Calgary Flames center Matt Stajan recently took a personal leave from the team to grieve with his wife after their newborn son died shortly after childbirth. On Saturday night, Stajan honord his late son, Emerson, when he scored a penalty shot goal.
Stajan returned to the Flames’ lineup last Tuesday, and got on the scoresheet for the first time since in his team’s 8-1 rout of the Edmonton Oilers in the final “Battle of Alberta” of the season. Stajan scored in the second period on a penalty shot and immediately pointed to the sky.
“Our bench cheered so loud, I think everybody was pushing each other to hug him when he came to the bench,” Calgary winger Brian McGrattan said, via Yahoo! Sports.
The Flames told Stajan he could take the rest of the season off after Emerson’s passing, but Stajan wanted to continue playing, using hockey as a way to help him move forward.
“That one means a lot. It’s obviously not been easy,” Stajan said afterward. “That ones for the little guy.”
“We’ll move on now, but I’ll remember that one forever.”
Check out Stajan’s goal in the video below.
