[timun]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

That's being kind, I think Al Coates was just a bad GM.

Look at his overall piece of work.

Nieuwendyk for Iginla & Millen: Worked out great because Iggy turned out but a prospect and a journeyman center really isn't that great a return for a guy who was a top center in the league. Very lucky it was Iggy and not Todd Harvey who was the other name rumoured.

Housley & Keczmer for Albelin, Hulse, Lemieux: Barf

Reichel for McInnis & Garner: Yuck

Kidd and Roberts for Cassels and Giguere: Would have been better if the next GM kept Giguere, but still not good.

Nylander for Nazarov

Fleury & Dingman for Belak, Corbet, 2nd Rounder, Regehr: Luckily Regehr turned out but still not a great return for a guy who was a top 20 player in the league at the time.

A lot of skilled pieces were sent out with Coates as GM, and in the end we had very little to show for it.

Coates was in a no-win situation. It wasn't about "trying to address character issues"—although it factored into several of the trades you've mentioned (Reichel, Nylander, Kidd)—but the overarching problem was money. The Flames "sent out a lot of skilled pieces with very little to show for it" because they couldn't afford to keep those players. (Even though as compared to today the dollar values are paltry.)

Look back at Coates's "body of work" under the lens of "they don't have the money", and things look quite different.

Nieuwendyk for Iginla & Millen: Nieuwendyk was holding out. Flames went to arbitration in the summer of '95, offering C$1.4M/yr retroactive to the beginning of the lockout-shortened season before. He was making US$900,000 prior. Nieuwendyk asked the arbitrator for US$2.1M/yr. The arbitration award was US$1.7M for '94-'95 and US$1.85M for '95-'96. Nieuwendyk wanted a longer term deal, reported to training camp but refused to participate in exhibition games. After the regular season started he refused to report until he got a minimum three-year deal from the Flames for around $2M/yr. Flames reportedly offered him US$1.8M/yr x 3 yrs; he refused. They had to find a team that would pay him, and would also give them the best return. Dealt him to Dallas because they were willing to pay him (US$11.1M/5 years), and got Millen—to bring back at least some centre depth—and Iginla, the 11th overall pick six months earlier.

Housley & Keczmer for Albelin, Hulse & Lemieux: Housley was a pending unrestricted free agent looking for a big pay raise. Infamously detested playing in Canada and being paid in Canadian dollars. Ended up getting a three-year deal from the Caps that paid him >$2.5M per year; would have made him the highest paid Flame, couldn't afford that. Had they not traded him to Jersey they would have got nothing when he walked in the summer.

Reichel for McInnis & Garner: already wrote at length about Reichel holding out the entire '95-'96 season, and at the time of the trade had 16 goals and 27 assists for 43 points. McInnis had 20 goals and 22 assists (43 points). Does it really seem that bad a deal for a cash-strapped team when Reichel was making $2M a year and McInnis about $550,000? Sure Reichel was more talented but he wasn't going to produce for the Flames, they needed to part ways and he already had a reputation around the league for being disinterested and lazy. Really went to show how much Reichel didn't want to be here when he went on a 19-points-in-12-games tear at the end of the season with the Islanders.

Kidd & Roberts for Cassels & Giguere: sulky goalie who was an absolute disaster and a guy who medical staff recommended never play again, for the Whalers' top centre and goalie prospect. Roberts went on to have a long and fruitful 'second career', but at the time this was a shrewd move. Roberts also specifically asked for a trade to an Eastern Conference team; Flames did him a solid.

Nylander for Nazarov: Nylander demanded a trade in '96, sat out the entire '96-'97 season as an RFA, came back in '97 with a new $700,000/1 yr contract, got hurt late in the '97-'98 season, demanded a trade in the '98 offseason as an RFA again, signed a $775,000/1 yr contract, came back from injury in December, got traded in January for something lest he walk at the end of the season (again). EDIT: And keep in mind the Lightning only got 35 games out of Nylander before they tired of him too and jettisoned him to Chicago for bottom-pairing defenceman Bryan Muir and goon Reid Simpson.

Fleury & Dingman for Belak, Corbet, 2nd Rounder & Regehr: Fleury was leaving Calgary no matter what, so between a choice of getting something or nothing Coates chose 'something'. Not sure what more you'd expect for a pending UFA who was looking for a massive pay raise, the Avalanche lost him for nothing when he signed a 3-year, $21M contract with the Rangers. Ultimately the Avalanche traded a goon (Belak), a third-liner (Corbet), Regehr and a pick for a goon (Dingman) and 33 games of Theo Fleury.