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Jay Bouwmeester News & Rumors

Lack of playoffs burns Bouwmeester
September 9
Toronto Sun
 
"Another season and another chance for Jay Bouwmeester to be rid of his dubious distinction. The Flames defenceman has now skated through eight NHL seasons, and 635 games, without seeing a playoff tilt, including the last two seasons with the Flames. The perception may exist Bouwmeester lacks fire, but rest assured that lack of success burns him. "When people bring up you've played a long time and not in the playoffs, it's not something you're proud of and want to change it," he said Thursday before partaking in the team's charity golf tournament. "Every year, it's harder and harder to watch (playoff games). This year, I didn't watch a whole lot of the playoffs until the end, and that's"
Bouwmeester looks to lead Flames blueline
August 25
Toronto Sun
 
"Jay Bouwmeester is taking a wait-and-see approach to the season. The local product, who is currently skating with a number of pros at Perry Pearn's three-on-three camp this week, is expected to log big minutes on the Calgary Flames blue line this year. With the departure of Robyn Regehr, Bouwmeester is taking over the role of the Flames top defenceman. "Losing Robyn is tough, he's a guy that's been there a long time," Bouwmeester said. "He was one of our leaders for sure. "But that sort of thing kind of happens quite a bit now. There are changes everywhere going into every year and you just have to deal with it." Heading into his third season with the Flames, Bouwmeester anchors a blue"
Bouwmeester chafes at inglorious NHL streak
April 11
Calgary Herald
 
"Jay Bouwmeester knows what it's like to muster up the adrenalin, pull on the game face and get ready for a playoff battle. But what the 27-year-old iron man defenceman with the Calgary Flames doesn't have is the experience of one single post-season outing in the National Hockey League. And it's getting to be noxious for the native of Edmonton. Horribly irritating, in fact, because media are quick to point out that he has now played a league-leading 635 games without a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup. So, yeah, every miss stings. Much more than the last one. "Every year it's not there, you're disappointed," said the six-foot-four workhorse, following Saturday's season-ending 3-2"
D-man remains un-Jay-ded
March 26
Calgary Sun
 
"Another NHL season is winding down. Another season seemingly going down the drain for Jay Bouwmeester barring a miracle. "It's an opportunity. We still have games left," the Calgary Flames defenceman said after a practice in Leduc. As the Flames face the Edmonton Oilers Saturday night in Bouwmeester's hometown, they're almost down to their last gasp. The general consensus is they must win all six games remaining — and also receive some help — to make the Stanley Cup playoffs. Falling short will mean nine NHL seasons without a trip to the playoffs for Bouwmeester."
What's up with Bouwmeester?
March 26
Calgary Herald
 
"Brent Sutter offered up an straightforward review Friday of Jay Bouwmeester's performance on a road trip that just might serve as the coup de grace for the Calgary Flames. "In San Jose, he just wasn't himself," the coach said after practice on enemy ice in the Edmonton bedroom community of Leduc. "Caught out of position too much. Over-thinking the game instead of relaxing and being himself." With an annual salary of $6.67 million, expectations of Bouwmeester hover at the same height as the Calgary Tower. Safe to say, he fell far short in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to Joe Thornton and the Sharks. On the first San Jose goal, Bouwmeester surrendered the puck to Torrey Mitchell along the wall."
Road to record book is paved with pain
March 14
Calgary Herald
 
"Defencemen have their own category. With good reason. "You can choose to not be physical as a forward," Keith Ballard, rearguard of the Vancouver Canucks, explains. "You can choose to not hit. And, for the most part, I think you can avoid a lot of hits. As a D-man? You don't really have a choice." Then there are those slapshots. All furiously funnelled toward the net -in other words, directly at you and all of your tender parts. "Yeah, you have more opportunity to get shot with the puck," says Cory Sarich of the Calgary Flames. "(As a defenceman), it's a little tougher to maintain a streak." Despite this potential for wreckage, Jay Bouwmeester, the elegant workhorse of the Flames, on"
Bouwmeester the new iron man on blueline
March 13
Calgary Herald
 
