Golden Knights center Paul Stastny’s father Peter Stastny retired from the NHL when he was 38-years-old. His son Paul is five years away from reaching that achievement. The older Stastny was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in 1998 after registering 1239 points (450 Goals, 789 Assists) for the Nordiques, Devils and Blues. In his outstanding career, Peter Stastny averaged 1.27 points per game spanning over 15 seasons, which is seventh best in NHL history,
The 2019-2020 NHL season, will be Vegas’ Stastny thirteenth playing in 874 games. He now stands 103 contests away from his father’s 977 games played. Clearly both have/had the skill, strength and stamina to be effective for that many games. At the age of 33, both Stastny’s averaged high minutes and added close to a point a game. The Golden Knights Center had his best points per game average in five seasons, adding .80 points per game. He led all Golden Knights centers, even William Karlsson, whom averaged .68 points per game.
In the postseason nothing changes. Like his father, Stastny continues to be a major factor in his mid-thirties. In the seven-game series against San Jose, the veteran center averaged more than a point per game scoring two goals and six assists. Coach Gerard Gallant played his second line center for twenty minutes a game and used him heavily in crucial points throughout the series. The son proved once again that Stastny’s tend to age well.
While he’ll never catch up to his father’s 1239 points, the Golden Knight is as effective as he ages. Thankfully, Vegas fans will get too watch Stastny play for at least two more seasons. Heck, maybe playing between Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone will get Paul closer to his father’s Hall of Fame accomplishments.