On Tuesday night, the New York Rangers traded former second baseman Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken.
The 23-year-old Finnish player is the latest in a long line of top first-round picks the Rangers have dealt over 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 did the same with its top pick.
Related: Did the Flames Get Two Big Steals in the 2024 Draft?
According to Hockey Reference, the Atlanta/Calgary Flames selected 491 players in the annual draft, and 205 of them went on to play one game in the NHL, either through the organization or elsewhere.
Interestingly, the Flames only made 15 picks in the top 10 of the draft, except for four, some of which were traded from Atlanta or Calgary.
Traded to the Buffalo Sabers on Oct. 1, 1975, for a first-round pick (1976) and Larry Carriere. Atlanta traded a draft pick (Greg Carroll) to the Washington Capitals.
Traded to Chicago Blackhawks on Mar. 13, 1979, with Greg Fox, Harold Phillipoff, Pat Ribbie, and Miles Zaharko by Ivan Boldirev, Darcy Rota, and Phil Russell.
Traded to Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 16, 1979, and 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, with Greg Fox, Tom Lysiak, Pat Ribbie, and Miles Zaharko by 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 St. Louis Blues seventh round pick (2001 – David Moss) and Craig Conroy.
Traded to the Blues for 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, and Keith Aulie and Fredrik Sjöström in exchange for Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers, Matt Stajan, and Ian White.
Traded to Montreal Canadiens on Aug. 18, 2022, and a conditional 2025 first-round pick for future consideration.
Traded to the Florida Panthers for 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, for a fourth round pick (2025) for a first round pick (lottery protected), Jonathan Huberdeau, Cole Schwindt, and MacKenzie Weegar.
As mentioned, four of the top 10 players drafted did not leave the Flames organization via trade. Here is the breakdown:
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A girl from Rico (Calgary 6th Overall 1998) Waivers
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Brent Krahn (Calgary 9th Overall 2000) Free Centre
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Eric Nystrom (Calgary 10th Overall 2022) Free agent
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Zayne Parekh (Calgary 9th Overall 2024) Still in the organization
In total, the Flames selected 50 players in the first round, 44 of whom played one game in the NHL, wearing 42 of Calgary or Atlanta.
However, the organization traded 26 of these draft picks, including Al MacInnis, Gary Roberts, and Chuck Kobasew, representing 52% of their first round picks.
Currently, there are seven first-round draft 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).
