Who is the Worst Player in Flames History?

[Locke]

Pursuant to discussion in the Anton Babchuk thread, who has your vote for worst player in Flames history?

My vote goes to the one and only (Thank God) Anders Eriksson.

With probably Jeff Shantz as a close second.

Mods, can we get a poll?

[devo22]

Eriksson gets my vote as well. That guy gave me nightmares ... but Hale was pretty awful, too.

[Locke]

Oh God, how could I forget about David Hale? Where is that guy these days anyways?

[Erick Estrada]

Jeff Schantz was nowhere near the worst Flame in history. What is your criteria here? Players that disappointed or players that were terrible because there are a lot worse players to play for the Flames than Schantz.

[calgARI]

Shantz isn't even close to the worst. He is the worst first line center in the team's history but far from the worst player.

[Clever_Iggy]

Hard to pick one considering the number of guys that only played a game or two compared with those that played several games/seasons.

My vote is Rocky Thompson. He embodies everything that is/was wrong with hockey.

[Erick Estrada]

Things never got worse than Rocky Thompson and Sasha Lakovic. Dark times for Flames fans there.

[Locke]

Jeff Schantz was nowhere near the worst Flame in history. What is your criteria here? Players that disappointed or players that were terrible because there are a lot worse players to play for the Flames than Schantz.

The criteria is completely arbitrary.

And I hated Shantz. I hated that he wasnt even good enough to make the Avalanche while he was serving as our '#1' centre.

[Bertuzzied]

Non enforcer/goons.

1. Kari Eloranta
2. David Hale.
3.Zarley Zalapski.
4. Dana Murzyn
5. Chris Butler.

[Erick Estrada]

The criteria is completely arbitrary.

And I hated Shantz. I hated that he wasnt even good enough to make the Avalanche while he was serving as our '#1' centre.

Then the thread should be titles "Most hated player in Flames history". Being hated and being worst are two different things entirely.

[dammage79]

MMmmmm. I liked this guy I am about to bring up but Clarke Wilm. Gotta be in the running at least.

[Phanuthier]

For my era (1997-) I'm going with Rocky Thompson. Man did he suck...

Worst defenseman, Stewart Malgunus for a few of the games. Due to the previous thread, Babchuk would be in the top 5. Eriksson wasn't that bad... he just played way too many big minutes, not his fault.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Jason Wiemer during his second stint with the Flames were pretty damn useless.

[Robbob]

Dwanye Hay?
Lynn Loyns?
Steve Smith?
Grant Fuhr?

As far as bad goes, definitely Rocky Thompson...that guy was our Zach Storitini

[tomo]

Raitis Ivanāns

[rogermexico]

_w_MFgoTZqk

[Joe Nieuwendyk]

If you remember them, they weren't the worst

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Pursuant to discussion in the Anton Babchuk thread, who has your vote for worst player in Flames history?

My vote goes to the one and only (Thank God) Anders Eriksson.

With probably Jeff Shantz as a close second.

Mods, can we get a poll?

You've made a powerful enemy today my friend!

[dammage79]

OOOO. How about Jamie Lundmark? I had such high hopes for that guy and was constantly let down.

[Puppet Guy]

Gary Leeman
Kari Eloranta (I'd totally forgotten about him. Thanks a lot, Bertuzzied)
Anders Eriksson
Jonas Bergqvist(he played like 20 games in 1989-90, and just bugged me)
Tim Bernhardt

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Roger Johansson made Eriksson look like lidstrom.

Honourable mention to mchardtospell and babchuk

[Bourque's Twin]

It's for sure Rocky Thompson.

[Iggy3x]

My vote is for Rene Corbet and Gary Leeman.

[Dime_On_Flames]

Most dissappointing player: Chris Drury

[the_only_turek_fan]

I have a feeling JiriHrdina is going to say Jim Kyte. :)

[You Need a Thneed]

Rob Neidermeyer.

[dirk diggler]

never was a fan of Paul Kruse, although he wasnt the worst. just didnt care for him...

[Mango]

Pepe!

[Flame On]

Jeff Friesen has to be up there.

[ClubFlames]

Jeff Friesen
Anders Eriksson
Rico Fata
Ed Ward
Igor Kravchuk
Dallas Eakins
Blake Sloan
Jason Botterill
Petr Buzek

[MrMastodonFarm]

Darryl Shannon.

[dirk diggler]

aaron gavey

[dirk diggler]

sergei priakin didnt do much

[DSIM420]

Mark Smith is by far the worst Flame ever!

[Canada 02]

Phil Sauve and Henrik Karlsson

[kermitology]

Definitely Rocky Thompson or Sasha Lakovic

[Housley4Prez]

Steve Smith (when he was a Flame)

... he was much better for us when he was an Oiler.

[trackercowe]

I was never a fan of Mike LeClerc; not the worst player I've ever seen, but he should be in the conversation at least.

[RyZ]

Rocky Thompson or Sasha Lakovich (?). Those guys werent NHL level players. They were there for 1 thing only.

[OffsideSpecialist]

As a disclaimer I can't remember much of the Flames or any NHL team from before the lockout. One name that is missing from other people's lists that comes to mind for me is Andrej Zyuzin.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Paul Baxter.

[sun]

_w_MFgoTZqk

Love the commentary:

"Jarome Iginla trying to turn this crowd on... he does it so many nights with his stick..."

All while the viagra ad is showing on the boards by the bench.

I lol'd.

[dissentowner]

I don't include goons, too easy

Blake Sloan
Clarke Wilm
Nik Borechevsky
Chris Dingman
Nigel Dawes
Rene Corbet

The worst though without a doubt was Gary Leeman. No doubt others had less talent but given what he we gave up for him, what he had done with Toronto, and the big skid mark he left on the underwear of this organization leaves him the clear cut winner imo.

[the_only_turek_fan]

Lee Sorochan
Chis Dingman
Blake Sloan
CJ Young - What happened to this guy?

[the_only_turek_fan]

Trevor Kidd

[Tinordi]

Paul freakin' Baxter

[the_only_turek_fan]

Jeff Friesen was pretty bad his one year here.

[sevenarms]

He was only here for one season but I couldn't stand Andrei Zyuzin.

[GKDarts]

Worst:

Rocky Thompson
Nik Borchevsky all 120 lbs of him

Most Infuriating:

1) Roger Johansson - No hockeysense, would finish bottom 3 on strength of shot on a tyke team.

2) Kari Eloranta - Why can't you hear me yelling at my TV about the millionth horrible pass you've made that resulted in a goal for the opposition

3) Trevor Kidd - The next clutch save will be the first one

4) Ales Kotalik - I clench my fists saying that name

5) Paul Ranheim/Kevin Lavallee - You skate soooooo fast, you shoot soooo hard.....why can't you hit the broad side of a barn?!?!?!?!

7) Jeff Friesen - Did your hands stare into Medusa's eyes on the way to Calgary?

Most Pathetic:

1) Jim Kyte - The epic Dave Brown beat down is my most cringe worthy moment as a Flames fan....I wanted to crawl into a hole for poor Jim Kyte.

[Azhouse]

Leeman.

Man the management on this team has very bad at times.

[#-3]

Only taking into account his time as a Flame

Brian Boucher.

I think Sutter ran that guy out of town after allowing something like 12 goals on his first two starts with the team.

Then Ran out and Drafted Irving to fix our backup goalie problem. :bag:

[Wood]

Andrei Zyuzin and David Hale were a defenseive pairing at one time

Remember Carson Germyn? Pretty useless

Ference too. Not Andrew, but Brad

[Erick Estrada]

Jeff Friesen was pretty bad his one year here.

He really did suck didn't he? After the reality of him being a draft bust settled in I remember him being somewhat serviceable but as a Flame he wasn't very good at all.

