Flames Best #1 Of All Time: Pat Riggin

Over the years 15 different players have worn a Flames jersey (Atlanta & Calgary), but none had a better career wearing that single digit than goalie Pat Riggin. The Kincardine Ontario native spent three years with the Flames, starting in 1979-80 with Atlanta and then transitioning to Calgary with the team for the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons. Riggin was taken by Atlanta in the 1979 NHL Draft with the 33rd pick overall. Not a bad return on a first round pick as compared to the other #1’s at the bottom on this piece.

Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images

Yes, three seasons is a rather small sample size, but when you look at what was available, you’ll understand why. Riggin played in 119 games for the Atlanta/Calgary Flames, winning 51 times, losing 44 and racking up 17 ties. A pretty solid win/loss record for a guy who wasn’t with the organization very long, something most guys sporting the #1 didn’t do (win or stick around). In a time when pads were smaller and it was much easier to score, Pat Riggin also had very respectable numbers when it came to Save% and GAA. He averaged an .880 Save% and 3.89 GAA during his tenure with the Flames, which for the time is very solid.

Riggin would finish out his NHL career with stops in Washington, Boston and Pittsburgh after leaving Calgary, playing in a total of 350 games over a nine year span.

Other Players Having Worn #1 In Flames History:

Phil Myre (1973-78), Reggie Lemelin (1979-80), Jim Craig (1980), Don Edwards (1983-95), Marc D’Amour (1986), Steve Guenette (1990-91), Scott Sharples (1992), Andrei Trefilov (1993-95), Tyler Moss (1998), Tyrone Garner (1999), Roman Turek (2002-04), Curtis McElhinney (2009-10), Jonas Hiller (2015-16), Brian Elliott (2017)

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