Calgary Flames All Time Roster - #1 Center

[Bingo]

So some details ...

1. Calgary players only
2. I'll look at games played, production and PPG to list options.
3. My cut off won't effect options as I'll go deeper than required
4. I'll label them by rank (3rd line LW) but don't select the player that matches that role the best, pick the best player.

Day to Day

We elect a position, say 2nd line RW, remove that name and do the 3rd line RW the next day.

I'll post a summary as we go along.

Calgary Flames All Time Roster

Gary Roberts - C1 - RW1
Johnny Gaudreau - C2 - RW2
Matthew Tkachuk - C3 - RW3
Alex Tanguay - C4 - RW4

D1 - D2
D3 - D4
D5 - D6

Miikka Kiprusoff
Mike Vernon

[Monahammer]

- Niewy, nilsson, Gilmour, Monahan?

I always forget about Kent Nilsson!

[Leeman4Gilmour]

Boy, this is going to be tough as well as we go down to 4th line. Voted Nieuwendyk and I'm sure it'll be a landslide, but Nilsson was so amazing when he was on. I'm curious if Monahan will make the top 4.

[troutman]

Joe was here longer, but Gilmour was our best center.

[Sylvanfan]

Kent Nilsson is really fascinating because he was soooooo talented. To me he is far and away the best offensive player the team has ever had. But when it really counted during his time in Calgary he did tend to fade away. Whereas Niewendyk and Gilmour both were pretty big in the 89 run. I can see either of those two still excelling in today's game with really demands that top players especially centers be strong two way players. Nilsson...he could have done it, but I wonder if he would have had much interest in that. The next vote will be interesting...to me Gilmour makes a better third line center than Nilsson does, but in today's game hot damn would Gilmour ever make for a great #2 center and easily could be a #1. After those guys Joel Otto will be my 4, even if there are other guys like Langkow, Conroy, and Monahan who are better offensive guys.

[Leeman4Gilmour]

Originally Posted by troutman

Joe was here longer, but Gilmour was our best center.

Gilmour will get my vote to be on the all time roster (not ahead of Nilsson), but my problem with him is I think of him more as a Leaf than a Flame.

[Bingo]

I went Gilmour ... best center the Flames have ever had.

[looooob]

Joe Nieuwendyk wasn't a perfect player- I'm only partly joking when I say he was a better Sean Monahan


Gilmour was grittier and was likely better at his (shorter) peak with the Flames


Nilsson more skilled


Otto more Otto


etc down the line


but Nieuwendyk scored 50 plus as a rookie. then he did it again on a cup winning team . then he scored 45 . then he did that again. The man could score goals and he could play the game. He's a cup winner, a Hall of Famer (yes so is Gilmour) a Calder and Conn Smyth winner (the latter not with us of course) and well past his prime was winning Olympic Gold for Canada


I think he's the right answer here

[getbak]

Joe "I score when I like" Nieuwendyk.

[CroFlames]

Nieywendyk #1, Gilmour #2.

I never watched Nilsson play, but I hear stories an unmotivated player that faded when it counted.

I'll probably do Monahan #3 and maybe Langkow #4.

[FlamesAddiction]

It sucks that the 2 best options were also malcontents that helped accelerate the dismantling of a dominant franchise at the time.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I went Gilmour ... best center the Flames have ever had.

the beer fridge is not pleased

[looooob]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

It sucks that the 2 best options were also malcontents that helped accelerate the dismantling of a dominant franchise at the time.

true perhaps although one turned into and the other turned into

[bubbsy]

When looking at the Franchise history of centers, is that kind of a sad list, especially if you take tenure into consideration (ie. even some our top C's were only here for short periods, and not during their entire prime period)?

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

When looking at the Franchise history of centers, is that kind of a sad list, especially if you take tenure into consideration (ie. even some our top C's were only here for short periods, and not during their entire prime period)?

Was just going to post that herein lies the doom of the franchise (also, only having 2 goalies that were any good didn't help either).

[looooob]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

When looking at the Franchise history of centers, is that kind of a sad list, especially if you take tenure into consideration (ie. even some our top C's were only here for short periods, and not during their entire prime period)?

yeah probably. the 89 team did have 2 HOF centers essentially in their prime plus the prototypic 3rd line C and a HOF caliber talented kid who shone as a RW later down the middle- that's as good as it gets


Nieuwy's tenure was not that bad, over 300 goals in the Flaming C but generally you are correct


Many- not all- but many elite Centers are found in the top 3, if not top 5, picks in the draft..a place the Flames have only been once and they missed with their shot


but yes post 1990 or so being unable to purchase a number one C on the open market and being partly unable and partly unable (if that makes sense) to draft a number one C here we are..


and that's with apologies to Conroy and Langkow and Monahan along the way

[CSharp]

My Flames centers:
1) Niewy
2) Killer
3) Otto
4) Yelle

[Hanna Sniper]

Never fails to amaze me how under rated Kent Nilsson truly was

[united]

The tough part with Gilmore is isolating his Flames play from his Leafs play and the associated recency bias. Of players who played centre for the Flames, he probably had the best overall career but was he the best centre considering Flames-only contributions? I still think so, but it's a coinflip with Nieuwendyk, and Nilsson is arguably right behind them.


The biggest thing that stood out to me, as bubbsy and others noted, is that while the Flames have had some solid talent at C, they have never really had a tenured superstar centre and that looks like it will remain for another 5+ years. Nilsson was close for a couple years but that's about it. Stunning combination of misfortune and lack of urgency for the most important skater position.

[Jiri Hrdina]

The only reason I didn't vote for Gilmour is out of fear that he would quit on his team mid-season.