Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter CXXI: 32-31

32. Pat Quinn

Have you ever heard of Pat Quinn? Yeah, the ex-head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Edmonton Oilers. One time, long ago, he suited up with the Flames with the team exclusively in Atlanta, and scored a grand total of 12 goals over five seasons, but he was a force on the defensive end. A 6’3", 215 blue liner, he was also known as "The Big Irishman," "Large Steve," and "Borch." He was born in Hamilton, Ontario on January 29th, 1943, and had a long pre-NHL career before making his debut with the Maple Leafs in 1968-69.

Quinn first earned notice with the Hamilton Tiger Cubs in the OHA in 1958-59, earning a pair of assists in 47 games over two seasons. He later appeared with the Edmonton Oil Kings (CAHL, stats unavailable), the EHL’s Knoxville Knights (72 games, six goals, 31 assists, 217 penalty minutes), the CPHL’s Tulsa Oilers (140 games, six goals, 54 assists, 411 penalty minutes), Memphis Wings (67 games, two goals, 16 assists), and Houston Apollos (15 games, zero goals, three assists), and the WHL’s Seattle Totems (35 games, one goal, three assists).

Quinn played parts of two seasons with the Leafs, scoring twice with 12 assists in 99 games. He joined the Canucks for two seasons beginning in 1970-71, scoring a grand total of four goals with 21 assists in 135 contests. The Flames claimed him on June 6th, 1972, making him an original Flame.

In Atlanta’s maiden voyage in 1972-73, Quinn would be one of five Flames to appear in every game, playing all 78. He served as the Flames’ first Captain, but scored only twice (one a shorty) on 88 shots, along with a blueline best 18 assists, and team highs with a plus-2 rating and with 113 penalty minutes. He earned 5.7 point shares, which ranked him second amongst the skaters on the club. Atlanta was not very good that year, despite Quinn’s strong play, and managed to eke out only 25 wins (against 38 losses and 15 ties).

Atlanta was better in 1973-74, and earned their first playoff berth with a 30-34-14 record. Quinn missed only one contest, playing in 77 and totaling a career high 32 points on five goals and 27 assists. He took 93 shots on goal, and again led the club with a plus-15 rating and with 94 penalty minutes. His 7.5 point shares again ranked him second on the team. Quinn appeared in all four games of the postseason, but didn’t impact the scoresheet as the Flames were swept by the Philadelphia Flyers.

1974-75 would see Quinn play all 80 of Atlanta’s games, scoring twice on 68 shots. He dished out 19 assists, placed third with a plus-12 rating, again leading the team with 156 penalty minutes. The team improved, going 34-31-15, but missed the playoffs.

In 1975-76, Quinn continued to make a habit of playing in every game, appearing in all 80 contests. He scored twice on 58 shots with 11 assists, a plus-5 rating, and a team best 134 penalty minutes. Atlanta returned to the postseason with a 35-33-12 record, but were swept out in two games by the Kings. Quinn earned an assist on the Flames’ only goal of the series.

1976-77 would mark the end of Quinn’s association with the playing side of the NHL. For the first time in Atlanta’s history, they were not led in penalty minutes by him. He scored a single goal on 29 shots, with a dozen assists in 59 appearances after he was hobbled by an ankle injury. He also registered a minus-7 rating and 58 penalty minutes. The Flames earned a 34-34-12 record before losing two-games-to-one to the Kings in the first round of the playoffs. Quinn only appeared in one game, retiring after the end of the season.

Quinn subsequently coached all or part of 20 NHL seasons, racking up a 684-528-154-34 record between the five teams he coached. His teams wound up in the postseason on 15 occasions through his coaching career.

All-Time Statline: 374 games, 12 goals, 87 assists, plus-27 rating, 555 penalty minutes, 25.97 point shares.

31. Curtis Glencross

Glencross was born on December 28th, 1982 in Kindersley, Saskatchewan. A 6’1", 200 lb. left winger, he first surfaced with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits, where he totaled 65 goals and 48 assists with 276 penalty minutes in 113 contests over two seasons. He then joined the University of Alaska-Anchorage for two collegiate seasons (72 games, 32 goals, 25 assists, 158 penalty minutes). Before finding his way to the Flames during the 2008 offseason, he also played in the AHL with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (58 games, eight goals, four assists, 69 PiM), the Portland Pirates (72 games, 21 goals, 20 assists, 159 PiM), and the Syracuse Crunch (29 games, 19 goals, 16 assists, 53 PiM).

2006-07 would see Glencross make his NHL debut with the Anaheim Ducks (two games, one goal), later appearing with the Columbus Blue Jackets (43 games, six goals, six assists) and the Edmonton Oilers (26 games, nine goals, four assists). During the 2008 offseason, the Flames signed him to a three-year, $3,600,000 contract.

In 2008-09, Glencross played in 74 games for his new team, playing 14:41 per contest. He tied for seventh on the team with 40 total points, with 13 goals on 152 shots along with 27 assists, a team-third plus-14 rating, and 42 penalty minutes. On November 25th, he scored a goal and added two assists in a 6-2 Calgary win over the Los Angeles Kings. The Flames posted an overall 46-30-6 record to place second in the NHL’s Northwest Division, then lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. Glencross had three assists and 12 penalty minutes while appearing in every game.

Glencross scored a team-third 15 goals on 117 shots in 2009-10, with 18 assists in 67 games for the Flames. He skated for 15:43 per appearance, and finished up with a plus-11 rating and 58 penalty minutes. He ranked fifth in the NHL with three shorthanded markers, He scored his first career hat trick on February 3rd, as the Flames defeated the Carolina Hurricanes by a 4-1 final score. Calgary posted a 40-32-10 overall record, but did not earn enough points to qualify for the postseason, finishing five behind the eighth seeded Colorado Avalanche.

2010-11 would see Glencross play 16:15 per game over 79 total appearances. He was third on the club with 24 goals, scored on 149 shots along with 19 assists. He also had a plus-6 rating and 59 penalty minutes with four game winning markers. On March 4th, he earned two assists and scored the game winning goal in a  4-3 win over the Blue Jackets. Calgary ended up with a 41-29-12 record, but missed the playoffs by three points.

In 2011-12, Glencross averaged 18:01 per night over 67 games. He was fourth on the team with 48 points, with 26 goals scored on 110 shots and 22 assists. He led the NHL with a 23.6% shot success rate. He went minus-13 on the season and also ranked fourth on the team in penalty minutes with 62 penalty minutes. He had a goal and three assists in a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils. Calgary closed shop on a 37-29-16 season.

Glencross appeared in 40 of the lockout-shortened 48 games in 2012-13. He led the club with 15 markers on 92 shots, along with 11 assists, a minus-8 rating, and 18 penalty minutes in 18:14 per night. He earned his second career hat trick on March 15th, scoring three goals on four shots in a 6-3 victory over the Nashville Predators. The club sunk to a 19-25-4 finish.

2013-14 would see Glencross miss the majority of the season with a variety of ailments, including a high ankle sprain and a sprained knee. He appeared 38 times for an average of 17:37 per night. He scored a dozen goals on 77 shots with 12 assists, 12 penalty minutes, and a minus-11 rating. On March 22nd, he earned his third career hat trick in an 8-1 decision over the Edmonton Oilers. The team started slow, but closed out better to finish at 35-40-7. Glencross will be entering this season in the fourth year of a four-year, $10,200,000 contract.

All-Time Statline: 365 games, 105 goals, 109 assists, minus-1 rating, 251 penalty minutes, 26.05 point shares.