The 2024-25 NHL season is fully underway, with every team having played at least six games so far. There have been plenty of surprises early in the campaign, but none more confusing than the start the Calgary Flames are having. The team began the season with at least one point in its first six games before regulation losses to the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets. However, enthusiasm is building a bit outside the NHL with the league unveiling of national team jerseys for the next 4 Nations Face-Off event.

The event is the first of its kind and, for those who don’t know, it will be a four-team international round-robin tournament between Canada, Sweden, Finland and the United States. The two teams with the best results after the first round will play in the final. As part of this preparation, we have created a series on the best Flames players from each nation, and we will continue it here. So far we have covered Finland And Suede. The nation in the spotlight for this edition is the United States. Here are the five best Americans for the Calgary Flames.

5. Matthew Tkachuk, forward

Our fifth place belongs to the recently departed Matthew Tkachuk. The 26-year-old currently plies his trade for the Florida Panthers, where he is the reigning Stanley Cup champion after winning it in 2024. For those who don’t know, Tkachuk is the son of former NHL star Keith Tkachuk and brother of the Ottawa Senators. captain Brady Tkachuk. The rugged forward was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, but grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and began his career with the Flames after they were drafted sixth overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He had just completed the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Memorial Cup championships with the London Knights. Tkachuk made the Flames’ 2016–17 roster out of camp and scored his first NHL goal on October 18, 2016.

Tkachuk played the next five seasons with the team and endeared himself to the Flames faithful on a nightly basis with his entertaining combination of offensive skills and opposing hustle. The 2021-22 season was his best; he scored a career-high 42 goals and 104 points in 82 games and had a whopping plus/minus rating of plus-57. He also helped push the team to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with four goals and 10 points in 12 games. As a pending restricted free agent that summer, Tkachuk communicated to then-general manager Brad Treliving that he would not re-sign with the franchise and that they would have to trade him. This caused a huge stir across the league and soured many Flames fans. Shortly after, Tkachuk was traded to the Panthers in a blockbuster trade for a package that included current Flames Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar. In total, Tkachuk played 431 games with the Flames and scored 152 goals and 382 points.

4. Joe Mullen, forward

The next legendary American winger Joe Mullen. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York City, he didn’t start skating until he was 10 years old. Mullen took to playing hockey very quickly, however, as he dominated his local junior hockey association and earned a full path to play hockey and attend Boston College. In four seasons there, Mullen accumulated school records of 110 goals and 212 points. Probably due to his small size (5 feet 9 inches, 180 pounds), Mullen was not drafted into the NHL. The St. Louis Blues took a chance and he rewarded them with multiple seasons of 40 goals and 20 points in 19 playoff games. The Flames needed a scorer at that time and made the decision to acquire Mullen in a massive six-player trade.

Related: The best undrafted Calgary Flames players of all time

Mullen found immediate success in Cowtown. He helped the team reach the 1986 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Montreal Canadiens. With just 14 penalty minutes in 1985-86, Mullen was voted winner of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the first time (he won it again in 1988-89). The 1988-89 season saw the small forward unleash his full potential; he scored a career-high 51 goals and 110 points in 79 games, then followed that up with 16 goals and 24 points in 21 playoff games as the Flames won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. As part of another “on-the-fly rebuild,” the Flames sent the veteran Mullen to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990, where he won two more Stanley Cups (1991, 1992). He retired from playing in 1997, became a coach and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000. As a Flame, Mullen scored 190 goals and 388 points in 345 games.

3. Joel Otto, forward

The third is a defensive pillar Joel Otto. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound center is from Elk River, Minn., and played three years of college hockey at Bemidji State. He led his team to an undefeated record and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award in 1984, leading to some interest in the NHL. The Flames signed him to a minor league contract for the 1984-85 season. He impressed enough to play 17 games for the big club and scored 12 points. The following season, Otto remained with the Flames and scored a career-high 25 goals and 59 points in 79 games. He added an impressive five goals and 15 points in 22 playoff games during the aforementioned run to the 1986 Stanley Cup Final.

