Brett Hull reflects on hilarious way the Calgary Flames treated him
The Brett Hull trade altered the course of Calgary Flames history.
The Flames selected Hull in the sixth round of the 1984 draft. In his first full season with the Flames in 1987-88, Hull scored 26 goals and 60 points in 52 games at the age of 23.
Despite appearing to have a bright future, the Flames traded Hull and Steve Bozek in a midseason trade with the St. Louis Blues for Rob Ramage and Rick Wamsley.
Though the trade is controversial now, it actually worked out well for the Flames at the time, given they won the Stanley Cup the following season with Ramage contributing.
Still, Flames fans have wondered aloud what could have been had Hull remained in Calgary, given the future Hall of Famer went on to become one of the greatest goal scorers of all-time.
Hull went on to become one of the greatest players of all-time (Jeff Curry/Imagn Images)
The 61-year-old recently reflected on the trade on the Ice Guardians podcast.
“When I got called into the office by [Flames coach] Terry Crisp and he said, ‘Young man, we’ve made a trade.’ I looked at him and I said, ‘Just tell me it’s somewhere good.'”
Upon learning that he was heading to the Blues, Hull remarked, “Oh. Well, that’s America. I love that.”
Part of the reason Hull may not have been too disappointed to be traded from the Flames was due to his relationship with Crisp. Hull explained how the former bench boss once healthy scratched him less than 24 hours after scoring a hat trick.
Hull’s uncle, former NHL star Dennis Hull, happened to be at both games and was as perplexed as anyone by the decision.
“My uncle saw Terry Crisp, and he goes, ‘Terry, my nephew, Brett, he just got a hat trick last night. Why isn’t he playing tonight?’ And [Crisp] goes ‘Oh, we always think he plays better when he’s pissed off. ‘That’s how dumb [it was]. Oh my god. It was unbelievable.”
Hull went on to score 714 career goals, which ranks fifth all-time in NHL history.
“Why did they ever even draft me? They had like 10 right wingers from Perry Berezan to Carey Wilson to [Tim] Hunter, [Hakan] Loob, [Joe] Mullen,” Hull said. “Why would you draft a right winger?”
Hull went on to spend parts of 11 seasons with the Blues. He had stints with the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings, where he helped both teams win Stanley Cups. Before announcing his retirement, he also had a brief five-game stint with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2005-06.
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