Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Bouwmeester falling below expectations in Calgary

Image (1) Bouw-thumb-250x375-7666.jpg for post 459

Does everyone remember Jay Bouwmeester? He’s the golden defenseman who was going to be the highly sought after free agent last summer before the Calgary Flames nabbed him in a trade-and-sign deal just days before free agency began. He was the prototypical defenseman everyone wants; a skilled goal scorer, a great skater and solid in his own zone.

He wanted to go to a playoff team -- one reason he desperately wanted out of Florida -- and now he faces the possibility of missing the playoffs with his new team. And he hasn’t done much to help his team, either.

With just two goals and 24 points, Bouwmeester has produced at a much, much lower level than than he did in Florida. The Flames sure could use some of his scoring right about now. Says Bouwmeester, via Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun:


“I don’t know,” said the NHL’s current ironman Monday when asked why he’s only put up half the points he generally accrued in Florida.

“If I did, I’d do something about it. Sometimes, things just don’t really go for you and you can’t get a break. I haven’t scored in a long time (more than four months and55 games to be exact) and that’s never fun for anybody, but you focus on the things that can give you a chance and get some shots.

“I don’t want to be running around and taking myself out of position to take a risk to score goals if it’s not necessarily there. At the same time, sometimes you have to put yourself in those positions.”

At this point of the season, playing it safe isn’t exactly what Calgary needs.