[Hanna Sniper]

Easy, drafted 6th overall.... played a total of only 22 games over 3 seasons amounting to only 1 assist

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/nhl/1998/draft/news/1998/06/28/nhl_entry/t2_fata_ap.jpg

Mr Fata himself

[ignite09]

This thread needs more Knat Domawhateverhisnamewas.

[calumniate]

I always thought Michel Petit was going to do something for us after the Gilmour trade, haha. So he was probably my most disappointing player (was pretty young and didn't know the stats or anything)

[Iggy3x]

Easy, drafted 6th overall.... played a total of only 22 games over 3 seasons amounting to only 1 assist

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/nhl/1998/draft/news/1998/06/28/nhl_entry/t2_fata_ap.jpg

Mr Fata himself

With our string of crappy 6th overall picks over the years - Fata and Kidd. I would like the Flames to try and just get out of 6th this year. Move up or down, whatever. Irrational, yeah. But at least we get out of this 6-6-6 curse.

Edit: For some reason, I thought Kidd as drafted 6th overall, but he was actually 11th. I missed Stillman and Tkaczuk.

[Caged Great]

Only one player cost us not 1 but 2 playoff series by himself.

Anders Eriksson is by far the worst lousy excuse for a hockey player I've ever seen. With how he's screen Kipper and leave opposing forwards wide open, you'd think he was playing for the other team.

[Spuds_Buckley]

Ruslan Zainullin?

Never played a game and we gave up Savard for him.

[mac_82]

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/wrx82/3058_164116075690_619090690_6704812_3929328_n.jpg

Runner Up: Andrei Zyuzin

[Caged Great]

With our string of crappy 6th overall picks over the years - Fata and Kidd. I would like the Flames to try and just get out of 6th this year. Move up or down, whatever. Irrational, yeah. But at least we get out of this 6-6-6 curse.


We've picked 6th 3 times already. Cory Stillman, Fata, and Daniel Tzachuk. The latter wiped out due to injuries. Kidd was selected 11th overall.

[Steve Bozek]

Craig Coxe

[speede5]

Well it wasn't Dustin Boyd, that's for sure.

[greyshep]

Wow, 4 pages and no mention of Trent Yawney.

[Free Ben Hur!]

Mark Oseicke. And Trevor Kidd was the worst goalie.

[Caged Great]

Leeman.

Man the management on this team has been very bad since Cliff Fletcher left.

Only 1 time past the first round in 24 years. Every single manager has been terrible. Sutter was the least bad, but he was too stubborn, which lead to the current mess we're in. With Feaster, the jury is still out.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Maybe a based on expectations list, but Olli Jokinen.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Nearly the entire 1998-99 Calgary Flames roster at the end of the year.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Bourque 2010-2012.

[West Karma]

Nick Fotiu hands down - this was his highlight as a Calgary Flame. He came in with such hype and was freaking horrible!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MXhEC650Lk

[lazypucker]

Tony Amonte hasn't been mentioned, so I guess he is pretty good then...

[Mango]

Tony Amonte hasn't been mentioned, so I guess he is pretty good then...

Poor guy couldn't hit water on a boat in the last few seasons of his career. He's a great broadcaster though.

[the_only_turek_fan]

Tony Amonte hasn't been mentioned, so I guess he is pretty good then...

Amonte was an excellent third liner.

[Bertuzzied]

Marchment.

[Jackpot_Smooth]

In no particular order:
Glenn Featherstone
Steve Dubinsky
marty murray

[FBI]

Hey now, Ranheim ruled!

[Heartburn]

Has to be Dan Keczmer. He was absolutely brutal.

[cam_wmh]

Phil Sauve and Henrik Karlsson

Trevor Kidd

I'm all in, on Doug Dadswell.

[Erick Estrada]

Nick Fotiu hands down - this was his highlight as a Calgary Flame. He came in with such hype and was freaking horrible!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MXhEC650Lk

I was going to post Fotiu with Thompson and Lakovic but I figured that few here saw those two play let alont Fotiu. He wasn't even good at being a goon and terrible at the game of hockey.

[Joker]

I thought i was the only one who couldnt stand rocky thompson. He was a goon, but i dont think he ever won, or even had a chance in, any fight.

[tvp2003]

I'm all in, on Doug Dadswell.

I see your Doug Dadswell and raise you a Marc D'Amour :bag:

[hurtin_albertan]

Only one player cost us not 1 but 2 playoff series by himself.

Anders Eriksson is by far the worst lousy excuse for a hockey player I've ever seen. With how he's screen Kipper and leave opposing forwards wide open, you'd think he was playing for the other team.

Remember the time, I think it was against Detroit in the quarters 2007, when the puck went off Kipper and straight up in the air in the crease. Good old Anders, as smart as he is good looking, reaches up, grabs the puck, and places it on the ice right in the crease. I couldn't believe my eyes. I have never, in all my years of hockey spectating, yelled so furiously at a player before.

Some players may have been more disappointing, others may have been less skilled, but nobody that I have seen has been as outright BAD (read: stupid) as Anders Eriksson.

[REDVAN]

Jason Weimer pt. 2.

[Steve Bozek]

I was going to post Fotiu with Thompson and Lakovic but I figured that few here saw those two play let alont Fotiu. He wasn't even good at being a goon and terrible at the game of hockey.

Agree Fotiu was over the hill and unskilled even in his prime. However, he was an important cog in the 1986 Stanley Cup run, because he neutralized the Oilers' goons. He and one of the Oilers' goons would waltz around (few punches thrown), move to the penalty box, and then the rest of the players would settle down and play.

[jeffman]

This thread brings back memories... Terrible terrible memories

[Hemi-Cuda]

Philippe Sauve. Quite possibly the worst goaltender to ever put on a Flames jersey

[GoinAllTheWay]

Ed Ward and Rocky Thompson...easily.

I remember years ago driving to a Flames game and they were interviewing Rocky. The team was in the midst of a losing streak (bascially the norm at the time) and Rocky was asked what he thought the reason for the recent slump was and he said "I think my suspension is distracting the team". Ya, that's gotta be it Rocky, your suspension :rolleyes: You are the glue that must have held this team together.

[Metro Gnome]

My favorite Anders Eriksson memory...

I went to one of the first home games of the year in 07-08. It was vs. Philly.

Anyways, game is tied in the third with less than a two minutes remaining. Anders is on the ice, he gets the puck in the shallow end of the Flames zone with both teams hustling off to change.

So this should be a gimme in terms of puck management. Hang on to it, flip it up the far side boards, circle behind the net, wait for support, etc.

What does Anders do? Circles towards the near boards, or where players from both teams are pouring off the bench. In no time Daniel Briere is top of him and because Flames players are changing too there's no obvious support structure for Eriksson to get rid of the puck quickly. So he more or less panics and flips the puck into traffic (or Briere or Gagne's pads, more or less). Danny grabs the loose puck and scores an easy one on the ensuing break away.

That was the game winning goal. A small taste of things to come.

[Flashpoint]

Ed Ward and Rocky Thompson...easily.



Edward Ward was an NHL All Star. He was in the hardest shot competition. Plus, his name was awesome. Thumbs up to Edward Ward.

Gary "F-ing" Leeman is the worst Flame of all time. The hate for that man comes from a cold irrational place, and has no bearing on how garbage he was on the ice.

Closely followed by Zarley Zalapski, who we traded Gary Suter for, who played like ass, and then trashed the team once traded. He may have been correct about our incompetent management, but to play as poorly as he did and then run his mouth to the media... pathetic.

[Flashpoint]

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/wrx82/3058_164116075690_619090690_6704812_3929328_n.jpg

Runner Up: Andrei Zyuzin

Susan was the biggest disaster on defence since... ever.

[Super-Rye]

There have been a lot of terrible players on this team over the years but for I always felt Paul Kruse was near the top of that list.

[Badgers Nose]

Gary Leeman, because of what his coming to Calgary signalled.

