logo
FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Throwback Thursday: Looking at the Miikka Kiprusoff trade with the Sharks
alt
Photo credit: Brett Holmes-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Nov 13, 2025, 18:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 13, 2025, 14:56 EST
Comments
How fitting it is that the Calgary Flames play the San Jose Sharks on the eve the anniversary of one of the biggest trades in both teams’ franchise history.
The Flames and Sharks have made numerous trades over the years. The most recent saw the Flames send a 2024 fifth-round pick for Nikita Okhotyuk. Well, Friday will mark the 22nd anniversary of an impactful trade for both teams, as the Sharks sent Miikka Kiprusoff to the Flames for a 2005 second-round pick.
Drafted 116th overall in the 1995 draft, Kiprusoff played in 47 games with the Sharks, where he had an .897 save percentage and 2.84 goals against average.  He earned Calder Trophy votes in 2001-02 with a 915 save percentage and 2.49 goals against average, but struggled in 2003-04.
Kiprusoff, 27 years old at the time, only played one game for the Sharks in 2003-04 as they had an established starter in Evgeni Nabokov between the pipes, with the younger Vesa Toskala on the rise.
The Flames received immediate dividends from the trade, as Kiprusoff finished the 2003-04 season with a .933 save percentage and 1.70 goals against average in 38 games. A large chunk of his games were played in the 2004 postseason, as he helped lead the Flames to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, where he had a .928 save percentage and 1.85 goals against average in 26 games.
Kiprusoff finished second in Vezina Trophy voting and fourth in Hart Trophy voting. He outright won the Vezina Trophy when the National Hockey League resumed from the 2004-05 lockout, as he had a .923 save percentage and 2.07 goals against average in an incredible 74 games.
That started a run of seven consecutive seasons with 70 or more games played, with Kiprusoff maxing out at 76 games in 2007-08 and 2008-09. Kiprusoff received at least one vote for the Vezina Trophy in all but one of the six seasons after winning it in 2005-06, even finishing as a finalist in 2006-07, the first and only time he played in the All-Star Game.
Kiprusoff’s final season was in 2012-13, where he played 24 games and had an .882 save percentage. Shortly before the 2013-14 season, the Finnish netminder officially announced his retirement and his number was retired on Mar. 2, 2024.
So the Flames won this trade, right? Yes. But so too did the Sharks. Toskala didn’t pan out, and what he’s most famous for is allowing a goal from 174 feet with the Toronto Maple Leafs, before ending his National Hockey League career with the Flames as Kiprusoff’s backup in 2009-10. That second-round pick panned out, and then some.
With the 35th overall pick in the 2005 draft, the Sharks selected left-shot defenceman Marc-Édouard Vlasic. After another season in the Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, Vlasic made his National Hockey League debut in 2006-07.
Over the course of his 19 seasons with the Sharks, Vlasic finished with 84 goals and 379 points, along with six goals and 39 points in 142 post-season games as the Sharks made numerous deep playoff runs. In his prime, Vlasic was considered one of, if not the best, defensive defencemen in the game with a scoring touch.
After an off-season buyout, the 38-year-old remains a free agent. Regardless of whether he plays in another NHL game, it’s hard to say that the Sharks lost the Kiprusoff trade.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
Sponsored by bet365:

Editorials

Breaking News