Matt Calvert is a silent staple of the Blue Jackets and their newly-found winning culture, at least to this Stars Blue Jackets fan. This past season was one of injury again for Matty Hustle, and while he managed to play a career best 56 games (the same as last year), he scored one less point than last year. He scored a few more goals and, after going back and watching them, they’re all pretty happenstance. Which is OK with me! Happenstance at least means he’s in the right places at the right times.
The interesting thing with Matt Calvert is that, really, he’s not stood out in a way that I feel most of us want him to. The Game 2 OT goal is his crowning highlight as a CBJ, and if I was going to pick out a “signature goal” from the 2014-2015 campaign, it would be this.
Look at that. The way Calvert sticks around, makes an annoyance out of himself and turns a bit of an “oh, come on really?” situation into a scoring chance. Calvert and Morin really have no business even touching the puck in that situation, but bull-headedness by Calvert leads to a surprise goal.
It’s a very visual representation of the kind of player that Calvert is: a hard working guy that’s quick and has got the right amount of skills to contribute meaningfully in the NHL. Eric over at the Cannon wrote early in June about where Calvert would fit. Now, this piece was written before any of the big trades and signings were done, so the names thrown out are a little outdated. But, in my opinion, Eric’s point still stands, that Calvert is more than likely going to be on the 4th line competing for a spot against Jared Boll and (then Corey Tropp) – and arguably some of the young players who are developing into quality Jackets. Eric’s article assumes that Richards is going to be sheltering the 4th line, but the Jackets think highly enough of Calvert to pay him 2.2 mil for the next 3 years, and he has shown that he has the talent to produce so it’s possible that he has the opportunity to move around in the lineup.
Where are the Jackets taking him? Arguably Calvert will have a lot to say with his on-ice performance if that conversation occurs. At the very least, Calvert could be insurance for when an injury occurs, but this brings us to another problem with Calvert: his injury bug. Perhaps it is a symptom of playing honest-to-goodness blue collar hockey night after night, but like I stated earlier, 56 games is the career high for Calvert, and he’s been in the league for 5 years at this point. Health is going to be so important for #11. Consistency isn’t Calvert’s problem on the score sheet, it’s his consistency to stay in uniform that has bled through the shiny white suit of Game 2’s overtime hero. But every new season is a chance to redefine one’s self, and in the case of staying healthy, I’m sure Calvert isn’t the only Blue Jacket looking to play as many games as they can in 2016.
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