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.
We’re now into the top three, kicking it off with Jarret Stoll.
Why does Stoll make the list?
Stoll was a big part of the Edmonton Oilers’ bid for the Stanley Cup in 2005-06. But did you remember—or even know—that he was originally a second-round draft pick of the Flames in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft? That’s right! The Flames picked Stoll 46th overall but were unable to come to terms with him. He re-entered the draft in 2002, where the Oilers took him 36th overall.
Stoll—a centre for the Western Hockey League’s Kootenay Ice—was fresh off a 37-goal, 75-point campaign (71 games played) when the Flames drafted him. In his D+1, he exploded for 40 goals, 106 points, and 105 penalties in minutes in 62 games.
After being drafted by the Oilers, Stoll spent the majority of his second D+1 season in the American Hockey League. He scored 21 goals and 54 points in 76 games in his first professional season, helping the Hamilton Bulldogs to a game-seven Calder Cup Final loss.
The majority of Stoll’s 13-year, 872-game NHL career was split between the Oilers (five years, 286 games) and the Los Angeles Kings (seven years, 506 games). His final NHL season in 2015–16 was split between the New York Rangers (29 games) and the Minnesota Wild (51 games).
Over the course of his career, Stoll scored 144 goals and 388 points to go along with 618 PIM. Known best as a two-way forward, he played nearly as many minutes shorthanded (1,174.8) as he did on the power play (1,307.5) over 667 games. These stats are from HockeyReference and are only counted from the 2007–08 season and on. He also boasts a career 55.3 faceoff win percentage.
Stoll received Selke Trophy votes as the league’s best defensive forward four times, finishing as high as 39th in 2011–12. Bear in mind that, per QuantHockey, more than 440 forwards played at least 20 games in the league that year. Quite impressive!
As I mentioned earlier, Stoll came within spitting distance of hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2006. The Oilers fell 3–1 at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes in game seven of the Stanley Cup Final. But that would not be Stoll’s only trip to the final. Stoll joined the Kings in the summer of 2008 and helped the team win the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014.
What did the Flames have to show for Stoll?
Well, this is awkward. As I said, the Flames were unable to come to terms with their second-round draft pick. Stoll re-entered the draft, and the Flames received no form of compensation when he was selected by their provincial rivals.
There is a “however,” though! The Flames attempted to trade Stoll’s signing rights to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who agreed to a contract with Stoll. Unfortunately, a late fax nullified the agreement, and Stoll re-entered the draft.
The Oilers drafted Stoll, and the Flames took revenge a bit later in the draft by drafting centre Matthew Lombardi in the third round, 90th overall. The Oilers had previously drafted Lombardi in the seventh round of the 2000 draft, 215th overall, but were unable to come to terms with him. So, I guess the Flames got something in return for Stoll, but not really?
Summarizing how costly the Flames’ mistake was
The Flames spent a second-round pick on Stoll. They then stumbled their way into allowing him to re-enter the draft and be selected by their provincial rivals. The Flames retaliated by expending an additional pick to add Lombardi.
Lombardi helped the Flames to the 2004 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stoll helped the Oilers to a game-seven loss in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. So that’s a wash. Lombardi was nowhere near the player Stoll was, though. He had a respectable 536-game career, scoring 101 goals and 262 points, but his career 49.4 FO% is underwhelming. He was known for his speed but never really became more than a depth forward.
The Stoll-Lombardi saga is a fun story, but I ask myself, “Should I even consider Lombardi as a return for Stoll?” Probably not. So we’ll put this one in the Flames’ loss column. They did well finding Stoll in the second round of the 2000 draft, but they let him get away without receiving anything in return.
Do you agree with our assessment of the Flames’ handling of Stoll? 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