Otto quickly became a premier two-way center player, responsible for shutting down the opposition’s best forwards and winning key faceoffs. Over the next three seasons, Otto scored 50 points or more and scored 20+ goals for the second time in 1988-89. Otto took it up a notch in the 1989 Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring six goals and 19 points in 22 games en route to his first and only Stanley Cup victory. After six more solid seasons with the Flames, the franchise decided they couldn’t afford to keep Otto in the fold with new salary rules constraining them. He decided to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent in 1995. The towering forward played for three seasons with the Flyers and retired after he started to slow down in 1998. He also became a coach with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League. . Otto finished his tenure with the Flames with 167 goals and 428 points in 730 games.

2. Gary Suter, Defense

Our second-best American is also the only defender on the roster (spoiler alert). Madison, Wisconsin Gary Suter played for his hometown college team from 1983 to 1985. In 1984, the Flames liked what they saw and criticized Suter, drafting him in the ninth round, 180th overall. He made the team for the 1985-86 season and immediately became a sensation; he finished his rookie campaign with 18 goals and 68 points in 80 games to lead all Flames defensemen in scoring. For his efforts, he was named an All-Star and won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. After 10 points in 10 playoff games, Suter was injured and was unable to continue the team’s journey to the 1986 Stanley Cup Final.

Suter’s best regular season came in 1987-88 when he scored 21 goals and a career-high 91 points in 75 games, which led all NHL rearguards. Suter was once again named an All-Star and was a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman. In 1989, he was unfortunately eliminated from another Stanley Cup run after breaking his jaw in the first round against the Vancouver Canucks. Nevertheless, his name was engraved on the Stanley Cup for the first and only time in his career. After five more seasons and a nagging knee injury, Suter was dealt to the Hartford Whalers, then the Chicago Blackhawks. He played four seasons there and four with the San Jose Sharks before retiring in 2002. Suter scored 128 goals and 564 points in 617 games with the Flames.

1. Johnny Gaudreau, forward

The best American flame of all time is undoubtedly “Johnny Hockey” himself, Johnny Gaudreau. The winger was born and raised in the state of New Jersey and was drafted by the Flames in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Draft before playing for Boston College. Gaudreau finished his three-year college career with a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship and a Hobey Baker Award among a handful of other honors. He made his NHL debut with the Flames in the final game of the 2013–14 season, scoring his first goal on his first shot. This translated into his rookie season in 2014–15, in which he totaled 24 goals and 64 points in 80 games, was selected as an NHL All-Star, and finished third in Calder Trophy voting . Gaudreau helped the Flames reach the second round of the playoffs that season with four goals and nine points in 11 games before the team was defeated by the Anaheim Ducks.

Gaudreau improved over time, earning six more All-Star selections. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound player played big and always wanted the puck on his stick. Once he had it, magic would probably happen. A gentleman on and off the ice, he also won the Lady Byng Trophy in 2017. Gaudreau exploded in 2021-22, scoring a career-high 40 goals and 115 points in 82 games. He and the Flames faced the Dallas Stars in the first round of the 2022 playoffs, who had beaten them two years earlier. Gaudreau scored the game-winning goal in Game 4 and electrified Flames fans with an overtime game-winning goal in Game 7, sending the Flames to the next round. That summer, Gaudreau opted to test free agency and signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played two seasons with them before the hockey world came to a grinding halt. with premature deaths of him and his brother Matthew in 2024. They were struck and killed by a drunk driver in New Jersey while riding their bicycles. The Flames faithful will never forget Gaudreau’s contributions to the franchise. That was way more than his 210 goals and 609 points in 602 games.

Finally, a handful of actors might have arguments to include in this subjective list. These five have all had a huge impact on the Flames franchise as well as American hockey. Their names are synonymous with moments of success in Flames team history, which is no coincidence. Be sure to tune in to the 4 Nations showdown and remember to report any instances of impaired driving to your local authorities.