Last week, May 25 to be precise, was the 32nd anniversary of the Calgary Flames’ lone Stanley Cup championship win. Despite being scary good in the late ’80s – they won back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies in 1987-88 and 1988-89 – the Flames won just a single Cup.
Here’s a look back at how the powerhouse 1989 squad was dismantled over the years that followed.
May 26, 1989 – HAKAN LOOB announced departure to Sweden
June 16, 1989 – ROB RAMAGE traded to Toronto for a 1989 second round pick
  • 1989 second round pick was used to draft Kent Manderville.
  • Manderville was subsequently traded to Toronto (see: Jan. 2, 1992).
August 28, 1989: LANNY McDONALD announced retirement
June 15, 1990 – BRAD McCRIMMON traded to Detroit for a 1990 second round pick
  • 1990 second round pick used as part of package to trade up at 1990 draft: 20th, 24th and 29th overall to New Jersey for 11th and 32nd overall.
  • 11th overall was used to draft Trevor Kidd.
  • 32nd overall was used to draft Vesa Viitakoski.
  • Viitakoski was traded to Colorado for Paxton Schulte.
  • Schulte left the Flames as a free agent in 1998.
  • Kidd subsequently traded to Carolina (see: Aug. 25, 1997).
June 16, 1990 – JOE MULLEN traded to Pittsburgh for a 1990 second round pick
  • 1990 second round pick was used to draft Nicolas Perreault.
  • Perreault left the Flames as a free agent in 1995.
Summer 1990 – JIM PEPLINSKI announced retirement
  • Peplinski briefly returned in 1994-95, but then re-retired.
Dec. 13, 1990 – JIRI HRDINA traded to Pittsburgh for Jim Kyte
  • Kyte left the Flames as a free agent in 1992.
Mar. 5, 1991 – DANA MURZYN traded to Vancouver for Ron Stern and Kevan Guy
  • Guy left the Flames as a free agent in 1993.
  • Stern left the Flames as a free agent in 1998.
Mar. 5, 1991 – MARK HUNTER traded to Hartford for Carey Wilson
  • Wilson retired in 1993, but briefly returned in the minors in 1996-97.
June 11, 1991 – BRIAN MacLELLAN traded to Detroit for Marc Habscheid
  • Habscheid left the Flames as a a free agent in 1992.
Oct. 24, 1991 – COLIN PATTERSON traded to Buffalo for future considerations
Jan. 2, 1992 – DOUG GILMOUR, RIC NATTRESS, JAMIE MACOUN and RICK WAMSLEY traded to Toronto (with Kent Manderville) for Gary Leeman, Alex Godynyuk, Michel Petit, Craig Berube and Jeff Reese
  • The largest trade in NHL history at the time and considered the worst trade in Flames franchise history.
  • Leeman was traded to Montreal for Brian Skrudland in 1993.
  • Skrudland and Godynyuk were claimed by Florida in the expansion draft.
  • Berube was traded to Washington for a 1993 fifth round pick (used to take Darryl LaFrance).
  • Reese was traded to Hartford for Dan Keczmer.
  • Petit left the Flames as a free agent in 1994.
  • Keczmer was packaged with Phil Housley (see: July 4, 1994) to New Jersey for Tommy Albelin, Cale Hulse and Jocelyn Lemieux.
  • Lemieux left the Flames as a free agent in 1996.
  • Hulse was packaged with a third round pick in 2001 and traded to Nashville for Sergei Krivokrasov.
  • Krivokrasov was claimed by Minnesota in the expansion draft.
  • Albelin left the Flames as a free agent in 2001.
Mar. 10, 1994: GARY SUTER traded to Hartford (with Paul Ranheim and Ted Drury) for James Patrick, Zarley Zalapski and Michael Nylander
  • Zalapski (and Jonas Hoglund) was traded to Montreal for Valeri Bure and a 1998 fourth round pick.
  • The 1998 pick was used to select Shaun Sutter.
  • Patrick left the Flames as a free agent in 1998.
  • Nylander was traded to Tampa Bay for Andrei Nazarov.
  • Bure (and Jason Wiemer) was traded to Florida for Rob Niedermayer and a 2001 second round pick.
  • Nazarov (and a different 2001 second round pick) was traded to Anaheim for Jordan Leopold.
  • The 2001 pick (from Florida) was used to select Andrei Medvedev, who never signed.
  • Niedermayer was traded to Anaheim for Mike Commodore and Jean-Francois Damphousse.
  • Sutter left the Flames as a free agent in 2003.
  • Damphousse left the Flames as a free agent in 2003.
  • Commodore was traded to Columbus for a 2005 third round pick.
  • The 2005 pick was used on Gord Baldwin.
  • Leopold (and 2006 and 2007 second round picks) was traded to Colorado for Alex Tanguay.
  • Baldwin left the Flames as a free agent in 2008.
  • Tanguay (and a 2008 fifth round pick) was traded to Montreal for a 2008 first round pick and a 2009 second round pick.
