TL;DR - Yes, I'd give him a one year deal. But I don't want him expecting to play C.
I'd give him a 1.5 x 1 max to be 13th man assuming Versteeg isn't re-signed and management has no intention to park Brouwer in the Press box. I'd also prefer to pencil him in to be a winger rather than a centre so that our centre projects are forced to develop at C rather than spending time at wing (ie: Lazar, Shore, Jankowski etc.).
However, while Stajan does have the ability to shelter said players if they really struggle, I don't want to rely on him as a C for long term bottom 6 C development reasons.
Several reasons to re-sign Stajan:
- Even if we want the kids to step up, Stajan is insurance in case something doesn't work out the way we want it.
- Stajan is an excellent option as 13th. Going outside the org or expecting a kid to take that press box role isn't ideal nor realistic.
- Stajan can play very well to the level and style of his line mates of which he's had to deal with a huge variation. I've seen Stajan play like a grinder, loft a soft pass to Backlund for a nice goal, drag around anchors and be a consummate pro and good teammate even after going from our "1C" to 4C.
- Stajan can play LW/RW/C in a sort of bottom 6 swiss army knife like role. He can take face offs and is a decent in the speed, skill, physicality and heart categories. His ability to mentor and shelter young kids on the bottom 6 is also a plus, but not something I'd want to rely on.
- He will likely take a team friendly contract. You're not going to find too many players willing to take a low contract for one season to sit in the press box. A younger kid's potential to replace Stajan is ideal, but for sure it is not being realized in the press box, so it's Stockton or NHL roster for the young ones for best results.
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