It’s hard not to see the parallels between this season and the 2014-15 season for the Calgary Flames.
Nearly a decade ago, the Flames made two trade deadline moves. On Mar. 1, 2015, they traded Curtis Glencross to the Washington Capitals for two picks, a trade tree that still has a massive impact on the team to this day. However, we looked at that in last week’s Throwback Tuesday.
The other move came a day later, as the Flames traded Sven Bärtschi to the Vancouver Canucks for a 2015 second-round pick.
In this Throwback Tuesday, we’ll look at Bärtschi’s career as a Flame and how he did after the trade, as well as what that pick turned into. Let’s dig in!
Sven Bärtschi’s career as a Flame
After playing parts of two seasons in Switzerland, Bärtschi played for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League in his draft year. In 2010-11, he scored 34 goals and 85 points in 66 games, with 10 goals and 27 points in 21 post-season games. That led to the Flames selecting the Swiss winger 13th overall in the 2011 draft.
Bärtschi returned to the Winterhawks for the 2011-12 season, scoring 33 goals and 94 points in 47 games, along with 14 goals and 34 points in 22 postseason games. In March, 2012, Bärtschi joined the Flames for five games where he scored three goals.
The left wing started his first full professional season with the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League in 2012-13, where he scored 10 goals and 26 points in 32 games. After the 2012-13 lockout ended, Bärtschi joined the Flames where he scored three goals and 10 points in 20 games. The 2013-14 season mainly saw him play in the AHL, scoring 13 goals and 29 points in 41 games, with two goals and 11 points in 26 games in the NHL.
Bärtschi’s final season in the Flames organization came in 2014-15. Once again, he didn’t get much of an opportunity, playing just 15 games where he had four points and was a -3. His scoring in the AHL was solid, potting eight goals and 25 points in 36 games, but Bärtschi was dealt to the Canucks on Mar. 2, 2015, ending his Flames career.
Sven Bärtschi took off as a Canuck
In the three games Bärtschi played for the Canucks in 2014-15, he scored two goals in three games, along with seven goals and 15 points in 15 games with their American Hockey League team. It wasn’t until the 2015-16 season that Bärtschi lived up to his draft status, as he scored 15 goals and 28 points in 69 games for the Canucks that season.
His 2016-17 season was his career-best year, as Bärtschi scored 18 goals and 35 points in 68 games, followed by 14 goals and 29 points in 53 games in 2017-18. Through the first nine games of the 2018-19 season, Bärtschi scored three goals and six points but was checked to the head in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights and missed nearly two months with a concussion.
Upon returning on Dec. 29, 2018, ironically against the Flames, Bärtschi finished the season with a respectable six goals and eight points in 16 games. Overall, nine goals and 14 points in 26 games isn’t too shabby.
Despite finding success at the NHL level for the past four seasons, Bärtschi was waived by the Canucks before the 2019-20 season, playing the majority of the year with the Utica Comets of the AHL where he scored 13 goals and 46 points in 43 games. In the six games he played with the Canucks, he had two assists and was a -2.
Bärtschi failed to appear for the Canucks in the 2020-21 season, playing the entire season with the Comets where he had five goals and 14 points in 24 games. In the off-season, he signed with the Golden Knights, playing just one game at the NHL level while scoring 15 goals and 28 points in 44 games.
The Swiss returned home to Switzerland for the 2022-23 season, signing a three-year deal with Schlittschuh Club Bern (SC Bern), scoring four goals and 14 points in 36 games. Bärtschi retired after the 2022-23 season.
Unfortunately, one injury can change the trajectory of a player’s career, which was the case for Bärtschi. If he didn’t get checked to the head and deal with post-concussion syndrome, could he still be in the league having a productive career? It’s just sad to think about.
But what about that pick?
The Canucks’ pick in the second round of the 2015 draft turned out to be the 53rd overall pick. With it, the Flames selected defenceman Rasmus Andersson, who is still with the team.
Throughout nine seasons with the Flames (with him being a regular for seven seasons), Andersson has 44 goals and 221 points in 510 games. His career year in terms of points came in 2021-22 when he had 50 points while scoring 11 goals the following season.
Andersson’s contract expires at the end of the 2025-26 season and he’ll become an unrestricted free agent. Still, the Flames feel confident they’ll be able to re-sign him when they’re able to on Jul. 1 of this year. If they can’t, expect this minor trade tree to grow exponentially as right-shot defencemen are always in vogue.
Either way, it was a good piece of business in hindsight, although Bärtschi broke out after departing the team.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
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