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Originally Posted by Huntingwhale
One of the classy guys on the team. Regardless of what you think about his on-ice performance, he deserves to be honoured for this huge milestone.
And of all the weird things B.Sutter did, his utilisation of Stajan to me was the most puzzling. Stajan was coming off back to back 50 point seasons, was cleary a top 6 forward. And he just suddenly got relegated to the 4th line. It all happened so fast and without explanation.
We often hear of organisations 'ruining' a young players development. Well Stajan got the same treatment here in his prime years. Why a legit top 6 C, one of the most valuable commodities in the NHL, got suddenly demoted to line 4 still puzzles me to this day. But not once did Stajan complain. He put on his skates and did what he was asked. He was a leader during the hard rebuild years. And he stuck with the team until his time comes to an end.
8+ years as a Flame. Pretty crazy to think how many games he's played here and how fast time goes. He really does deserve a standing ovation at his ceremony.
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Stajan was a classic average player on a terrible leafs team that got top line & PP time. His point totals were bloated due to that in Toronto.
That being said, whatever he is and for whatever he wasn't, Stajan played his heart out wherever he played (Toronto, Calgary, top line to 4th liner). He was never the most skilled guy, and he always got rag dolled a lot, but he always got up and fought hard to remain in the league.
He seems like a great guy, enough to keep him as a NHL regular and not often even a healthy scratch.
Congratulations on game 1000. It's a remarkable feat looking back and how much i used to dump on the guy, even when he was here in toronto, and then after that epic fail of a trade.