In light of the elimination loss for the Calgary Flames last night, we’ve got some positive news with Matt Stajan being nominated as the team’s Masterton nominee.
Well, it’s official. The Calgary Flames are officially eliminated from playoff contention. A loss in regulation last night against the LA Kings would prevent them from catching up to any team and they were shutout 3-0. So that’s always fun. They’re now on a six-game losing streak which is also lots of fun.
So… who’s everyone going to cheer for now in the playoffs? I’m going with either Winnipeg, Nashville, or New Jersey.
On a brighter side of everything, there’s Matt Stajan. While Stajan isn’t as offensively gifted as some of the others, he knows all about perseverance. Which is why he’s Calgary’s nominee for the Masterton Trophy.
The PHWA selects a player from each team to be nominated for the Masterton and Calgary chose Stajan. As we all know, Matt and his wife Katie unfortunately lost their infant son a couple years ago. The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the player “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey”.
Related Story: Throwback Thursday - Matt Stajan's emotional penalty shot
This season, while he’s been a healthy scratch at times and he hasn’t been thinking as offensively as he used to in his career, he still recently reached that 1000-game mark and is still one of the hardest working guys on the team. He accepts his role and just takes it day by day.
Via Calgary Sun:
"“I think it means a lot when you get recognized for something like that,” Stajan said. “All we focus on as a player is the day-to-day. Over my career, I’ve just tried to do that. There’s going to be lots of ups and downs in life in hockey and you have to try and approach things the best you can, that’s been my mindset. It’s worked for me, and to be recognized by people for that is a great honour.”“It was just the way I was brought up,” Stajan said. “I was never the best player as a kid. I had to work for everything. When you get to the best league in the world, I didn’t change my mindset even when things are going really well and you have a good season, you can’t get too high on anything because it changes quick.“The same can be said when you’re going through a tough time and it seems like nothing is going right, you just push through. Find a way. Stick with it and eventually it’s going to turn.”"
There are other players in the league this season who have also had some downs this year and have continued to battle through it and persevered. Some of them have gone through something similar that Stajan did with his son. I love Stajan and I would like him to win, but this season, another player may be ahead of him.
Some links surrounding the Calgary Flames
Flames Thoughts: Calgary’s penalty kill finally falters (Sportsnet).
Flames’ playoff hopes burn out in loss to Kings (CBC Sports).
Stajan earns Masterton nomination (Calgary Sun).
Flames drop sixth straight, get eliminated from playoffs in Los Angeles (Calgary Sun).
Some links surrounding hockey and the NHL
Maple Leafs’ James van Riemsdyk is not getting the respect he deserves (FanSided).
NHL approves rule change regarding goaltender interference reviews (Sportsnet).
Stamkos day to day for Lightning with lower-body injury (NHL.com).
6 things we learned in the NHL: Playoff Knights (Sportsnet).
Next: Takeaways from loss to Kings - Elimination
That’s all in today’s Flames Daily!