Calgary Flames And The 2009 NHL Draftee: Tim Erixon
By Cait Platt
In the 2009 NHL Draft, the New York Islanders selected John Tavares first overall and have struggled to find a way to truly be successful with Tavares. The Calgary Flames have had the same problems when they drafted Tim Erixon and it has plagued them up until last June.
Erixon is no longer part of the Calgary Flames franchise because he was traded to the New York Rangers for Roman Horak due to a disagreement in signing the entry level contract. Because he needed to sign with a team before the 2011 Draft, or else the Flames would lose his rights, Jay Feaster sent him to New York on June 1st, 2011, 23 days before the 2011 NHL Draft.
Since Erixon joined the Rangers, he played only 18 games for the team (racking up two assists) and 52 games for their AHL affiliate (with 3 goals, 30 assists). Horak played 61 games for the Flames this past season (3 goals, 8 assists). Whether or not the success of the trade played out on the ice, the Flames did win by getting rid of a player that did not want to be in Calgary. Hard to get a player to play when they don’t want to be there.
Other players the Flames could have picked up instead of Erixon?
Could any of these players made much of a difference for the Calgary Flames? Maybe. Could the Flames have done better than picking up Roman Horak? Maybe. The only thing that is known is that Tim Erixon is much happier not in Calgary.
Go Flames Go!