[Rhettzky]

I have to cast another vote for Rene Corbet. For everything that him coming here meant and the fact that it was right in the middle of the dark days and the non-playoff years.

http://hhth.akanewmedia.com/getattachment/News---Media/Celebrity-Highlights/Calgary-Tournament/Rene-Corbet/Corbert.jpg.aspx

Great article from Flamesnation sums it up pretty well.

The Fleury trade was the club's final, bitter capitulation to inevitabilty. After approximately a decade of reigning as a perpetual favorite, a persistent contender in the late '80s and early '90s, the Flames fortunes had ultimately crested and rolled back, their prior crown now burnished. The franchise, once a juggernaut, bowed by years of shabby trades and undermined by a failing Canadian dollar, accepted its fate, swapped its lone star for magic beans and plunged headlong into the dark age known as "The Young Guns" era.

http://flamesnation.ca/2012/11/6/wre-are-they-now-rene-corbet

[_Q_]

Maybe we have had some worse players on the Flames, but nothing in the world enraged me quite like watching Anders Eriksson and Andrei Zyuzin try to play hockey. I know it was a bit extreme, but I actually watched every game wishing those guys would have a career ending injury so I wouldn't have to endure the torture of watching them in a Flames jersey.

[nickerjones]

It's for sure Rocky Thompson.

Speak of the devil... This guy came out yesterday and played in our charity tournament for our teammates affected by tornado. He was better than anyone on the ice yesterday. :D Really though, he is a great dude. He is now a coach for the OKC Barons. Anyway here is a pic of him from yesterday.

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/1362/42528849300438409980917.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/266/42528849300438409980917.jpg/)

[JD]

Since Darryl Shannon has been mentioned, I'll throw in the other name that I routinely refer to as "worst Flames ever": Bobby Dollas.

But there are lots of worthy candidates being mentioned in this thread. No need to argue.

[FlamesFanStrandedInEDM]

Anders Eriksson wins the "What are you doing, man" award

[boggledepot]

Ales Kotalik, and Christopher Higgins were awful for the Flames. Kotalik hurt the Flames because of his salary and did nothing, and Higgins never wanted to play in Calgary. In addition, we traded Brandon Prust for those two. Brad Stuart sucks too. After trading Andrew Ference the Flames never had the same chemistry, and progressively got worse. Those aren't the worst players, in terms of pure hockey skill, but trading for them continues to hurt the Flames.

[droopydrew19]

Mark Oseicke. And Trevor Kidd was the worst goalie.

I do recall Kidd winning the molson cup one season. Yes he was inconsistant but not the worst ever.

[_Q_]

Ales Kotalik, and Christopher Higgins were awful for the Flames. Kotalik hurt the Flames because of his salary and did nothing, and Higgins never wanted to play in Calgary. In addition, we traded Brandon Prust for those two. Brad Stuart sucks too. After trading Andrew Ference the Flames never had the same chemistry, and progressively got worse. Those aren't the worst players, in terms of pure hockey skill, but trading for them continues to hurt the Flames.

A little off topic, but Andrew Ference was and still is one of the most over-rated players to ever wear a Flames jersey. Yeah, sure he was a nice guy that had a CP account, but he was nothing more than a bottom pairing defenceman. I would do that trade all over again any day of the week.

[droopydrew19]

I have always hated Paul Kruse. Wasnt good enough to be in the top 9 but had to be and SUCKED!!!

[hurtin_albertan]

My favorite Anders Eriksson memory...

I went to one of the first home games of the year in 07-08. It was vs. Philly.

Anyways, game is tied in the third with less than a two minutes remaining. Anders is on the ice, he gets the puck in the shallow end of the Flames zone with both teams hustling off to change.

So this should be a gimme in terms of puck management. Hang on to it, flip it up the far side boards, circle behind the net, wait for support, etc.

What does Anders do? Circles towards the near boards, or where players from both teams are pouring off the bench. In no time Daniel Briere is top of him and because Flames players are changing too there's no obvious support structure for Eriksson to get rid of the puck quickly. So he more or less panics and flips the puck into traffic (or Briere or Gagne's pads, more or less). Danny grabs the loose puck and scores an easy one on the ensuing break away.

That was the game winning goal. A small taste of things to come.

I also remember that one, as well as getting into it with a poster on the cf.com forums who tried to defend the play...I thought it was about the worst decision that could have possibly been made. A prime example of exactly what NOT to do. Both teams were changing FFS, why not take it up the opposite boards and dump it in, at the very least. Such a simple play, messed up beyond recognition.

That's what irked me about Eriksson so bad, he was just such a dummy.

[hurtin_albertan]

I have always hated Paul Kruse. Wasnt good enough to be in the top 9 but had to be and SUCKED!!!

Decent scrapper though as I recall.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Blake Sloan.

Tim Ramholt. (Hopefully there is not a 1 minute minimum)

[Locke]

What always killed me was watching Anders on the powerplay.

That guy couldnt touch the puck if it was close to the boards. It was infuriating. So if hes playing the point, the opposition rings the puck off the boards on his side and it was guaranteed to go all 200 feet.

Hes a 5/6 Dman, WTF is he even doing on the Powerplay???

[DeanOMac]

Brennan Evans.

Our blue line got ravaged by injuries during the 03-04 playoff run and we were forced to call up yet another blue liner.

My memory is a bit fuzzy but I believe despite his 2GP stat, he only played a couple of shifts in one game and the second game he was dressed but didn't even touch the ice. Either way he looked extremely shaky in his limited time and there was good reason Sutter wouldn't play him.

He never made another NHL appearance (before or after) but he appears to still be a serviceable farm player in the AHL.

[Displaced Flames fan]

MMmmmm. I liked this guy I am about to bring up but Clarke Wilm. Gotta be in the running at least.

Nowhere close. Wilm was playing out of his role. In his role, he was pretty good.

[DAN0383]

Stewart Malgunas! He was horrible!

[DazzlinDino]

Gary Leeman
Kari Eloranta (I'd totally forgotten about him. Thanks a lot, Bertuzzied)
Anders Eriksson
Jonas Bergqvist(he played like 20 games in 1989-90, and just bugged me)
Tim Bernhardt

Speaking of Gary Leeman, that has to go down as one of the worst trades. After that Doug Riseborough got cold feet and didn't seem to want to make any trades.

To Toronto

Doug Gilmour, Ric Nattress, Kent Manderville, Jamie Macoun and Rick Wamsley

To Calgary

Gary Leeman, Jeff Reese, Michel Petit, Alexander Godynyuk and Craig Berube

[Mister Yamoto]

So many good, uhh, bad ones to chose from. This would make a great poll.

-Jason Wiemer is the all-time franchise leader in minus -41
-Raitis Ivanans first game his line was 0:01 ice time, -1, 5pm for a nearly career ending fight, his second game 1 1/2 years later was the 9-0 loss to the Bruins, and never played a third

My vote however goes to a guy who hasn't been mentioned yet. Hockey Hall of Fame member Grant Fuhr. As a Flame absolutely brutal.

5-13-2 3.83 GAA .856 SV%

[DazzlinDino]

I was going to post Fotiu with Thompson and Lakovic but I figured that few here saw those two play let alont Fotiu. He wasn't even good at being a goon and terrible at the game of hockey.

I was going to mention Nick Fotiu but couldn't quite remember his name.

[Displaced Flames fan]

If we're talking about acquisitions that didn't pan out (I see a lot of Corbet talk etc.) that would hands down be Mike Leclerc. HORRRRRRIBAD.

Worst player would probably be Tyrone Garner. That was a lovely 3 game stretch.

[blazingZepplin]

Reading through all the names being thrown out here made me remember those dark year and all the fun i had playing on my nhl90's on playstaion 1. Made me puke a bit how we sucked those years :bag:

[dissentowner]

Ruslan Zainullin?

Never played a game and we gave up Savard for him.
He was never a Flame though, we just had his rights.

