- Matt Stajan
-
Matt Stajan 
Born December 19, 1983
Mississauga, ON, CANHeight 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) Position Centre Shoots Left NHL team
Former teamsCalgary Flames
Toronto Maple LeafsNational team 
CanadaNHL Draft 57th overall, 2002
Toronto Maple LeafsPlaying career 2002–present Matthew Stajan (born December 19, 1983) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Matthew is of Slovenian descent and holds dual citizenship of Canada and Slovenia.[citation needed]
Contents
Hockey career
Stajan has worn #14 throughout his whole career in honour of his late uncle Robert, who passed away at a young age from cancer. While playing for the Leafs, Matt has stated that he would change his # if the Leafs were ever to retire it for Former Leafs great Dave Keon. Matt is currently wearing the #18 with the Calgary Flames because no one has worn the #14 in Calgary since Theo Fleury did. And many believe it will be retired soon in the Flames organization.
Minor leagues
Stajan attended St. Timothy's Elementary School and Iona Catholic Secondary School.[1] As a young hockey player, Stajan played for such minor hockey organizations as Port Credit, Streetsville Tigers, Toronto Red Wings, North York Rangers and the Mississauga Senators.
Stajan was drafted to the OHL in the 4th round, 79th overall by the Belleville Bulls in the 2000 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) priority selection.
After a strong year in Belleville where Stajan scored 33 goals and had 85 points for the Bulls. He was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft with the 57th overall selection.
The following season he led the Belleville Bulls in scoring with 34 goals and 94 points. Only 3 days after his last OHL game, Stajan played one game for the St. John's Maple Leafs, recording an assist. And one day later he played a game for the Toronto Maple Leafs, in which he scored his first NHL goal on his first shot against the Ottawa Senators' goalie Martin Prusek.
Stajan had played in three different leagues (OHL, AHL, NHL), and recorded a point in each league, in less then a week.
NHL
At the age of 20, Stajan was able to make the Toronto Maple Leafs roster for the start of the 2003-04 NHL season. In his rookie season, Matt was selected to play in the NHL Young Stars game where he recorded two points (1 goal, 1 assist) in the game. He ended his rookie season with 14 goals, and 27 points.
While the 2004–05 NHL season was canceled due to the lockout, Stajan played for the St. John's Maple Leafs, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
During the 2005–06 NHL season, Stajan tied Marián Hossa for first place in shorthanded points in the NHL with 8 points (four goals, four assists).[2]
On September 13, 2006, one day before the start of training camp for the 2006-07 NHL season, the Leafs re-signed Stajan to a two-year deal worth $1.75 million. [3]
On July 7, 2008, Stajan re-signed with the Leafs inking a two-year, $3.5 million deal.[4]
During the 2008–09 NHL season, Stajan lead the Leafs in points for most of the season until Jason Blake passed him near the end of the season. He ended the season with 15 goals, 40 assists and 55 points.
On January 31, 2010, Stajan was traded along with Jamal Mayers, Niklas Hagman and Ian White to the Calgary Flames for Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjöström and prospect Keith Aulie.[5] Stajan was set to become an unrestricted Free Agent at seasons end. And Calgary rewarded him with a 4 year contract extension before he hit Free Agency. Stajan ended the 2009-10 NHL season, with a career high in goals and points. Finishing with 19 goals and 57 points.
International play
Stajan was a member of Team Canada in 2003 World Junior Championships.
Awards and achievements
- 2003–04 NHL YoungStars team[6]
Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2000–01 Belleville Bulls OHL 57 9 18 27 27 7 1 6 7 5 2001–02 Belleville Bulls OHL 68 33 52 85 50 11 3 8 11 14 2002–03 Belleville Bulls OHL 57 34 60 94 75 7 5 8 13 16 2002–03 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2002–03 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 1 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 2003–04 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 14 13 27 22 3 0 0 0 2 2004–05 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 80 23 43 66 43 5 2 2 4 6 2005–06 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 80 15 12 27 50 — — — — — 2006–07 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 10 29 39 44 — — — — — 2007–08 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 16 17 33 47 — — — — — 2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 76 15 40 55 54 — — — — — 2009–10 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 55 16 25 41 30 — — — — — 2009–10 Calgary Flames NHL 27 3 13 16 2 — — — — — 2010–11 Calgary Flames NHL 76 6 25 31 32 — — — — — NHL totals 547 96 174 270 277 3 0 0 0 2 References
- ^ Winer, David (2007-07-12). "Stajan keeps it in perspective". The Mississauga News. http://www.mississauganews.com/article/3804. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
- ^ "NHL.com 2005-06 Shorthanded Stats". NHL.com. http://www.nhl.com/nhlstats/app?fetchKey=20062ALLSASAll&page=Stats&service=page&sort=shortHandedPoints&viewName=shScoring. Retrieved 2007-11-13.[dead link]
- ^ "Leafs and Stajan agree to two year deal". TSN.ca. 2006-09-13. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20070929121203/http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=177410&hubname=. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
- ^ "Leafs, Stajan Agree to a Two-Year Contract". TSN.ca. 2008-07-07. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=242726. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ^ Roarke, Shawn P. (January 31, 2010). "Leafs land Flames' Phaneuf in blockbuster deal". NHL.com. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=515662. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "TSN player profile". http://tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=3124&hubname=nhl-maple_leafs. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
External links
Categories:- 1983 births
- Belleville Bulls alumni
- Calgary Flames players
- Canadian ice hockey centres
- Canadian people of Slovenian descent
- Ice hockey people from Ontario
- Living people
- People from Mississauga
- St. John's Maple Leafs players
- Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks
- Toronto Maple Leafs players
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