Colorado Avalanche winger Matt Calvert has spent some of this season injured. However, he’s an important member of the team.
The Colorado Avalanche’s season is suspended, along with all other teams, at the behest of the NHL in response to COVID 19 pandemic. However, coverage of the team here on Mile High Sticking won’t be suspended any more than it is in the thick of August when no hockey thing is happening.
We’re going to look at how individual players were doing before the suspension of the season. We’ve already covered two players:
Next up is winger Matt Calvert.
Brief History of Matt Calvert
The Columbus Blue Jackets drafted Matt Calvert 127th overall in 2008. He played his entire NHL career there until the Colorado Avalanche signed him in free agency on July 1, 2018. That represented eight seasons, 416 games total.
The 30-year-old winger is from Brandon, Manitoba in Canada.
Matt Calvert Stats with the Colorado Avalanche
Calvert is in his second season with the Colorado Avalanche. He’s now played a total of 132 games with the team. Unfortunately, injuries have kept him out of the lineup this season. He also played eight playoff games with Colorado — concussion issues kept him out of the lineup for part of last year’s run.
Calvert has earned 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 points with the Avalanche. Last season represented a career year for Matt as he earned 26 points. In his eight playoff games with Colorado, Calvert recorded four assists.
Evaluation of Matt Calvert with the Avalanche
Matt Calvert isn’t going to wow you with his scoring prowess. He is going to wow you with his heart and soul. When you say a player “left it all out there,” you’re talking about Matt Calvert. He’s the man who stopped a St. Louis Blues scoring chance with his hot dog last season.
Concerning this season, Calvert has only played 50 games. He suffered that horrific injury in the game against Vancouver during which the officials did not call the play dead even though Matt was bleeding on the ice. That brought all of Avs Nation up on their feet screaming. Because of his heart and soul nature, Calvert is extraordinarily popular with the fans.
The winger also suffered an injury in the Stadium Series game. Even though he doesn’t put up a lot of points, he is a big influence on the team. I don’t know what it is exactly, but the team is certainly better when he’s playing.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the Avs on pause for now. In some ways, the pause is good for the team because it allows a player like Matt Calvert to heal and get back to helping the team.