"Defencemen have their own category. With good reason. "You can choose to not be physical as a forward," Keith Ballard, rearguard of the Vancouver Canucks, explains. "You can choose to not hit. And, for the most part, I think you can avoid a lot of hits. As a D-man? You don't really have a choice." Then there are those slapshots. All furiously funnelled toward the net - in other words, directly at you and all of your tender parts. "Yeah, you have more opportunity to get shot with the puck," says Cory Sarich of the Calgary Flames. "(As a defenceman), it's a little tougher to maintain a streak." Despite this potential for wreckage, Jay Bouwmeester, the elegant workhorse of the Flames, on"
Ballard similar to Bouwmeester
December 2
Calgary Sun
 
"Keith Ballard moved from the Sunshine State to a hockey-crazed Canadian market and struggled to find his comfort zone. Sound familiar? Although the recently-relocated defenceman doesn't necessarily see the similarities, Vancouver Canucks fans that have been disappointed with his performance so far should remember that his former teammate, Jay Bouwmeester, also needed some time to rediscover his old form with the Calgary Flames. "I guess if you dug hard enough and looked hard enough, you could find some similarities," Ballard shrugged after Wednesday's morning skate at the Saddledome. "I only know as much as I read in the paper or whatever. I think people maybe look at Bouwmeester's numbers"
Time on Bouwmeester's side
December 1
Calgary Sun
 
"When most hockey fans think of Jay Bouwmeester and currency, the immediate thought which comes to mind is his salary. That number, an average of US$6.68 million per season over five years, has become a sticking point for detractors of the Calgary Flames defenceman, who don't see his offensive output living up to his paycheque. But the only currency which concerns Flames head coach Brent Sutter is the one he doles out in the form of ice time. Sutter has been handing out plenty this season to Bouw- meester and is more than happy with the return on that investment. "Personally, I don't feel he gets enough credit for what he does," Sutter said of the rangy blueliner. "It's about how guys are"
D-man anxious to end playoff frustration
October 6
Calgary Herald
 
"Jay Bouwmeester inches closer nearly every night. One more game, one more notch for his iron-man streak. One more game, one more notch for his playoff-free streak. Both happen to be the longest active sprees in the National Hockey League - one is wow-worthy; the other, wince-worthy. All of which should add up to an intriguing regular-season wind-down for the Calgary Flames' smoothie. Should the slender defender remain unburdened by injury, he'll slide past (former partner) Karlis Skrastins and into the NHL record books with the all-time consecutive-game streak for a defenceman by skating in his 496th straight match on March 15 against the visiting Phoenix Coyotes. Bouwmeester shrugs off"
Flames teammates back Bouwmeester
October 1
Calgary Herald
 
"There are those who would suggest that Michael Peca should make sure his own backyard is tidy before he starts dumping dirt in others. While the dust had pretty much settled Thursday, there were still a few Calgary Flames willing to discuss TSN hockey commentator Peca's public diss of defenceman Jay Bouwmeester in which he basically said the big defenceman was fun to play against because he was soft. "He's just a casual player with tremendous speed," said the former NHLer turned broadcaster. "I enjoyed playing against him. He turned pucks over, he made the game easy to play. He wasn't a tough guy to play against, he didn't play tough. He was one of those guys you look forward to playing"
Bouw dismisses Peca's criticism
October 1
Calgary Sun
 
"Jay Bouwmeester shrugged off the criticism sent his way by TSN analyst and former NHL player Michael Peca during the broadcast of Tuesday's pre-season game. However, the Calgary Flames defenceman fired a couple of shots back after hearing Peca say he "enjoyed" playing against Bouwmeester because, among other reasons, he turned pucks over. "I don't care. If he wants to say that, that's fine. He's not playing anymore, so I don't care," Bouwmeester said Wednesday. "I'll probably have a different opinion of the guy that said it. Those guys on TV are what they are." Over the years, Bouwmeester has received his share of criticism in the media for being perceived to have a casual attitude, but to"
King-Peca feud part of game
October 1
Calgary Sun
 
