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2014-15 report cards: Raphael Diaz’s season

Continuing with post-season analysis, we take a look at perhaps the most undervalued Flame of the entire season: seventh-turned-fifth-turned-sixth? defenceman, Raphael Diaz.

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Coming fresh off a Stanley Cup Final appearance, Raphael Diaz didn’t have a home to start the 2014-15 season. He was an unrestricted free agent who had jumped between three teams the season prior, and nobody was willing to take a flyer on him on July 1st. Or 2nd. Or 3rd. Or any day of that month, or the next.

Instead, Diaz was invited to the Calgary Flames‘ training camp. The Flames were a team pretty short on defence, and with Deryk Engelland being their sole backend acquisition, they needed more.

Diaz had an excellent training camp, and was rewarded with a cheap one-year deal. For his efforts, he was the seventh defenceman, behind everyone on the depth chart, even though he probably should have actually been the fifth guy and anchoring the bottom pairing. Engelland and Ladislav Smid did not complement one another at all, and it wasn’t until Smid’s season ended due to injury that Diaz stepped in full time. The bottom pairing immediately improved.

That said, Diaz still couldn’t get enough respect throughout the season. He wasn’t promoted to the top four when Mark Giordano went down, and he later ended up hurt himself. His return in the playoffs was a welcome, and much needed addition, but for whatever reason, he still hardly even played.

Diaz's season was consistent: he was underused and under-appreciated the entire time. Here's how we felt about him.

arii (C):

Mike FAIL (C+):

HockeyGoalieEh (B):

Diaz was astounding for what he was acquired for in the offseason. As a signing in training camp he wound up making the roster and making the lineup when Ladislav Smid went down. He proved over the course of the season that he is much better than Smid.

Diaz did some things so incredibly well that he may even merit a grade better than the B which he’s being given. He carried Deryk Engelland this season and performed better with him than T.J. Brodie could. That’s a very hard thing to do. He also earned minutes on the power play and penalty kill.

The fantastic possession numbers generally carry over from year to year and in that aspect he’s second only to Mark Giordano. Yes, Brodie was better overall, and Dennis Wideman had a better season in terms of his point contributions and overall contributions to the team, but defensemen are flakey and the points may not come next year. A good early way to judge Brad Treliving will be by seeing if he re-signs Diaz and, if not, who he replaces him with.

saltysyd (B):

ctibs (B-):

LiamPMcCausland (C):

cofstats (C):

Some of us were more generous than others, but we all come to the same conclusion: Diaz was underused and undervalued by the Flames' coaching staff. For what he was allowed to play, he did a great job, but he wasn't on the ice nearly enough. As a solid bottom pairing defenceman – likely all he will ever be on a good team – he earns a solid C+ average from us.

As free agency approaches within a month's time, Diaz will no longer be a Flame. Or he might be. But considering his usage throughout the season, it seems unlikely he'll be back. He has more to offer than chances he was given this past season, and hopefully he'll be able to show that to whichever team he ends up with next year. He'll soon be 30, and while he's not going to make or break his team, he will be a solid addition. It just depends on how much defensive depth is already there, and whether or not the coaching staff can properly evaluate it.

If this is it, though, let's end on a high note:

by Ari Yanover