  • The 2008 pick was used on Greg Nemisz.
  • The 2009 pick (and Lawrence Nycholat and Ryan Wilson) was traded to Colorado to reacquire Leopold.
  • Leopold (and a 2009 fifth round pick) was traded to Florida for Jay Bouwmeester
  • Bouwmeester was traded to St. Louis for Reto Berra, Mark Cundari and a 2013 first round pick.
  • The 2013 pick was used to select Emile Poirier.
  • Nemisz was traded to Carolina for Kevin Westgarth.
  • Berra was traded to Colorado for a 2014 second round pick.
  • The 2014 pick was used to select Hunter Smith.
  • Westgarth left the Flames as a free agent in 2014.
  • Cundari left the Flames as a free agent in 2014.
  • Smith left the Flames as a free agent in 2018.
  • Poirier left the Flames as a free agent in 2018.
June 18, 1992 – TIM HUNTER claimed in expansion draft by Tampa Bay
June 29, 1994 – MIKE VERNON traded to Detroit for Steve Chiasson
  • Chiasson (and a 1997 third round pick) was traded to Hartford for Hnat Domenichelli, Glen Featherstone, a 1997 second round pick and a 1998 third round pick.
  • The 1997 pick was used to draft Dmitry Kokorev, who never signed.
  • The 1998 pick was used to draft Paul Manning.
  • Featherstone left the Flames as a free agent in 1998.
  • Domenichelli (and Dmitri Vlasenkov) was traded to Atlanta for Jason Botterill and Darryl Shannon.
  • Shannon left the Flames as a free agent in 2000.
  • Manning was traded to Columbus for a 2001 fifth round pick.
  • The 2001 pick was traded to Detroit for a 2001 fifth round (a later one) and a 2001 seventh round pick.
  • The later 2001 fifth rounder was used on Yuri Trubachev, who never signed.
  • The 2001 seventh rounder was traded to the NY Rangers for a 2002 seventh round pick.
  • Botterill left the Flames as a free agent in 2002.
  • The 2002 pick was used on Pierre Johnsson, who never signed.
July 4, 1994 – AL MacINNIS traded to St. Louis (with a 1997 fourth round pick) for Phil Housley, and 1996 and 1997 second round picks [as part of a restricted free agent signing of MacInnis by St. Louis]
  • The 1996 pick was used to draft Steve Begin.
  • Housley was packaged with Dan Keczmer to New Jersey for Tommy Albelin, Cale Hulse and Jocelyn Lemieux. (see: Jan. 2, 1992 for the rest of that chain.)
  • The 1997 pick was used to draft John Tripp.
  • Tripp left the Flames as a free agent in 2000.
  • Begin was packaged with Chris Drury and traded to Buffalo for Steven Reinprecht and Rhett Warrener.
  • Reinprecht was traded to Arizona (with Philippe Sauve) for Brian Boucher and Mike Leclerc.
  • Boucher left the Flames as a free agent in 2006.
  • Leclerc retired in 2006.
  • Warrener retired in 2008.
July 31, 1995 – JOEL OTTO signed with Philadelphia as a free agent
Dec. 19, 1995 – JOE NIEUWENDYK traded to Dallas for Corey Millen and Jarome Iginla
  • Millen left the Flames as a free agent in 1997.
  • Iginla was traded to Pittsburgh for Ken Agostino, Ben Hanowski and a 2013 first round pick.
  • The 2013 pick was used to draft Morgan Klimchuk.
  • Hanowski left the Flames as a free agent in 2016.
  • Agostino left the Flames as a free agent in 2016.
  • Kilmchuk was traded to Toronto for Andrew Nielsen.
  • Nielsen left the Flames as a free agent in 2020.
Aug. 25, 1997 – GARY ROBERTS traded to Carolina (with Trevor Kidd) for Jean-Sebastien Gigure and Andrew Cassels
  • Giguere was traded to Anaheim for a 2000 second round pick.
  • Cassels left the Flames as a free agent in 1999.
  • The 2000 second round pick was traded to Washington for Miika Elomo and a 2000 fourth round pick.
  • The 2000 fourth rounder was used to select Levente Szuper.
  • Elomo left the Flames as a free agent in 2001.
  • Szuper left the Flames as a free agent in 2003.
Feb. 28, 1999 – THEOREN FLEURY traded to Colorado (with Chris Dingman) for Rene Corbet, Wade Belak, Robyn Regehr and a 1999 second round pick
  • The 1999 pick was used on Jarret Stoll, who didn’t sign.
  • Corbet (and Tyler Moss) was traded to Pittsburgh for Brad Werenka.
  • Belak was claimed off waivers by Toronto in 2001.
  • Werenka retired in 2001.
  • Regehr (and Ales Kotalik and a 2012 second round pick) was traded to Buffalo for Paul Byron and Chris Butler.
  • Butler left the Flames as a free agent in 2014.
  • Byron was claimed off waivers by Montreal in 2015.