.
His most prolific season in St. Louis came in 1990-91. While he missed nearly all of November and a solid chunk of December with an injury, Oates was even more offensively productive than he had been the previous season. Oates had a ridiculous 60 points in 25 games from the beginning of January to the end of February, and during a season in which he earned his first trip to the All-Star Game, Oates finished with an incredible 115 points (25 goals and 90 assists) in 61 games.
Unfortunately, his Blues stint was all too brief due to financial complications. Though the Blues gave him an extension after his standout ’90-’91 season, he became upset when they gave bigger deals to lesser-performing players. Oates collected 10 goals and 59 assists in his first 54 games, and around the All-Star break, he threatened to walk out on the team if his contract wasn’t renegotiated. With the Blues unwilling to do so, they traded him for Craig Janney and Stephane Quintal on February 7, 1992.
Oates holds the Blues record for assists in a season (90 in ’90-’91), and he also ranks third on that list for his 79-assist season in ’89-’90. His 115 points in ’90-’91 are the second-most ever for a Blues player in a single season, trailing only Hull’s 131 during that same campaign, and his 102 points in ’89-’90 are tied for 10th in franchise history. Oates also has the most points per game over a career (1.47) of any player in Blues history, and he ranks second all-time in franchise history in assists per game (1.17).