Between the 2004 and 2019 NHL Drafts, the Calgary Flames used their own second round pick twice
By Ryan Pike
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Folks, when it comes to draft picks, National Hockey League clubs trade them all the time. Sometimes it’s to move up or down in the draft order. Sometimes it’s to get immediate help. There are any number of reasons as to why a trade occurs.
But one of the more peculiar things that emerge over time are patterns in how teams use their draft picks. When it comes to the Calgary Flames, they’ve frequently traded away their second-round draft choices. And that tendency has persisted across several decades and several general managers.
Between 2004 and 2019, the Flames selected with their own second-round pick twice, in 2008 and 2014. They traded away their second-rounders 15 times in that span, and reacquired it once.
Here’s how this weird bit of history unfolded.
While Darryl Sutter was GM
Darryl Sutter found himself with a team he thought could chase a Stanley Cup, so he sent a lot of picks out the door to bolster his NHL roster throughout his tenure.
November 14, 2003: Flames trade 2005 second-round pick to San Jose for Miikka Kiprusoff
You’re probably familiar with this trade. The Sharks ended up getting Marc-Edouard Vlasic, the Flames ended up getting the best goaltender in franchise history.
March 8, 2004: Flames trade 2004 second-round pick to Florida for Marcus Nilson
This trade was executed the day before 2004’s trade deadline. Nilson was a really useful checking forward for the Flames during their playoff run, while the Panthers selected David Booth.
June 24, 2006: Flames trade Jordan Leopold, 2006 second-round pick and 2007 second-round pick to Colorado for Alex Tanguay
After winning the Pacific Division and then losing to Anaheim in seven games in the first round, the Flames looked to bolster their offensive attack with Tanguay. It cost them Leopold, a reliable blueliner, as well as two second-round picks. The Avalanche selected Codey Burki in 2006 and Trevor Cann in 2007.
January 29, 2007: Flames trade Jamie Lundmark, 2007 fourth-round pick and 2008 second-round pick to Los Angeles for Craig Conroy
Conroy had left the Flames as a free agent following the lockout season, but he never really meshed with the Kings and a trade back to the Flames made a lot of sense. The Kings didn’t get a chance to use the 2008 pick, though…
June 20, 2008: Flames trade 2008 first-round pick and 2009 second-round pick to Los Angeles for Mike Cammalleri and 2008 second-round pick
This was part of a three-way trade also involving Anaheim – the Ducks ended up getting the Flames’ first-rounder from Los Angeles in a subsequent trade. The Flames were looking to change up their mix after another first round playoff exit, and their 2009 second-rounder (used by the Kings to select Brian Dumoulin) while the Flames acquired Mike Cammalleri. (In a separate trade, Alex Tanguay was traded to Montreal.)
June 21, 2008: Flames use 2008 second-round pick to select Mitch Wahl
July 1, 2008: Flames trade 2010 second-round pick to Chicago for Rene Bourque
Chicago selected Brad Ross, while Bourque was a really reliable forward for the Flames for awhile.
July 27, 2009: Flames trade Wayne Primeau and 2011 second-round pick to Toronto for Colin Stuart, Anton Stralman and 2012 seventh-round pick
The Leafs later traded the Flames’ 2011 pick to Chicago, who used it to select Brandon Saad. Neither Stuart or Stralman did much with the Flames.
While Jay Feaster was GM
Feaster began his tenure trying to keep a listing ship afloat in its contention window, then began making moves to fill in gaps in the developmental system.
June 25, 2011: Flames trade Robyn Regehr, Ales Kotalik and 2012 second-round pick to Buffalo for Chris Butler and Paul Byron
This is the third trade involving Tanguay in some manner. At this point, the Flames were looking at signing Tanguay (a pending UFA) to an extension but with the way the cap calculations were being made, they had to send some salary out to make the move work. So Regehr and Kotalik were shipped out, with Buffalo getting a second-rounder for taking on Kotalik’s deal. The Sabres selected Jake McCabe. Butler and Byron were reliable if unspectacular Flames.
January 12, 2012: Flames trade Rene Bourque, Patrick Holland and 2013 second-round pick to Montreal for Mike Cammalleri, Karri Ramo and 2012 fifth-round pick
Yes, this was the trade that occurred midway through a Montreal/Boston game and saw Cammalleri get pulled from the Habs’ bench. The Flames got a scorer and a decent goaltender, while Montreal ended up using the Flames’ pick to select Zachary Fucale.
While Brad Treliving was GM
After using his first second-rounder to a select a player in 2014, Treliving started using them similarly to how Sutter did: to plug roster holes.
June 28, 2014: Flames use 2014 second-round pick to select Mason McDonald
June 26, 2015: Flames trade 2015 first-round pick and two 2015 second-round picks to Boston for Dougie Hamilton
The Flames’ 2015 second-rounder was used by Boston to select Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson. Hamilton was a pretty productive blueliner for the Flames before he was traded to Carolina in 2018.
June 24, 2016: Flames trade 2016 second-round pick (and un-exercised conditional 2018 third-round pick) to St. Louis for Brian Elliott
The Blues used the Flames’ pick to select Jordan Kyrou. Elliott was a useful enough stop-gap goaltender for the Flame.s
March 1, 2017: Flames trade 2017 second-round pick and Jyrki Jokipakka to Ottawa for Curtis Lazar and Mike Kostka
The Senators used the Flames’ pick to select Alex Formenton. Lazar never really found his potential in Calgary.
June 24, 2017: Flames trade 2018 first-round pick, 2018 second-round pick and 2019 second-round pick to NY Islanders for Travis Hamonic and 2019 fourth-round pick
At the time this trade was made, the Flames’ 2019 second-rounder was tied up in a trade condition connected to the Mike Smith trade – if the Flames made the 2018 playoffs, a 2018 third-rounder would become a 2019 second-rounder – so the 2019 second-rounder in the Hamonic trade actually could’ve floated to 2020. But the Flames missed the playoffs in 2018 and the Islanders got consecutive second-rounders, which they used to take Ruslan Iskhakov in 2018 and Samuel Bolduc in 2019.
In hindsight, which trades do you think the Flames would have been better off not doing (and using the picks themselves)? Let us know which trades in this span are the best or worst in your eyes in the comments!
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