Matt Stajan joins the 500 games club

Sunday night was an important one for the Calgary Flames. They got themselves back to .500 with a very composed, structured 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.

But it was also an important game for forward Matt Stajan, who hit a major milestone when he suited up for his 500th regular season game as a member of the Flames.

Acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a seven-player deal that sent 2003 first rounder Dion Phaneuf to the Center of the Universe, Stajan is just the 19th player in Flames franchise history to suit up for 500 regular season games. (Teammate Mikael Backlund will likely become the 20th in early 2018.) Originally acquired to be a top six center, Stajan adapted after struggling in that role and has been a bottom six stalwart and mentor to the team’s younger centers during the past several seasons.

Here’s a quick rundown of the 18 other members of the 500 Games Club:

As you can see, there’s a pretty decent distribution of talent and positions represented among the group – which includes a handful of Hall of Fame inductees and one right at the top who will become one whenever he decides his playing career is over.

Of note: Hunter is the only member of the club with fewer points than Stajan (Hunter had 108, Stajan has 178). Vail and Chouinard are the only members of the club to have played with the Atlanta Flames before the team relocated to Calgary in 1980.