[CliffFletcher]

Paul freakin' Baxter

Baxter was a pest and cheap-shot artist who really got under Gretzky's skin. A terrible hockey player, but he played a useful role in the Battle of Alberta.

I always thought Michel Petit was going to do something for us after the Gilmour trade, haha. So he was probably my most disappointing player (was pretty young and didn't know the stats or anything)

Petit was the quintessential 'all the tools, no toolbox' player. Huge, he could skate, great shot. I saw him absolute destroy a young Eric Lindros with an open-ice hit. Tremendously disappointing underachiever. But not terrible. At least not as terrible as:

Craig Coxe
Brian Glynn
Kevin Dahl
Thomas Forslund
Todd Hlushko
Pavel Torgaev

[Bill Bumface]

Brennan Evans.

Just came here to post that. Luckily he scared the coaching staff out of giving him ice time pretty quickly.

[jammies]

Zyuzin was the worst regular player who wasn't just a goon. That guy made Ericksson look like Lidstrom. Of all the guys who played only a couple games, Ramholt has to be the worst. One shift in the NHL, -1.

Those of you picking Leeman are allowing emotion to cloud your thinking. The guy was a 3 time 30 goal scorer in the NHL, he may not have been very good for the Flames (to put it mildly) but he's not even in the conversation for "worst".

[Super-Rye]

I have always hated Paul Kruse. Wasnt good enough to be in the top 9 but had to be and SUCKED!!!

I have this vague memory of the Flames playing the Sharks, it was probably the 94-95 playoff game 7...it was probably even over time, and Paul Kruse was on the ice with the Flames buzzing around the net. Low and behold the puck ends up on his stick and he has a glorious opportunity to end it and just completely flubs it. I knew then that Paul Kruse was a terrible hockey player.

Or perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me and my complete dislike for Kruse is completely irrational.

[mikeecho]

In recent years...
- PL3 - Brent Sutter's pet project from NJ. Suspended 5 games in preseason and managed squat in the 3 regular season games he played.
- Ivanans - Played maybe 2 shifts total, -1, face smashed in by an Oiler

[Alberta_Beef]

The worst is clearly Brennan Evans. that kid that played in the playoffs in '04 because we were so injury riddled. But was never good enough to even warrant a regular season recall from any NHL team.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

So much hate for David Hale and Anders Eriksson... Their stats are positively glowing compared to Cale Hulse v1.0 and Cale Hulse v2.0. See stats in sig below.

[dissentowner]

Baxter was a pest and cheap-shot artist who really got under Gretzky's skin. A terrible hockey player, but he played a useful role in the Battle of Alberta.
Pfff, that guy got rolled more times than a Timmies timbit.

[Hockeyboy2]

I would feel very out of place stating "the worst player in flames history" considering that the flames are my favourite team and there are no truly "bad hockey players" in the NHL. Any player in the NHL or AHL would dominate the beer leagues that most of us over 20 play in. I for one would gladley take the hockey talent level and ability of any of the guys listed in this thread. Theyve got somethin on most people on this board......they made the NHL.....most of us didnt.

[pylon]

Speaking of Gary Leeman, that has to go down as one of the worst trades. After that Doug Riseborough got cold feet and didn't seem to want to make any trades.

To Toronto

Doug Gilmour, Ric Nattress, Kent Manderville, Jamie Macoun and Rick Wamsley

To Calgary

Gary Leeman, Jeff Reese, Michel Petit, Alexander Godynyuk and Craig Berube

Gee, thanks for reminding us. I don't think anyone has ever analyzed or broken down that trade before.

[Sainters7]

Chris Dingman, made all the worse by being a first round pick. The fact that pylon ended up with 2 Stanley Cup rings is the reason I don't believe there can be a god.

[puckluck2]

Chris Butler.

[Tinordi]

Problem with Ericksson is that he always seemed to eff'up at the worst, most glaring time. He'd have a solid enough game for 59 minutes but was directly responsible for a GWG.

[H2SO4(aq)]

Mike Leclerc.

[saskflames69]

Stajan circa January 2012
David Hale
Chris Butler

[Alberta_Beef]

I really question the hockey knowledge of anyone that is ridiculous enough to honestly believe Chris Butler is one of the worst in franchise history.

[sun]

Pfff, that guy got rolled more times than a Timmies timbit.

lol nice.

[Dion]

Baxter was a pest and cheap-shot artist who really got under Gretzky's skin. A terrible hockey player, but he played a useful role in the Battle of Alberta.

You are mistaken, it was Neil Sheehy that always got under Gretzky's skin :)

The Great One vs. The Butcher

“To try and beat the Oilers, Badger came up with a seven-point plan,” Sheehy said. “And one of his points was that I had to be on the ice every time Gretzky was out there.”

But the rugged defenceman wasn’t just looking to bang The Great One’s body. Instead, Sheehy also planned to play games with Gretzky’s mind.

“I always enjoyed yapping at guys and when Gretzky started to yap back, that’s exactly what we wanted. It became big news because when a great player is talking, he’s not as focused on the game.”

“Gretzky was always accusing me of turtling when one of the Oilers big guys came after me,” said Sheehy, who now works as a player agent. “So I’d say, ‘Which is it, Wayne? First you say nobody should fight and then you get mad when I don’t.’ It drove him up the wall.”

In the end, though, Calgary won and Sheehy became the most hated man in Edmonton. One night, a creative Oilers fan hung a “Sheehy the Butcher” poster at Northlands Coliseum. A photograph of the sign found its way into Sports Illustrated and Sheehy used it to name his boat. “I’d radio in from the water saying ‘This is Butcher to Base,’” he said with a laugh.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/magazine-toth-butcher/

[Sylvanfan]

Tim Ramholt. 40 seconds, one goal against, and than back to Switzerland. I always hated that pick, whworst use of a good 2nd round pick.

[Hockeyboy2]

Tim Ramholt. 40 seconds, one goal against, and than back to Switzerland. I always hated that pick, whworst use of a good 2nd round pick.

I believe we took Tim Ramholt (39th) and we passed on Shea Weber (49th) and Patrice Bergeron (45th) to pick him.

[MrMastodonFarm]

I believe we took Tim Ramholt (39th) and we passed on Shea Weber (49th) and Patrice Bergeron (45th) to pick him.

Meh, stuff like that happens. Nashville "passed" on Weber three times, only picking him with their 4th pick before finally taking him that year.

[Alberta_Beef]

Meh, stuff like that happens. Nashville "passed" on Weber three times, only picking him with their 4th pick before finally taking him that year.Fire Poile!

[Hockey_Ninja]

Meh, stuff like that happens. Nashville "passed" on Weber three times, only picking him with their 4th pick before finally taking him that year.
Yup. 10 teams passed on Iginla but does that mean they made the wrong decisions?

[moon]

Dennis Wideman.

If we don't have a minimum games played then Akim Aliu.

I think for the most part goons should get a pass as they aren't there for hockey skills and actually can contribute to a team with their fights.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Dennis Wideman.
.

There is probably 100 names I could rattle off before even getting close to Wideman.

And that's not suggesting he's gods gift to the blueline, just that it's a silly thing to say.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Bill Hogaboam

[jammies]

Dennis Wideman.

1/5, your trolling is usually much less obvious.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Here's a question that fit into the theme of this thread: Who the most overrated Flame in history? My vote: Phaneuf.

[moon]

1/5, your trolling is usually much less obvious.

Trolling?

What about my post history suggests that I don't think that Wideman is a god awful player and possibly the worst player on the team ever in my view?

And as always just because I don't share the same opinion as you doesn't make it trolling.

[Jake]

In recent memory, to me it is Anders Eriksson. Even with limited minutes I just can't imagine that guy not hurting the team.

[jeffman]

Cale Hulse

[Frank MetaMusil]

Here's a question that fit into the theme of this thread: Who the most overrated Flame in history? My vote: Phaneuf.

Jokinen

[Mister Yamoto]

Here's a question that fit into the theme of this thread: Who the most overrated Flame in history? My vote: Phaneuf.

