This series features players the Calgary Flames drafted and—regrettably—moved on from too soon. Be prepared for pain, frustration, and anger as we delve into what could have been!
The series will consist of 10 players and five honourable mentions. The criteria for the players selected for this list were that they had a career of at least 500 NHL games, the Flames moved on from the players in their mid-20s, and the players had a noteworthy career after leaving Calgary.
Let’s kick it off with the fifth honourable mention—Michael Nylander.
Why is Nylander an honourable mention?
I concede that the Flames did not draft Nylander; he was selected in the third round of the 1991 NHL Draft by the Hartford Whalers. The Flames acquired a 21-year-old Nylander from the Whalers on March 10, 1994, along with James Patrick and Zarley Zalapski, in exchange for Gary Suter, Ted Drury, and Paul Ranheim. Suter’s involvement alone meant that Nylander had big skates to fill.
Nylander would have a respectable handful of years in Calgary, recording 0.64 points per game through 168 games. This was slightly below his career mark of 0.73 points per game over a span of 920 games.
For a team that has notoriously lacked talent at the centre position since the departure of Joe Nieuwendyk less than two years after the acquisition of Nylander, moving on from Nylander after three seasons and change was a big mistake. No disrespect to Craig Conroy, who performed admirably as a top-six centre for the Flames after Nylander was dealt.
After leaving the Flames, Nylander would spend three seasons and change with each of the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals—the latter of which he had two stints, two seasons with the New York Rangers, 35 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and 15 games with the Boston Bruins. In 635 games after leaving Calgary, Nylander recorded 494 points (0.77 points per game).
What did the Flames have to show for Nylander?
The Flames traded a 26-year-old Nylander to the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 19, 1999, for Andrei Nazarov. The trade was one-for-one. Nazarov—a winger—was a couple of years younger but far less of an offensive threat. In fact, Nazarov recorded 124 points in his 571-game NHL career, which only barely eclipses the 108 points Nylander recorded during his time as a Flame.
However, at an intimidating 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds, I think it’s easy to see what the Flames were after in Nazarov—a player who could intimidate his opponents. Nazarov would have a career year offensively in his second season in Calgary, scoring 10 goals and 32 points in 76 games.
Unfortunately, the intimidation factor wasn’t there in Calgary. Nazarov’s career as a Flame will forever be the only stretch in which his penalty minutes are fewer than his games played.
The Flames moved on from Nazarov after 20 months, trading him, along with a second-round pick in the 2001 NHL Draft, to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on September 26, 2000, in exchange for Jordan Leopold. I could follow the trade tree and tell you that the Flames turned Leopold into Alex Tanguay, who they subsequently turned into Greg Nemisz, but I won’t.
Summarizing how costly the Flames’ mistake was
Nylander makes the list as an honourable mention because he wasn’t a Flames draft pick. He was, however, productive during his time in Calgary and had a lengthy and productive career after being shown the door. In his only full season as a Flame in which ice time was tracked, Nylander averaged 15:22 TOI over 65 games. For comparison, this is only about a minute more than the 14:08 ATOI the Flames afforded Sam Bennett during his seven years in Calgary.
Nylander, with more ice time and exposure to top wingers like Theo Fleury, Jarome Iginla, Gary Roberts, Cory Stillman, and Valeri Bure, could have been an offensive weapon for the Flames. Unfortunately, a sagging Canadian dollar through the late 1990s to early 2000s made it difficult—if not impossible—to retain most of these players, and the Flames began a seven-year playoff drought around the end of Nylander’s time in Calgary.
Given his lengthy and productive career, Nylander is undoubtedly one who got away. The Flames paid a high price to acquire him and received pennies on the dollar when they traded him. It’s safe to say this was a pretty costly mistake for the Flames.
Do you agree with our assessment of the Flames’ handling of Nylander? Let us know your thoughts!
Check out all of The Win Column’s posts from this series:
Main list: #10 Jonas Hoglund | #9 Robert Svehla | #8 Travis Moen | #7 Steve Begin | #6 Sam Bennett | #5 Dion Phaneuf | #4 Derek Morris | #3 Jarret Stoll | #2 Craig Anderson | #1 Cory Stillman
Honourable mentions: #5 Michael Nylander | #4 Jean-Sebastien Giguere | #3 Sean Monahan | #2 Marc Savard | #1 Martin St. Louis
