The votes have been tallied, and the players have been picked. Now it’s time to dig into the results and take a trip down memory lane of the good, bad and ugly of Calgary Flames careers. As a refresher, over the past couple of weeks, we asked you to fill out the below tiles with former Flames careers to fit each square across all our social platforms. We received a ton of responses for each square and there were some super tight races. Let’s take a look.
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Started bad, ended bad – James Neal
Of all nine squares, this one had the largest consensus across the board, which isn’t exactly a surprise. James Neal’s tenure in Calgary was a disaster from game one to his final time on the ice with the team. Right out of the gate, Neal started his Flames tenure with one goal in his first nine games.
By December 31 of that season, he had just four goals on the year and had gone 24 straight games without a goal. By the time the playoffs rolled around, Neal went pointless in four games before being a healthy scratch in what would be his final ever game in Calgary. He’d be shipped to Edmonton that summer for Milan Lucic after just one year in Calgary. Just a disaster from start to finish.
Started okay, ended bad – Dennis Wideman
By now, the only thing people remember about Dennis Wideman’s time in Calgary is his temper tantrum that ended in him injuring a referee and driving a ton of negative light on the Flames. However, it’s fair to say his start in Calgary was definitely okay and warrants some attention.
After being acquired by the Flames in 2012, Wideman would post back-to-back seasons of just under 0.5 points per game while playing in the team’s top-four. Then in 2014–15, he’d post a career-best 56 points as a key piece of the Find-a-Way Flames blueline. It was all downhill from there though as Wideman’s point production would fall off a cliff the next season and his Flames tenure would be clouded by his puzzling decision to bury a ref into the boards in 2016.
Started good, ended bad – Elias Lindholm
This was the picture-perfect square for Elias Lindholm. Acquired in the summer of 2018, his Flames tenure started just about as good as you can possibly hope for and ended just about as bad as you can think.
Lindholm’s first season in Calgary was a rousing success. He’d find a home as the long-missing right wing alongside Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau, forming the Purple Gatorade line that helped lead the Flames to first place in the Western Conference and one of the best regular seasons in franchise history. Lindholm would be a key piece for the Flames for the next couple of years, capped off by his career-best 82 points during the 2021–22 season.
From 2022 on however everything started to fall apart for Lindholm. His point production would steadily drop every season after Gaudreau and Tkachuk left and he’d struggle to stay afloat as the team’s top centre. His disaster ending in Calgary came to a head last season. After demanding close to $9 million a year to stay in Calgary, Lindholm would post just 32 points in 49 games with the Flames and regularly showed a lack of effort each night. He’d eventually be shipped to Vancouver in February. What started with such promise ended on an incredibly sour note.
Started bad, ended okay – Matt Stajan
It’s easy to forget how poorly Matt Stajan’s tenure in Calgary was viewed by the fanbase. Acquired as the main piece in the highly controversial Dion Phaneuf trade, there was a ton of pressure on Stajan to make up for losing fan favourite Phaneuf. Unfortunately, Stajan never lived up to the hype, which got him off on the wrong foot in Calgary. His first full season saw him post just 31 points and the following seasons weren’t any better as Stajan failed to become the top-six centre the team had hoped.
There is a good ending to the story though. Eventually, after a few years as a Flame Stajan developed into a trusty veteran and fan favourite on the team. His shining moment came in Game 6 of the first round in 2015 where he scored one of the biggest playoff goals in modern Flames history to continue the miracle 2014–15 run. When it was all said and done, Stajan was viewed positively in Calgary despite a rough start in the organization.
Started okay, ended okay – Michael Frolik
Michael Frolik’s time in Calgary could be best described as good, not great. That’s why he lands in this spot on the square. There was never a truly poor moment during his Flames tenure, but there also weren’t any great moments either. He was a by-the-book solid but not a special player in Calgary. Across his five years in Calgary Frolik never dipped below 25 points in a full season, and posted over 30 points in three of four full seasons as a Flame. He was the perfect middle-six winger as a Flame.