Ferrence.

Braithwaite and Fleury HM

[Phanuthier]

Worst player would probably be Tyrone Garner. That was a lovely 3 game stretch.
Haha that stretch was so bad (was it really 3? I thought it was 12... it felt like a month) he stopped playing goal after that! Now that is bad...

[CalgaryFan1988]

Ferrence.

Braithwaite and Fleury HM

How the heck was Fleury overrated?

[J epworth]

Trolling?

What about my post history suggests that I don't think that Wideman is a god awful player and possibly the worst player on the team ever in my view?

And as always just because I don't share the same opinion as you doesn't make it trolling.

Okay then, please explain why you seriously consider Dennis Wideman the worst hockey player to play for the Flames in their history. Even if we just stick to defenseman, how is he in your view a worse defenseman than a guy like Zyuzin, or Eriksson, or Wade Belak just to name a few?

[browna]

Hulse was right up there, couldn't do anything, was the 8th defenseman behind Bobby Dollas. Highway robbery to get Sergei Krivokrasov for him.

Andrei "LazY" Zuyzin was 4x worse than Eriksson in more modern day. Eriksson was paired with Phaneuf for a large chunk of that 07-08 season and logged 7 or 8 more minutes a game than he should've.

Of course, who could forget Petr Buzek.

[Red Slinger]

Erikksen and Zyuzin were both train wrecks. Zyuzin was at least consistently crappy. Erikkson would have an okay game and then at a crucial moment do something so remarkably stupid that would lose the game.

However, my vote goes to Peter "the pylon" Buzek. He was about as useless as they come. I vividly recall being in the Dome for a game against Dallas. For some inexplicable reason Buzek is on the ice at the same time as Modano. The play leaves the Dallas zone and Modano gets the puck in the neutral zone along the right wing. At this point it's a 2 on 2 and Buzek and his defense partner are in good position. Then Modano calmly walks around Buzek for a breakaway and goal. You could say that Modano made a lot of defensemen look like they were standing still over the years. However, in this case Buzek was literally standing still just inside the blueline. Hence "the pylon". And 20,000 of us could see it coming and playing out as if it were in slow motion. I would take Butler any day over Buzek, Erikkson or Zyuzin.

[cowtown75]

Rico fata

[Street Pharmacist]

Okay then, please explain why you seriously consider Dennis Wideman the worst hockey player to play for the Flames in their history. Even if we just stick to defenseman, how is he in your view a worse defenseman than a guy like Zyuzin, or Eriksson, or Wade Belak just to name a few?

Life is much easier when these troll attempts are hidden. Then a successful attempt ends up in a quote.

The only possible reason to think Dennis Wideman is the worst player to play for the flames, out of probably 600 or more players, is to troll. There simply is no objective parameters to come to such a conclusion. How many other players couldn't stick on the roster?

[CalgaryFan1988]

Even if he wasn't a top 10 pick he'd be in the running. Seeing as he was and a complete bust, Rico Fata for the win.

[CaramonLS]

Most disappointing: Special Nieds.

We traded one of our best players at the time for this pile of trash. The guy does nothing except float around while getting prime time with Iginla and #1 PP time. Then gets traded to the Ducks and plays infinitely better than he ever played in Calgary.

What a soulless dumpstation.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Most disappointing: Special Nieds.

We traded one of our best players at the time for this pile of trash. The guy does nothing except float around while getting prime time with Iginla and #1 PP time. Then gets traded to the Ducks and plays infinitely better than he ever played in Calgary.

What a soulless dumpstation.

The way he played with the Ducks is actually the way he was playing in Calgary towards the end. Darryl Sutter turned him into fantastic two-way player.

[t0rrent98]

Andrei Trefilov

[Bourque's Twin]

Speak of the devil... This guy came out yesterday and played in our charity tournament for our teammates affected by tornado. He was better than anyone on the ice yesterday. :D Really though, he is a great dude. He is now a coach for the OKC Barons. Anyway here is a pic of him from yesterday.

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/1362/42528849300438409980917.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/266/42528849300438409980917.jpg/)

Good on him. I went to a summer hockey camp at Southland Leisure Centre and he came to speak to us. Great guy, horrible player.

[moon]

Okay then, please explain why you seriously consider Dennis Wideman the worst hockey player to play for the Flames in their history. Even if we just stick to defenseman, how is he in your view a worse defenseman than a guy like Zyuzin, or Eriksson, or Wade Belak just to name a few?

His god awful, clueless play in the neutral and offensive zone. His annoying I go to one knee and watch the other guy skate around me and weakly swing my stick go to defensive move in his own zone. His inability to hit the net at a level worse than what Phaneuf is supposed to be at. His butter soft play.

He brings nothing to the team and a million negatives.

Zyuzin and Eriksson are fine choices as well if you want to go that route have no problem if you choose them. Belak, as I said with goons, gets a pass because he isn't on the team to be a stud player but to fight and hit and he did that fine in my books.

[Bourque's Twin]

His god awful, clueless play in the neutral and offensive zone. His annoying I go to one knee and watch the other guy skate around me and weakly swing my stick go to defensive move in his own zone. His inability to hit the net at a level worse than what Phaneuf is supposed to be at. His butter soft play.

He brings nothing to the team and a million negatives.

Zyuzin and Eriksson are fine choices as well if you want to go that route have no problem if you choose them. Belak, as I said with goons, gets a pass because he isn't on the team to be a stud player but to fight and hit and he did that fine in my books.

I understand if you think Wideman is bad but to say he's arguably the worst player to ever wear a Flames jersey is ridiculous. He's good for 40+ points in 82 games as a defenseman. That puts him out of "worst player ever" contention. Think about Rocky Thompson and Sasha Lakovic who couldn't even skate at the pace of the game.

[Mister Yamoto]

Wideman has the potential to go down as the worst signing in Flames history. Right now I'd go with Turek or Bouwmeester. But I could see the Wideman contract looking so bad the next GM has no choice but to buy it out.

[Meers]

Gary Leeman.

[macrov]

Rob Neidermeyer.

+1

A huge amount of useless for a very large relative salary.

I think this thread would be better as "most disappointing." And to that list I will add:

Daniel Tkaczuk - most disappointing draft pick

Roman Turek - Very frustrating years after that big contract signing

Raitis Ivanans - Proving there is only one polish hammer.

Tod Bertuzzi - He gets paid to stand in front of the net. And he never did it. Not once.

Rico Fata - Another amazing draft pick

Tim Erixson - The way that playout was awful

Dan Ryder - A very disappointing end to a career.

[C_of_Red28]

Andre ROY.. the guy couldn't even skate

[killer_carlson]

A great Rocky Thompson Stu Grimson fight, when Rocky showed he could stand in with a league super heavyweight in his prime. I remember jumping up so excited that Rocky won the fight.

v=N3GlkBMDfKQ

[killer_carlson]

I was going to post Fotiu with Thompson and Lakovic but I figured that few here saw those two play let alont Fotiu. He wasn't even good at being a goon and terrible at the game of hockey.

This might be the most uninformed post in a long time.

Nick Fotiu is still considered today to be one of the toughest players and best fighters to ever play hockey.

Even Dave Schultz - the lead goon in the Broadstreet Bullies - discloses in his book that Fotiu scared him.

More on fotiu:
http://hockeystoughguys.blogspot.ca/2007/03/nick-fotiu.html


Nick was such a skilled fighter that he would actually throw combination punches during his hockey fights, as opposed to grabbing on with one hand and stand back and fire.

My iPad is giving me grief, but youtube the Fotiu vs craig coxe fight from 1986. Nick cleans up on the canuck goon, starts with a left hook and follows it up with a right cross.

[CalgaryFan1988]

Wideman has the potential to go down as the worst signing in Flames history. Right now I'd go with Turek or Bouwmeester. But I could see the Wideman contract looking so bad the next GM has no choice but to buy it out.

