Matt Stajan and the future!

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by kehatch

According to capgeek he has a modified NTC. Most likely he can pick a number of teams he won't agree to be traded to.

i.e. the "Anywhere but Edmonton" clause?

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Teh_Bandwagoner

i.e. the "Anywhere but Edmonton" clause?

One wonders why even bother with a mouthful like "modified NTC." Just call it what it is. God knows, the League prints off enough of these on an annual basis.

[Funkhouser]

Do these No Trade lists have to be submitted by a certain date?
Could players change their teams during the year??

[Caged Great]

Stajan to me is one of those guys that is very useful during a rebuild. He's a good veteran guy to have around and can slide up and down the roster without much problem as he helps shelter the younger guys from getting in over their heads. He's also not good enough to be concerned with keeping a couple years from now when Bennett, Backlund, and Monahan are filling those spots effectively in addition to possibly a McDavid/Eichel/Strome.

[Badgers Nose]

I like Stajan, he had a bounce back year. He brings a good attitude and fits a lot of roles on a team like this.

Hopefully some of his team mates back him up a bit more - now that the Flames are beefier.

IMO he bore the brunt of a lot of cheap shots last year and no one really policed it.

McGratton is essentially a nuke. The middle heavyweights is the class Flames needed more of last year, so with the new roster he should be even more effective.

Also applies to Backlund.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Turd Ferguson

Do these No Trade lists have to be submitted by a certain date?
Could players change their teams during the year??

Before the start of the season is typical.

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by Finger Cookin

Here's the top 10 faceoff players for the Flames summed over the last four seasons, sorted by total faceoffs taken.

Matt Stajan              Sum of Tot            3350
                      Average of FO%    49.4
Mikael Backlund              Sum of Tot            2889
                      Average of FO%    47.2
Olli Jokinen              Sum of Tot            2498
                      Average of FO%    47.0
Jarome Iginla              Sum of Tot            1083
                      Average of FO%    51.5
Brendan Morrison      Sum of Tot            1060
                      Average of FO%    50.0
Sean Monahan              Sum of Tot            1036
                      Average of FO%    46.0
Mike Cammalleri              Sum of Tot             886
                      Average of FO%    48.1
Roman Horak              Sum of Tot             647
                      Average of FO%    29.0
David Moss              Sum of Tot             584
                      Average of FO%    42.7
Joe Colborne              Sum of Tot             441
                      Average of FO%    48.5

He's far and away taken the most faceoffs, and his percentage is the best of the centers save for Morrison. Singling Stajan out for faceoffs hardly seems warranted.

I'm not singling him out for blame, I'm pointing to faceoffs as a glaring area of concern, one in desperate need of upgrading, and arguing that retaining Stajan does nothing but solidify the problem.

The Flames needed to upgrade their faceoff prowess. Backlund and Monohan deserved to be kept for their overall potential in spite of their struggles. Upgrading their 3rd line centre was the natural choice. Instead, they signed Stajan for 3 more years. That's a problem.

If you don't agree either: (a) you think they should have moved Backlund or Monohan; or (b) are fine with sub .500 faceoff stats. Which is it?