2016-17 Report Card: Michael Stone

Welcome to our annual Matchsticks and Gasoline Report Cards! We’ll be doing these all throughout the month of May. Make sure to vote in our poll with your grade for each player! First up is Michael Stone.

Michael Stone (Defense) - Midseason Grade: C+

Our Individual Grades:

HockeyGoalieEh: (D-) Stone came in via a third round pick. The alert came through my phone and I was stoked because all it said was “Flames acquire Stone” and I thought it was Michael. Alas, it wasn’t and the Flames acquired Mark Stone with a third and a conditional fifth.

Stone came in strictly because he wasn’t Dennis Wideman and fans loved him for that, but truth be told he wasn’t very good. Yes, he had a plus, but the Flames had a completely unbelievable P.D.O. with stone on the ice. His relative Corsi was absolutely terrible and his relative xG was that of a sixth defenseman. He hasn’t looked good since he had knee surgery with the Arizona Coyotes and I hope that he’s replaced with someone better - the team already overpaid giving up that third rounder for him and he’s an easily replaceable player that isn’t worth what he’ll cost as an unrestricted free agent plus a fifth rounder.

MarkParkinson14: (B) Stone was a pretty “under the radar” acquisition by the Flames and while not a sexy pick up, he did help stabilize the Flames defence. The trade that brought Stone to Calgary allowed the Flames to free T.J Brodie from the anchor that was Dennis Wideman and allowed to Stone to slot into that spot.

Samwell9: (C) Stone was an upgrade from Wideman. He was a good acquisition for the situation the team was currently in, just ahead of the deadline. He helped Brodie have a more steady partner. He really was not anything special, as he does concede a fair number of shots against, but he allowed Brodie to play a bit more like we had seen him play in previous seasons. Ideally a third pairing guy, but he got the job done. Probably best if the team moves on from him.

FlamesMM: (B-) For what was on the market, this was a pretty smart acquisition by the Flames for a price tag that wasn’t all that high. His acquisition brought stability to the defensive core and the Flames immediately won ten straight after his arrival. I was pretty happy with his play on the second pairing and I’d be fine if they resigned him this offseason.

Our Final Grade: C+