Blake Comeau

Comeau played four seasons in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for the Kelowna Rockets. He was a second round selection of the team in the 2001 WHL Bantam Draft.[2] After appearing in three games as a 15-year-old, Comeau joined the Rockets full-time in 2002–03, where he scored 23 points in 56 games.[3] He appeared in 19 playoff games as the Rockets won the President's Cup.[4] Comeau improved to 33 points in 2003–04, and while the Rockets failed to repeat as WHL champions, they qualified for the 2004 Memorial Cup as tournament hosts. Comeau and the Rockets won the national championship with a 2–1 victory in the final game over the Gatineau Olympiques.[5]

Comeau during his tenure with the Flames.

Following the triumph, Comeau was selected by the New York Islanders as their second round selection, 47th overall, at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.[6] He returned to the Rockets for the 2004–05 season, where he scored 24 goals and 47 points.[3] He also added 18 points in 24 playoff games as the Rockets won their second President's Cup in three years.[6] The Rockets failed to defend their title at the 2005 Memorial Cup, however, losing all three games they played.[7]

Comeau completed his junior career in 2005–06. He scored 74 points in 60 games and was named to the WHL's Western Conference All-Star Team.[8] He then joined the Canadian junior team for the 2006 World Junior Hockey Championship. Comeau led Team Canada in scoring with seven points in six games to lead Canada to its second consecutive gold medal.[9] Comeau began his professional career to conclude the season, joining the Islanders' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, for seven playoff games.[3]

The Islanders assigned Comeau to the Sound Tigers for the 2005–06 season, where he scored 43 points in 61 games.[3] He earned a brief recall of three games to the Islanders and made his NHL debut on December 7, 2006, against the Montreal Canadiens.[10] Comeau split the 2006–07 season between New York and Bridgeport. He had 19 points in 31 AHL games and 15 points in 51 NHL games.[3] He scored his first NHL goal, against Dany Sabourin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, in a 4–2 victory on December 21, 2007.[11] Comeau again split season between New York and Bridgeport in 2008–09, scoring 25 points in 53 games with the Islanders. He finally earned a permanent spot with the NHL team in 2009–10. Comeau scored 17 goals and 35 points in 61 games.[3] He scored his first career hat-trick on March 2, 2010, in a 5–3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.[12] He established career highs in 2010–11 with 24 goals, 22 assists and 46 points, a season which earned Comeau a one-year, $2.5 million contract from the Islanders.[13]

Comeau with the Blue Jackets in 2013.

Comeau struggled to begin the 2011–12 season, and after failing to register a point in 16 games, was placed on waivers by the Islanders, where he was claimed by the Calgary Flames.[14] He scored five goals and 15 points with the Flames. Comeau became a restricted free agent following the season; the Flames would have had to give him a qualifying offer at least equal to his last contract to retain his rights. The Flames declined to offer him a contract, and he subsequently became an unrestricted free agent. Despite this, Comeau chose to re-sign with the Flames, taking a 50% pay cut to do so; the two parties agreed on a one-year, $1.25 million contract for 2012–13.[15]

Days before the 2013 NHL trade deadline, Comeau was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2013 fifth-round draft pick.[16] Comeau finished the season with 5 points in 9 games. A knee injury limited him to 61 games the following year.

On July 1, 2014, Comeau signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 2014–15 season.[17] Comeau proved a solid addition to the Penguins, proving his versatility in skating alongside, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. On November 26, 2014, he scored his second career hat-trick, with two goals scored during regulation and one as the game-winning overtime, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Comeau scored 11 goals in 32 games before he suffered a wrist injury against the Florida Panthers on December 22.[18] Having missed 20 games, Comeau later returned to the line-up however was still hampered by his wrist to suffer a drop in production.[19] Despite his injury, Comeau still recorded his best year since 2011 with the Islanders, in producing 16 goals, including a team leading 5 game-winning tallies, and 31 points in 61 games. Comeau recorded his first post-season goal against the New York Rangers on April 16, 2015.

On July 1, 2015, Comeau signed a three-year contract as a free agent with the Colorado Avalanche holding an average value of $2.4 million a year.[20] He made his debut with the Avalanche in the 2015–16 season on opening night in a 5-4 defeat to the Minnesota Wild on October 8, 2015.[21] In adding a missing versatility to the Avalanche bottom 6 forwards, Comeau became a staple of the team's penalty killing unit alongside Carl Söderberg.[22] On November 14, 2015, in his 500th career game, Comeau registered his first goal in an Avalanche uniform, marking his 200th NHL point in a 6-1 defeat of the Montreal Canadiens.[23] On March 28, 2016, Comeau scored his 100th career goal, adding the opening marker in 4-3 victory over the Nashville Predators.[24] Unable to help Colorado qualify for the post-season, Comeau contributed with 12 goals and a career best 24 assists for 36 points in 81 games.[25] On March 4, 2017, in the midst of the worst season in Colorado history, Comeau became an infamous viral sensation when he passed to a teammate behind him on a breakaway, which was intercepted by a Winnipeg player. The Avalanche were losing 5-0 at the time.

In his final season with the club, Comeau recorded 13 goals and 21 assists in 79 games. The Avalanche qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2014, matching up with the Western Conference-leading Nashville Predators. Comeau scored two goals in six games during their first-round exit.[26]

On July 1, 2018, Comeau left the Avalanche organization after three seasons to join the Dallas Stars on a three-year, $7.2 million contract.[27] "I didn't want to waste their time or my time," Comeau said of meeting with other teams. "It's important that I'm on a team that I think can win. Dallas has all those pieces and also wants to improve. That was very appealing to me." [28]

In February 2020, Comeau was made an alternate captain along with teammate Esa Lindell. Comeau and John Klingberg serve as alternate captains during road games, while Lindell and Tyler Seguin serve as alternate captains during home games.[29]