Keith Tkachuk Keith Matthew Tkachuk ( ; born March 28 , 1972 ) is a retired American professional ice hockey player who performed for four teams and three franchises in his 19 - year career . He is one of only four American - born players to score 500 goals , and is the sixth American player to score 1 , 000 points . Playing career . Tkachuk began his hockey career at Malden Catholic High School in Malden , Massachusetts . Tkachuk played collegiate hockey at Boston University , was a member of the U . S . National Junior team in 1991 and 1992 , and a member of the U . S . Olympic team in 1992 . He was drafted in the first round ( 19th overall ) in the 1990 entry draft by the Winnipeg Jets who acquired the pick from the Buffalo Sabres in the deal that sent Dale Hawerchuk to Buffalo . Tkachuk played as Center , Left Winger and Right Winger in his career . Tkachuk has earned the nickname " Walt " ( given to him by Eddie Olczyk ) , possibly in reference to Walter Tkaczuk , a star center who played for the New York Rangers from 1967 to 1981 . The two players ' last names are pronounced similarly but spelled differently , and the two men are not related to each other . With his great play in front of the net , St . Louis Blues broadcasters and fans dubbed the name " Big Walt " as well from this name . Winnipeg Jets ( 1992 – 1996 ) . Only days after the end of the Olympics , Tkachuk made his NHL debut on February 28 , 1992 , against the Vancouver Canucks and tallied an assist . He would finish the season with the Jets , getting eight points in 17 games . In the playoffs that year , he scored three goals in seven games . The following season , 1992 – 93 , was Tkachuk ' s official rookie year . He appeared in 83 games and ended the season with 28 goals and 51 points , including a 12 – game scoring streak from March 9 to April 3 , 1993 . Tkachuk became the team captain the next season on November 3 , 1993 , two weeks after recording his first hat trick , against the Philadelphia Flyers . Some of his accomplishments from that season include leading the Jets in goals ( 41 ) , points ( 81 ) , and power play goals ( 22 ) . The 1994 – 95 season , which was shortened by a lockout , saw Tkachuk earn all - star second - team honors , as well as being second on the team in points . In the 1995 – 96 season , Tkachuk dominated the Jets ' statistics finishing first in goals ( 50 ) , assists ( 48 ) , points ( 98 ) , power play goals ( 20 ) , game - winning goals ( 6 ) , shots ( 249 ) , and plus / minus ( + 11 ) . Tkachuk was stripped of the Jets captaincy , at the start of the 1995 – 96 NHL season ( the Winnipeg Jets last season ) , after a contract dispute . Kris King was named the new captain . Tkachuk was restored as captain at the start of the 1996 – 97 NHL season , when the Jets moved to Phoenix , Arizona , to become the Phoenix Coyotes . Phoenix Coyotes ( 1996 – 2001 ) . The Jets moved to Phoenix , Arizona , in 1996 , where Tkachuk became a member of the new Phoenix Coyotes . It was with Phoenix during the 1996 – 97 season that he has his career - best 52 goals , and made his first appearance in the NHL All - Star Game . He also led the team in goals , points , power - play goals , game - winning goals , and shots for the 1997 – 98 season , earning him his second straight All - Star appearance . For the 1998 – 99 season , Tkachuk led the team in goals , power - play goals , game - winning goals , shots , and plus / minus , and again went to the All - Star game . In 1997 , Tkachuk was on the cover of the video game NHL Breakaway ' 98 . After struggling with injuries for the next two seasons , the Coyotes traded Tkachuk to the Blues in 2001 for Ladislav Nagy , Michal Handzus , Jeff Taffe and a 1st round selection ( Ben Eager ) , where he was re - united with Dallas Drake , who had signed a free agent deal with the Blues in the summer of 2000 . He would leave the team ranking second in all - time goals ( 323 ) and first in penalty minutes ( 1 , 508 ) among other records . St . Louis Blues and brief Atlanta Thrashers stint ( 2001 – 2010 ) . Tkachuk made an immediate impact on the Blues , scoring six goals and eight points in the final 12 games of the 2000 – 01 season . The Blues made it to the Western Conference final in the playoffs that season , losing to the Colorado Avalanche , the eventual 2001 Stanley Cup champions . He has experienced several injuries while with the Blues , and was briefly suspended when he reported to training camp overweight and failed his physical at the beginning of the 2005 – 06 season . On February 25 , 2007 , Tkachuk was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for Glen Metropolit , a 1st round pick in 2007 , a 3rd round pick in 2007 and a 2nd round pick in 2008 . On June 26 of the same year , St . Louis reacquired Tkachuk along with a conditional 4th round draft pick for a conditional first round pick in 2008 . If Tkachuk had re - signed with the Thrashers , the Blues would have had Atlanta ' s 1st round pick in 2008 . Since the Blues acquired exclusive negotiating rights with Tkachuk and re - signed him to a two - year deal , Atlanta received a conditional 4th round pick in 2008 . Tkachuk signed a new , two - year contract with the Blues for $ 8 million on June 30 . Upon re - signing , Tkachuk said of the Blues that " I see a lot of good things happening . . . They ' re going to be very active in making this a better hockey team . " To help prove the Blues would be better , after signing Tkachuk they signed left winger Paul Kariya . Coach Andy Murray announced that he would try a line where Tkachuk would be centering Kariya on left wing and Brad Boyes on right . On the last day of the 2007 – 08 regular season ( April 6 ) , Tkachuk scored his 500th NHL Goal , a milestone only three other American - born players have achieved , and the 41st overall in NHL history . On November 30 , 2008 , Tkachuk scored goal number 511 , giving him 1 , 000 NHL points for his career . He becomes only the sixth American , and 72nd overall to achieve that milestone . It came in his 1 , 077th NHL game . He signed a one year contract with the Blues on June 19 , 2009 . On April 7 , 2010 , Tkachuk announced that he would be retiring from hockey at the conclusion of the 2009 – 10 season . He played his final NHL game two nights later on April 9 , 2010 . Records . Tkachuk led the NHL in goals during the 1996 – 97 season with 52 , the first American - born player to do so . That season he was also only the fourth player in NHL history to record 50 goals and 200 penalty minutes in a single season . Other records : Personal life . Tkachuk has been married to Chantal Oster , whom he met in Winnipeg since February 28 , 1997 , and has three children , named Matthew , Braeden , and Taryn . He is still a fan favorite in St . Louis and is an investor in sports talk radio station KFNS ( 590 AM , St . Louis MO ) . He is an assistant coach with the St . Louis Blues Peewee AAA hockey team , his son Braeden plays on the team Tkachuk is Irish on his mother ' s side , and is cousin to NHL player Tom Fitzgerald , whom he grew up with . When asked about the derivation of his surname , Tkachuk was unsure , suggesting it could either be " Polish , Russian , [ or ] Ukrainian , one of those . "