Dismantling the 1989 Stanley Cup champions
By Ryan Pike
2 years agoLast 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.
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