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Calgary Flames

2015-16 Player Report Card: Matt Stajan

The original Matty Franchise appears to have lost a step this season.

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Matt Stajan

C-

Scoring At Average Minutes Noise
G A1 P1 G A1 P1 +/- A2 Hits BS
6 8 14 6.98 8.53 15.51 -4 3 77 45
5V5
G60 A160 P160 xGF60 Rel xGA60 Rel Mod xG% CF60 Rel CA60 Rel Mod CF% Mod GF%
0.28 0.49 0.77 -0.33 -0.21 47.684 -5.3 1.84 46.172 44.64
5V4 4V5 Penalty
G60 A160 P160 xGF60 Rel GF60 Rel CF60 Rel iCF60 xGA60 Rel GA60 Rel +/-
0 0 0 -5.74 -2.97 -85.23 2.85 -0.07 2.9 -3

MattyFranchise – D

Matt Stajan had one of the most unenviable jobs in the League last season: fourth line center on a team with no goaltending and at age 32 it was not an easy one. While goaltenders (re: Hiller, Kiprusoff) generally fall off a cliff some time in their mid thirties, forwards fall off a lot earlier, and that Matt Stajan is doing this job at his age speaks to his ability.

He did not get the best zone starts, actually the worst on the team (35.3 ZS%) but still, as a defensive player he did not fair particularly well. His CF% was a 43.9, tied with Bollig. Thankfully he was a lot better than Bollig at actually getting the puck out of the zone with a CF%Rel of -6.54%. Shot were still going against him but what can you do with Brandon Bollig on your line? Away from Bollig he clearly performed much better.

As far as actual goal suppression goes he was not very good compared to the League (42.4 GF%) but on a team that allowed by far the most goals against last season he fell into the middle of the pack relative to the team in keeping pucks out of the net (-0.62 GF%Rel). Combined with his awful zone starts Stajan is a competent, albeit overpaid, 4th line player. If it wasn't for career lows in any points (7-10-17 minimum 40 games played), his grade would have been higher but I give him a D

Samwell9 – C

I used to give Staj a lot of flack in the first portion of his tenure in Calgary; he was the centerpiece of the Dion Phaneuf trade that was horribly butchered by Sutter. Over the years I’ve grown to quite like him, you can easily see how he is a great guy and he has contributed to the Flames a fair bit in these tough, dark days the organization has faced of late. He also scored that clutch goal to knock out the Canucks, I’m never forgetting that. With all those nice words about Stajan out of the way, I have to say that his season this year was quite disappointing. He definitely was not set up for success with being stuck on the 4th line with players like Bollig, Bouma and Jooris, but you would really like to see more out of a guy being paid $3.125M a season. Not his fault he is overpaid, but there was just not much of a contribution. He did not put up offense, his possession numbers were poor and his faceoff numbers are weak for a veteran forward. Tough zone starts and poor line mates do not make it easy on a player, but he did not do much to improve things. He also looked like age was catching up with him, he seemed a step behind this season. His role is likely going to dwindle with the Flames as his contract runs out in a couple of years, but he is still an adequate depth piece. I’m giving Stajan a C.

MarkParkinson14- D

I feel like after most Flames games this season I asked myself: was Stajan even on the ice? That could very well be the fact that he anchors the 4th line, but I feel like a player of Stajan's stature should be more visible no matter where he plays. Stajan had 17 points this season tying his career low with Calgary. After being a 20+ point scorer in Toronto, Stajan has only had 3 of those since joining the Flames. It could be the personnel, but it doesn't appear Stajan is getting better. This is an eye test thing for me. I could deal with his lack of offense if he was doing other things while on the ice. His 77 hits and 45 blocked shots seem hollow when you look at his entire season. When you watch a game and ask yourself "what does Stajan do well?", I think you've got your answer.

BizzleJ – B

Matt Stajan is one of those players who is great enough to be at least on a 2nd line. Unfortunately for him there are several players on the Flames roster who are better, and thus bump him down to the 4th line. Taking that into account, one has to realize that he only got around twelve minutes of ice time in a game and was never really with consistent linemates. Back in 2013-14 when he racked up 33 points he was on a line with Curtis Glencross and Jiri Hudler. I typically don’t expect much out of 4th liners and in my opinion Stajan met my expectations and I give him a B.

HockeyGoalieEh – D

Stajan wasn't particularly useful anywhere but on the penalty kill. His numbers at even strength were terrible and that brief display he had on the power play was utterly abhorrent. Still, those power play numbers were enough to bump him out of the F territory. He'd probably be better with better teammates, so hopefully this coaching staff gets a clue and doesn't play him with Brandon Bollig.

by Matthew Granlund