It has been a long time since Calgary Flames fans have seen their team win the Stanley Cup. In fact, with their only championship being in 1989, many of their current fans weren’t even been born to witness it. It hasn’t all been bad, as they have had some great teams and individual players over the years, but they have not yet been able to get over the hump.
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Due to going that long without a championship, there have been many players for the Flames over the years who had great careers but were never able to get their name engraved on the Stanley Cup. With that said, here are the top 3 Flames who never hoisted Lord Stanley.
Jarome Iginla
The fact we never got to see Jarome Iginla raise the Stanley Cup is extremely disappointing. The man known as “Iggy” is not only the best player in Flames history, but is one of the best NHL players of all time. Iginla played the first 1,219 games of his 1,554-game career with the Flames. He came as close as you can get to a championship, as he led the 2003-04 Flames to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, only to be defeated by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After his time with the Flames was finished, he went on to play with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, and LA Kings as he tried to chase down a Stanley Cup, but was unable to do so. His career was extremely impressive with 625 goals, 1,300 points, and two Olympic gold medals, however not having his name on the Cup certainly has to leave a bitter taste in his mouth.
Miikka Kiprusoff
Miikka Kiprusoff is a goalie who doesn’t seem to get talked about enough for just how dominant he was during his career. He played in many seasons during the Iginla era, and was also a part of the team that came oh-so-close in 2004. “Kipper” played 576 of his 624 career games in a Flames uniform, and is arguably the greatest goalie in franchise history.
The Finnish netminder, like Iginla, won many personal accolades in his career. This included both a Vezina Trophy and William M. Jennings Trophy during the 2005-06 season, which saw him post a 2.07 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. He was also able to lead Finland to a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics. Though he likely isn’t Hall of Fame-bound like Iginla, it was still a shame he was never able to win a Stanley Cup.
Mark Giordano
There aren’t many defencemen throughout the NHL that have been more consistent than Mark Giordano over the last decade. The undrafted defenceman has spent his entire 893-game career with the Flames, and has been their top D-man for the majority of that time. Though there are other current Flames who could also crack this list such as Sean Monahan or Johnny Gaudreau, Giordano has played many more games in a Flames jersey than anyone else on the roster.
He has not only been extremely consistent throughout his career, but he has seemingly only gotten better with age. Last season, at 35 years old, he posted an incredible 17 goals and 74 points which secured him his first-ever Norris Trophy. On top of his high-end play for the Flames, he has also been a terrific leader, wearing the “C” for the last seven seasons.
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Though his career is not yet finished, the clock is ticking for him to win a Stanley Cup. Luckily for him, despite the past few seasons of playoff disappointments, the Flames do have a strong roster and will have a chance over the next few seasons to compete for a Cup.
Tough Trophy to Win
Unfortunately, there are many great players around the league, past and present, who haven’t been able to win it all. It just goes to show how truly difficult it is to win a Stanley Cup, as it takes not just talent and hard work, but some luck as well. Hopefully, for Flames fans and their players, they are able to end their Cup drought sooner than later.
Former Jr. A player turned blogger. At-large writer covering mainly the Calgary Flames. Co-host of Flames Faceoff and Oilers Overtime podcasts.
