Several players will cross the Battle of Alberta lines in 2019-20
By Ryan Pike
4 years agoFor the third time in the history of both franchises, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers made a trade over the summer. In addition to that, three free agents swapped sides during the off-season. As a result, potentially up to five players could join a small group that has played for both sides of the Battle of Alberta.
Former Oilers Cam Talbot, Milan Lucic and Brandon Davidson joined the Flames this summer, while Mike Smith and James Neal joined the Oilers. These moves could lead to the biggest single-season boost to the list of players who have played for both sides since the rivalry began in 1980.
Here’s a quick rundown of the “elite” group that has played for both sides in the Battle of Alberta.
Played regular season games for both
Heading into the 2019-20 season, 37 players have played regular season games for both Edmonton and Calgary.
- Goaltenders (4): Fred Brathwaite, Grant Fuhr, Curtis Joseph and Dwayne Roloson
- Defensemen (17): Keith Aulie, Bobby Dollas, Len Esau, Andrew Ference, Roman Hamrlik, Aaron Johnson, Igor Kravchuk, Bryan Marchment, Frank Musil, Adam Pardy, Corey Potter, Kris Russell, Ladislav Smid, Steve Smith, Steve Staios, Jim Vandermeer and Brad Werenka
- Forwards (16): Jeff Brubaker, Alex Chiasson, Pat Conacher, Jim Dowd, Martin Gelinas, Curtis Glencross, David Haas, Marc Habscheid, Roman Horak, Ales Kotalik, Mark Lamb, Kent Manderville, Alan May, Dean McAmmond, Kent Nilsson and German Titov
As you can see from the selection of players involved, the quality of the group that has played both sides has a ton of variation. The majority of them had more success with one team than the other – Curtis Glencross was a fringe body for the Oilers before starring with the Flames, while a similar circumstance befell Dwayne Roloson. But aside from a few interesting cases, the majority of players listed here were minor players in both cities.
Some notable exceptions:
- Grant Fuhr ending his Hall of Fame career as a Flame
- Andrew Ference finishing out his career as Oilers captain
- Steve Smith finishing out his career as Flames captain
- Kent Nilsson, who holds the single season Flames scoring record, winning a Stanley Cup with the Oilers
Played playoff games for both
Only seven players have played post-season games for both the Flames and Oilers:
- Curtis Joseph – the only goalie to win a playoff game with both clubs
- Martin Gelinas – the only player to play in the Stanley Cup Final with both clubs
- Roman Hamrlik
- Frank Musil
- Kent Nilsson
- Kris Russell
- German Titov
If both the Flames and Oilers make the playoffs in 2020, the list could swell by four with Talbot, Lucic, Smith and Neal potentially joining. Talbot and Smith could potentially join Joseph if they can each win a playoff game.
Sum it up
Not a lot of players have played for both the Flames and Oilers. An even smaller number have had success with both clubs.
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