STAJAN FOUND A TRUE HOME IN CITY ‘FULL OF GREAT PEOPLE’
Hard-working Flames veteran applauded for reaching 1,000-game milestone
Matt Stajan didn’t leave the rink Wednesday with a silver stick to commemorate the occasion, nor were there speeches touting his professionalism or thanking his supporters.
Those will come before puck drop on March 29 when ol’ Staj will get the treatment he deserves as one of the game’s true pros.
What the Flames veteran did leave with was an outpouring of respect from the fans, who joined Stajan’s teammates in applauding his 1,000 game milestone reached at home against the Ducks.
Six minutes into Wednesday’s otherwise meaningless game, Stajan was saluted during a TV timeout for being the 319th player in league lore to log fourdigits worth of outings.
A casual announcement was married with a Jumbotron shot of him on the bench, prompting a good portion of those who attended the Flames funereal march to stand and applaud.
Ever the class act, the 34-yearold centre stood to acknowledge their love and applauded back, to thank them.
He meant it.
Being genuine has long been Stajan’s trademark — a guy who always approached the game the right way, by playing hard but never crossing the line.
Playing every role possible for a Flames team for which he’s played 555 games, Stajan learned to thrive in the dirty areas without being dirty.
He’s the first to come to the aid of a teammate on or off the ice, he hurls his body in front of shots from any angle, he kills penalties and he never complains.
The ultimate team player in the ultimate team sport.
Behind closed doors he could be anything from a shoulder to cry on, a voice of reason, a veteran you could trust to answer any question in any situation.
Captain Mark Giordano confirmed as much, suggesting Stajan has long been one of the first people he turns to when he has a leadership question.
Acquired by the Flames in 2010 as part of the Dion Phaneuf deal with the Maple Leafs, the Mississauga native admitted he didn’t originally consider the possibility Calgary would be his home long-term, especially as coach Brent Sutter placed him squarely in the doghouse for two full years.
However, he knuckled down and reinvented himself as a third-line checker. Several years ago he embraced anchoring the fourth unit.
Aside from being a leader, that’s what Stajan has always done best — bounce back. Recalibrate. Dig deeper.
He did it throughout his 15-year career and throughout a life that had one notable tragedy: the death of his son, Emerson, shortly after birth on March 3, 2014.
After taking the better part of two weeks to mourn his shocking loss, Stajan returned to the Flames for healing and to plod on, scoring the most memorable goal in his career on a penalty shot in Edmonton he punctuated by pointing to the heavens in honour of Emerson.
Mobbed by teary-eyed teammates, it was then that Brian McGrattan leaned into his pal to tell him he loved him.
Many who’ve played with him feel the same way, which is the ultimate testament to the kind of person Stajan is.
Soon thereafter, Matt and Katie Stajan used their grief to help others, raising money to help the Calgary Foothills Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit as well as assisting others who suffered similar loss.
The response from the public was one that forever changed their mindset about a city they used to leave every summer to go “home” to Toronto.
No longer.
“For sure this is home for us now — we’re going to be in Calgary,” said Stajan, entertaining the largest media scrum of the season Wednesday morning.
“It’s special the way the city has embraced my family — the city is a place full of great people who really care. It’s a little more laid back than Toronto where it’s a little busier.”
One year less a day after they lost Emerson the couple was blessed with Elliot, who is a healthy three-year-old who spent Wednesday morning playing catch and giggling in the Flames dressing room as dad addressed the media.
The Stajans recently moved into a new home in southwest Calgary and are expecting another boy in July.
Good things happen to good people.
More than 20 close friends and family members flew in for the milestone occasion and to support a man of tremendous character and pride whose secret to longevity revolves around resilience, hard work and heart.
“I’ve played first line, second line, third line and fourth line in my career and I’ve never complained — I’ve just embraced the opportunity,” said Stajan, 34, a second-round pick of the Leafs who played 445 games in blue and white.
“I was taught at a young age to be responsible. If you start cheating or looking for things to come easy it doesn’t work that way in this world.
“When you work hard, no matter what you do, and stick with it in tough times, things come full circle. It’s just the way I was raised and I never changed my mindset. I’ve always tried to remind myself of that.”