Long-Timers: Brett Hull

In the 102-year history of the National Hockey League, 348 individuals have played 1,000 or more regular season games. 44 of them, or 12.6%, have played some part of their career with the Atlanta or Calgary Flames. We call these players Long-Timers.

Let’s take a look at Brett Hull.

Hull is arguably the best “Flame that got away,” in that he was in the system and had his best success elsewhere. The son of NHL legend Bobby, Hull became known as a great junior A player who became great college player. He was selected by the Flames in the sixth round of the 1984 NHL Draft. He spent two seasons in college, then signed with the Flames.

Hull went pro full-time in 1986-87 and finished third in AHL scoring with 50 goals and 92 points. The next season, 1987-88, he joined the Flames full-time and was part of a stacked team. He had 50 points in 52 games, among the league’s rookie leaders, when Cliff Fletcher traded him to St. Louis.

At the time, the Flames were two seasons removed from a Stanley Cup Final heartbreak against Montreal. Fletcher felt they were missing something, and targeted rugged defender Rob Ramage and goalie Rick Wamsley from the Blues. The price tag was veteran forward Steve Bozek and star prospect Hull. The Flames won a Stanley Cup the following season, so it’s hard to really fault Fletcher too much.

Unfortunately, Hull thrived in the midwest. During his time with the Blues, Hull scored 527 goals in 744 games. He had seasons of 41, 72, 86, 70, 54, 57, 29, 43, 42 and 27 goals. He formed one of the most formidable offensive tandems in league history with Adam Oates. He won a Hart and was a finalist two other times in a three season period, somehow never winning the scoring title.

Looking for a chance to win a championship, Hull signed as a free agent with Dallas in 1998. That season, he won a Stanley Cup. He never quite got back to his lofty offensive perch – he only had four 30 goal seasons over his last six in the NHL – but he won a second Cup later with Detroit and retired in 2006 after a short post-lockout stint in Phoenix. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.

Hull was, simply, a goal-scorer. He was damn good at most aspects of the game, but he could score goals in his sleep. When he was on, there were few better. It’s a bit of a shame that his best years came wearing other jerseys, because the Flames found a good one in the 1984 draft.