Blake Comeau

Blake Comeau (born on February 18, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He selected in the second round (47th overall) by the New York Islanders at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Blake played five seasons in the Islanders organization before joining the Calgary Flames in 2011–12. He has also played in the NHL for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins.

He had a successful major junior career, winning two Western Hockey League (WHL) championships and one Memorial Cup as a member of the Kelowna Rockets. He was also a member of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the 2006 World Junior Hockey Championship.

Junior
Blake 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. After appearing in three games as a 15-year-old, he joined the Rockets full-time in 2002–03 where he scored 23 points in 56 games. He appeared in 19 playoff games as the Rockets won the President's Cup.

Blake 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.

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

Blake 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. He then joined the Canadian junior team for the 2006 World Junior Hockey Championship. He led Team Canada in scoring with seven points in six games to lead Canada to its second consecutive gold medal.

He began his professional career to conclude the season, joining the Islanders' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, for seven playoff games.

Professional
The Islanders assigned Blake to the Sound Tigers for the 2005–06 season where he scored 43 points in 61 games. He earned a brief recall of three games to the Islanders and made his NHL debut on December 7, 2006, against the Montreal Canadiens. He split the 2006–07 season between New York and Bridgeport.

Blake had 19 points in 31 AHL games and 15 points in 51 NHL games. He scored his first NHL goal, against Dany Sabourin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, in a 4–2 victory on December 21, 2007.

Again, Blake 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. Blake scored 17 goals and 35 points in 61 games & scored his first career hat-trick on March 2, 2010, in a 5–3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Blake established career highs in 2010–11 with 24 goals, 22 assists and 46 points, a season which earned him a one-year, $2.5 million contract from the Islanders.

He struggled to begin the 2011–12 season and after failing to register a point in 16 games, he was placed on waivers by the Islanders and claimed by the Calgary Flames. He scored five goals and 15 points with the Flames.

Blake 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, Blake 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. Days before the 2013 NHL trade deadline, he was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2013 fifth-round draft pick.

On July 1, 2014, Blake signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 2014–15 season. 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.

Blake scored 11 goals in 32 games before he suffered a wrist injury against the Florida Panthers on December 22, 2014. Having missed 20 games, he later returned to the line-up, but he was still hampered by his wrist to suffer a drop in production.

Despite his injury, Blake still recorded his best year since 2011 with the Islanders, in producing 16 goals, including a team leading 5 game-winning tallies & 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, Blake signed a three-year contract as a free agent with the Colorado Avalanche holding an average value of $2.4 million a year.