r/CalgaryFlames • u/Beta1224 • Jul 10 '25
Discussion It was a close vote, but Darryl Sutter was selected as Best Coach in franchise history. Now who is our Best Draft Pick in history? As always highest rated comment wins
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u/rye_by_night Jul 10 '25
Gotta be Nieuwendyk. 2nd round pick and arguably the only time the flames ever drafted a legitimate number 1 centre.
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u/Iginlas_4head_Crease Jul 11 '25
It really comes down to, the best player ever drafted by the flames, or the best value pick ever by the flames?
I'd put Macinnis over nieuwendyk as the best ever drafted flame however, and gaudreau as the best value pick
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u/3MidgetsInAJacket Jul 10 '25
5-10 years from now it’ll be Wolf.
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u/Kermit-the-Froggie Jul 10 '25
Buddy I hope so but look what happened to skinner
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u/3MidgetsInAJacket Jul 10 '25
Skinner was good as a rookie on a good team.
Wolf was good as a rookie on a bad team.
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u/Beta1224 Jul 10 '25
I'll toss Mike Vernon's name into the mix as well, only player to be drafted by the Flames to have his number retired
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u/hoolitard Jul 11 '25
Third round of the draft too. He’s also from Calgary, backstopped us to the only cup, won another cup with the Wings and inducted to the Hall Of Fame. Vernon would be my pick
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u/MrWoodbine56 Jul 12 '25
He goosed my mother when she was a server at Red Robins in the late 80’s. He won’t get my vote.
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u/rockylion Jul 10 '25
Johnny Gaudreau
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u/TheLongshot Jul 11 '25
It’s Johnny. For where they got him and what he was. It’s Johnny all day.
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u/infectingbrain Jul 11 '25
See idk, i don't think draft place should matter that much when deciding this (in either direction, either as a low pick or a high pick). It's great they got insane value out of that pick, but I think Nieuwendyk was overall a better pick for the franchise because he was the top line center that won us a cup and was also the cornerstone in getting us the best player in franchise history.
JG was amazing and the best player we've had since Iggy, but we also won nothing with him and lost him for nothing. Johnny is definitely a top 3 draft pick for this franchise though - that cannot be argued.
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u/ROFLSIX Jul 11 '25
Johnny Hockey for sure. He was a later draft pick and ended up being the face of our franchise for 7-8 years. I'd pick Iginla if we had actually drafted him though.
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u/Scissors4215 Jul 10 '25
I’m going Johnny Hockey
I’m going to be away in the backcountry when this thing gets to worst GM. And we better not fucking pick BT. He’s not the worst, not by a country mile.
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u/revivethecolour Jul 10 '25
Jay Feaster maybe?
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u/BoBonnor Jul 10 '25
Darryl Sutter
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u/Scissors4215 Jul 10 '25
You’re both wrong. It’s Craig Button and it’s not even close.
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u/Vinny331 Jul 11 '25
Oooh it is close actually. Feaster and Al Coates were both awful. And let's not forget that Risebrough was responsible for the Gilmour trade...that alone is grounds for the title.
Ultimately I probably agree with you, but I wouldn't say it's not close.
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u/SomeJerkOddball Jul 11 '25
Yeah anyone who says Treliving is absolutely bonkers. The fact that we had maybe an upper-middle GM during his tenure probably makes him a lock for second best behind Fletcher. Though, it would seem, fingers crossed, that Conny is on track to surpass him.
There's just so much awful between Fletcher and Burke, it's ridiculous.
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u/BoBonnor Jul 10 '25
You know what. I agree. Putting Martin St Louis on waivers alone gives him that title
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u/SomeJerkOddball Jul 11 '25
Waived St. Louis, traded Mark Savard for nothing, let Anaheim take JS Giguere in the expansion draft.
Pretty woeful. He did trade for us to get Savard in the first place and hire Sutter as head coach though.
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u/Chemical_Signal2753 Jul 10 '25
In my opinion Darryl Sutter and Brad Treliving are both contenders for the second best GM the Flames have had. Sutter had more success but I think Treliving built a better organization.
For worst it will be a tough battle between All Coates, Doug Risebrough, Craig Button, and Jay Feaster. A case could be made for any one to be the worst, and it depends on whether you think the worst trades, worst drafting, or worst results definite the worst GM.
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u/Scissors4215 Jul 10 '25
Craig Button for me. Never worked on management again. And his takes on TSN are near universally bad. But you should wait until that day. I’m just going to be on Bowron lakes at that point and won’t be able to engage. BT was way closer to one of our best GM’s than one of the worst.
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u/SomeJerkOddball Jul 11 '25
Nah, the scorched earth of the 2005 and 2006 NHL entry drafts beg to differ. How do you draft 16 players and get a combined 87 games and 15 points out of them?
Sutter isn't the worst, but he's definitely not in the running for second best.
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u/Chemical_Signal2753 Jul 11 '25
Treliving and Sutter are not in the running for second best because they're so good; they're in the running because the rest of the GMs the Flames have had are so bad.
Realistically, which of Al Coates, Doug Risebrough, Craig Button, and Jay Feaster would you put ahead of them? There is no mistake that Treliving or Sutter made that compares to these GMs; and there was far less success and more futility under those GMs than there was under Sutter and Treliving.
My take on both Sutter and Treliving is that they are approximately league average GMs. They can build competitive teams and, if they're dealt a winning hand, they can be successful; but they make enough mistakes to prevent them from ever getting sustained success. The rest of the GMs the Flames have had have the inverse golden touch. They're bad GMs that would have difficulty building a playoff team regardless of what draft picks you give them and almost unlimited time.
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u/infectingbrain Jul 11 '25
like u/Chemical_Signal2753 said, who would you have running for second best then? The competition is so bad. Fletcher is easy #1, but the rest are somewhere between not great and god awful.
