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Dismantling the 1989 Stanley Cup champions

Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Last week, May 25 to be precise, was the 32nd anniversary of the Calgary Flames’ lone Stanley Cup championship win. Despite being scary good in the late ’80s – they won back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies in 1987-88 and 1988-89 – the Flames won just a single Cup.
Here’s a look back at how the powerhouse 1989 squad was dismantled over the years that followed.
May 26, 1989 – HAKAN LOOB announced departure to Sweden
June 16, 1989 – ROB RAMAGE traded to Toronto for a 1989 second round pick
- 1989 second round pick was used to draft Kent Manderville.
- Manderville was subsequently traded to Toronto (see: Jan. 2, 1992).
August 28, 1989: LANNY McDONALD announced retirement
June 15, 1990 – BRAD McCRIMMON traded to Detroit for a 1990 second round pick
- 1990 second round pick used as part of package to trade up at 1990 draft: 20th, 24th and 29th overall to New Jersey for 11th and 32nd overall.
- 11th overall was used to draft Trevor Kidd.
- 32nd overall was used to draft Vesa Viitakoski.
- Viitakoski was traded to Colorado for Paxton Schulte.
- Schulte left the Flames as a free agent in 1998.
- Kidd subsequently traded to Carolina (see: Aug. 25, 1997).
June 16, 1990 – JOE MULLEN traded to Pittsburgh for a 1990 second round pick
- 1990 second round pick was used to draft Nicolas Perreault.
- Perreault left the Flames as a free agent in 1995.
Summer 1990 – JIM PEPLINSKI announced retirement
- Peplinski briefly returned in 1994-95, but then re-retired.
Dec. 13, 1990 – JIRI HRDINA traded to Pittsburgh for Jim Kyte
- Kyte left the Flames as a free agent in 1992.
Mar. 5, 1991 – DANA MURZYN traded to Vancouver for Ron Stern and Kevan Guy
- Guy left the Flames as a free agent in 1993.
- Stern left the Flames as a free agent in 1998.
Mar. 5, 1991 – MARK HUNTER traded to Hartford for Carey Wilson
- Wilson retired in 1993, but briefly returned in the minors in 1996-97.
June 11, 1991 – BRIAN MacLELLAN traded to Detroit for Marc Habscheid
- Habscheid left the Flames as a a free agent in 1992.
Oct. 24, 1991 – COLIN PATTERSON traded to Buffalo for future considerations
Jan. 2, 1992 – DOUG GILMOUR, RIC NATTRESS, JAMIE MACOUN and RICK WAMSLEY traded to Toronto (with Kent Manderville) for Gary Leeman, Alex Godynyuk, Michel Petit, Craig Berube and Jeff Reese
- The largest trade in NHL history at the time and considered the worst trade in Flames franchise history.
- Leeman was traded to Montreal for Brian Skrudland in 1993.
- Skrudland and Godynyuk were claimed by Florida in the expansion draft.
- Berube was traded to Washington for a 1993 fifth round pick (used to take Darryl LaFrance).
- Reese was traded to Hartford for Dan Keczmer.
- Petit left the Flames as a free agent in 1994.
- Keczmer was packaged with Phil Housley (see: July 4, 1994) to New Jersey for Tommy Albelin, Cale Hulse and Jocelyn Lemieux.
- Lemieux left the Flames as a free agent in 1996.
- Hulse was packaged with a third round pick in 2001 and traded to Nashville for Sergei Krivokrasov.
- Krivokrasov was claimed by Minnesota in the expansion draft.
- Albelin left the Flames as a free agent in 2001.
Mar. 10, 1994: GARY SUTER traded to Hartford (with Paul Ranheim and Ted Drury) for James Patrick, Zarley Zalapski and Michael Nylander
- Zalapski (and Jonas Hoglund) was traded to Montreal for Valeri Bure and a 1998 fourth round pick.
- The 1998 pick was used to select Shaun Sutter.
- Patrick left the Flames as a free agent in 1998.
- Nylander was traded to Tampa Bay for Andrei Nazarov.
- Bure (and Jason Wiemer) was traded to Florida for Rob Niedermayer and a 2001 second round pick.
- Nazarov (and a different 2001 second round pick) was traded to Anaheim for Jordan Leopold.
- The 2001 pick (from Florida) was used to select Andrei Medvedev, who never signed.
- Niedermayer was traded to Anaheim for Mike Commodore and Jean-Francois Damphousse.
- Sutter left the Flames as a free agent in 2003.
- Damphousse left the Flames as a free agent in 2003.
- Commodore was traded to Columbus for a 2005 third round pick.
- The 2005 pick was used on Gord Baldwin.
- Leopold (and 2006 and 2007 second round picks) was traded to Colorado for Alex Tanguay.
- Baldwin left the Flames as a free agent in 2008.
- Tanguay (and a 2008 fifth round pick) was traded to Montreal for a 2008 first round pick and a 2009 second round pick.
- The 2008 pick was used on Greg Nemisz.
- The 2009 pick (and Lawrence Nycholat and Ryan Wilson) was traded to Colorado to reacquire Leopold.
