Who was the worst player/goalie to play for the Flames?

[FanIn80]

Has Nick Fotiu been mentioned in this thread yet?

[Phaneuf_Phan]

Gary Leeman, end of discussion

[timun]

Originally Posted by timun

Look I'm not saying they're definitively, after an extremely comprehensive analysis by a panel of experts, the worst. They're just the three I think of first because they stand out in my memory.



That said, wanna take a crack at guessing the identities of the following, based on their NHL career stat lines?

Player 1: 169 GP, 7 G, 9 A, 16 P, 266 PIM
Player 2: 155 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 P, 260 PIM
Player 3: 37 GP, 0 G, 4 A, 4 P, 118 PIM
Player 4: 25 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 117 PIM

Spoiler!

Player 1 = Kevin Westgarth
Player 2 = Sami Helenius
Player 3 = Sasha Lakovic
Player 4 = Rocky Thompson

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I'm talking Westgarth as a Flame. My memory of him is that he never played shifts and just got in the ice during TV timeouts. He did somehow manage seven points.

Stats with the Flames:

Kevin Westgarth - 36 GP, 4 G, 3 A, 7 P, 64 PIM
Sami Helenius, Sasha Lakovic & Rocky Thompson combined - 41 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 P, 148 PIM

[dirk diggler]

i just checked Nick Fotiu stats on Hockey Db, apparently he played for the New Jersey Rockin Rollers in a roller hockey league. He even played 1 game for the Oilers, didnt recall that

[mogg]

Originally Posted by dirk diggler

i just checked Nick Fotiu stats on Hockey Db, apparently he played for the New Jersey Rockin Rollers in a roller hockey league. He even played 1 game for the Oilers, didnt recall that

He was actually the Rockin Rollers coach and GM, in addition to suiting up for a few games.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Both Fotiu and Joe Mullen played youth roller hockey in the NYC area before transitioning to the ice variety.

[icarus]

As much as we hoped they could realise their former glories, Fuhr and Jagr were clearly both past their sell-by dates when they played for the Flames.

There were various other vets of lesser name that also proved to be duds but I guess expectations were lower and so they are less notable.

On the contrary, I remember when Martin Gelinas was signed: my dad and I rolled our eyes and thought "he's so old" but cemented himself in Flames lore and proved to be one of the best free agent signings. Crazy to think he was both an Oiler and a Canuck before joining Calgary, given how impactful he was for us. But I digress.

[Jordan!]

Clark Wilm

[Tibnadian_tpd]

I don't know about worst player, but the worst play I saw during my childhood was made by Trent Yawney. It was a treat to be able to stay up late as a kid, and I remember having an excuse to be up if the Flames were involved in playoff overtime. Of course I wanted the Flames to win, but I kind of enjoyed the fact playoff overtimes could go on forever, prolonging my night. Back in 1996, the Flames went to triple OT with the Hawks and Trent Yawney had possession of the puck behind our net where he attempted to make a first pass out of our zone while almost stationary. He ended up making that first pass directly onto the tape of Joe Murphy, and the Flames were eliminated. Coincidentally, that was also the game Iginla scored his first goal in the NHL, so it ruined what could have been an extra magical night. Trent Yawney also lived in my teacher's neighbourhood, and signed an O-Pee-Chee hockey card for me, so he was a nice guy to me.

[Locke]

Another vote for Anders Eriksson.

[Rejean31]

Originally Posted by Steve Bozek

True enough, but he was a fan favourite, and in 1986 his presence neutralized the Oilers’ goons, and this played a big part in the Flames being able to outplay the Oilers over the course of that series - the Flames would probably have won in game 6 if Johnson had gone with Vernon instead of Lemelin

Actually Vernon played game 6. Lemelinplayed game 2 in Edmonton after Vernon was hurt in game 1.

[BigThief]

Paul Baxter, have had some interactions with him and he's arrogant and a curmudgeon

[STAMPEDRED]

You know you gotta credit James Neal some what.

He sucked so bad we sow how traded him to Edmonton to which we got decent years out of Lucic, and Neal not to be out done doubled down and got the oilers to buy him out and cost them significant cap space for a few years.

Thanks Neal, apology received!

Regehr for Butler- oh man that guy!… forget worst Flame, Feaster is hall of fame worthy for worst GM. Never hire a lawyer!! Really made it hard to stomach being a Flames fan for a few years. Treliving left us a huboy doosey sadly, but Feaster was a piece of work all on his own.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by BigThief

Paul Baxter, have had some interactions with him and he's arrogant and a curmudgeon

Just waiting around for timbit to like this post.

[Saqe]

James Neal has to be up there at least as an UFA signing. He had a terrible attitude even before he played a single game, don't think I've ever seen that before.

[bluejays]

What exactly happened with James Neal? Some posters seem to know what went down but has anything actually come out? Even if not in full I'd like to know what happened.

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by bluejays

What exactly happened with James Neal? Some posters seem to know what went down but has anything actually come out? Even if not in full I'd like to know what happened.

I remember when he was asked about joining the Flames, the answer he gave was totally unisnpiring and made it clear that it was all about money. Or that's the feeling that I remember having. Plus it seemed like he was a sourpuss and didn't get along with anyone.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by timun

Stats with the Flames:

Kevin Westgarth - 36 GP, 4 G, 3 A, 7 P, 64 PIM
Sami Helenius, Sasha Lakovic & Rocky Thompson combined - 41 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 P, 148 PIM

I also mentioned before - I am intentionally omitting players who played less than half a season.

[Steve Bozek]

Originally Posted by Rejean31

Actually Vernon played game 6. Lemelinplayed game 2 in Edmonton after Vernon was hurt in game 1.

I must have mixed up the games - I just recall (unless my memory is also failing me here) that Lemelin got lit up for a lot of goals when he started in place of Vernon in one of the games in that series -I didn’t realize it was because of a Vernon injury.
My point about Fotiu still stands - Not a great player, but he intimidated the Oiler’s goons.

[Ped]

Originally Posted by Jordan!

Clark Wilm

At least Wilm had a couple 10-goal seasons for the Flames. He played 70 games in Toronto and had 1 goal.