A brief history of the Flames in expansion drafts
By Ryan Pike
2 years agoThe Calgary Flames entered the National Hockey League way, way back in 1972 – back then they were in Atlanta – and since their entry they’ve participated in 10 expansion drafts. The upcoming Seattle Kraken expansion draft will be their 11th expansion experience.
Here’s a quick rundown of how the Flames navigated their 10 previous expansion adventures.
The 2017 Expansion Draft
Joining the NHL: The Vegas Golden Knights.
Rules: Clubs could protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie OR eight skaters (of any combination) and a goalie.
General manager: Brad Treliving.
Protected:
- Goalie: Mike Smith
- Defensemen: TJ Brodie, Mark Giordano & Dougie Hamilton
- Forwards: Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennett, Micheal Ferland, Michael Frolik, Johnny Gaudreau, Curtis Lazar & Sean Monahan
Claimed: Deryk Engelland.
The 2000 Expansion Draft
Joining the NHL: The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild.
Rules: Clubs could protect nine forwards, five defensemen and a goalie OR seven forwards, three defensemen and two goalies.
General manager: Craig Button.
Protected:
- Goalie: Fred Brathwaite
- Defensemen: Tommy Albelin, Wade Belak, Denis Gauthier, Phil Housley & Derek Morris
- Forwards: Valeri Bure, Jarome Iginla, Ted Lindsay, Andrei Nazarov, Marc Savard, Jeff Shantz, Cory Stillman, Jason Wiemer & Clarke Wilm
Claimed: Filip Kuba (Minnesota) and Sergei Krivokrasov (Minnesota).
Following the draft, the Flames traded Dan Cavanaugh and an eighth round pick to the Wild in exchange for Mike Vernon, who Minnesota had claimed from Florida.
The 1999 Expansion Draft
Joining the NHL: The Atlanta Thrashers.
Rules: Clubs could protect nine forwards, five defensemen and a goalie OR seven forwards, three defensemen and two goalies.
General manager: Al Coates.
Protected:
- Goalie: Fred Brathwaite
- Defensemen: Wade Belak, Denis Gauthier, Phil Housley, Cale Hulse & Todd Simpson
- Forwards: Valeri Bure, Rene Corbet, Hnat Domenichelli, Jarome Iginla, Andrei Nazarov, Jeff Shantz, Cory Stillman, Jason Wiemer & Clarke Wilm
Claimed: Ed Ward,
The Flames traded Andreas Karlsson to the Thrashers in exchange for not selecting Jan Hlavac.
The 1998 Expansion Draft
Joining the NHL: The Nashville Predators.
Rules: Clubs could protect nine forwards, five defensemen and a goalie OR seven forwards, three defensemen and two goalies.
General manager: Al Coates.
Protected:
- Goalie: Ken Wregget
- Defensemen: Tommy Albelin, Jason Allison, Cale Hulse, Todd Simpson & Sami Helenius
- Forwards: Theo Fleury, Marty McInnis, Andrew Cassels, Valeri Bure, Cory Stillman, Michael Nylander, David Roche, Ladislav Kohn & Nils Ekman
Claimed: Joel Bouchard.
The Flames sent Jim Dowd to Nashville in exchange for them not drafting any of their available goaltenders – Tyler Moss, Rick Tabaracci and Dwayne Roloson. Opting to make that trade allowed them to protect only Wregget and protect two extra defensemen and two extra forwards.
The 1993 Expansion Draft
Joining the NHL: the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers.
Rules: Clubs could protect nine forwards, five defensemen and one goalie.
General manager: Doug Risebrough.
Protected:
- Goalie: Mike Vernon
- Defensemen: Gary Suter, Al MacInnis, Trent Yawney, Frank Musil & Kevin Dahl
- Forwards: Gary Roberts, Joe Nieuwendyk, Robert Reichel, Theo Fleury, Joel Otto, Paul Ranheim, Ron Stern, Craig Berube & Paul Kruse
Claimed: Alexander Godynyuk (Florida) and Brian Skrudland (Florida).
The 1992 Expansion Draft
Joining the NHL: The Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Rules: Teams could protect 14 skaters (in any combination) and two goalies.
General manager: Doug Risebrough.
Protected:
- Goalies: Mike Vernon & Jeff Reese
- Skaters: Al MacInnis, Gary Suter, Trent Yawney, Michel Petit, Frank Musil, Gary Roberts, Joe Nieuwendyk, Theo Fleury, Paul Ranheim, Joel Otto, Gary Leeman, Sergei Makarov, Craig Berube & Ron Stern
Claimed: Chris Lindberg (Ottawa) and Tim Hunter (Tampa Bay).
The 1991 Expansion Draft
Joining the NHL: the San Jose Sharks… and because of their complex ownership situation, the Minnesota North Stars were also involved.
Rules: Clubs could protect 16 skaters (in any combination) and two goalies.
General manager: Doug Risebrough.
Protected:
- Goalies: Mike Vernon & Rick Wamsley
- Skaters: Al MacInnis, Gary Suter, Jamie Macoun, Frank Musil, Ric Nattress, Jim Kyte, Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, Theo Fleury, Doug Gilmour, Paul Ranheim, Joel Otto, Ron Stern, Carey Wilson, Colin Patterson & Martin Simard
Claimed: Rick Lessard (San Jose).
The 1979 Expansion Draft
Joining the NHL: the four World Hockey Association survivors, the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets.
Rules: Clubs could protect 15 skaters (in any combination) and two goalies, but could add protected players if they lost reclaimed players in the reclamation draft two days prior.
General manager: Cliff Fletcher
Protected:
- Goalies: Dan Bouchard & Reggie Lemelin
- Skaters: Ivan Boldirev, Guy Chouinard, Bill Clement, Ken Houston, Ed Kea, Don Laurence, Bob MacMillan, Bob Murdoch, Kent Nilsson, Willi Plett, Jean Pronovost, Darcy Rota, Phil Russell, Dave Shand & Eric Vail
Claimed: John Gould (Edmonton), Rick Hodgson (Hartford), Brian Hill (Hartford) and Gene Carr (Winnipeg).
The 1974 Expansion Draft
Joining the NHL: Kansas City Scouts & Washington Capitals:
Rules: Clubs could protect 15 skaters (in any combination) and two goalies.
General manager: Cliff Fletcher.
Protected:
- Goalies: Dan Bouchard & Phil Myre
- Skaters: Curt Bennett, Dwight Bialowas, Jerry Byers, Rey Comeau, Buster Harvey, Ed Kea, Bobby Leiter, Jean Lemieux, Randy Manery, Bob Murray, Noel Price, Pat Quinn, Jacques Richard, Larry Romanchych & John Stewart
Claimed: Butch Deadmarsh (Washington) and Kerry Ketter (Kansas City).
Which protected list is the most impressive? And were the moves the Flames made in 1998 and 1999 worth the protection flexibility they gave the Flames? Sound off in the comments!
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