On Tuesday night, the New York Rangers traded former second-overall pick Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken.
The 23-year-old Finnish player is the latest in a long line of top first-round picks that the Rangers have dealt away in the past few seasons, including Nils Lundkvist and Vitali Kravtsov.
However, if this story sounds familiar to Calgary Flames fans, it’s because the organization has done the same with its top picks.
Related: Did Flames Get Two Massive Steals In The 2024 Draft?
According to Hockey Reference, the Atlanta/Calgary Flames have selected 491 players at the annual draft, and 205 of them have gone on to skate one game in the NHL, whether with the organization or elsewhere.
Interestingly, the Flames have only made 15 picks within the top 10 of the draft, except four, the rest of which have been traded from Atlanta or Calgary.
Traded to the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 1, 1975, for a first-round pick (1976) and Larry Carriere. Atlanta traded the draft pick (Greg Carroll) to the Washington Capitals.
Traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on Mar. 13, 1979, along with Greg Fox, Harold Phillipoff, Pat Ribbie, and Miles Zaharko for Ivan Boldirev, Darcy Rota, and Phil Russell.
Traded to the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 16, 1979, along with a second-round draft pick (1980 – Dave Morrison) for a second-round draft pick (1980 – Tony Curtale) and Bob Murdoch.
Traded to the Blackhawks on Mar. 13, 1979, along with Greg Fox, Tom Lysiak, Pat Ribbie, and Miles Zaharko for Ivan Boldirev, Darcy Rota, and Phil Russell.
Traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 10, 1980, with a third-round pick (1980 – Torrie Robertson) for a second-round pick (1980 – Kevin LaVallee).
Traded to the St. Louis Blues for a seventh-round pick (2001 – David Moss) and Craig Conroy.
Traded to the Blues with a ninth-round pick (2001 – Grant Jacobsen), Fred Brathwaite, Sergei Varlamov for a fourth-round pick (2001 – Yegor Shastin), and Roman Turek.
Traded to the Maple Leafs on Jan. 31, 2010, along with Keith Aulie and Fredrik Sjöström in exchange for Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers, Matt Stajan, and Ian White.
Traded to the Montreal Canadiens on Aug. 18, 2022, along with a conditional 2025 first-round pick for future considerations.
Traded to the Florida Panthers with a sixth-round pick (2022 – Gustav Karlsson) for a second-round pick (2022 – David Goyette) and Emil Heineman.
Traded to the Panthers on July 22, 2022, with a fourth-round pick (2025) in exchange for a first-round pick (lottery protected), Jonathan Huberdeau, Cole Schwindt, and MacKenzie Weegar.
As mentioned, four top 10 drafted players did not leave the Flames organization via trade. Here’s the breakdown:
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Rico Fata (Calgary 6th Overall 1998) Waivers
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Brent Krahn (Calgary 9th Overall 2000) Free agency
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Eric Nystrom (Calgary 10th Overall 2022) Free agency
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Zayne Parekh (Calgary 9th Overall 2024) Still in the organization
Overall, the Flames selected 50 players in the first round, 44 of whom played one game in the NHL, with 42 dressing for Calgary or Atlanta.
However, the organization has traded away 26 of these draft picks, including Al MacInnis, Gary Roberts, and Chuck Kobasew, representing 52% of their first-round selections.
Currently, there are seven first-round picks in the organization, including Mikael Backlund (2007), Jakob Pelletier (2019), Connor Zary (2020), Matthew Coronato (2021), Samuel Honzek (2023), Matvei Gridin (2024), and Zayne Parekh (2024).
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