On September 4, 1999, the Calgary Flames added one of their biggest rivals to their lineup by acquiring former Edmonton Oilers legend Grant Fuhr from the St. Louis Blues. Flames fans who grew up in the 1980s suffered through countless losses at the hands of the Spruce Grove, Alberta, native who would lead the Oilers to five Stanley Cup titles that decade.
Fuhr debuted with the Oilers in 1981 and spent 10 years with his hometown club, becoming arguably their greatest goalie. He eventually left in 1991 to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs before a brief stint with the Buffalo Sabres.
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As a free agent, Fuhr signed with the Blues on July 14, 1995, and during his first season, he would go on to set one of the NHL’s most unbreakable records, playing in 79 games. That year, he missed only three games and went 30-28-16, leading the league in games played, ties, shots faced, and saves.
Over four seasons, Fuhr compiled a 108-87-41 record with St. Louis in 249 games, the longest time he spent with any club besides the Oilers. In 1998-99, at 36, he played 39 games and went 16-11-8, while the Blues lost in the second round; Fuhr went 6-6 in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, in Calgary, the Flames rotated through six goalies that season, including Fred Brathwaite, Ken Wreggret, Tyler Moss, Andrei Trefilov, Tyrone Garner, and future Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jean-Sébastien Giguère. They finished 30-40-12, third in the Northwest Division, and missed the playoffs.
To revamp their goaltending situation, the Flames acquired Fuhr from the Blues in exchange for a third-round pick in 2000. Coincidentally, Fuhr reunited with former Oilers teammate Steve Smith, who became Calgary’s captain in 1999-2000.
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Flames fans will always be thankful for Smith, who accidentally scored on Fuhr in Game 7 of the 1986 Smythe Division Finals, ultimately resulting in the Oilers’ quest for a three-peat ending with that third-period own goal.
Unfortunately, Fuhr’s return to Alberta would produce the worst statistical campaign of his career. In only 23 games, he’d earn a 5-13-2 record with a career-low .856 SV%. The Flames also had a worse record than the previous year, going 31-36-10-5 and finishing fourth in the Northwest Division.
Fuhr’s last NHL appearance came on April 8, 2000, at the Saddledome against the Oilers in a 6-3 loss. He didn’t start the game, but played 18:17 in relief and finished with a .714 SV%, stopping five of seven shots. The last goal he surrendered came off the stick of Doug Weight, who scored at 14:42 of the third period.
In the deal that brought Fuhr to Calgary, the Blues received a third-round pick, which they used to select Justin Papineau, 75th overall. He played a total of 81 NHL games between the Blues and the New York Islanders, scoring 11 goals and 19 points. Papineau scored his first NHL goal against the Oilers on February 27, 2003, and played his final NHL game on April 4, 2004, against the Philadelphia Flyers.
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Overall, the late 1990s and early 2000s were not a great time to be a goalie with the Flames, as they transitioned from Mike Vernon to Miikka Kiprusoff. They brought Fuhr in based on his reputation, but at 37, he didn’t have much left in the tank. Unfortunately, the experiment didn’t work out, and his Hall of Fame career ended on Saddledome ice.
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