When Matt Stajan joined the Calgary Flames in the infamous Dion Phaneuf trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2010, Mark Giordano had barely dipped his toe into the National Hockey League and Mikael Backlund was a baby-faced rookie.
Fast-forward to Friday, and more than seven years since that deal, the same trio of Stajan, Giordano and Backlund is now older, wiser and more experienced and on the brink of the 2017-18 NHL campaign with a legitimate chance (on paper, of course) to do some damage when the regular season begins.
"It's really impressive to see the team grow together and where we've come," Stajan said.