"Remember way back when Dion Phaneuf used to play for the Calgary Flames and he'd catch a guy crossing the blueline with his head down? Remember how angry the opposition would be at the sight of their teammate crumpled on the ice while Phaneuf carried on with the play? No matter how clean the hit was, somebody on the other side would immediately charge back at Phaneuf to defend their fallen mate. Even though Phaneuf broke no rules and did nothing wrong, the opposition saw red and set out to do something about it. That's no different than the verbal dance Mike Peca and Ken King just completed. Peca used his platform as a TSN analyst on Tuesday to question the grit of Flames blueliner Jay"
Flames put Bouwmeester in front of the net in effort to create more offence
September 23
Calgary Herald
 
"Jay Bouwmeester is used to putting in big minutes, so maybe it shouldn't be surprising his time card would be just nine seconds short of 31 minutes during Tuesday's 3-2 exhibition win over the Vancouver Canucks. No one else, however, was even close. No one else came within eight minutes of his time. Beyond his regular shifts, the about-to-turn 27-year-old took turns at penalty killing and power plays where, apparently, he's now being considered as a screen. At least he continued in that role during Wednesday's practice. At six-foot-four and 214 pounds, he can make it extremely difficult for a goaltender to see past him. "It's probably experimental right now," he said of his new role,"
Bouwmeester admits first season with Flames 'a struggle'
April 14
Calgary Herald
 
"Jay Bouwmeester is a shy, non-assuming type who never says much. On the rare occasions he does talk, the Calgary Flames defencemen speaks in hushed tones. An orator is he not. All that is fine and dandy. A hockey team is a collection of 23 individuals with varied personality types. They can't all be rah-rah leaders. But Bouwmeester's meek and mild ways spilled onto ice in his first season as a Calgary Flame. Gone was the smooth-skating defenceman who carried the puck up the ice with authority. Simply put, Bouwmeester lacked assertiveness in any area of the ice and the proof showed up in the stats. Just three goals and 29 points? For a player with career highs of 15 goals and 46 points? And"
Bouw's goal quite the rush
March 29
Calgary Sun
 
"The last time Jay Bouwmeester scored it was just after Remembrance Day. It's been so long, you can't help but wonder whether he has any recollection of that tally. Bouwmeester, whose offensive abilities were supposed to come without the same price in the defensive zone as the now-departed Dion Phaneuf, finally scored his third goal of the season in the Calgary Flames' 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals Sunday afternoon. "The goalie got out of the way, so that was nice," Bouwmeester said with a grin. Of all the Flames defencemen, the last one you'd expect to have a 57-game goal-scoring drought would be Bouwmeester. This is a player who carded back-to-back 15-goal seasons for the Florida"
Bouw can't score
March 23
Calgary Sun
 
"Jay Bouwmeester signed with Calgary to get his first taste of playoff hockey, yet he's done little to help his chances of getting there. On a Flames team full of players who've failed to live up to expectations this season, Bouwmeester may be the most disappointing of all given his salary and the reputation he brought as being one of the league's most complete blueliners. And while he's too nice a guy, too smooth a skater and too dependable defensively to be deemed an outright flop, even he would admit things haven't gone the way he'd hoped this year. "It's been alright," said the soft-spoken defenceman whose two measly goals betray the talents of a man coming off back-to-back 15-goal"
Bouwmeester knows any trade's possible
March 2
Calgary Sun
 
"One hot rumour had Jay Bouwmeester packing his bags for Philadelphia. Some speculated the smooth-skating defenceman was on his way to Vancouver. Others figured he was headed home to Edmonton or even ticketed for Toronto. "Nobody likes hearing that stuff," Bouwmeester recalled Monday. "Although every year it's the same thing, so I guess you kind of get used to it." It won't be Bouwmeester's name at the centre of the rumour mill this time. Now in the first season of a five-year deal with the Calgary Flames, Bouwmeester can be pretty certain he's staying put at Wednesday's NHL trade deadline."
Bouw's focused on Flames' foes, not old friends
February 5
Calgary Herald
 
