They say championship teams are built through the draft, not through trades and in the case of the Flames certainly not on July 1st.
The Flames more so than most NHL franchises, have fond little when it comes to true foundational pieces on Canada Day.
The Bruins famously signed Zdeno Chara, a player that went on to win a cup and captain the team for years. The Leafs authored in one of their brief tenures of success when they added Curtis Joseph in the late 90s.
If you’re the Red Wings and drafting late, you need free agents to succeed, and that’s exactly what the Wings have done adding Luc Robitaille, Dominek Hasek and Brian Rafalski to name just a few.
The Flames however?
First off I’m not including free agent signings to start a career, otherwise the Flames list would look considerably better what with their current captain Mark Giordano, and other famous Flames like Joel Otto, Jamie Macoun and Colin Patterson.
It must be said however, that the Flames in the era of free agency didn’t have much of a chance at the beginning. With the Canadian dollar at 1.5 or 1.6 expense to the American dollar, the Flames were a club that lost players, rarely stealing them. The Red Wings, Stars, Flyers, Rangers, Bruins, Avalanche and Leafs were the teams that raided other team’s coffers and with that would have more decorated free agency histories.
The Flames first real foray into free agency was the summer of 2005 when the Flames added Roman Hamrlik, Tony Amonte and Darren McCarty. For a city used to losing players it felt like Christmas.
When the Flames had the resources to add players through free agency they haven’t had a lot of luck mining the talents of other teams, but is that track record changing?
Calgarypuck’s Top Ten Flames Free Agent Signings:
10. Tony Amonte – Amonte’s time in Calgary certainly wasn’t electric, as he picked up 72 points in his two seasons, but his name was flashy and he was part of the first wave of free agents to Calgary in the post lock out salary cap NHL.
9. Roman Hamrlik – joined the Flames the same summer as Amonte, but played a larger role; especially in stabilizing a young Dion Phaneuf as he cut his teeth in his first couple of NHL seasons.
8. Cory Sarich – played against the Flames and won in 2004, then joined the Flames as a free agent soon after. Played the 2nd most games to date by a Flame’s free agent and was a solid citizen in the dressing room through some hard times in Calgary.
7. Olli Jokinen – acquired via trade the first time around, but then signed as a free agent the next summer. In that second tour of duty, Jokinen was extremely productive given the head scratching across North America when he signed; pulling in 115 points in his two seasons.
6. Dennis Wideman – clearly an active player that will add to his numbers, but the signing went from expensive and too long a term to value for the Flames as the defender has made year three of a five year deal an impact campaign in a second pairing with Kris Russell. Now wears a letter and is a huge part of the Flames and their drive to make the playoffs this year. He’s currently the 5th most productive Flames free agent on a point per game basis.
5. Jay Bouwmeester – Jaybo’s time in Calgary was a tough era for the Flames as the team consistently under performed and came up short in attempts to make the playoffs. The smooth skating blueliner did pick up 134 points in 279 games played though, solid numbers despite a slow start. The Flames have Emile Poirier to show for this signing.
4. Alex Tanguay – exact same story as Olli Jokinen. Picked up in a trade, traded away, and then resigned in Calgary on the exact same day as Jokinen. Like Jokinen the signing was perceived as a joke by the hockey community, but at his reduced contract rate the player was a solid addition, at least on the ice where he picked up 145 pointsin 183 games played. He owns the highest point per game result of any free agent signing in Flames history.
3. Curtis Glencross – not as productive as other players, Glencross gets a boost on the list for games played (1st), and for the home town discount he took to stay in Calgary when his first contract was up. Found his way to 242 points in 418 games with the Flames, good for 4th in point per game all time.
2. Martin Gelinas – His time in Calgary was short, as he only signed a two year deal with the Flames back in 2002, but man did that contract pay off. 157 games and 87 points only tells part of the story, compared to his “Eliminator” tag for scoring the winning goals against Vancouver, Detroit, San Jose and well Tampa during the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Returned to Calgary to assist Bob Hartley behind the bench.
Which brings us to the current feel good story in Calgary …
1. Jiri Hudler – best free agent signing in Flames history. Hudler currently sits 6th in free agent games played, 3rd in points and 2nd in points per game. He still has another year left on his deal and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down. His play on the ice, and his mentorship on and off the ice of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan have proven to be massively important to what Calgary is trying to build. At 31 he could easily be resigned and see his way further up the list.
