Zarley Zalapski might have the all time greatest name but I gotta go with Rittich with this one. I normally dont vote for guys who haven't been around too long, but he's a character and an invaluable piece of the teams core moving forward
Has to be Wilson, Zalapski, McLennan or Rittich doesn't it?
Zalapski was a heck of a defenseman, that wasn't a bad trade, at least at first. Then he lost it with injuries.
McLennan was a great solider, and an important part of the room.
Rittich has been the defacto guy for two years in the nets.
But for me Carey Wilson was such an exciting add to the team. The Flames were still relatively new in town and Wilson was on the Canadian Olympic team in Sarajevo, joining the Flames late in the 1984 season. But the next few years he provided a serious push to scoring behind Kent Nilsson and the emerging Hakan Loob as the Flames started taking steps toward being contenders.
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Bingo For This Useful Post:
hmm. hadn't considered Rittich for some reason, still to me this one came down to Zalapski ( a decent player and contributing member of the community until his untimely passing) and Carey Wilson
I went with Wilson who was a nice player for sure- another in the long line of 'if he was healthy in 86 (/04...) it could have made a difference names....likely the one ex-Flame I've played pickup/beer league with (spoiler he was better than me)
Carey Wilson was a pretty good player that never got enough credit. Not a game breaker or anything, but consistently put up points year after year in the 80s. Played for several years as well. Maybe I'm partial to those days, but it's going to be tough to unseat him from this spot for me.
If anyone will take this, it will be Rittich in a few years if he stays on this trajectory. I'm not 100% sold on him as a starter, but he's been a great find and more often than not plays great in net. Plus, he's a helluva character and fun personality.
I also like Zalapski and Aucoin in this list, but neither played for long enough, and both were here in the back half of their careers.
Honorable mention to McLennan for some solid backup years in the 2000s along with the best stick-swinging incident in Flames playoff history (and there are plenty of other candidates). Lots of love for Noodles here.
__________________
"You know, that's kinda why I came here, to show that I don't suck that much" ~ Devin Cooley, Professional Goaltender
When I think of him, I think of #29 (see the clip above vs. the Red Wings), but a Google image search is almost 50/50 of him wearing 33 and 29 with the Flames.
__________________
Turn up the good, turn down the suck!
Considering I always liked the rough and tumble type players, Iggy, Neely, Stevens, Reggie, I always liked Zarley (not a physical guy). Thought he was a good add to the team at the time. Plus, how often do you see anyone with their initials Z.Z.?
Covid Jersey Vote - Best #33 Flames History
