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Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter LX: 235-231

Today's heroes from days past include left winger Stephane Matteau, defensemen Greg Smyth and Kevan Guy, goaltender Marc D'Amour, and center Steve Montador.

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235. Stephane Matteau

Matteau, a 6’4″, 220 lb. left winger from Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, was born on September 2nd, 1969. He would spend four junior seasons with the Hull Olympiques, scoring 94 goals and 141 assists and 513 penalty minutes in 245 contests starting in 1985-86. The Flames selected him in the second round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft with the 25th overall choice.

After a full season with Hull in 1988-89, Matteau joined the Salt Lake Golden Eagles for nine playoff games in his professional debut. He earned four assists and 13 penalty minutes. He racked up 23 goals and 35 assists with 130 penalty minutes in 81 games for the Eagles the following season. He concluded his first full campaign with six goals and three helpers in 10 playoff contests with the club.

1990-91 would see Matteau join Calgary for his first taste of the NHL. In 78 contests (team sixth), he scored 15 times (team ninth) on 114 shots with 19 assists (team 10th), a plus-17 rating (team eighth), and 93 penalty minutes (team 10th). His first NHL goal happened in his third game, a 4-3 Flames win over the Winnipeg Jets on October 8th. On November 8th, he scored a goal and earned an assist with a plus-3 rating in an 8-2 drubbing of the Philadelphia Flyers. He earned four points in two games between December 29th and 31st, with two assists in an 8-2 win over the Hartford Whalers and a goal with an assist in a 7-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens. In total, he posted multiple points on five occasions. He later had an assist in five postseason contests.

In 1991-92, Matteau played four games with the Flames to open the season, scoring a goal in the opening day 9-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on October 4th. He totaled just the one goal on seven shots, with a plus-2 rating and 19 penalty minutes. He suffered a thigh injury on October 10th, and was sidelined for the next two months until he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Trent Yawney on December 16th.

Matteau gave Rangers fans something to cheer for on the road to the 1994 NHL Stanley Cup:

Matteau followed his time in Calgary with 164 games in Chicago (35 goals, 42 assists, 198 PiM), later playing with the New York Rangers (85 games, 11 goals, 10 assists, 49 PiM), the St. Louis Blues (120 games, 23 goals, 33 assists, 115 PiM), the San Jose Sharks (345 games, 55 goals, 64 assists, 241 PiM), and the Florida Panthers (52 games, four goals, four assists, 27 PiM). He is currently an assistant coach with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL.

All-Time Statline: 82 games, 16 goals, 19 assists, plus-19 rating, 112 penalty minutes, 2.02 point shares.

234. Greg Smyth

Smyth, born on April 23rd, 1966 in Oakville, Ontario, was a 6’4″, 235 lb. defenseman. He made his debut in three seasons with the OHL’s London Knights, scoring 23 goals and 79 assists in 157 appearances.

In 1985-86, Smyth made his professional debut with the AHL Hershey Bears, appearing in two games after the OHL season concluded. The following season would see him spend 35 games with the Bears collecting two assists. He also appeared in one regular season and one playoff game with the Flyers to open his NHL career.

1987-88 would see Smyth split the season between Hershey (21 games, 10 assists) and Philadelphia (48 games, one goal, six assists, 192 PIM). He was traded after the season to the Quebec Nordiques with a third round pick for Terry Carkner.

For the next four seasons, Smyth split his time between the Nordiques (53 games, three assists, 265 PIM), and the AHL Halifax Citadels (157 games, 15 goals, 49 assists). He was traded to the Calgary Flames for Martin Simard on March 10th, 1992.

Smyth appeared in seven games for Calgary to close out the 1991-92 season, scoring a goal on 10 shots with an assist, a plus-7 rating and 15 penalty minutes. He scored his lone marker on April 15th in a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks.
In 1992-93, Smyth had a much bigger impact on the Flames. In just 35 games, he ranked seventh on the team with 95 penalty minutes, scoring a goal on 14 shots with two helpers and a plus-2 rating. He signed a free agent contract to join the brand-new Florida Panthers after the season ended.

After his time with Florida (12 games, one goal, 37 PiM), Smyth appeared with the Toronto Maple Leafs (13 games, one assist 38 PIM) and the Chicago Blackhawks (60 games, three assists, 141 PIM).

All-Time Statline: 42 games, two goals, three assists, plus-10 rating, 110 penalty minutes, 2.03 point shares.

233. Marc D’Amour

D’Amour, a 5’10”, 165 lb. goaltender, was born on April 29th, 1961 in Sudbury, Ontario.He played four seasons in the OHA with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds starting in 1978-79. Although he got off to a slow start with the club, he posted a 28-12-1 record in his final season, with a 3.27 goals against average.

Calgary signed D’Amour to a contract through free agency during the 1982 offseason. Before joining the Flames, he appeared with several Flames farm teams, including the Colorado Flames (CHL, 34-33-3, 3.97), the Moncton Golden Flames (AHL, 24-23-5, 3.52), and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL, 7-2-2, 2.85).

In D’Amour’s only season in Calgary, 1985-86, he started out as Reggie Lemelin’s backup, and posted a 2-4-2 record. He ranked first amongst the three goaltenders with the club that season with an .897 save percentage, but still managed to lose the backup job to future long-time netminder Mike Vernon. He posted a 3.43 goals against average in his 15 appearances.

D’Amour stayed in Calgary’s system for another season following his time with the parent club, going 26-19-5, 3.27 in 1987-88 for the Golden Eagles. He later appeared with the Binghampton Whalers (5-3-0, 3.90, .848), the Hershey Bears (53-49-15), the Indianapolis Ice (2-3-1, 3.70), the Philadelphia Flyers (19 minutes), and the Fort Wayne Komets (1-0-0, 3.97).