His biggest achievement as a Flame was being the third piece to the dominant 3M line with Mikael Backlund and Matthew Tkachuk. The trio were amongst the best two-way lines in the league and although Frolik was the third wheel on that line, he was still an important piece to their success. The ending of his tenure off the ice wasn’t ideal, but you could never knock his on-ice player from game one to his final one in Calgary.
Started good, ended okay – Andrew Mangiapane
Joining the team in a full-time role in 2018–19, Andrew Mangiapane immediately made a positive impact on the Flames. Part of a great fourth line with Derek Ryan and Garnet Hathaway during the Flames’ historic 2018–19 regular season, Mangiapane became an integral piece to the Flames lineup from day one. Over the years his production would continue to rise each season, peaking with his tremendous 2021–22 season in which he posted 35 goals and 55 points while also posting elite defensive numbers.
Unfortunately after signing a big extension in 2022 Mangiapane’s offence would take a step back in 2022–23, and he’d fail to ever reach his 35-goal heights again. Still though, even when his offence floundered he was still a consistent 40+ point winger who could post sparkling two-way numbers. All said, Mangiapane’s tenure in Calgary started great but only ended on an okay note.
Started bad, ended good – Mark Giordano
There was only one clear choice here. Mark Giordano went from a KHL reject to the franchise’s second-longest-serving captain in franchise history and their first-ever Norris Trophy recipient. Giordano joined the organization in 2005–06 as an undrafted free agent and after 55 games across two seasons his play didn’t impress and he went off to the KHL after failing to earn a second contract. After just one year in the KHL the Flames gave him a second chance and brought him back, and the rest is history.
Over the next 13 years in Calgary, Giordano would develop into one of the very best defencemen in the entire NHL. He’d be named captain in 2013 and served in the role until being claimed in the 2021 expansion draft. His crowning achievement was his tremendous 2018–19 season that saw him post 74 points and take home the Norris Trophy. Giordano left the organization as the longest-tenured defenceman in franchise history. After a rough start in the NHL, Giordano ended up becoming a legend in Calgary.
Started okay, ended good – Jarome Iginla
You knew he was going to show up eventually. The franchise’s best-ever player and one of the greatest players in NHL history, Jarome Iginla didn’t have a perfect start in Calgary. That’s not to say it was bad, but he certainly wasn’t the superstar we all know now during his first couple of seasons as a Flame. After being acquired for franchise legend Joe Nieuwendyk, the pressure couldn’t have been higher on Iginla. Over his first few seasons in Calgary, he posted some good but not great results.
His first season in Calgary saw him post 50 points as a 19-year-old, but he saw his production drop to just 32 points the next season. With that said we all know what happened next as Iginla would see his point totals increase every season over the next four years before fully establishing himself as a superstar with his 52-goal, 96-point season 2001–02. Across his franchise-best 17 years in Calgary Iginla broke just about every franchise record there was to break, and left as the greatest Flame ever.
Started good, ended good, Mikka Kiprusoff
The most prestigious square goes to the most prestigious goalie in Flames history. There truly wasn’t a down moment during Mikka Kiprusoff’s tenure as a Flame. From game one to his final day in Calgary he was a key part of the organization and constantly a fan favourite. After being acquired in 2003–04, Kiprusoff has just about the best possible start a goalie could have with his new team. He takes over the starter’s role, posts historic numbers during the regular season, and has one of the best playoff runs by a goaltender in NHL history, coming one goal short of winning the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Over his nine years in Calgary, Kiprusoff never once faltered or had his starting role taken. He was a true workhorse in net, starting over 70 games in all seven of his full seasons in Calgary. Seven straight seasons with over 70 games as a goaltender will never happen again, not just in Calgary, but across the entire league. Even as his numbers dipped during his final season in Calgary, Kiprusoff was still viewed in high regard and his struggles were placed more on the ugly team around him versus his own play. A legend through and through.
Looking back at Flames careers
Filling out these squares was an exercise done across various social media platforms with the votes all aggregated before final selections were made. There was no shortage of debate with plenty of close calls. Who do you think should have made a square but didn’t? Leave a comment and follow The Win Column on social media for other opportunities to participate!
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