The NHL draft is just under a month away, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are nearing their end, and there has been little to no news regarding the Calgary Flames. That will change as the draft approaches, but today, we are going to take a trip down memory lane and revisit the Vegas Golden Knights’ 2017 expansion draft and look back on how it affected the Calgary Flames today.
The Flames’ protected list
Like most teams, the Flames opted to protect seven forwards, three defencemen, and one goalie. This list goes as follows:
| FORWARDS | DEFENCEMEN | GOALTENDERS |
|---|---|---|
| Johnny Gaudreau | Mark Giordano | Mike Smith |
| Sean Monahan | Dougie Hamilton | |
| Michael Ferland | T.J. Brodie | |
| Sam Bennett | ||
| Mikael Backlund | ||
| Michael Frolik | ||
| Curtis Lazar |
The Flames did not have a lot to choose from when it came to expansion. Matthew Tkachuk had just finished his rookie season and was exempt from the draft, so the Flames decided to protect their obvious stars in Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Mark Giordano, and Dougie Hamilton. They also wanted to make sure they would not be losing any assets they acquired just before the draft.
Curtis Lazar was acquired at the 2017 trade deadline. He did not play much when he came to Calgary, but management and the coaching staff all thought that he might be a big piece moving forward for the Flames. As we all know, he was not, but in saying that, it was a decent bet to make. Lazar ended up becoming a decent bottom-six forward in the league today after the Flames let him go following the 2018–19 season.
Mike Smith was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes just days before the draft to be their starting goaltender. As Brian Elliott was an upcoming unrestricted free agent, the Flames would obviously protect Smith. He played two seasons in Calgary before signing a free agent deal with the Edmonton Oilers in 2019.
There is only one player that remains on the Flames today from this draft, and that is now captain Mikael Backlund. Gaudreau and Monahan were both gone from the team at the conclusion of the 2021–22 season; Hamilton and Micheal Ferland were traded to the Carolina Hurricanes at the 2018 NHL draft; Sam Bennett was traded to the Florida Panthers in 2021; Michael Frolik was traded to the Buffalo Sabres at the beginning of 2020; T.J. Brodie signed a free agent deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2020; and Mark Giordano was selected in the 2021 Seattle Kraken expansion draft.
Looking back on it, the Flames did not make any mistakes when compiling their list of players that would be protected. They did not lose any major parts of their team like they did with Giordano in 2021. Maybe it was because the team lacked depth, but there were no major blunders, unlike some other teams during the draft in 2017.
Players the Flames exposed for expansion
Now, let’s take a look at the players that the Flames chose not to protect. The list goes as follows:
| FORWARDS | DEFENCEMEN | GOALTENDERS |
|---|---|---|
| Brandon Bollig | Matt Bartkowski | Brian Elliott |
| Lance Bouma | Ryan Culkin | Tom McCollum |
| Troy Brouwer | Deryk Engelland | |
| Alex Chiasson | Michael Kostka | |
| Freddie Hamilton | Brett Kulak | |
| Emile Poirier | Ladislav Smid | |
| Hunter Shinkaruk | Michael Stone | |
| Matt Stajan | Dennis Wideman | |
| Kris Versteeg | Tyler Wotherspoon | |
| Linden Vey |
As I mentioned before, the Flames did not have a lot to choose from. They exposed a variety of depth or minor league pieces, and they were a shoo-in not to lose anything major from their core.
Going into the draft, there was speculation that someone like Brett Kulak would be off to Vegas since he was a younger player with a little bit of upside. That was not the case. Vegas would go on to select Deryk Engelland, a pending UFA. Vegas immediately signed him to a contract extension, and the Flames left the draft relatively untouched.
Not one of these players is still playing for the Flames today. Most are either retired or playing overseas. Michael Stone had the longest tenure with the Flames, playing through the 2022–23 season before retiring and now working for the Flames in a player development role.
An era wasted
Many teams lost their way because of this expansion draft in 2017. Many teams gave up major future pieces to the Golden Knights so that they could keep their cores together, and it all ended up blowing up in their faces (I’m looking at you, Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Anaheim Ducks).
The Flames walked away from that draft only losing a veteran depth piece, and they were able to keep their entire team intact. The fact that they would go on to win only one playoff series before this core was blown to shreds is extremely upsetting, but we can only go up from here, hopefully.
