Stewart was NHL's greatest goal-scorer in the pre-World War II era. "Old Poison" became the all-time leader on Jan. 30, 1937, when he passed Howie Morenz by scoring his 272nd NHL goal. He finished his career in 1940 as the League's all-time leader with 324, a record that lasted until Maurice Richard scored No. 325 on Nov. 8, 1952.

Though Stewart was never known for his speed, nine-time Stanley Cup champion executive Frank Selke called him the "brainiest player I have ever known" in a story published in the Montreal Gazette on Nov. 10, 1962. "Stewart was an extremely deceptive player," Selke said. "I cannot recall any great pro who seemingly put less effort into his play and yet who came up with as much success as this big 200-pound star."

Stewart was born in Montreal, learned his hockey in Toronto and made his NHL debut with the Montreal Maroons in 1925-26. He led the NHL with 34 goals and 42 points in 36 games, was voted winner of the Hart Trophy as most valuable player and helped the Maroons win the Stanley Cup.

Though he rarely scored on an individual rush like many of the other top scorers of his era, Stewart more than made up for his lack of speed with his hard, accurate shot and, like Phil Esposito decades later, excelled at getting into scoring position and cashing in.

As the center of the Maroons' famed "S Line" with fellow future Hall of Famers Hooley Smith and Babe Siebert, Stewart won the Hart Trophy again in the 1929-30 season, when he scored an NHL career-high 39 goals in 44 games.

Stewart set an NHL record for the fastest two goals by one player on Jan. 3, 1931, when he scored twice in four seconds against the Boston Bruins. He held the record alone until Deron Quint scored two goals in four seconds for the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 15, 1995.

The Maroons ran into financial problems and sold Stewart to the Boston Bruins after the 1931-32 season.

Despite playing some defense for the Bruins, Stewart was the team's second-leading scorer in his first three seasons, behind Marty Barry in 1932-33 and 1933-34, and Dit Clapper in 1934-35. He averaged 20 goals in his three full seasons with Boston before being traded to the New York Americans in December 1936.

Stewart, now 34 years old, scored 20 goals in the final 32 games of the 1936-37 season and finished with a League-leading 23. He scored 19 and 16 goals in his next two seasons, but retired after dropping to six goals in 35 games in 1939-40.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1952 and was 54 when he died on Aug. 21, 1957.