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 National Hockey League games, the Flames moved on from the players in their mid-20s, and the players had a noteworthy career after leaving Calgary.
Next, we have the fifth player on our list, Dion Phaneuf. Let’s dive in!
Why does Phaneuf make the list?
Solely for the legendary “double Dion”:
Back to reality, the Flames selected Phaneuf ninth overall in the loaded 2003 NHL Entry Draft. After being drafted, Phaneuf spent a couple more seasons in the WHL with the Red Deer Rebels, accumulating 43 goals and 99 points in 117 games. These numbers aren’t eye-popping, but they weren’t really what he was known for. Phaneuf’s size and physical presence are what set him apart; it was a cherry on top that he could contribute offensively.
At age 20, Phaneuf broke into the NHL following the lockout of 2004–05. He recorded 49 points as a rookie and scored a career-best 20 goals that year while averaging 21:44 time on ice. That’s a lot of responsibility for a rookie! Phaneuf fired 242 shots on goal and scored 16 of his goals on the power play; seven of them were game-winners. His 16 power play goals and seven game-winning goals were also career-bests.
This impressive season saw Phaneuf named to the NHL’s All-Rookie Team alongside Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Brad Boyes, Andrej Meszaros, and Henrik Lundqvist. Pretty impressive company! He finished eighth in NHL All-Star Team and Norris Trophy voting and third in Calder Trophy voting.
Phaneuf’s accomplishments didn’t stop there, though. He posted career-bests in points in his second (50 points) and third (60 points) seasons before adding another 47 points in his fourth year. Overall, Phaneuf scored 75 goals and 228 points and collected 522 penalties in minutes in 378 games as a Flame while averaging 24:43 TOI. Since the NHL started tracking additional stats in 2007–08, Phaneuf dished out 476 hits and blocked 233 shots in 217 games in the Flaming C.
In addition to his rookie season, Phaneuf’s entire career in Calgary was impressive. He was named to the NHL’s First All-Star team once, finished sixth and 12th in All-Star Team voting, finished 12th in Hart Trophy voting, and finished second, sixth, 12th, and 16th in Norris Trophy voting. It looked like the team had a budding superstar patrolling their blue line.
The Flames opted to move on from Phaneuf ahead of the 2009–10 season’s trade deadline at the young age of 24. There were rumours about off-ice issues leading to the trade, but—simply put—Phaneuf was struggling offensively that year; the team dealt from a position of strength, having Phaneuf, Mark Giordano, Jay Bouwmeester, and Robyn Regehr; and the team desperately needed help at forward. Daymond Langkow‘s 37 points were third on the team that year.
What did the Flames have to show for Phaneuf?
On January 31, 2010, the Flames traded Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom, and Keith Aulie to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers, Matt Stajan, and Ian White.
Months later, on November 17, 2010, the Flames dealt White and Brett Sutter to the Carolina Hurricanes for Anton Babchuk and Tom Kostopoulos. Kostopoulos left as a free agent following the 2011–12 season. Babchuk played in the KHL during the NHL’s lockout-shortened 2012–13 season and returned there for good following the season.
Hagman played with the Flames through part of the 2011–12 season. Early that season, he was placed on waivers and went unclaimed. The Flames then placed him on re-entry waivers a few days later, and the Anaheim Ducks claimed him.
Mayers left the Flames as a free agent following the season of the trade, playing just 27 games for the organization.
Stajan made the most significant impact in Calgary, playing 558 games over parts of nine seasons and retiring as a Flame in 2019 (his last NHL game was in the 2017–18 season). Stajan endeared himself to Flames fans and even scored a big goal against the Vancouver Canucks in the 2015 playoffs that still gives me goosebumps to this day:
Somehow, this trade tree involving seven players is very easy to follow. The Flames quickly had just Stajan from the blockbuster trade to show for it and, eventually, nothing to show for it.
Summarizing how costly the Flames’ mistake was
I concede that Phaneuf’s low offensive output through the first 55 games of the 2009–10 season and his hefty contract $6.5 million cap hit helped lower his trade value. That said, he was still only one season removed from a 47-point campaign and two seasons removed from a 17-goal, 60-point campaign. He should have fetched more than a handful of depth players.
Looking back now, the Flames have nothing to show on the ice for one of their top defencemen of the last 25 years. While Phaneuf had an excellent career in Calgary, he played 670 games for the Leafs, Ottawa Senators, and Los Angeles Kings after leaving the Flames. He also captained the Leafs through six dark years from 2010–11 to 2015–16 before being dealt to the Senators.
While his best years were in Calgary, I still see this as a significant loss for the Flames, as they failed to capitalize on a valuable asset. Phaneuf played over 1,000 NHL games, which is quite impressive in its own right, given his style of play. In no universe should the Flames have had just one depth forward to show for him just three years after the trade.
Do you agree with our assessment of the Flames’ handling of Phaneuf? 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
