Today in 1980, Flames acquire draft pick used to select Mike Vernon

One of the best Flames ever was Mike Vernon.

And today, in 1980, the then Atlanta Flames made a trade that would forever shape the franchise.

Atlanta traded goaltender Jim Craig to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a second-round pick in 1980 and a third-round pick in 1981.

Calgary selected Steve Konroyd with the second-round pick, who in his own right had a solid six-season career with the Flames, the selection of Mike Vernon with the 1981 third-round pick was the home run.

Vernon posted four 30-win seasons over his 13-year career with the Calgary Flames as he backstopped them to their only Stanley Cup championship won in 1989-90. He was a gamer who showed up in the big minutes and a Calgary boy that played his junior hockey with the Wranglers.

Over his entire NHL career, Vernon impressively won over half of all the playoff games he played in as his numbers got better, too.

Vernon played for the Flames until 1994, when he was traded for Steve Chiasson.

On Twitter: @zjlaing