Turek's contract didn't really matter though. It was pre-cap so who cares what he got paid IMO. When the cap came into place, he was nice enough to re-structure his own contact to help the Flames sign Kiprusoff.

Hey, and doesn't Old "rubber pads" Turek still hold the record for longest shutout streak for the Flames?

[Dion]

Denis Cyr.

Selected by Calgary Flames round 1 #13 overall 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Never lived up to expectations and was traded to Chicago.

[ben voyonsdonc]

This may be unpopular but I think Leland Irving and Brent Krahn were pretty bad Flames. Worst ever? Probably not but two wasted first round picks.

[1stLand]

Brett Sutter.

Only made the team because of Daddy Sutter.

Not good enough even for the AHL.

Punches Cab Driver on Phoenix road trip. best mug shot in Flames history too.

[Mister Yamoto]

Brett Sutter.

Only made the team because of Daddy Sutter.

Not good enough even for the AHL.

Punches Cab Driver on Phoenix road trip. best mug shot in Flames history too.

Good one. That was really embarrassing. I was really critical on Kane for that cabbie incident and then the next thing you know a guy on the Flames did pretty much the same thing.:bag:

[Azhouse]

This thread is depressing. Once some of these players left front line roles for the Flames they were never seen in the league again.

[cowtown75]

I have to cast another vote for Rene Corbet. For everything that him coming here meant and the fact that it was right in the middle of the dark days and the non-playoff years.

http://hhth.akanewmedia.com/getattachment/News---Media/Celebrity-Highlights/Calgary-Tournament/Rene-Corbet/Corbert.jpg.aspx

Great article from Flamesnation sums it up pretty well.



http://flamesnation.ca/2012/11/6/wre-are-they-now-rene-corbet

I thought that was Nick Cage

[jammies]

And as always just because I don't share the same opinion as you doesn't make it trolling.

No, what makes it trolling is that it is a ridiculous statement without any objective backing. You can't just get out of making stupid, trollish statements by saying it's "my opinion".

There has to be at least some plausibility to it, if I say my opinion is that the 99-00 Flames are the best team to ever play hockey in the NHL, my "opinion" is obviously that of an idiot or a troll. Which would you like to call yourself? Nobody can objectively look at Wideman's play, salary and minutes and say he is the worst player ever to play for the Flames. You could say he is your most disliked player, and that would be believable, but saying he is the "worst" is not an valid opinion, as you simply cannot stretch the evidence that far.

[NBC]

Not sure how many people actually remember Kari Eloranta. He was a good skating, puck moving D-man. Terrified of the corners and was useless in front of the net but he was heaps better than these guys:

Charlie Bourgeois
Randy Holt
Carl Mokosak
Gord Wappel
Greg Smyth
Trent Yawney
Mike Peluso

and I still don't know how Brad Marsh was an NHL-cailbre player. He could skate about as well as Peter Worrell.

[Shin Pad]

Sasha Lakovic was absolutely the worst player to ever wear the Flaming "C", and it's not even close. He was a beer league calibre player. He wasn't here very long, but for him to make this team when he did, just goes to show how bad things were at that time.

[Cheerio]

+1

Todd Bertuzzi - He gets paid to stand in front of the net. And he never did it. Not once..

At least Bertuzzi was pretty sweet in the shootout. Only player like that we've had since it was implemented.

[Hockey_Ninja]

At least Bertuzzi was pretty sweet in the shootout. Only player like that we've had since it was implemented.
Alex Tanguay....

[Oling_Roachinen]

Wideman has the potential to go down as the worst signing in Flames history. Right now I'd go with Turek or Bouwmeester. But I could see the Wideman contract looking so bad the next GM has no choice but to buy it out.

I don't know if I could call a contract that cost the Flames nothing but money and cap space (which of course is far from nothing) and turned into a first round pick and 2 prospects 3 and half years later as the worst contract in Flames' history. True, following the same logic Gomez' contract wasn't bad for the Rangers because of Sather's ability to make trades but Bouwmeester's contract was never "untradable" in my opinion.

The team underwhelmed and underperformed once he got here but that's going to happen when you're relying on a past his prime Langkow and a square-peg-in-a-round-hole-struggling Jokinen to make up your top 6 centers. Yep Bouwmeester cost cap space but opportunity cost only matters when there's actually an opportunity. If there wasn't a center that the Flames missed out on because of Bouwmeester it doesn't matter, and I don't think there was. The ones available that would have made a difference cost assets the Flames didn't have.

So Bouwmeester's contract might have cost the Flames Cammalleri (even though Sutter made it clear he thought he was a "small player" and the Jokinen trade had already begun counting down the days). Big whoop. Cammalleri got a worse contract anyways and would likely not have been able to get a 1st round pick+ back.

On the other hand the Flames have had contracts that were negative value. Many of them weren't signed by the Flames but some, say Primeau's, were and cost the Flames not only for the present but future.

So if we got to decide which was the worst contract between one that Flames could have shed at any second for at least a decent package and another that the Flames had to move down in the draft to get rid of, how is it even debatable?

[Lanny_McDonald]

Another vote for Brad Marsh. He was the slowest skater I've ever seen play in the NHL. There were a ton of goons who were better skaters than Marsh. How he cut a NHK career out of his skill set was amazing.

[The Swedish Flame]

Gary Leeman
Anders Eriksson
Jonas Bergqvist(he played like 20 games in 1989-90, and just bugged me)
Ugh. Never liked either.

This thread is depressing.

[FlameZilla]

Umm... Ales Kotalik anyone??

[FlamesAddiction]

Sasha Lakovic was absolutely the worst player to ever wear the Flaming "C", and it's not even close. He was a beer league calibre player. He wasn't here very long, but for him to make this team when he did, just goes to show how bad things were at that time.

He didn't even seem like a good person off the ice. Absolutely the worst player to put on the flaming C IMO.

Maybe not the worst player, but one of the most disappointing for me was Corbet. I was really sold on him at the time and thought he was going to progress into an impact player based on his age and stats (that up until we acquired him, were rising every season).

[Rhettzky]

Umm... Ales Kotalik anyone??

If you score a goal at the dome and have your own song played, you are automatically exempt from worst player ever.

[Da_Chief]

Mike LeClerc - The slowest player I've ever seen.

[MarchHare]

I find it really funny to see Rocky Thompson mentioned here so frequently. Back in the late 90s, I had season tickets to the Saint John Flames. Believe it or not, Thompson was BY FAR the biggest fan favourite player on those teams. I was in the building when he scored his first career AHL goal; I can't remember Harbour Station ever being so loud as it was that night.

Looking back on it, Thompson's relative popularity in Saint John vs. Calgary says a lot about the people in both cities.

[moon]

I find it really funny to see Rocky Thompson mentioned here so frequently. Back in the late 90s, I had season tickets to the Saint John Flames. Believe it or not, Thompson was BY FAR the biggest fan favourite player on those teams. I was in the building when he scored his first career AHL goal; I can't remember Harbour Station ever being so loud as it was that night.

Looking back on it, Thompson's relative popularity in Saint John vs. Calgary says a lot about the people in both cities.

Thompson was popular in the Dome as well. I can remember chants of "Rocky, Rocky, Rocky" on more than one occassion but I think that in the moment watching him fight with his hair flying everywhere is a bit different than looking back and remembering how he actually played when not fighting.

[Bourque's Twin]

He didn't even seem like a good person off the ice. Absolutely the worst player to put on the flaming C IMO.

Maybe not the worst player, but one of the most disappointing for me was Corbet. I was really sold on him at the time and thought he was going to progress into an impact player based on his age and stats (that up until we acquired him, were rising every season).

When I was a young kid I went to a road game in LA and got to hang out with the team for a bit. Him, Ronnie Stern, and Fleury were the nicest guys on the Flames.

[SportsJunky]

Paul Baxter.
Just choked on my coffee. Well done.

