In the spirit of best-on-best Olympic hockey, I thought it would be fun to explore what various all-time Calgary Flames teams might look like when broken down by country. When it came to Europe, it would have been ideal to build a separate team for each country, but unfortunately that would have left too many empty spots on each roster.

After digging through years of statistics from every European player to suit up for the Flames, a potential lineup has been compiled. For this example, imagine each player at their prime rather than how they performed specifically during their time in Calgary. Based on career statistics and games played, this is what a potential Team Europe Flames lineup could look like.

Jaromir Jagr – Kent Nilsson – Hakan Loob
Freddy Modin – Robert Reichel – Elias Lindholm
Michael Nylander – Olli Jokinen – Jiri Hudler
Kristian Huselius – Mikael Backlund – Sergei Makarov

Bench: Valeri Bure, Michael Frolik

Roman Hamrlik – Rasmus Andersson
Igor Kravchuk – Tommy Albelin
Toni Lydman – Erik Gustafsson

Bench: Nikita Zadorov, Anders Eriksson

Miikka Kiprusoff – Jacob Markstrom – Niklas Backstrom

Without the Flames employing Jagr for just 22 games, this team would be lacking a bona fide star up front. Having Jagr in his heyday — when he was scoring more than 100 points per season — provides the offensive punch this group would desperately need. With 1,921 career points, the next closest player on the roster is Olli Jokinen with 750, a gap of 1,171 points. That top line would be relied on heavily for scoring.

That said, the rest of the lineup is far from weak. There are plenty of solid NHL players who enjoyed very strong seasons at one point or another in their careers.

The second line is well balanced. Modin brings a heavy shot on the left side, Reichel provides speed down the middle, and Lindholm offers reliable two-way play. This line could match up against just about anyone and remain responsible defensively while still producing offence.

The third line has some sneaky offensive potential. Jokinen provides a big body down the middle, flanked by two smaller, more offensively minded wingers. If they can sustain pressure in the offensive zone, they could be dangerous, though defensive play may be their downfall.

The fourth line offers some flexibility. If a more defensive look is needed, Frolik could come off the bench to play alongside Backlund. But if offence is required — which this team may need — having 1990 Calder Trophy winner Makarov on the wing is a welcome option.

Naturally, not everyone can make the team. Some players had more success specifically as Flames that didn’t translate elsewhere. Ed Beers, for example, had a couple of strong seasons in Calgary in the 1980s. While he is listed as Canadian, he is technically Dutch. Also just missing the cut among forwards are Oleg Saprykin, Jiri Hrdina and current Flame Yegor Sharangovich.

The defence group is a bit top-heavy. Hamrlik would lead the way on the back end, and for those who thought they had seen the last of Andersson, he makes his return here. These two would handle the majority of the ice-time and toughest matchups.

What this group does offer is a pair of reliable shutdown defencemen in Albelin and Lydman, along with a power-play specialist in Gustafsson. While this defence shouldn’t be expected to generate much offence, it would be difficult to play against. If additional physicality were needed, Zadorov could easily be inserted to raise the intensity.

There were only two defencemen truly on the bubble: Finnish blueliners Pekka Rautakallio and Kari Eloranta. Both had limited NHL careers, with Rautakallio spending three seasons in the organization — including one with the Atlanta Flames — and Eloranta playing parts of five seasons with Calgary.

This is, by far, the team’s strongest position. Any lineup backstopped by Miikka Kiprusoff is immediately better. With Markstrom as the backup and Backstrom as the third option, there is plenty of experience and insurance if things go sideways.

The third goaltender spot was a close call between Backstrom and Jonas Hiller. Either could have filled the role, but statistically, Backstrom narrowly edged him out.

Overall, the Flames have iced enough European talent over the years to form a competitive all-time lineup. This team would work hard and be tough to play against, though it would need to get creative to generate offence beyond its top line.

Let us know in the comments if there’s a player you think should have been included or if you’d configure this lineup differently. That’s the fun part — it’s all up for interpretation.

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