TWO-TIME FLAMES: MARC BUREAU WASN’T DRAFTED BUT CARVED OUT A GOOD NHL CAREER
In the illustrious history of the Calgary Flames, they’ve selected a lot of individuals in the NHL Draft that have turned into pretty good professional hockey players. They’ve also managed to find players that were otherwise overlooked in the NHL Draft that also turned into good pros.
While former captain Mark Giordano is arguably the cream of the crop in terms of undrafted Flames, forward Marc Bureau – a member of the two-time Flames club – definitely carved out a good NHL career for himself as well. As we await the return of Ryan Lomberg to the Flames for his second go-around, let’s delve into Bureau’s history with the club.
Arrival #1: Signed as a free agent
A product of the QMJHL, Bureau progressed offensively quite a bit during his run in major junior, though a slow offensive start likely kept him from being drafted. In 1984-85, he had 22 points (scoring at shy of half a point-per-game pace) and didn’t get drafted. He followed that campaign with three seasons scoring at well over a point-per-game pace – 120 points, 98 points and 112 points – but he still wasn’t drafted.
The Flames signed Bureau as an undrafted free agent following his overage season in the Q. He ended up spending parts of four seasons in their system, primarily with their minor league club in Salt Lake City. He started off slow, but quickly figured the IHL game out and scoring at well over a point-per-game pace for two of his four campaigns with the Golden Eagles.
But while Bureau had been stellar in the IHL, he hadn’t made much of an impact in 10 games as a call-up with the Flames. With the Flames deep at forward, the club opted to make a move to give Bureau a chance somewhere else.
Departure #1: Trade with Minnesota
Just prior to the 1991 trade deadline, the Flames swapped Bureau to the Minnesota North Stars in exchange for a 1991 third-round pick. The trade worked out pretty well for each club: Bureau finished out the season with North Stars (he had six assists over nine games, including a pair against the Flames) while the Flames used the draft choice to select Sandy McCarthy.
After the trade to Minnesota, Bureau ended up bouncing around a little bit. He established himself as an NHL regular the following season, but ended up having multi-season runs with Tampa Bay, Montreal and Philadelphia. But before his career was completed, Bureau found his way back to his NHL roots.
Arrival #2: Trade with Philadelphia
Prior to the 2000 trade deadline – and nine full years after they traded him away – the Flames re-acquired Bureau in a swap with the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Travis Brigley and a 2001 sixth-round pick. Brigley was a second-round pick by the Flames in 1996 but hadn’t quite blossomed as a pro, while the Flames were looking to add some veteran depth to insulate themselves from possible injuries down the stretch.
Bureau suited up for nine games for the Flames after being reacquired.
Departure #2: Left as a free agent (and subsequently retired)
Unfortunately for Bureau and the Flames, their second dance was about as short as their first one. He spent much of 2000-01 battling a recurring back injury and was limited to just 17 games, all of them with the AHL’s Saint John Flames. He became an unrestricted free agent following that season and ultimately ended up retiring.
Bureau never was able to translate his strong offensive production from the QMJHL or the IHL into the NHL level. But he carved out a career featuring over 500 NHL games despite never being selected in the NHL Draft and undoubtedly had an impressive career as a pro.
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2024-09-01T14:37:31Z dg43tfdfdgfd