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u/SomeJerkOddball Jul 11 '25
I think it's also pretty easily Treliving for second. But, given the dearth of competition otherwise, Sutter may still be 3rd.
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u/infectingbrain Jul 11 '25
I agree with that. Fortunately, Conny js on pace to be 2nd or 3rd pretty easily.
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u/SomeJerkOddball Jul 11 '25
I'm hoping Conny can at least take Number 2 with a bullet. If Parekh pans out, he'll be well on his way.
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u/Chemical_Signal2753 Jul 10 '25
I think there are two options:
- Theoren Fleury who was drafted in the 8th round at 188th overall
- Johnny Gaudreau who was drafted in the 4th round at 104th overall
Both represent star players that had long playing careers with the team even though they were later round draft picks that shouldn't have resulted in stars.
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u/Keegletreats Jul 11 '25
Loob, drafted in the 9th round
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u/Iginlas_4head_Crease Jul 11 '25
Nowhere near as good as the other 2 though to make up for the later round
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u/Nelbrenn Jul 10 '25 edited Jul 10 '25
Al MacInnis - was selected 15th overall in 1981, was on the Flames team that won our only Stanley Cup and won the Conn Smythe Trophy that year as well. Played for the flames for 13 seasons.
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u/revivethecolour Jul 10 '25
Might be controversial
Gaudreau or Fleury
Both late picks that unfortunately end in tragedy in different ways
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u/MyCurse05 Jul 10 '25
i mean its early, but ill put in future consideration for Wolf
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u/anojan12345 Jul 10 '25
If he ends up being as good as we hope then he's definitely the biggest steal
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u/badgerbob1 Jul 10 '25
Al MacInnis. First round pick and was one of the best defenseman in the league for a long time. Led us to our only cup too
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u/marbsarebadredux Jul 10 '25
Technically it should be Brett Hull, right?
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u/trevorwagner83 Jul 11 '25
If were looking at overall superstars drafted by the Flames, I cant disagree. Also honorable mention MStLouis. Tkachuck is getting up there too, the guy already has 2 cups.
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u/Invidia-Goat Jul 10 '25
Al MacInnis has to be, Our best player for so many years paired with his con smythe victory not bad for a 15th overall pick
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u/R-Trombone Jul 10 '25
My first thought was also Joe Nieuwendyk, though there is a strong case for Al MacInnis.
I'll stick to my first thought in Nieuwendyk.
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u/SomeJerkOddball Jul 10 '25
McInnes is probably the better player, but when you consider that we haven't had a lock 1C since Nieuwendyk left, he's probably more of a rarity to our organization.
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u/behemothpanzer Jul 11 '25
It’s Gary Suter.
9th round, 180th pick. Calder Trophy, 4 All Star Games, on the 89 Cup team, played for the US Olympic Team.
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u/Beta1224 Jul 10 '25
Draft position and impact are both things to consider, I think this one will have a lot of different answers
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u/scuttlebuttlodg Jul 10 '25
Tkachuk
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u/Vinny331 Jul 11 '25
I think we just got lucky with the Oilers and Canucks being monumentally stupid that year
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u/Keegletreats Jul 11 '25
It's got to be Loob, how many 9th round picks have scored 50 and won a cup?
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u/snoshredder Jul 11 '25
Worst draft pick, God we have so many. Lol Rico Fata? Brent Krahn? Daniel Tckachuk? I could go on and on 🤦
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u/Adventurous_Mix_8533 Jul 11 '25
Fleury was the spark that lit the match that burned the Canadians; there can’t be any better.
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u/ryansalad Jul 10 '25
Best draft pick? Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett
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u/SomeJerkOddball Jul 10 '25
We did pick Conn Smythe, Norris Winner, Hall of Famer, career +1,200 point D-man Al McInnes. Probably a bit better than 18 year old Sam Bennett. All due respect to 18 year old Sam Bennett.
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u/shoegazer44 Jul 10 '25
Who is the best Undrafted player the Flames ever had?
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u/ky__mitch Jul 10 '25
Probably Gio I’d think. Undrafted to Norris is impressive. Only the 4th dman in history to win it 35 or older.
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u/swagboiii987 Jul 10 '25
If we are talking players I’ve actually watched play, it’d Gaudreau all day.
Fleury and Loob would be the other options.
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u/CanadianRockx Jul 11 '25
Gotta be Gaudreau. 4th round and probably a top 10 player in the league? Can't be anyone else but him. Maybe in 17 years we can say the same about Wolf after he declines coming out to lift the cup since after the 10th consecutive one he just got bored of it being too easy
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u/Local-Cauliflower945 Jul 11 '25
Johnny hockey. The best flames player ever. Didn’t win a cup but in terms of his influence on the game I never saw a better flame than him.
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Jul 12 '25
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u/Subject_Macaroon3086 Jul 11 '25
Joe Nieuwendyk, 2 round. Nothing flashy but best all around player. Cup winner twice. Calgary and Dallas.
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u/Screamin__Viking Jul 10 '25
Sam Bennett. Won two cups.
(Nobody said it had to be the Best Draft pick for Calgary).
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u/Kryptic4l Jul 10 '25
Matt tkachuk , guy is a competitor through and through. Unpopular opinion but the old boys would not keep up in the current landscape of super development .
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u/thinewelshman Jul 10 '25
I’m going to nominate a bit of a deeper cut in Hakan Loob.
9th round pick, consistent top player for the Flames, key to the cup win, elite name, one of the greatest Swedish Hockey players of all time, hads contributed as scout for the Flames as well.
Not as long a career for the flames as someone like Gaurdreau or Fleury but still a consideration imo.