Before Roberto Luongo ever became one of the best goaltenders in the NHL,adidas Craig Anderson jersey, he could have (and should have) been a member of the Calgary Flames.

Speaking on TSN 1040 radio in Vancouver on Wednesday, former Flames general manger Craig Button shared the details of a trade he wish he made at the NHL Draft in 2000.

Mike Milbury in Long Island was moving Roberto Luongo and he ended up trading him to Florida,” said Button,“When I first took over in Calgary, who is now a hockey analyst with TSN. “I could have traded Derek Morris for Roberto Luongo at that time.

coming in, I look back at that, especially with some of the goaltending challenges we had in Calgary at the outset,adidas Jordan Eberle jersey, I felt like it was a situation where I really liked Derek Morris and I didn’t want to start manoeuvring around too much. But boy,adidas Jaroslav Halak jersey,“At the time,Authentic Mike Condon jersey, that would have been a real good move.”

Button became GM of the Flames in 2000,Authentic Craig Anderson jersey, a position he held until 2003. Fred Brathwaite was Calgary’s starting goalie in Button’s first year as GM.

was eventually dealt by the New York Islanders to the Florida Panthers in a regrettable decision by Milbury. The trade,adidas Marc-Andre Fleury jersey, just 21 years old at the time, which also saw Olli Jokinen head to Florida,Luongo, returned just Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha.

The decision to trade Luongo was facilitated because Milbury wanted to draft Rick DiPietro first overall – passing over Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik to do so – also a regrettable decision.

just 21 at the time,Authentic Jaroslav Halak jersey, was a good young defenceman thought to have a bright future on the Flames’ defence. He was coming off a 38-point season in his third year in Calgary,Morris,Authentic Jordan Eberle jersey, so you can understand why there was a reluctance to trade him.

so he was certainly a serviceable player,Morris wound up playing 1107 NHL games,Authentic Viktor Arvidsson jersey, but he never became a star. Button eventually traded him to Colorado two years after the potential Luongo deal.

meanwhile,adidas Mike Condon jersey, before moving on to the Vancouver Canucks (and back to the Panthers). He’s currently fourth on the all-time goalie wins list behind only Martin Brodeur,adidas James Neal jersey, Patrick Roy,Authentic James Neal jersey, went on to become a perennial All-Star with the Panthers,Authentic Marc-Andre Fleury jersey,Luongo, and Ed Belfour.