Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike F
That's just not going to happen... - Stajan is a respected veteran with a lot of good will in the room;
- He hasn't done anything to warrant waiving and demotion. People may want Jankowski up, but it's not because Stajan hasn't performed in his role as 4th line centre. His line has not only not been a liability, but have generated energy both games; and
- Like it or not, the organization has repeatedly said it has no problem with prospects getting "over-ripe" in the AHL
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4. Stajan right now has positive return value, and should return an asset that can replace an asset lost over the last two years (Elliott / Stone / Hamonic / Lazar trades). Especially when the otherwise best team in the NHL and two time defending champs need not one but three centers to round out their roster+depth, having lost all three of Bonino, Cullen, and Sundqvist this offseason.
To add to your point (2) though - Stajan has started the season with 58.54% xGF% so far after being 50.4% over a larger sample last year (40.46 DZS%) - a team that wants a solid fourth line or even a competent third line would love to have a Matt Stajan there to drag anchorweights around or better yet actually have a reliable, contributing bottom line. Small sample this year so far, sure, but waiving Stajan would be outright stupid considering it would be based on the same sample. He's done nothing to warrant that.