What was the worst trade in Flames history?

[Roof-Daddy]

Not a trade, but Button cutting loose Martin St. Louis and letting him go for nothing was one of the worst mistakes ever made by this franchise's collective group of GMs

The guy went on to to score 1013 points in 1065 games, as well as 90 points in 107 playoff games, and a Stanley Cup (obviously this one really stings).

1 Hart, 1 Pearson, 2 Art Ross, 3 Lady Byng, 5 All Star nods....

Just a ridiculous career, and Coates had him under contract FFS

Given away for NOTHING.

[FlamesFanTrev]

Originally Posted by Mister Yamoto

Good gawd. The Flames opening night roster in 2013 featured 8 left wingers, 6 D who shoot left and a goalie tandem that came straight from Euro leagues. THE GUY HAD NO CLUE HOW TO BUILD AN NHL TEAM.

And I could go on and on about him but I think I made my point. Forget about worst Flames GM. If you include his Tampa Bay years he's right there with Kevin Lowe for worst GM of the new millenium.

Feaster was terrible, there is no doubt. But he walked in to a house of cards, and there is no denying that. Didn't Sutter have 14 (14!!!) Players on NMC on his roster. He was the Opera Winfrey of no move clauses.... "Look under your chaaaiiiirs!!!! You get a no move clause! And you get a no move clause! and you.....!! All this while he traded all the teams prospects and all the teams picks for aging veterans in an effort to move forward with a veteran group, when the game was starting to move towards younger and faster players. Surprised feaster failed at making trades? Not as much as you would think. Surprised the GM, who is a lawyer, didn't understand the implications of an almost disastrous offer sheet on O'Rielly? Yup, you betcha. Reading the fine print fell squarely on his shoulders. I mean why even have a lawer as a GM otherwise? For his profund knowledge of the game, and how to assemble a team? Feaster was the worst for sure, but I don't envy the dogs breakfast he walked into.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

Not a trade, but Button cutting loose Martin St. Louis and letting him go for nothing was one of the worst mistakes ever made by this franchise's collective group of GMs

The guy went on to to score 1013 points in 1065 games, as well as 90 points in 107 playoff games, and a Stanley Cup (obviously this one really stings).

1 Hart, 1 Pearson, 2 Art Ross, 3 Lady Byng, 5 All Star nods....

Just a ridiculous career, and Coates had him under contract FFS

Given away for NOTHING.

Would St.Louis have had that career here in Calgary? Perhaps the one thing that motivated the player was the set back of being cut for nothing. Perhaps he wouldn't have been motivated in the Flames system to succeed like he did in Tampa. Perhaps LeCavalier and Richards helped forge him into the player he became. I'm not sold on the idea that he would have had anywhere near the career he had if the timeline didn't happen the way it did.

[Toonage]

Its easy to look back on players that were let go before they came into their own and suggest it was a bad move. Of course it was in hindsight. But the St. Louis that they let walk wasn't the same St. Louis that won the cup. The Giguere they let go wasn't the MVP from 2003 etc. At the time these were players that didn't demonstrate (I assume, at least to the management then) that they were going to be anything more than they already were. What the current management can certainly take away from that is to be more patient as you don't really know what you might have, and that it could take more than just a few years.

That all being said, if you're going to move any prospect, get something of value back. Obviously.

[Sylvanfan]

No trade will ever anger me as much as the Gilmour trade. I still think Fletcher set Risebrough up like a Clay Pidgeon....promise Gilmour oodles of money...take job in Toronto knowing old team will hire emotional protégé..when said Protégé who's also head coach runs into problems....bludgeion him in a trade because he'll come to you first.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Would St.Louis have had that career here in Calgary? Perhaps the one thing that motivated the player was the set back of being cut for nothing. Perhaps he wouldn't have been motivated in the Flames system to succeed like he did in Tampa. Perhaps LeCavalier and Richards helped forge him into the player he became. I'm not sold on the idea that he would have had anywhere near the career he had if the timeline didn't happen the way it did.

Or perhaps putting a scorer in the top six and powerplay instead of the fourth line checking role was the difference.

[Huntingwhale]

As sad as the memories in this thread are, we should all bow our heads and give thanks to the maker for having given us a GM like Brad Treliving to run the show now. I feel he hasn't lost a single trade since coming on board, and in fact straight up owns the other GMs in the big ones.

The franchise is in good hands, and as long as he's in charge I don't think we'll see another franchise cripping trade like the Gilmour or Phaneuf deals for a long long time.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

As sad as the memories in this thread are, we should all bow our heads and give thanks to the maker for having given us a GM like Brad Treliving to run the show now. I feel he hasn't lost a single trade since coming on board, and in fact straight up owns the other GMs in the big ones.

The franchise is in good hands, and as long as he's in charge I don't think we'll see another franchise cripping trade like the Gilmour or Phaneuf deals for a long long time.

#knockonwood. All it takes is one crazy trade to derail a GM's sanity.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by dammage79

#knockonwood. All it takes is one crazy trade to derail a GM's sanity.

Luckily it's Treliving doing the derailing from our end onto theirs!

[Jeff Lebowski]

I don't want to entirely derail thread but what was the deal with Gilbert? I don't really remember what kind of coach he was (what kind of tactics he used or if he was a Keenan like button pusher) but he hasn't been back in NHL since.