"Jay Bouwmeester would like to tell you how special it's going to be returning to Florida to play a National Hockey League game tonight, but he's got too many other things on his mind. "I haven't really thought about it a whole lot," said the 26-year-old, first-year defenceman with the Calgary Flames, "because we have some things here that are kind of preoccupying things." Bouwmeester, nonetheless, will be marking his first game back in his old stomping grounds when the Flames pair off against the Panthers tonight at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. It was only 57 regular season games ago that the Flames landed the six-foot-four, 214-pounder in a deal that saw Jordan Leopold go the"
Look Who's Back: Jay Bouwmeester in South Florida
February 5
Miami Herald
 columnist George Richards
"Not much going on right now, what with GM Randy Sexton in Rochester and the Panthers not playing for a few days. The big news around town is the return of Jay Bouwmeester. 'Big Bo' returns to the BankAtlantic Center on Friday night for the first time since he played his final game there with the Panthers on April 11, 2009. Bouwmeester refused to sign a long-term deal with the Panthers and, in June, was traded to Calgary where he almost immediately signed a five-year pact with the Flames. One of the reasons Bouwmeester wanted out of Florida was because of the lack of passion that exists for hockey in the sunny south. In Calgary, the hockey team is the biggest thing going. Teammates in"
Jay Bouwmeester's return to Florida is treated as low key
February 5
Miami Herald
 
"Jay Bouwmeester returns to the BankAtlantic Center on Friday night for the first time since he played his final game there with the Panthers on April 11, 2009. Bouwmeester refused to sign a long-term deal with the Panthers and in June was traded to Calgary, where he almost immediately signed a five-year contract. One of the reasons Bouwmeester wanted out of Florida was because of the lack of passion that exists for hockey in the sunny South. In Calgary, the hockey team is the biggest thing going. Teammates in Florida weren't exactly surprised when he left after seven years with the franchise. ``I'm used to playing with him, not against him, but when the game starts, that's out the door,''"
Bouwmeester makes return to South Florida
February 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
 
"In his usual low-key manner, Jay Bouwmeester isn't making much of his return. Friday night will mark the Flames defenseman's first regular-season game against the Panthers, who picked him in the 2002 draft and were forced to trade him at the 2009 draft when it was inevitable he was going to leave. "It's one game and we're not there for very long, so I don't foresee it being any big deal — from this end, anyway," Bouwmeester said by phone Tuesday from Calgary, Alberta, where he faced the Panthers in an exhibition in September. This reunion was supposed to include former Panthers captain Olli Jokinen, traded to the Coyotes at the 2008 draft, but he was dealt again late Monday from the Flames"
Split burns Jay once more
January 14
Calgary Sun
 
"Jay Bouwmeester has seen this movie before, but he couldn't stop the sequel from being created. When the Calgary Flames blueliner was with the Florida Panthers, Sidney Crosby went through him and then-teammate Ruslan Salei on a rush to score a goal that was featured in commercials. In the opening minutes last night, the Pittsburgh Penguins star did it again, this time splitting Bouwmeester and Mark Giordano before scoring on goalie Miikka Kiprusoff. The opening goal in a 3-1 Penguins win at the Saddledome was a thing of beauty, but Bouwmeester doesn't want to see a replay. "That is certainly my fault," said Bouwmeester. "That's my guy, and you can't let anyone do that, certainly not a guy"
Jay pumped for Pens
January 13
Calgary Sun
 
"Jay Bouwmeester is big enough to admit it. He's been victimized by Sidney Crosby's talents. "There's a commercial where he was shown splitting the defence," Bouwmeester said of a goal Crosby scored against the Florida Panthers a few seasons ago. "That was me." At that time, Bouwmeester was used to facing Crosby and the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins four times in a season. Tonight's clash at the Saddledome between the Penguins and Flames is a one-shot deal this season, so you could sense the excitement among the team. "These games are fun. You don't see these teams that much and they have some guys people here don't see much. It should be interesting," Bouwmeester said. "I don't know if"
Praise for J-Bo loud and clear
October 28
Calgary Sun
 
"Despite how quiet and soft-spoken Jay Bouwmeester can be, Cory Sarich hears him out on the ice. Bouwmeester gives a heads-up when needed and calls for passes. "Just loud enough you can hear it," Sarich said with a grin. As long as it works, it's fine. Besides, it's not like Sarich will complain about his defence partner. Ten games into the season, Bouwmeester is delivering what the Flames were hoping for when they acquired him at the draft and signed him to a long-term contract just before he became an unrestricted free agent. And Sarich, after years of facing Bouwmeester as a rival while they were part of the Battle of Florida, is benefiting greatly from having him as a partner. "He makes"
Bouwmeester comes home again
October 4
Edmonton Journal
 
