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Top 40 Calgary Flames: #16 Joe Mullen

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Photo credit:courtesy Calgary Flames/Adidas
Ryan Pike
3 years ago
This coming May is the 40th anniversary of the Atlanta Flames moving to Calgary. To commemorate this occasion, we’re counting down the Top 40 Calgary Flames in history.
Coming in at #16 is Joe Mullen.
The Flames in the 2010s have been offensively paced by an undersized, overskilled forward who cut his teeth at Boston College. This isn’t the first time that’s happened. In the late ’80s, Mullen joined the Flames via a swap with the St. Louis Blues and absolutely erupted offensively. Despite only wearing the Flaming C for four and a half seasons, Mullen is among the most prolific Flames in history.
Here’s Mullen’s run, at a glance:
  • 16 goals, 4 game-winning, and 38 points in 29 games after the trade in 1985-86, plus 12 goals in the playoffs (leading the league)
  • 47 goals, 12 game-winning, and 87 points in 1986-87
  • 40 goals, 5 game-winning, and 84 points in 1987-88
  • 51 goals, 7 game-winning, and 110 points in 1988-99, plus 16 goals in the playoffs (leading the league)
  • 36 goals, 5 game-winning, and 69 points in 1989-90
Simply put: Mullen scored a crap-ton of goals. With him getting a bit older, though, the Flames sent him closer to home with a trade to Pittsburgh in the summer of 1990. It worked out well for him, as he won two more Stanley Cups before retiring.
Mullen ranks 37th among Calgary players in games played. But he’s ninth in goals, 16th in points and fifth in game-winning goals. The only players who have more game-deciding goals than him are Jarome Iginla, Theo Fleury, Joe Nieuwendyk and Sean Monahan. All of them have took 200 (or more) games to hit that mark.
The late ’80s Flames needed a clutch scorer to get over the hump and make their runs to the Stanley Cup Final. Mullen was the scorer they got, and he was a big piece of two long playoff runs.
He checks in at #16 on our list.
SeasonsGPGAPTS+/-PIM
1985-90345190198388+10695
Arrival: Traded with Terry Johnson and Rik Wilson from St. Louis for Eddy Beers, Charles Bourgeois and Gino Cavallini (February 1, 1986)
Departure: Traded to Pittsburgh for 1990 second round pick (Nicolas Perreault) (June 16, 1990)
Awards: 1989 Stanley Cup winner, 1986-87 & 1988-89 Lady Byng winner, 1988-89 First Team All-Star
Top 40 Calgary Flames: HM Martin Gelinas | #40 Brad Marsh | #39 Matt Stajan | #38 Jiri Hudler | #37 Dion Phaneuf | #36 Guy Chouinard | #35 Phil Housley | #34 Matthew Tkachuk | #33 Cory Stillman | #32 Curtis Glencross | #31 Jamie Macoun | #30 Carey Wilson | #29 Reggie Lemelin | #28 TJ Brodie | #27 Alex Tanguay | #26 Daymond Langkow | #25 Sergei Makarov | #24 Craig Conroy | #23 Robert Reichel | #22 Paul Reinhart | #21 Doug Gilmour | #20 Mikael Backlund | #19 Jim Peplinski | #18 Joel Otto | #17 Tim Hunter

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