As John Beecher says, it has been a weird year.
There have been ups-and-downs, to be sure, and probably a lot for the Calgary Flames centre to wrap his head around.
That’s why it felt so significant that his head coach, Ryan Huska, was so full of praise for Beecher after Thursday’s 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils.
“That’s a great story for me tonight, he’s missed a few games in a row and he came in and I thought maybe he played his best game of the year for us,” Huska told reporters post-game. “The goals aside, he was blocking shots and winning faceoffs early on. I thought he had a really good night.”
Beecher’s weird year started with the Boston Bruins, where he regularly was a healthy scratch until mid-November, when he was put on waivers and claimed by the Flames.
He went on to play 19 games for the Flames before an early January injury forced him out of the lineup. With the Olympic break factored in, he missed nearly two months.
Until Thursday night, he hadn’t scored a goal for the Flames.
And while there might not be much for the Flames to play for in the standings, the final stretch of the season matters a lot for a guy like Beecher, who is a restricted free-agent at the end of the season.
“Personally, it’s about just trying to get to my game,” Beecher said last week. “It’s been a weird year, but hopefully I can start stringing some games together and get some confidence back and keep it rolling.”
At 25 years old, Beecher’s best hockey should be ahead of him. But there could be competition in the Flames’ lineup.
What does the Flames’ depth at centre look like?
In the past two weeks alone, they signed college free-agent centre Tyson Gross, added Andrew Castagna in the trade that sent MacKenzie Weegar to the Utah Mammoth and acquired Max Curran when they dealt Nazem Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche. They also used their first three picks on centres in last year’s draft.
The guys in their system may not be ready to play in the NHL immediately, but the Flames prospect pool is suddenly looking pretty well-stocked down the middle.
So if you’re a guy looking to land another contract this summer, putting some solid performances on the board coming down the stretch will only be helpful. The Flames don’t have many players needing new contracts this off-season, but for those who do, these final 17 games matter.
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The stop-start nature of this season hasn’t made it easy to get in a nightly groove and build his game, but Beecher’s best performance in a Flames uniform on Thursday offered a reminder of the potential he carries.
Beecher may not ever be a 30-goal scorer, but against the Devils he played solid defensive hockey, was great on the penalty-kill – even picking up a short-handed goal – and showed off his goal-scoring touch, too.
For a guy whose season has been interrupted by changing teams and an ill-timed injury, it must have felt awfully good to have a game like that.
“It’s just been a weird year,” Beecher explained last week. “It kind of worked out well with being able to rehab and have a week-or-two off (for the Olympics) to get away mentally and just re-set before the final stretch.
“Obviously, nobody wants to get hurt. It’s tough to be on the sidelines watching the boys. It’s exciting to be back.”