He's had up and down seasons elsewhere was he just brutal on his players?

[Pointman]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I don't want to entirely derail thread but what was the deal with Gilbert? I don't really remember what kind of coach he was (what kind of tactics he used or if he was a Keenan like button pusher) but he hasn't been back in NHL since.

He's had up and down seasons elsewhere was he just brutal on his players?

I have found a hilarious article from Gilbert's days:

reg Gilbert, Calgary Flames: The Flames are hurtling back to earth after an improbable, overwhelming (three losses in 21 games) opening to the season. While it's true that they may, like water, just now be finding their level, and now even qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in six seasons is bound to be a nip-and-tuck affair, no one can deny the impact Gilbert has had since assuming control.
After watching Don Hay served up as a ritualistic sacrifice in the springtime, Gilbert has the full support of general manager Craig Button (indeed, may, as whispered, have actually been his 1 or 1A choice for the job -- along with the recently-deposed Brian Sutter, believe it or not! -- before hiring Hay).

Unlike poor Hay, who walked around for months resembling nothing less than someone on Death Row, there's no mistaking who's in charge now. Gilbert isn't one to try and curry favor, to play the political game. He's already benched last year's second-leading scorer Marc Savard for his stubbornness in sacrificing self for the whole.

That the Flames remain in the playoff mix as the season nears its second half is proof of the job he's done. Grade: B

http://a.espncdn.com/nhl/columns/joh...e/1304958.html

[Vinny01]

In my time as a diehard fan it has to be the 48hrs of insanity in 2010.

I wanted Phaneuf traded but was hoping for one of those 1 for 1 deals we see today like the Hall-Larsen, Jones-Johannsen, Subban-Weber etc. the fact they took role players from the 2nd worse team in the league was horrible optically.

The one thing that has helped that trade is Phaneuf completely plateauing and not able to duplicate his top seasons in Calgary. Stajan is a likeable guy but has been an overpaid bottom 6 centre here for the last 7 years. A 24 year old Dman a year removed from a Norris nomination should return more and at least a top 6 player or high pick.

Sutter didn't stop there flipping Jokinen and Prust for Kotalik and Higgins. Jokinen was expiring and Kotalik had another 2 years left on his deal. On top of that he was a healthy scratch 9 games prior to Sutter making the deal.

I was convinced these assets were going to be moved to land a top line centre. When it became clear that was not the case I was left devastated as that season had so much promise, then a horrible losing streak, followed by 2 terrible trades.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Its easy to look back on players that were let go before they came into their own and suggest it was a bad move. Of course it was in hindsight. But the St. Louis that they let walk wasn't the same St. Louis that won the cup. The Giguere they let go wasn't the MVP from 2003 etc. At the time these were players that didn't demonstrate (I assume, at least to the management then) that they were going to be anything more than they already were. What the current management can certainly take away from that is to be more patient as you don't really know what you might have, and that it could take more than just a few years.

That all being said, if you're going to move any prospect, get something of value back. Obviously.

Button didn't give any of those players a chance. He lost Kuba, bought out St. Louis, protected Brathwaite over Giguere and traded Giguere before he had seen any of them in a training camp. Inexcusable. He didn't even have a clue what we had. In hindsight just abysmal timing by the owners firing Coates and hiring Button right before an expansion draft.

[Pointman]

Yup Filip Kuba for Rocky Thompson is often forgotten horrible trade.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Pointman

Yup Filip Kuba for Rocky Thompson is often forgotten horrible trade.

You mean a great trade? We got Kuba and Thompson was quickly out of the NHL. Unfortunately Button protected a 35 year old Albelin over Kuba and we lost him in the expansion draft.

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Would St.Louis have had that career here in Calgary? Perhaps the one thing that motivated the player was the set back of being cut for nothing. Perhaps he wouldn't have been motivated in the Flames system to succeed like he did in Tampa. Perhaps LeCavalier and Richards helped forge him into the player he became. I'm not sold on the idea that he would have had anywhere near the career he had if the timeline didn't happen the way it did.

I'm not sold on that idea as well, if I remember correctly, the coach at the time was Brian Sutter and he would not have played St Louis is the top 9.

[Pointman]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

You mean a great trade? We got Kuba and Thompson was quickly out of the NHL. Unfortunately Button protected a 35 year old Albelin over Kuba and we lost him in the expansion draft.

Right. I seem to have lost my memory about dark ages.

[albertGQ]

Two tied for top spot

1a. The 6 player Gilmore trade
1b. St.Louis trade

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

Two tied for top spot

1a. The 6 for 6 Gilmore trade
1b. St.Louis trade

Please clarify. Are you talking about all trades with St. Louis the team, or are you talking about Martin St. Louis? Because the latter was simply bought out of his contract after he failed to be picked up on expansion waivers. It's still an organizational failure, but he wasn't traded away.

[Jiri Hrdina]

The Gilmour trade wasn't a 6 player trade it was 10!
And the Flames lost virtually every swap
Gilmour>Leeman (core piece)
Macoun>Petit (top 4 dman)
Nattress>Berube (role player)
Manderville>Godynyuk (young player)
Wamsley>Reese (back-up)