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.
Nearing the end now, we have one last stop before number one, and Craig Anderson more than deserves this slot. To be honest, it was tough to keep him out of the top spot.
Why does Anderson make the list?
Anderson enjoyed an incredible 20-year career, playing for six different NHL clubs. The Flames drafted him in the third round of the 1999 NHL draft—77th overall—from the OHL’s Guelph Storm. The season following his draft year, Anderson posted a meagre 12–17–2 record with a 3.59 goals against average and a .903 save percentage before an unceremonious first-round playoff exit. In his D+2, Anderson improved to 30–19–9 with a 2.63 GAA and a .918 SV%, but it would once again be a first-round exit for the Storm.
Anderson turned pro for the 2001–02 season, suiting up in 28 games for the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals. He went 9–13–4 with a 2.95 GAA and a .886 SV%. He’d add one playoff game—a loss—but put up a sparkling 2.86 GAA and .938 SV%. He spent most of the 2002–03 through 2004–05 seasons in the AHL but did see 27 games of NHL action for the Chicago Blackhawks in that span.
Following the 2004–05 NHL lockout season, Anderson became the full-time backup in Chicago in 2005–06 behind Nikolai Khabibulin. You know, The Bulin Wall, also known as the guy who robbed the Flames of glory in 2004?
Anderson continued to bounce between the NHL and AHL for a couple of years until the 2007–08 season. At that time, he established himself as an NHLer while playing second fiddle to Tomas Vokoun for the Florida Panthers. Back-to-back great seasons behind Vokoun saw Anderson’s stock skyrocket. Following the 2008–09 season, he signed as a free agent with the Colorado Avalanche, where he could finally be a starter.
In his first year in Colorado, he finished fourth in Vezina Trophy voting as the NHL’s top goaltender and ninth in Hart Trophy voting as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player. Midway through his second season with the Avalanche, Anderson was traded to the Ottawa Senators. It’s with the Senators that Anderson really made his career. He spent parts of 10 seasons in Ottawa, playing in 435 games—and starting 422 of them—while posting a 2.84 GAA and .914 SV%. Very impressive numbers over a 10-year span!
During his time in Ottawa, Anderson received Vezina and Hart votes again in 2012–13. He even won the Bill Masterton Trophy at age 35 in 2016–17 as the NHL player who best demonstrates perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.
Anderson left the Senators as a free agent after the 2019–20 season and spent some time with the Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres to close out his career, playing his final NHL game at age 41 in the 2022–23 season. He announced his retirement from the NHL on April 15, 2023, just over a month before his 42nd birthday.
Over a 20-year career, Anderson played 709 games (starting 621 of them) while posting a 319–275–73 record with a 2.86 GAA, .912 SV%, and 20 assists. Unfortunately, his trophy case is pretty bare despite such a lengthy career, which contributes to him landing in the number two spot on this list.
What did the Flames have to show for Anderson?
I left you hanging this time, as I didn’t mention earlier how the Flames and Anderson parted ways. Well, it’s a story you may be too familiar with this deep into the adventure, but the Flames failed to come to terms on a contract with their third-round pick.
Anderson didn’t play a single game for the team that originally drafted him. Instead, he re-entered the draft in 2001. He was picked in the third round again, this time 73rd overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. So, the Flames ultimately had nothing to show for Anderson.
Summarizing how costly the Flames’ mistake was
I might remind you that the Flames originally drafted Anderson before the turn of the century. We are now just one full season removed from Anderson’s last NHL game. He was the real deal. A star goaltender in the NHL for a long time.
We can take solace in remembering we were graced with Miikka Kiprusoff for some of those years, but Kipper’s last NHL game was a full decade before Anderson’s. Maybe having Anderson in the fold would mean the Flames never acquired Kipper. But then again, remembering Anderson didn’t establish himself as an NHL goalie until around 2007/2008, maybe they would have still traded for Kipper.
A best-case scenario would be acquiring Kipper and having the tandem until Anderson established himself as an NHL goalie. At that point, you can trade one of them and still have a great goaltender plus another asset or assets. The NHL is an asset-management business, after all. And let’s be honest, we’d still want it to be Anderson who is traded. Instead, we got a decade of no Anderson, no Kipper, and no additional assets. What a disappointment!
Do you agree with our assessment of the Flames’ handling of Anderson? 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
