On Jan. 2, 1992, the Flames traded Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Kent Manderville, Ric Nattress and Rick Wamsley to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Craig Berube, Alexander Godynyuk, Gary Leeman, Michel Petit and Jeff Reese.

Gilmour was the big piece given up by the Flames. Drafted in the seventh round by the St. Louis Blues in 1982, Gilmour had five productive seasons with the team from Missouri before the Flames acquired him ahead of the 1988-89 season. In 72 regular season games, Gilmour scored 26 goals and 85 points, along with 11 goals and 22 points in 22 games as the Flames went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1989.

In 1989-90 and 1990-91, Gilmour reached the 20-goal plateau both seasons, and also had 91 points in 1989-90 and 81 points in 1990-91. Before the trade, Gilmour scored 11 goals and 38 points in 38 games, and added 15 goals and 49 points in 40 games with the Leafs to end the 1991-92 season.

Gilmour was already a good player, but he hit a whole new level as a Leaf, at least in his first two seasons. The 1992-93 season saw him score 32 goals and 127 points in 83 games, along with 10 goals and 35 points in 21 playoff games. He followed that up with 27 goals and 111 points in 83 games in 1993-94, scoring six goals and 28 points in 18 post-season games.

Although he never reached those heights again, Gilmour was still a productive player for the rest of his career, hitting the double-digit goal mark in seven of his remaining nine seasons, including the 20-goal mark three times. After his Leafs’ tenure ended in 1996-97, Gilmour played for the New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Montréal Canadiens, and one game with the Leafs to end his career.

In total, the Flames traded four players from their Stanley Cup winning team in 1989. Nattress only played 36 games with the Leafs, scoring two goals and 16 points in 36 games. His final season was in 1992-93, spent with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Macoun was a productive defenceman upon his arrival to Toronto, scoring three goals and 16 points in 39 games to end the season. He hit the 30 point mark again in 1993-94, and played until after the 1998-99 season, winning the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 1998 after a mid-season trade from the Maple Leafs.

Wamsley was never more than a 1B with the Flames, but his career fizzled out after the trade, playing just eight games with the Leafs in 1991-92, and just three games in 1992-93, his final NHL action. Manderville, a prospect at the time, went on to play 646 National Hockey League games, scoring 37 goals and 104 points. Four of the 12 seasons he played were spent with the Maple Leafs, where he scored eight goals and 23 points in 136 games.

Losing Gilmour is what made this trade so bad, but did the Flames find a way to replace his production? Of course not. Berube was the big piece coming back, and he scored a goal and five points in 36 games after the trade. He played 77 games with the Flames in 1992-93, scoring four goals and 12 points in 77 games, before he was traded to the Washington Capitals.

Berube played six seasons with the Capitals, scoring 26 goals and 63 points in 397 games, before a trade to the Flyers, the team he began his career with. The current Maple Leafs coach played parts of two seasons with the Flyers, before rejoining the Capitals. His stint didn’t last long, as they traded him to the New York Islanders during the 2000-01 season. Berube finished his career as a Flame, playing the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons with the team before hanging up the skates.

So what about the other players the Flames acquired? Well, Godynyuk played 33 games with the Flames in 1991-92 and 1992-93, scoring three goals and eight points, before playing the rest of his 115 career games with the Hartford Whalers. Like Berube and Godynyuk, Leeman played just the 1991-92 and 1992-93 season with the Flames, scoring 11 goals and 23 points in 59 games. He went on to win the Cup with the Canadiens, but played just 63 more NHL games after departing the Flames.

Both Petit and Reese played three seasons with the Flames. Petit, born in St. Malo, Québec, scored eight goals and 48 points in 134 games with the Flames from 1991-92 until 1993-94. After that, he played an additional 164 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Reese, a netminder, played 39 games with the Flames, 12 following the trade, 26 in 1992-93, and one in 1993-94. Overall, he had an .883 save percentage and 3.39 goals against average in those games. He played 37 games with the Whalers, 19 with the Lightning, and three with the Devils to end his career.

In hindsight, Doug Risebrough and the Flames should’ve just paid him, as he went on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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