"Jay Bouwmeester grew up in Edmonton, but he didn't have a glossy poster of an earlier Bo (Mironov) on his bedroom wall and didn't hang around the Edmonton Oilers dressing room hoping Dave Manson walked by so he could get his autograph on a scrap of paper. He wouldn't have known Gary Suter from Brent Sutter, either. The Calgary Flames? Just the team down the road. The Battle of Alberta was his schoolteacher father Dan's uncivil war, so you can excuse the son if he wasn't carried away psychologically on Saturday night because he was in the hated red jersey for his first time playing in a league game in Edmonton. Sacrilege? Nah. "I've been asked the question a lot (about the Battle of"
Jay Bouwmeester adjusting to intense spotlight
August 28
Toronto Sun
 
"In the category of be careful what you wish for, may we present Jay Bouwmeester. The hottest potential unrestricted free agent to not hit the open market had the opportunity to pick almost any team in the NHL to play for this season. Wanting to pull on a sweater in a city where hockey really mattered, he chose the Calgary Flames. In a preview of what he can expect during the playoffs -- a concept foreign to him while patrolling the blueline for the Florida Panthers for six seasons -- he's had to fight his way through a hallway full of media, flashing cameras and microphones pressed inches from his lips during the Olympic orientation camp at the Saddledome. "This is different, because"
Bouwmeester revels in shot at double delight
August 23
Calgary Herald
 
"He wanted to win. He wanted to contend for the Stanley Cup. So the fact that Jay Bouwmeester is now part of one of the strongest bluelines in the National Hockey League and will play alongside two other potential members of Team Canada's 2010 defence with the Calgary Flames — Dion Phaneuf and Robyn Regehr — is just a bonus. But he's not about to start complaining. "I guess making the decision (to leave Florida), that really wasn't the first thing on your mind," said Bouwmeester. "You make these decisions as a long-term thing. "Obviously, here the Flames have a pretty good team. And usually, when the team is successful that kind of reflects on everyone else. If that's the case, that's"
Take a Bouw, Darryl
July 1
Calgary Herald
 
"Obviously, Darryl Sutter must have the damnedest aptitude for time management. A two-day window, 48 hours, to sign the most enticing free-agent defenceman in this, the summer of 2009, before the rest of the National Hockey League could break down Jay Bouwmeester's door waving all manner of enticements? C'mon. Stop it. Be serious. Didn't seem remotely possible. After all, today the bidding would've begun in earnest. Started a frenzy. Jay Bouwmeester at auction? The magnitude of that particular transaction should've been handled by Sotheby's or Christie's. To bid on an item that sought after, be prepared to bring your wallet and hold your nerve. But before the man holding the gavel could"
Flames sign Bouwmeester
July 1
Calgary Herald
 
"Jay Bouwmeester is coming home. Sort of. The Edmonton native signed a multi-year deal Tuesday with the Calgary Flames. "Jay is one of the most complete defenseman in the game, and we are very pleased to have reached an agreement that will make him an important component of the Calgary Flames success," general manager Darryl Sutter said in a news release. "We identified Jay as the priority player where we were going to focus our money. We wanted an opportunity a few days in advance of the deadline, and that's why we made the move we did this past weekend." On Saturday, the Flames acquired the negotiating rights to Bouwmeester for the negotiating rights to Jordan Leopold and a third-round"
Boumeester Agrees to five-year deal with Flames
July 1
TSN.ca
 
"Calgary Flames general manager Darryl Sutter made the most of his opportunity to negotiate with Jay Bouwmeester. The defenceman avoided unrestricted free agency by agreeing to a five-year deal worth $6.6 million per year against the salary cap on Tuesday night. The Flames acquired the rights of the 25-year from the Florida Panthers on Saturday at the NHL Draft for the rights to blueliner Jordan Leopold and a third round pick (67th overall), which the Panthers used to select right winger Josh Birkholz. "Jay is one of the most complete defenseman in the game, and we are very pleased to have reached an agreement that will make him an important component of the Calgary Flames success," said"
Calgary perfect for strong, silent Bouwmeester, says former coach
June 30
Calgary Herald
 
