Promoted early into the 1995-96 season, Al Coates was handed the reigns to the weakest Calgary Flames team arguably ever. Combined with a declining Canadian dollar and the lone superstar wanting out, Coates walked into one of the worst situations for a GM ever.
In the last installation of this series, we showed how Doug Risebrough was tasked with ripping down the franchise through the trade market, but also tasked with building it back up via the draft. He acquired many picks, and did nothing with them. So early into 1995, it became Coates’ job to expedite that process.