The 2024-25 season is the 36th anniversary of the Calgary Flames Stanley Cup victory.
Heading into the 1989 trade deadline, the Flames traded a 1989 sixth-round pick (Mike Needham) to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Steve Guenette, a netminder who only played 35 NHL games, three after the trade.
The other Flames move came 36 years ago to the day, as they traded Perry Berezan and Shane Churla to the Minnesota North Stars for Brian MacLellan and a fourth-round pick. That’s today’s topic for the Throwback Tuesday.
Who the Flames gave up
Berezan was drafted by the Flames 55th overall in the 1983 draft and debuted with the team in 1984-85, scoring three goals and five points in nine games. His career-best season came in 1985-86, when he managed to score 12 goals and 33 points. In 1986-87, Berezan scored five goals and eight points in 24 games, followed by seven goals and 19 points in 29 games in 1987-88.
Before the trade, Berezan scored four goals and eight points in 35 games. After the trade, he scored a goal and five points in 16 games. He remained relatively healthy in 1989-90, scoring three goals and 15 points that year, followed by 11 goals and 17 points in 52 games in 1990-91. Signing with the San Jose Sharks in the off-season, he scored 12 goals and 19 points in 1991-92, followed by three goals and seven points in 28 games in 1992-93, his final season in the NHL.
Churla was acquired by the Flames the season before and played 34 games with the team, scoring a goal and five points in 34 games. After the trade, he spent the majority of his career with the Stars, both in Minnesota and Dallas, where the forward scored 23 goals and 56 points in 366 games. He also finished with 2,301 penalty minutes, the 33rd-most in league history.
In the twilight of his career, Churla played a season with the Los Angeles Kings and two seasons with the New York Rangers.
Brian MacLellan
MacLellan signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Kings after his senior year at Bowling Green State University. In his first full season, the 1983-84 season, he scored 25 goals and 54 points in 72 games.
He followed that up with 31 goals and 85 points in 1984-85. However, the Kings traded him to the Rangers after he scored just five goals and 13 points in 27 games. He found his game with the Rangers, potting 11 goals and 32 points in 51 games.
The Rangers traded MacLellan before the 1986-87 season to the Minnesota North Stars, where he scored 32 goals and 63 points in 76 games. He followed that up with 16 goals and 48 points in 76 games, and 16 goals and 39 points in 60 games before the trade the Flames.
After the trade, MacLellan scored two goals and five points in 12 games. In the post-season, he played 21 games, scoring three goals and five points as the Flames hoisted the Stanley Cup. In 1989-90, the undrafted scored 20 goals and 38 points in 65 games followed by 13 goals and 27 points in 57 games. MacLellan was traded in the off-season for Marc Habscheid.
What about the pick?
The Flames also acquired a 1989 fourth-round pick in that draft. Well, that pick was used to select Robert Reichel, a valuable player for the Flames. The Czech forward’s first NHL season was in 1990-91, where he scored 19 goals and 41 points. He followed that up with a 20-goal, 54-point season in 77 games before truly breaking out in 1992-93.
Reichel’s third season in the NHL saw him score 40 goals and 88 points in 80 games and he improved the next season, scoring 40 goals and 93 points in 84 games. During the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, Reichel scored 18 goals and 35 points in 48 games.
During the 1996-97 season, Reichel was traded to the New York Islanders after scoring 16 goals and 43 points in 70 games. However, I wrote about that specific trade in a Throwback Tuesday earlier this season.
A fun fact about his career is that Robert Reichel represented Czechia and Czechoslovakia, as does his son Kristian. However, Robert’s brother Martin represented Germany in international play. Martin’s son and Blackhawks forward Lukas Reichel represents Germany internationally.
Other trades on Mar. 4
There are three other trades by the Flames on Mar. 4th, all of them coming 20 years after the Brian MacLellan trade.
They traded Lawrence Nycholat, Ryan Wilson, and the 2009 second-round pick (Stefan Elliott) to the Colorado Avalanche for Jordan Leopold. The Flames also moved Kevin Lalande for a fourth-round pick that turned out to be Garrett Wilson.
However, the biggest move on Mar. 4, 2009, was trading Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust, and the 2010 first-round pick for Olli Jokinen and a 2009 third-round pick. Jokinen played 19 games with the Flames after the trade, scoring eight goals and 15 points, along with two goals and five points in six post-season games. He was traded again the following trade deadline and found his way back to the Flames before the 2010-11 season.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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