Stajan part of supporting cast
Flames’ centre emphasizes team success as he contributes to ‘exciting’ rebuild
When Matt Stajan joined the Calgary Flames in the infamous Dion Phaneuf trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2010, Mark Giordano had barely dipped his toe into the National Hockey League and Mikael Backlund was a baby-faced rookie.
Fast-forward to Friday, and more than seven years since that deal, the same trio of Stajan, Giordano and Backlund is now older, wiser and more experienced and on the brink of the 2017-18 NHL campaign with a legitimate chance (on paper, of course) to do some damage when the regular season begins.
“It’s really impressive to see the team grow together and where we’ve come,” Stajan said. “Obviously, we were where we were in 2010 and 2011. Things got torn apart with a little bit of a rebuild. Now, expectations are back on us, and we have expectations on ourselves. It’s exciting.
“It’s been exciting, and now we have to put it together. No one is happy with how pre-season has gone so far, that’s on us. Now, we have to do something about it.”
Stajan originally arrived on scene with the Maple Leafs as a first-line centre, logging top minutes with then-linemate Phil Kessel.
Now, arguably in the twilight years of his career, the 33-year-old well-known good guy in the dressing room and resident veteran is entering his 14th NHL campaign.
This season, he will likely join the 1,000-game club, and there’s a good chance he’ll score another 20-ish points, like the six goals and 17 assists he chipped in last year.
Through three games of last spring’s post-season, he logged 10:15 minutes per night on average, and, while skating among the 10 players that played 81 to 82 regular-season clashes, he recorded an average of 12:40 a night.
At this point in his career, Stajan is a serviceable member of the bottom group of forwards and is accepting of his role.
“I want to win,” Stajan said. “I want to be part of a team that’s going to be competitive. You try to come to the rink every day and enjoy yourself. You work hard and control what you can. I know I’m a depth player for this team, and whatever I’m asked to do or where to play, I’ll do a good job of it.
“That’s the approach I’ve had the last few years, and I hope to do the same thing this year.”
A quick glance at a mock opening day lineup — and pre-season prognostications of a depth-chart push from a young centre such as Mark Jankowski — might indicate Stajan will be playing sparingly during the ’17-18 season, as the Flames try to improve from last year’s first-round ousting by the Anaheim Ducks.
But others disagree, including Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan, who has no immediate plans to drastically cut Stajan’s ice-time and has said the veteran will start the year centring the Calgary club’s fourth line.
“Matty will have the same role as last year,” Gulutzan said. “When you’re putting together a team, it’s not just saying, ‘OK. Let’s just put in all of the best players.’ You have to put in the best players at the positions. The best defensive centres, the best checking forwards ...
“They have to all fit with the other forwards and defencemen you have.”
Gulutzan said he hasn’t talked to Stajan about playing wing this year, should they want to test-drive other players at the centre position, but it’s something the two discussed during the ’16-17 campaign.
“I talked to him about that last season, and he has no problem playing wing,” Gulutzan said. “He’s an intelligent player. I would look at anything that’s going to help us be a better team. But those pieces have to fit together. I haven’t tried him at wing, but I haven’t ruled it out. I think only once or twice, I put him on wing. Wherever the best fit is but chances are, last year, he played mostly centre.”
Stajan was also a major part of the Flames penalty-kill, which was the 12th-best unit during the regular season, operating at a 81.6 per cent clip. This year, he’ll continue holding down the second unit with Troy Brouwer after his former PK compadre Lance Bouma departed for the Chicago Blackhawks during free agency.
“(Stajan) is a very good penalty killer for us,” Gulutzan said. “And specialty teams is a big part of today’s NHL. If you don’t win the specialty teams battle, you’re not going to win many hockey games. With the new (slashing) rules, we’re expecting more penalties. His role, I don’t think should change, and his minutes won’t change from a year ago.”