"This scenario, according to Rick Carriere, is worth a chuckle or two. Sitting down for contract "talks" Monday afternoon in Edmonton were two famously tight-lipped parties--Calgary Flames boss Darryl Sutter (notorious for being a gruff dude of few words) and Jay Bouwmeester (a polite young fellow with a well-known shy streak). "Imagine the conversation," Carriere--a family friend of the Bouwmeesters, a current coworker of Jay's father Dan, a former coach of Jay with the Medicine Hat Tigers--was saying. He then laughs. "It wouldn't be much. 'Yup' . . . 'Yup' . . . 'Yup' . . . 'OK' . . . 'What do you think?' . . . 'Yup' . . . 'Don't know' . . . 'Yup.' " Of course, the Flames and their fans"
Jay the missing Oiler link?
June 29
Edmonton Sun
 
"Today, Darryl Sutter will likely be in Edmonton to talk to Jay Bouwmeester and his Edmonton-based agent Bryon Baltimore. It's bad enough that the Calgary Flames already have two of the greatest NHL players ever to be produced out of the Edmonton area in future Hall of Famers Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf, but to add Bouwmeester would be really rubbing the cowpies in the face of the franchise. Maybe that's all this is, a chance to do just that. NO. 1 UFA PRIZE When the Flames sent disposable impeding free agent Jordan Leopold and a third-round pick to Florida in Saturday's second day of the NHL Entry Draft, they bought themselves three days to try to convince the Panther who becomes the"
Flames to start talks with Bouwmeester
June 29
Calgary Herald
 
"Today, for the very first time, the Calgary Flames brass will sit down with Jay Bouwmeester to talk turkey. Face to face. The negotiations, which are slated to take place in Edmonton, figure to be intriguing. "It'll be good to hear what they have to say," Bouwmeester said Sunday evening from Edmonton, his home town. "I've never (been in this situation before), so it's kind of an interesting process. I'm hoping to listen . . . and discuss some things." By Wednesday at 10 a.m., the star defenceman, a pending unrestricted free agent, is eligible to entertain offers from every team in the National Hockey League. Till that time, though, only the Flames can chat to him. Bouwmeester, however,"
Panthers trade defenseman Jay Bouwmeester
June 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
 
"Jay Bouwmeester never did come right out and say he didn't want a future with the Panthers. He mostly stayed silent, and when forced to address the issue, the shy defenseman mumbled vague, non-committal responses. But everyone, including Panthers' management, knew for some time he wanted to leave. So while they filed it away in a bottom drawer, assistant general manager Randy Sexton said, the Panthers kept the list of teams Bouwmeester's agent gave them about 18 months ago. It had Calgary, just a three-hour drive south of Bouwmeester's hometown, "right at the very top." With just days left to make a deal, that's where the Panthers traded Bouwmeester on Saturday morning, sending him to the"
Bouwmeester, Prust traded to Calgary
June 27
Calgary Herald
 
"The Florida Panthers have traded soon-to-be unrestricted free agent defenceman Jay Bouwmeester to the Calgary Flames in exchange for defenceman Jordan Leopold and a third-round (67th) draft choice. The deal was announced immediately before the New York Islanders made their first selection in the second round of the NHL entry draft at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday. With Bouwmeester and Chris Pronger both traded, the market for Toronto's Tomas Kaberle should intensify. Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke said he did not expect to move the puck-moving defenceman this weekend. But that could now change."
Panthers trade Bouwmeester's rights to Flames
June 27
TSN.ca
 
"Jay Bouwmeester's days in Florida are over. The Panthers have traded the 25-year-old star defenceman's rights to the Calgary Flames for blueliner Jordan Leopold and a third round pick. Despite trade rumours that swirled around him on deadline day, Bouwmeester, 25, remained in Florida, playing out the final year of his contract, which allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end. The native of Edmonton, Alberta played his entire six-year career with the Panthers after being selected third overall by the club in 2002. He had 15 goals and 27 assists in 82 games this season."