All-Time Statline: 15 games, 2-4-2, 310 shots faced, 278 saves, .897 save percentage, 3.43 goals against average, 2.04 point shares.

232. Kevan Guy

After one WHL season with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Guy became a fourth round selection of Calgary in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, 71st overall. A 6’2″, 195 lb. defenseman, he was born in Edmonton, Alberta on July 16th, 1965. Over three seasons with the TIgers, he racked up 29 goals with 79 assists and 252 penalty minutes in 172 contests.

1985-86 would see Guy make his professional debut, playing the entire season with the Moncton Golden Flames (73 games, four goals, 20 assists, 56 PiM). In 1986-87, he split his time between Moncton (46 games, two goals, 10 assists, 38 PiM) and the Flames. He failed to light the lamp over 24 appearances, taking an equal number of shots. He did manage to serve up four assists, earn a very respectable plus-8 rating, and spend 19 minutes in the penalty box.

In 1987-88, Guy played 11 games for Calgary, taking four shots on goal but again failing to put one in the net. He earned one of his three assists on the season in a January 8th matchup with the New York Islanders, a 7-4 Flames win. He earned a plus-1 rating and eight penalty minutes during his time with the club. The season would also see him play 61 games for the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, and score six times with 30 assists. On March 6th, the Flames traded Guy with Brian Bradley and Peter Bakovic to the Vancouver Canucks for Craig Coxe.

Guy played three seasons in the Canucks organization, splitting his time between Vancouver (114 games, five goals, 13 assists) and their minor league affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals (29 games, two goals, 11 assists). Just a day shy of three years later, the Canucks traded him with Ron Stern back to the Flames for Dana Murzyn.

Guy appeared in seven games for the Flames over the next two seasons. He took a total of nine shots on goal, posted a plus-3 rating and earned three minor penalties for six minutes in the box. It would be his last shot at the NHL level.

Over the next four seasons, Guy went on to play with Salt Lake (155 games, eight goals, 40 assists), Graz EC (Austria, 22 games, one goal, six assists), the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks (six games, five assists), and the Denver Grizzlies (three games, one assist).

All-Time Statline: 42 games, zero goals, seven assists, plus-12 rating, 33 penalty minutes, 2.06 point shares.

231. Steve Montador

Montador, born on December 21st, 1979, is a 6′, 211 lb. center from Vancouver, British Columbia. He got his start in the OHL by splitting four seasons amongst three teams, the North Bay Centennials (100 games, 12 goals, 44 assists, 183 PiM), the Erie Otters (87 games, 12 goals, 50 assists, 149 PiM), and the Peterborough Petes (64 games, 14 goals, 42 assists, 97 PiM). He signed his first pro contract with the Flames through free agency, on April 10th, 2000. He appeared in two AHL playoff games soon thereafter for the Saint John Flames.

2000-01 would see Montador play the entire campaign in Saint John, scoring a lone goal with six assists and 95 penalty minutes over 58 games. His production jumped in the postseason, to eight assists in 19 contests.

Montador played most of 2001-02 with Saint John (67 games, nine goals, 16 assists, 107 PiM). In his first callup to the NHL, a two-game cup-of-joe, he earned an assist in each matchup, a 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on November 23rd and a 4-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets two days later. In his second of three call ups on the season, in January, he scored his first NHL goal, on the 8th in a 5-2 win against the New York Islanders. Over 11 games, he scored the one marker on 10 shots, with two assists, a minus-2 rating and 26 penalty minutes in 12:12 per contest.

Montador played his first “full” NHL season with the Flames in 2002-03, appearing in 50 contests for Calgary. Not known as much of a scorer, he earned his first point of the season in his 46th game, a goal in a 6-4 loss to the Jackets. In 15:11 per game, he scored once on 64 shots with one assist, a minus-9 rating, and a Flames fourth highest 114 penalty minutes. Truculence, forever.

In 2003-04, Montador missed a lot of the season due to injury. He took 31 shots on goal, and as in seasons past, sunk only one of them, a game winner in a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on March 16th. He also made two assists, posted a minus-1 rating, and spent 50 minutes in the penalty box in 11:46 per game. He also found himself skating top-six minutes (17:43 over 20 contests) in the postseason as the Flames skated all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. He scored a goal with two assists.

During the work stoppage that eliminated the 2004-05 season from the NHL History Books, Montador skated for Mulhouse (15 games, one goal, seven assists, 69 PiM) in France. He started out 2005-06 with the Flames, scoring a goal on 13 shots over seven games with 11 penalty minutes and an even rating in 11:49 per game. On December 2nd, the Flames traded him with Dustin Johner to the Florida Panthers for Kristian Huselius.

After Montador’s time with the Panthers (196 games, 10 goals, 28 assists, 260 PiM), he worked his way down from the top of the alphabet, appearing with the Anaheim Ducks (65 games, four goals, 16 assists, 125 PiM), the Boston Bruins (13 games, one assist, 18 PiM), the Buffalo Sabres (151 games, 10 goals, 39 assists, 158 PiM), and the Chicago Blackhawks (52 games, five goals, nine assists, 45 PiM). He has since played with the Rockford IceHogs (14 games, two goals, three assists) and Zagreb Medvescak (KHL, 11 games, three assists, 33 PiM).

All-Time Statline: 94 games, four goals, five assists, minus-12 rating, 201 penalty minutes, 2.06 point shares.

by Kevin Kraczkowski