[SportsJunky]

Nick Fotiu hands down - this was his highlight as a Calgary Flame. He came in with such hype and was freaking horrible!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MXhEC650Lk

How dare you.

[ricardodw]

2008 #25 Greg Nemisz
2008 #48 Mitch Wahl
2007 #70 John Negrin
2006 #26 Irving
2005 #26 Pelech
2005 #69 Baldwin
2005 #74 Dan Ryder
2004 #24 Chucko
2003 #39 Ramholt (in the legendary 2003 draft)
2002 #39 McConnell
2001 #41 Andrei Taratukhin
2001 #56 Andrei Medvedev
2000 #9 Krahn
1999 #38 Dan Cavanaugh

[robmneilson]

My all time worst line

Dingman - Landry (or Gavey) - Fata
Hulse - Eriksson
Kidd

[hah]

Kari Jalonen:bag:

Raitis Ivanans:bag:

[rubecube]

When I was a young kid I went to a road game in LA and got to hang out with the team for a bit. Him, Ronnie Stern, and Fleury were the nicest guys on the Flames.

For some reason, I find it very hard to believe you were hanging out with Fleury and Corbet at the same time.

[King Theo]

I find it really funny to see Rocky Thompson mentioned here so frequently. Back in the late 90s, I had season tickets to the Saint John Flames. Believe it or not, Thompson was BY FAR the biggest fan favourite player on those teams. I was in the building when he scored his first career AHL goal; I can't remember Harbour Station ever being so loud as it was that night.

I went to a lot of games that year in Saint John and the place would go nuts every time he got on the ice. And after every game you would find him at Rocky Bar.

[Stay Golden]

The Flames have usually had effective enforcers year to year.
Ivanans has to be one of the worst Enforcers while a Flame that was a complete wash out.
Andre Roy was an embarrassment also.
There have been plenty of cup of coffee players but i don't consider them as a regular Flame.
Erickson was one the worst players i have ever seen that was given nightly shifts.

[troutman]

That Scotiabank Kid that stands with the Flames for the anthem is a weak skater.

[rubecube]

Erickson was one the worst players i have ever seen that was given nightly shifts.

This. Anders was just awful.

[trackercowe]

It's truly hard to believe that Eriksson played 572 games in the NHL, and actually has more cups than Iginla. Pretty sad statement.

[Steve Bozek]

It's truly hard to believe that Eriksson played 572 games in the NHL, and actually has more cups than Iginla. Pretty sad statement.

As if we needed it, here is convincing proof that possession of a Cup ring is not the standard to use to measure a player's ability/worth.

[jeffman]

The Flames have usually had effective enforcers year to year.
Ivanans has to be one of the worst Enforcers while a Flame that was a complete wash out.
Andre Roy was an embarrassment also.
There have been plenty of cup of coffee players but i don't consider them as a regular Flame.
Erickson was one the worst players i have ever seen that was given nightly shifts.

I thought that Roy was a terrible fighter, but he was a decent 4th liner who could contribute somewhat.

[ColoradoFlamesFan]

Michel Petit, I recall that he was billed by management as a stud because he could bench a truck, yet he seemed to live up to his last name

[Erick Estrada]

This might be the most uninformed post in a long time.

Nick Fotiu is still considered today to be one of the toughest players and best fighters to ever play hockey.

Even Dave Schultz - the lead goon in the Broadstreet Bullies - discloses in his book that Fotiu scared him.

More on fotiu:
http://hockeystoughguys.blogspot.ca/2007/03/nick-fotiu.html


Nick was such a skilled fighter that he would actually throw combination punches during his hockey fights, as opposed to grabbing on with one hand and stand back and fire.

My iPad is giving me grief, but youtube the Fotiu vs craig coxe fight from 1986. Nick cleans up on the canuck goon, starts with a left hook and follows it up with a right cross.

I saw him play as a Flame so how is it 'uninformed'?

Did you see him play as a Flame? That's what this thread is regarding not his career with other teams. He never lived up to expectaions as a Flame as at that stage of his career he turned into a shadow boxer dancing around with the other teams goon until the officials broke them up and left the heavy lifting to Hunter.

Outside of his fighting ability he was not a very good hockey player. Hence my placing him as one of the all time worst Flames.

[Badgers Nose]

I liked Nick because he threw pucks to us kids after warm up.

If memory serves, he only started skating at 18 or something crazy like that.

I agree that he was not the worst, not even close.

[Mattman]

What about that Jarome Iginla guy? Man what a scrub he turned out to be!

[Stay Golden]

Its insane that Kevin Dahl played for 5 seasons with the Flames what a waste of space.

[pylon]

I saw him play as a Flame so how is it 'uninformed'?

Did you see him play as a Flame? That's what this thread is regarding not his career with other teams. He never lived up to expectaions as a Flame as at that stage of his career he turned into a shadow boxer dancing around with the other teams goon until the officials broke them up and left the heavy lifting to Hunter.

Outside of his fighting ability he was not a very good hockey player. Hence my placing him as one of the all time worst Flames.

Fotiu suffered what a lot of top tier fighters do at a certain stage in their career. He couldn't find willing combatants, and nobody would get close to him in fear of their lives. That is why his fights turned into those circling shadow matches. However, many say that was a deterrent enough when a guy was that feared. Godard had the same problem here too.

The only difference with guys like Probert and Schultz was they just attacked you like a crazed animal and didn't care about squaring off fair and square.

[Azure]

Mike LeClerc - The slowest player I've ever seen.

He only sucks because he was brought in as a depth addition to a very good team and was about as useless as they come.

[habernac]

Fuhr's time here was god awful

[Sport Psych]

Ric Nattress. Ric friggin Nattress. How the hell we ever won a cup with him I'll never quite understand. He was the master of the diving stick check, though... only because he was beat so often and had no other choice.

Kari Eloranta also used to scare me every time he hit the ice... but at least he had some offensive skill to him (put up 44 points one year).

[bluloc]

With out mentioning goons. Eriksson, Zyuizin, Fata, Weimer, Butler( not the worst but he ain't ####ing close to good)

[NBC]

I thought Todd Simpson was a poor hockey player and an even worse captain. He epitomized all that was bad with the Flames during the dark "Young Guns" years.

[MrMastodonFarm]

He only sucks because he was brought in as a depth addition to a very good team and was about as useless as they come.

Freddy Modin. :bag:

[Dion]

Fuhr's time here was god awful

His nickname was "Coca" for a good reason.:whistle:

[-TC-]

man, the Flames have had some ####ty players...

:/

[CliffFletcher]

I saw him play as a Flame so how is it 'uninformed'?

Did you see him play as a Flame? That's what this thread is regarding not his career with other teams. He never lived up to expectaions as a Flame as at that stage of his career he turned into a shadow boxer dancing around with the other teams goon until the officials broke them up and left the heavy lifting to Hunter.

Outside of his fighting ability he was not a very good hockey player. Hence my placing him as one of the all time worst Flames.

Fotiu was a big-league goon at a time when it was crucial for the Flames to have two or three of them. He made a difference to the fortunes of the team in a way that Craig Coxe, Rocky Thompson, and Jim Kyte never did.

[_Q_]

I don't think it's at all fair to include goons or enforcers in this list as they have a different skill set than a standard NHLer. For example I think Anders Eriksson was a better "hockey player" than say McGrattan, but I take McGrattan on my team any day over Eriksson.... Actually scratch that, Eriksson is the worst athlete to have ever played any sport in history... ever! F*** I hated that loser.

[stignasty]

Gary Leeman
http://docsonice.ca/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Gary-Leeman2.jpg

[CSharp]

For goalies in the Kipper era, basically name any backup you want. In the 80's, anyone backing up Reggie Lemelin.