- Leopold (and a 2009 fifth round pick) was traded to Florida for Jay Bouwmeester
- Bouwmeester was traded to St. Louis for Reto Berra, Mark Cundari and a 2013 first round pick.
- The 2013 pick was used to select Emile Poirier.
- Nemisz was traded to Carolina for Kevin Westgarth.
- Berra was traded to Colorado for a 2014 second round pick.
- The 2014 pick was used to select Hunter Smith.
- Westgarth left the Flames as a free agent in 2014.
- Cundari left the Flames as a free agent in 2014.
- Smith left the Flames as a free agent in 2018.
- Poirier left the Flames as a free agent in 2018.
June 18, 1992 – TIM HUNTER claimed in expansion draft by Tampa Bay
June 29, 1994 – MIKE VERNON traded to Detroit for Steve Chiasson
- Chiasson (and a 1997 third round pick) was traded to Hartford for Hnat Domenichelli, Glen Featherstone, a 1997 second round pick and a 1998 third round pick.
- The 1997 pick was used to draft Dmitry Kokorev, who never signed.
- The 1998 pick was used to draft Paul Manning.
- Featherstone left the Flames as a free agent in 1998.
- Domenichelli (and Dmitri Vlasenkov) was traded to Atlanta for Jason Botterill and Darryl Shannon.
- Shannon left the Flames as a free agent in 2000.
- Manning was traded to Columbus for a 2001 fifth round pick.
- The 2001 pick was traded to Detroit for a 2001 fifth round (a later one) and a 2001 seventh round pick.
- The later 2001 fifth rounder was used on Yuri Trubachev, who never signed.
- The 2001 seventh rounder was traded to the NY Rangers for a 2002 seventh round pick.
- Botterill left the Flames as a free agent in 2002.
- The 2002 pick was used on Pierre Johnsson, who never signed.
July 4, 1994 – AL MacINNIS traded to St. Louis (with a 1997 fourth round pick) for Phil Housley, and 1996 and 1997 second round picks [as part of a restricted free agent signing of MacInnis by St. Louis]
- The 1996 pick was used to draft Steve Begin.
- Housley was packaged with Dan Keczmer to New Jersey for Tommy Albelin, Cale Hulse and Jocelyn Lemieux. (see: Jan. 2, 1992 for the rest of that chain.)
- The 1997 pick was used to draft John Tripp.
- Tripp left the Flames as a free agent in 2000.
- Begin was packaged with Chris Drury and traded to Buffalo for Steven Reinprecht and Rhett Warrener.
- Reinprecht was traded to Arizona (with Philippe Sauve) for Brian Boucher and Mike Leclerc.
- Boucher left the Flames as a free agent in 2006.
- Leclerc retired in 2006.
- Warrener retired in 2008.
July 31, 1995 – JOEL OTTO signed with Philadelphia as a free agent
Dec. 19, 1995 – JOE NIEUWENDYK traded to Dallas for Corey Millen and Jarome Iginla
- Millen left the Flames as a free agent in 1997.
- Iginla was traded to Pittsburgh for Ken Agostino, Ben Hanowski and a 2013 first round pick.
- The 2013 pick was used to draft Morgan Klimchuk.
- Hanowski left the Flames as a free agent in 2016.
- Agostino left the Flames as a free agent in 2016.
- Kilmchuk was traded to Toronto for Andrew Nielsen.
- Nielsen left the Flames as a free agent in 2020.
Aug. 25, 1997 – GARY ROBERTS traded to Carolina (with Trevor Kidd) for Jean-Sebastien Gigure and Andrew Cassels
- Giguere was traded to Anaheim for a 2000 second round pick.
- Cassels left the Flames as a free agent in 1999.
- The 2000 second round pick was traded to Washington for Miika Elomo and a 2000 fourth round pick.
- The 2000 fourth rounder was used to select Levente Szuper.
- Elomo left the Flames as a free agent in 2001.
- Szuper left the Flames as a free agent in 2003.
Feb. 28, 1999 – THEOREN FLEURY traded to Colorado (with Chris Dingman) for Rene Corbet, Wade Belak, Robyn Regehr and a 1999 second round pick
- The 1999 pick was used on Jarret Stoll, who didn’t sign.
- Corbet (and Tyler Moss) was traded to Pittsburgh for Brad Werenka.
- Belak was claimed off waivers by Toronto in 2001.
- Werenka retired in 2001.
- Regehr (and Ales Kotalik and a 2012 second round pick) was traded to Buffalo for Paul Byron and Chris Butler.
- Butler left the Flames as a free agent in 2014.
- Byron was claimed off waivers by Montreal in 2015.
Breaking News
- What’s Going On In the Pacific Division: The three Canadian teams sit at the bottom of the division
- Throwback Thursday: Looking at the Flames’ three trades with the Wild
- Flames Game Day 29: Back at home to face the Wild (7pm MT, SN1)
- The Wranglers are nearly done their mammoth road trip
- Recap: Justin Kirkland gave the Wranglers a chance to win on Wednesday but they fall in a shootout
