- The Lanny McDonald trade is the biggest deal in Calgary Flames’ history.
- The Flames traded away both Doug Gilmour and Brett Hull in their primes.
- Jarome Iginla and Matthew Tkachuk were also part of big trades.
Big trades have the potential to shake up everything. They’ll change the outlook of a franchise, shift Stanley Cup odds, and can lead to years of success – or the opposite.
Very few teams in the history of the NHL have been impacted by big trades quite like the Calgary Flames.
The Flames biggest trade pushed them to their only Stanley Cup, but they made others that they’d go on to regret for a generation.
Check out my list of the seven biggest trades in Flames history.
1. Don Lever and Bob MacMillan for Lanny McDonald and a Fourth-Round Pick
This trade pales in scale and shock value compared to other deals on this list, but it is the most impactful move in the history of the Flames.
Not only did McDonald put up terrific numbers with Calgary, but he also led the club to its only Stanley Cup in 1989.
McDonald is still a massive part of the Calgary community and his No. 9 jersey was retired less than a year after he hung up the skates.
2. Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Ric Nattress, Kent Manderville, and Rick Wamsley for Gary Leeman, Alexander Godynyuk, Jeff Reese, Michel Petit, and Craig Berube
This is one the Flames would like to have back.
Gilmour, a massive part of the 1989 Stanley Cup team, seemed on his way to becoming a franchise legend, but a contract dispute forced him to request a trade midway through the 1991-1992 season.
The Flames found a willing partner in the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the two teams struck a 10-player deal.
Gilmour became an icon for the Leafs, while the Flames struggled to compete for much of the next decade.
3. Joe Nieuwendyk for Jarome Iginla and Corey Millen
The rare win-win trade, this deal would work out like gangbusters for both the Flames and Dallas Stars.
Nieuwendyk had established himself as one of the best players in Flames’ history, but he was getting up there in age and the team was in need of a retool. So, they dealt Nieuwendyk to Dallas for the up-and-coming Jarome Iginla.
While Nieuwendyk helped Dallas win the 1999 Stanley Cup, Iginla rewrote the record book in Calgary and became the face of the franchise.
Iginla led the Flames back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2004, and ranks first in franchise history in games played (1,219), goals (525), and points (1,095).
4. Brett Hull for Rob Ramage and Rick Wamsley
This is a tricky one to break down.
Looking back on this deal, it’s pretty clear the St. Louis Blues scored a lopsided win by landing Brett Hull, but Rob Ramage did play an important role for the Flames when they won the 1989 Stanley Cup.
However, no matter how you look at it, it can’t be denied that moving on from Hull, who would become one of the best scorers in NHL history, completely changed both franchises and the NHL in general.
5. Matthew Tkachuk for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt, and a First-Round Pick
It’s easy to pile on this trade knowing what we know now, but at the time it was seen as a win-win for both the Flames and Florida Panthers.
Matthew Tkachuk had informed general manager Brad Treliving he wasn’t interested in signing an extension when he hit unrestricted free agency, and that allowed Treliving to recoup some assets at the peak of Tkachuk’s value.
Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar were both seen as terrific acquisitions at the time, and most pundits agreed Treliving did the best he could in a tough situation, but the deal hasn’t worked out in Calgary’s favour.
Tkachuk won a Stanley Cup with Florida and is a big reason why the Cats are perennially near the top of the hockey odds to win the Eastern Conference, while Huberdeau has struggled to find his best level since the trade.
6. Mike Bullard, Tim Corkery, and Craig Coxe for Doug Gilmour, Mark Hunter, Michael Dark, and Steve Bozek
As noted above, Gilmour looked like he was on his way to huge things for the Flames before he was dealt to the Maple Leafs.
But before that infamous trade, the Flames made a terrific deal with the St. Louis Blues to acquire Gilmour.
The cost was high at the time, but the return was priceless. Not only did Gilmour put up 1.11 points per game in his Flames’ tenure, but he was a massive reason why they won the 1989 Stanley Cup, too.
7. Second-Round Pick for Miikka Kiprusoff
This one may not look massive at first glance, but it turned into one of the most important deals in franchise history.
Looking for some help in goal after Roman Turek got hurt, the Flames acquired Miikka Kiprusoff from San Jose in the first quarter of the 2003-2004 season. It was a match made in heaven.
Kiprusoff finished the campaign 24-10-4 with a .933 save percentage and a 1.69 goals-against average, the latter setting a modern NHL record.
Kiprusoff powered the Flames all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, but the Flames fell short against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“Kipper” spent the next nine seasons in Calgary and holds essentially every franchise record for goalies.
