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Throwback Tuesday: The six trades the Flames made on March 11 led to two Stanley Cup Finals
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Mar 11, 2025, 18:00 EDT
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The 2024 trade deadline is in the rear view mirror.
Other than a move on Jan. 30, the Flames didn’t do anything on Mar. 7’s trade deadline. They weren’t the only ones though, as every team in the Wild Card race stood pat or made a minor move.
One of the teams the Flames are battling against is the Vancouver Canucks. On Wednesday, the two teams will play a crucial game against one another but so far this season on Throwback Tuesday, we’ve looked at their post-season battles as well as the two most recent trades between the two teams. Additionally, we looked at the Sven Bärtschi trade and how that turned into Rasmus Andersson three weeks ago. Safe to say there isn’t much more to write about the Canucks.
However, the trade deadline hasn’t always fallen as soon as it did this season. It wasn’t uncommon in years past for the deadline to be extended a few more weeks. Ironically, Mar. 11 served as the trade deadline in two important periods for the Flames, leading to moves that helped them make the Stanley Cup Finals.
In this edition of Throwback Tuesday, we’ll look at the 1986 trade deadline as well as the 2003 trade deadline!

1986 trade deadline

At the 1986 trade deadline, the Flames made three moves. First up, they traded Rik Wilson to the Chicago Blackhawks for Tom McMurchy, a rather meaningless trade for either team. Wilson played two games with the Flames in 1985-86 and only played 14 more National Hockey League games. McMurchy never played for the Flames and only played nine more NHL games in his career.
Another move had a bit more impact, as the Flames traded their 1987 sixth-round pick to the New York Rangers for Nick Fotiu. Fotiu played nine games with the Flames after the trade, picking up an assist. The forward played 11 games in the post-season, where he had 34 penalty minutes and one assist in 11 games. His 1986-87 season was spent with the Flames, where he scored five goals and eight points with 145 penalty minutes in 42 games. Fotiu’s final season was in 1989-90.
The most impactful trade though saw the Flames trade Steve Konroyd and Rich Kromm to the New York Islanders for John Tonelli. In four of his first five seasons, Tonelli won the Stanley Cup with the Islanders and commonly scored 30+ goals, including 42 goals in his final full season with the Islanders. After the trade, Tonelli scored three goals and seven points in nine games, along with seven goals and 16 points in 22 post-season games.
Tonelli remained with the Flames in 1986-87 and 1987-88, scoring 37 goals and 109 points in 152 games. He signed with the Kings before the 1988-89 season, scoring back-to-back 31-goal seasons with 64+ points before his production dropped in the 1990-91 season. His final NHL season was spent with the Blackhawks and Québec Nordiques in 1991-92.
The Flames gave up a sizable haul for Tonelli. Konroyd was a defenceman they drafted in the second round of the 1980 draft and he had already scored a career-high seven goals and 27 points in 59 games before the trade. After the trade, Konroyd spent a few seasons with the Islanders, Blackhawks, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, and even played a game with the Flames in 1994-95 to end his career.
Kromm was a promising youngster, scoring 20 goals and 52 points in 73 games the season before the trade. He had 12 goals and 29 points before the trade, and scored seven goals and 14 points in 14 games with the Islanders. In Kromm’s first full season with the Islanders, he scored 12 goals and 29 points but never reached those heights again.
Two pieces that the Flames acquired at the 1986 deadline were a part of the teams for the Stanley Cup Final run a few months later. Tonelli scored a career-high seven goals in the post-season while his 16 points were the fifth-most. Unfortunately, neither player was on the team when they won the Stanley Cup three seasons later.

2003 trade deadline

Fast forward to the new millennium and the 2003 trade fell on Mar. 11. Like 17 years before, the Flames made three moves at the 2003 trade deadline. Let’s take a look at them.
The Calgary Flames really liked Dean McAmmond. They signed him to a multi-year deal before the 2001-02 season, where he scored 21 goals and 51 points in 73 games, both totals being a career-high. Just before the 2002-03 season, they traded him to the Colorado Avalanche for Stéphane Yelle and Chris Drury. The same season, they traded a 2003 fifth-round pick (Mark McCutcheon) to the Avalanche to reacquire him, but he was ineligible to play for the rest of the season.
Another trade saw the Flames trade Rob Niedermayer to the Anaheim Ducks for Mike Commodore and Jean-Francois Damphousse. Niedermayer was later joined by his much more successful brother, Scott, winning his only Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2006-07 (it was Scott’s fourth). Damphousse never played a game with the Flames and only played six NHL games while Commodore played six games with the Flames in 2002-03.
Lastly, the Flames acquired Shean Donovan from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Micki Dupont and Mathias Johansson. After the trade, Donovan played 13 games with a goal and three points. Dupont only played five games several seasons after the trade while the 2002-03 season was the only NHL season Johansson played.
With a 29-36-4-13 record (13 ties), the Flames finished 12th in the Western Conference, missing the post-season by 18 points. So why do these three trades play an important role in the Flames’ history? Well, it was for the following season.
In 2003-04, McAmmond was eligible to play again, scoring 17 goals and 30 points in 64 games. Unfortunately, he missed the rest of the season as well as the post-season due to a back injury. Commodore only played 12 regular season games with the Flames in 2003-04, giving him 18 regular season games with the team. However, the defenceman played 20 post-season games with two assists and 19 penalty minutes.
Coming into the 2003-04 season, Donovan’s best season was in 2000-01 with the Atlanta Thrashers where he scored 12 goals and 23 points. He shattered his career-best season, scoring 18 goals and 42 points in 82 games. In the post-season, the forward scored five goals and 10 points in 24 games.
The three NHL players the Flames acquired at the 2003 deadline didn’t immediately help them but in the next season, they went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals with Commodore and Donovan playing important roles. What could’ve been if McAmmond wasn’t injured.
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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