When the Texas Stars’ starting goalie Brent Krahn suffered a concussion during Game 6 of the West Division finals, fans held their breath in anticipation of his return. It became clear after the 2-0 loss in Chicago, however, that Texas was going to have to rely on backup goaltender Matt Climie to carry them through the rest of the Calder Cup playoffs. Stepping up to the challenge, Climie turned in some spectacular performances. But here at the end of the season, free agent Matt Climie is left wondering just what the future will hold for him with the Dallas Stars. With the organization’s failure thus far to offer him a one-way contract, Climie looks to be testing the waters of free agency on July 1st. When asked what the perfect scenario would be for him, Climie was quick to answer, “Perfect world is obviously in the NHL for the Dallas Stars. There’s no question, I mean, Dallas has been good to me. They gave me the opportunity to come into the league and to sign a contract.”
Although he wasn’t named the starter during the regular season, Matt Climie actually played almost twice as many games as Brent Krahn in his first season in the American Hockey League (AHL). Climie feels this in-game experience was extremely valuable to his progression. “I felt that I learned from my mistakes and looked at how I was getting scored on and improved in those areas. I also saw on video what I was doing wrong and working with my goalie coach Mike Valley really goes a long way,” he said when asked how playing for the Stars has improved his performance in the net this year. While he had a great year personally, when asked what made it special Climie constantly referred back to the team experience. “A lot of people didn’t expect us to make the playoffs, let alone go to the Calder Cup finals. From the standpoint of hockey, obviously it was a tremendous year for us. At the same time, the guys in the dressing room were just a great group of guys, which made it that much more fun. It was overall a great experience.”
Matt Climie truly turned in some of his best performances during the Calder Cup playoffs. During the final series with Hershey he was named the #2 Star in Game 5 and recorded 41 saves, but still took the loss pretty hard. “If you look at our downfall, it was that game and if we would have found a way to blow it out and win it in overtime, it would have put us in a good situation going back to Hershey. I knew that my job was on the line at the same time. It’s one of those things if you are not winning games, you’re one of the guys that takes the fall for it. I just wanted to battle and come out there and give my team a chance to win. We battled hard and it was maybe the best or one of the best games I’ve been a part of…from that standpoint it was cool, but at the time, it was obviously disappointing.” The youngest of six children, Climie has always been a battler, saying he’s “kind of been behind the 8 ball a lot growing up, so (he’s) just learned to keep battling on and to never give up.”
Perhaps even more disappointing than the Game 5 loss was watching the Stars lose 4-0 in Hershey as the Bears won the Calder Cup trophy after the team gave the starting nod to Krahn for Game 6. When asked about his experience in that game Climie said, “It’s a lot harder to watch a game honestly than to be part of it. It seems like when you are playing you get caught up in the moment and you can play a factor in the game. You have control…when you’re on the bench and you’re watching that it’s heartbreaking.”
As the free agency period begins it is certain that Texas Stars fans will be watching the developments to see where Matt Climie ends up. He certainly garnered the support and adoration of many this season, especially during the playoffs. During Game 5, the last game he started, Climie received two standing ovations and a fan was seen in the audience with a creative sign that read, “Only Jesus Saves More than Matt Climie.” When asked how it felt to play hockey in Texas, at Cedar Park Center, Climie said that Austin was his favorite place he has lived so far. Speaking about Stars fans, he said, “They’re hardcore. It’s cool to have those fans as part of the team. It brings a lot of energy and a good feel to the team.”
The free agency period begins on Thursday, July 1st. As an unrestricted free agent, Matt Climie could be signed by another NHL club at that time. In addition, he has been receiving interest from teams in the Kontinental Hockey League. While that is not the ideal situation according to Climie, he will work hard to make a name for himself wherever he ends up. “It’s just another one of those experiences. If things don’t look good for me over here and I don’t have that good NHL opportunity, I can maybe start over there and try to open up a few doors.”
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