For forwards, Gary Leeman, Ivannans, Comeauver, Rob Neidemeyer, Tim Jackman (after signing his 2nd contract with Flames), Rico Fata, Lundmark (first 2 times with Flames), Andrei Zyuzin, David Hale, Wayne Primeau, Kris Chucko

For defencemen, Phil Housley, Rhett Warrener, Anders Eriksson, JBo (before last season), Chris Butler, Jim Vandermeer

[Phanuthier]

For goalies in the Kipper era, basically name any backup you want. In the 80's, anyone backing up Reggie Lemelin.

For forwards, Gary Leeman, Ivannans, Comeauver, Rob Neidemeyer, Tim Jackman (after signing his 2nd contract with Flames), Rico Fata, Lundmark (first 2 times with Flames), Andrei Zyuzin, David Hale, Wayne Primeau, Kris Chucko

For defencemen, Phil Housley, Rhett Warrener, Anders Eriksson, JBo (before last season), Chris Butler, Jim Vandermeer
That's a pretty terrible list

[cannon7]

As far as defenceman go, Andrei Zyuzin was pretty terrible in a Flames uniform.

[undercoverbrother]

Nick Fotiu hands down - this was his highlight as a Calgary Flame. He came in with such hype and was freaking horrible!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MXhEC650Lk

you try skating with one ball

[cam_wmh]

I saw him play as a Flame so how is it 'uninformed'?

Did you see him play as a Flame? That's what this thread is regarding not his career with other teams. He never lived up to expectaions as a Flame as at that stage of his career he turned into a shadow boxer dancing around with the other teams goon until the officials broke them up and left the heavy lifting to Hunter.

Outside of his fighting ability he was not a very good hockey player. Hence my placing him as one of the all time worst Flames.

He barely played 50 games. Scored 5 goals.

More so, he was one of the most feared goons on the east coast, and was brought in to help Timmy. Everyone else was getting dummied by the Brown Semenkos.. even Lowe. :(

Simply, said you have posted good stuff before, but Fotiu was brought in to police and he did a damn good job -- thus a poor analysis..

It's an added bonus he was able to pot a 1/2 dozen, considering he was a goon and as most posters have mentioned it's unfair to compare the actual skating, puck handling etc; between goons and the rest of the squad.

Queue it up to as a mulligan Erick.

[cam_wmh]

http://docsonice.ca/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Gary-Leeman2.jpg
Oh wow.
This picture pissed me off excessively, almost an unreasonable amount.

[Erick Estrada]

Queue it up to as a mulligan Erick.

It's my opinion. He was the only shadow boxer in Flames history hence why I have a special place for him on a list of bad players. Someone else here mentioned him so I'm not alone on this. Paul Kruse scored 10 goals in less than 50 games for the Flames once does he get a shrine for that?

[doctajones428]

Lol @ suggesting Ivanas was one of the worst Flames ever. Getting a severe concussion in one of your two games and you're suddenly considered terrible.

We didn't lose 9-0 because of him.

Bouwmeester or Butler being considered one of the worst ever is also a complete joke

[Bourque's Twin]

Lol @ suggesting Ivanas was one of the worst Flames ever. Getting a severe concussion in one of your two games and you're suddenly considered terrible.

We didn't lose 9-0 because of him.

Bouwmeester or Butler being considered one of the worst ever is also a complete joke

I don't think considering Butler one of the worst is a joke at all.

[Erick Estrada]

I don't think considering Butler one of the worst is a joke at all.

Yeah it's a joke. He won't win any awards for being great but there have been so many more worse players over the years.

[Puppet Guy]

http://docsonice.ca/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Gary-Leeman2.jpg

I threw up in my mouth when I saw that. Proof that the Hockey Gods have a sick sense of humour.

[Bertuzzied]

haha suckers. You all got mooned in this thread.

[Vulcan]

Skari Eloranta, even worse than Eriksson.

[Mister Yamoto]

Lol @ suggesting Ivanas was one of the worst Flames ever. Getting a severe concussion in one of your two games and you're suddenly considered terrible.

We didn't lose 9-0 because of him.

Bouwmeester or Butler being considered one of the worst ever is also a complete joke

It takes a special type of player to be -1 with 0:01 of ice time.

[CaramonLS]

Yeah it's a joke. He won't win any awards for being great but there have been so many more worse players over the years.

Don't act all shocked. He probably isn't the worst Flame to ever lace them up, but there is no need to get indignant about the nomination. He played on one of the worst Flames teams of all time, with one of the worst GAs.

[Brad Marsh]

and I still don't know how Brad Marsh was an NHL-cailbre player. He could skate about as well as Peter Worrell.

Another vote for Brad Marsh. He was the slowest skater I've ever seen play in the NHL. There were a ton of goons who were better skaters than Marsh. How he cut a NHK career out of his skill set was amazing.

Okay, clearly not in the 100 or 500 best all-time or anything like that, but the guy played over 1000 games in the NHL. 16 NHL seasons.

Plus he was the first captain of the Flames.

He even played in an all-star game one year.

Worst Flame ever? Come on.

[doctajones428]

Don't act all shocked. He probably isn't the worst Flame to ever lace them up, but there is no need to get indignant about the nomination. He played on one of the worst Flames teams of all time, with one of the worst GAs.

I'll admit that Butler had no business playing on the top pairing with Bouwmeester (Complete misuse) but as a #4-6 D-Man, he's pretty decent at what he does

[Kjesse]

I'll admit that Butler had no business playing on the top pairing with Bouwmeester (Complete misuse) but as a #4-6 D-Man, he's pretty decent at what he does

Calling Butler one of the worst of all time is an exaggeration, but damn in the very few games I attended at the Dome this year, he was god awful, having made boneheaded plays/non-plays that led to goals.

He's probably my most disliked current Flame. The last time I disliked a Flame this much was Huselius in the playoffs a few years back.

[Rudee]

Tough guy Jim Kyte.

[doctajones428]

Calling Butler one of the worst of all time is an exaggeration, but damn in the very few games I attended at the Dome this year, he was god awful, having made boneheaded plays/non-plays that led to goals.

He's probably my most disliked current Flame. The last time I disliked a Flame this much was Huselius in the playoffs a few years back.

I haven't disliked a Flames player since (I'm surprised he wasn't mentioned in here), Blake Comeau

Was McElhinney mentioned in here either?

[Max Cow Disease]

...Jason Muzzatti? :lshic:

[Tyler]

Tim Ramholt.

Possibly the worst career in the NHL ever.

1 shift. -1. Benched. Never played another game again.

[JohnnyO]

Tim Ramholt.

Possibly the worst career in the NHL ever.

1 shift. -1. Benched. Never played another game again.



I nominate Ramholt as worst draft pick ever!!

Taken 10 spots ahead of Weber!!

We have zilch to show for the best or 2nd best draft of all time.

We could have had Getzlaf and Weber and been set. They saw Getzlaf every freakin' day in the dome and Weber at least a dozen times without even having to leave the building, and they go draft a dman from the Swiss league WTF!!

[Iggy Snipe]

Rocky Thompson was the worst player in Flames history. The guy could barley skate, but damn was he exciting to watch because if he got out on the ice, and managed to stay on his feet long enough, you knew a fight was coming.

Rocky, Rocky, Rockyyyyyy

[Super-Rye]

I nominate Ramholt as worst draft pick ever!!

Taken 10 spots ahead of Weber!!

We have Stajan to show for the best or 2nd best draft of all time.

We could have had Getzlaf and Weber and been set. They saw Getzlaf every freakin' day in the dome and Weber at least a dozen times without even having to leave the building, and they go draft a dman from the Swiss league WTF!!

FYP

But yeah, I totally agree. Sutter and co. completely botched that draft.

[Hevishot]

1)Eriksson/Ramholt (tie for first)
2)Jokinen
3)Turek

[keenan87]

1)Eriksson/Ramholt (tie for first)
2)Jokinen
3)Turek

Are you kidding me?

[lazypucker]

Anyone remember Frederic Modin? How many games/shifts did he actually play for the Flames?