After playing in his 1,000th NHL game last season, Matt Stajan may be finished in North America. The 34-year old forward has signed with the Munich Red Bulls of the DEL in Germany according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, ending a run of 13 consecutive seasons spent exclusively in the NHL.
Stajan was originally selected in the second round by the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2002, and had quite the year following his draft. Heading back to the Belleville Bulls of the OHL, he would lead his club in scoring with 94 points in 57 games while helping Team Canada to a silver medal at the World Juniors. At the end of the year he would suit up for both Toronto and the St. John’s Maple Leafs for one game each, scoring his first AHL and NHL points in the process. A full-time member with Toronto the next season, he would go on to establish himself as a solid two-way center and even record 55 points in 2008-09.
After being included in the trade that brought Dion Phaneuf to Toronto, Stajan would suit up for 558 regular season contests with the Calgary Flames and become a key veteran presence on the team. His offensive production fell of during his last few seasons, but he was still given some incredibly difficult defensive assignments and asked to take some key faceoffs. While his NHL career is likely coming to an end, he should find some success in Europe for at least a few more seasons.
I’m surprised nobody offered him a low money one way deal. He was surprisingly effective down the stretch for the Flames last season. Teams are always looking for depth at centre. Maybe he was asking for too much but he would have been a more effective centre than others who’ve already signed (Cullen, Jooris, Grant, Peca, Carey).