# 2004–05 Calgary Flames season

The 2004–05 Calgary Flames season was the 25th National Hockey League season in Calgary. All games of this season were cancelled as the 2004–05 NHL lockout could not be resolved in time. As a result, the Flames were unable to raise their Western Conference championship banner until the start of 2005–06 season.

## NHL lockout

Flames owner, and NHL Chairman of the Board, Harley Hotchkiss was a key figure in the resolution of the labour dispute. Initially taking a low key role, Hotchkiss was thrust into the spotlight when he was invited by NHLPA president Trevor Linden to last-ditch meeting in January 2005 to save the season. While that meeting was unsuccessful in resolving the dispute, the two would continue to meet until an agreement was finally hammered out on July 13, 2005. Hotchkiss' role in the negotiations was prominently mentioned when he was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006.
Defenceman Mike Commodore created a stir early on in the lockout when he stated during a radio interview for The Fan 960 in Calgary that he would accept a salary cap if it meant resolving the lockout.
   I'll risk the slap on the wrist. I don't want to spend however long my career lasts playing here in the American Hockey League, so I think whatever it takes. It's got to be give and take on both sides, not one side can be making all the money. But if (a salary cap is) what it takes -- the sport has to go on -- so I'm going to say, yeah.
Commodore was also critical of the leadership of the NHLPA:
   I don't think it's being handled well at all. The thing is, you look at the PA and who's in charge ... it's all the guys that have made $30 million playing this game. If there's never another game of hockey ... and they don't make another cent playing in the NHL, they're gonna be all right.
Unlike other players who made similar statements, Commodore never retracted his comments.
During the lockout, the Flames heavily promoted their Western Hockey League team, the Calgary Hitmen. The result was that the Hitmen obliterated the WHL record for attendance by over 40,000 with a season mark of 362,227. The mark would also set a CHL record. The Hitmen's average of 10,062 was the highest average of any junior or professional hockey team in North America.

## Schedule

2004–05 schedule :
Preseason
GameDateOpponent
1September 24@ Chicago Blackhawks
2September 25Vancouver Canucks
3September 28Edmonton Oilers
4September 30Chicago Blackhawks
5October 1@ Edmonton Oilers
6October 3@ Edmonton Oilers
7October 7Edmonton Oilers
8October 8@ Vancouver Canucks :
Regular season
GameDateOpponent
1October 13@ Anaheim Mighty Ducks
2October 15@ Los Angeles Kings
3October 17@ Edmonton Oilers
4October 19Vancouver Canucks
5October 21St. Louis Blues
6October 23Columbus Blue Jackets
7October 26@ Vancouver Canucks
8October 29@ Colorado Avalanche
9October 30@ Phoenix Coyotes
10November 2Nashville Predators
11November 4Colorado Avalanche
12November 6Edmonton Oilers
13November 9Anaheim Mighty Ducks
14November 11@ Tampa Bay Lightning
15November 12@ Florida Panthers
16November 14@ Carolina Hurricanes
17November 18Nashville Predators
18November 20Chicago Blackhawks
19November 23@ St. Louis Blues
20November 24@ Detroit Red Wings
21November 26Colorado Avalanche
22November 28@ Minnesota Wild
23November 30Toronto Maple Leafs
24December 2@ Vancouver Canucks
25December 3Columbus Blue Jackets
26December 5@ Colorado Avalanche
27December 7Edmonton Oilers
28December 9Vancouver Canucks
29December 11Detroit Red Wings
30December 14@ Edmonton Oilers
31December 16@ Ottawa Senators
32December 18@ Toronto Maple Leafs
33December 21Edmonton Oilers
34December 27Minnesota Wild
35December 29Philadelphia Flyers
36December 31Montreal Canadiens
37January 3San Jose Sharks
38January 6@ Nashville Predators
39January 7@ Minnesota Wild
40January 9@ Columbus Blue Jackets
41January 11Dallas Stars
42January 14Ottawa Senators
43January 16@ Chicago Blackhawks
44January 17@ Pittsburgh Penguins
45January 19@ Detroit Red Wings
46January 21New York Islanders
47January 23Anaheim Mighty Ducks
48January 25@ Dallas Stars
49January 27@ Phoenix Coyotes
50January 29New Jersey Devils
51February 1San Jose Sharks
52February 3New York Rangers
53February 5Detroit Red Wings
54February 7@ Edmonton Oilers
55February 8Phoenix Coyotes
56February 10Vancouver Canucks
57February 16@ Los Angeles Kings
58February 17@ San Jose Sharks
59February 19@ Vancouver Canucks
60February 24Minnesota Wild
61February 26Boston Bruins
62March 1@ St. Louis Blues
63March 2@ Dallas Stars
64March 4@ Chicago Blackhawks
65March 6@ Atlanta Thrashers
66March 8@ Nashville Predators
67March 10Chicago Blackhawks
68March 12St. Louis Blues
69March 15Minnesota Wild
70March 17Phoenix Coyotes
71March 19@ Colorado Avalanche
72March 20@ Minnesota Wild
73March 22Washington Capitals
74March 24Los Angeles Kings
75March 26@ Montreal Canadiens
76March 27@ Buffalo Sabres
77March 30@ Columbus Blue Jackets
78April 2Dallas Stars
79April 4Los Angeles Kings
80April 6@ Anaheim Mighty Ducks
81April 7@ San Jose Sharks
82April 10Colorado Avalanche :

## Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions from June 8, 2004, the day after the deciding game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, through February 16, 2005, the day the 2004–05 season was officially cancelled.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 25, 2004 (2004-06-25) | To Calgary Flames 1st-round pick in 20042nd-round pick in 2004 | To New York Rangers 1st-round pick in 20048th-round pick in 2004 |
| June 26, 2004 (2004-06-26) | To Calgary Flames 3rd-round pick in 20043rd-round pick in 2004 | To Columbus Blue Jackets 2nd-round pick in 2004 |
| August 26, 2004 (2004-08-26) | To Calgary Flames Daymond Langkow | To Phoenix Coyotes Denis GauthierOleg Saprykin |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 2, 2004 (2004-07-02) | Byron Ritchie | Florida Panthers | 3-year | Free agency |
| July 6, 2004 (2004-07-06) | Carsen Germyn | Norfolk Admirals (AHL) | | Free agency |
| July 6, 2004 (2004-07-06) | Mark Giordano | Owen Sound Attack (OHL) | | Free agency |
| July 6, 2004 (2004-07-06) | Davin Heintz | Swift Current Broncos (WHL) | | Free agency |
| July 6, 2004 (2004-07-06) | Dustin Johner | South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) | | Free agency |
| July 6, 2004 (2004-07-06) | Patrik Nilson | Laredo Bucks (CHL) | | Free agency |
| July 6, 2004 (2004-07-06) | Richie Regehr | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) | | Free agency |
| July 6, 2004 (2004-07-06) | Justin Taylor | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) | | Free agency |
| August 5, 2004 (2004-08-05) | Jason Wiemer | Minnesota Wild | 3-year | Free agency |
| September 7, 2004 (2004-09-07) | Sebastien Centomo | Toronto Maple Leafs | | Free agency |
| September 15, 2004 (2004-09-15) | Anders Eriksson | Columbus Blue Jackets | | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 1, 2004 (2004-07-01) | Dave Lowry | | Contract expiration (III) |
| July 1, 2004 (2004-07-01) | Jesse Wallin | | Contract expiration (VI) |
| July 1, 2004 (2004-07-01) | Brad Werenka | | Contract expiration (III) |
| July 6, 2004 (2004-07-06) | Craig Conroy | Los Angeles Kings | Free agency (III) |
| July 15, 2004 (2004-07-15) | Krzysztof Oliwa | New Jersey Devils | Free agency (III) |
| September 2, 2004 (2004-09-02) | Petr Buzek | HC Dukla Jihlava (ELH) | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 2, 2004 (2004-09-02) | Martin Sonnenberg | Phoenix Coyotes | Free agency (VI) |
| September 25, 2004 (2004-09-25) | Dany Sabourin | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 5, 2004 (2004-10-05) | Dean McAmmond | Albany River Rats (AHL) | Free agency (III) |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 1, 2004 (2004-07-01) | Ville Nieminen | 1-year | Option exercised |
| July 2, 2004 (2004-07-02) | Chris Simon | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 20, 2004 (2004-07-20) | Marcus Nilson | 3-year | Re-signing |
| July 26, 2004 (2004-07-26) | Mike Commodore | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 3, 2004 (2004-08-03) | Denis Gauthier | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 18, 2004 (2004-08-18) | Jordan Leopold | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 23, 2004 (2004-08-23) | Miikka Kiprusoff | 1-year | Arbitration award |
| September 15, 2004 (2004-09-15) | Lynn Loyns | | Re-signing |
| September 15, 2004 (2004-09-15) | Dion Phaneuf | | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Calgary's picks at the 2004 NHL entry draft held at Raleigh, North Carolina. The Flames had the 24th overall pick in the draft, the first time they picked outside of the top 20 since 1995.
| Rnd | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | Team (league) | NHL statistics | NHL statistics | NHL statistics | NHL statistics | NHL statistics |
| Rnd | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | Team (league) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1 | 24 | Kris Chucko | Canada | LW | Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | 70 | Brandon Prust | Canada | C | London Knights (OHL) | 486 | 40 | 75 | 115 | 1036 |
| 3 | 98 | Dustin Boyd | Canada | C | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) | 220 | 32 | 31 | 63 | 41 |
| 4 | 118 | Aki Seitsonen | Finland | C | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) | | | | | |
| 4 | 121 | Kris Hogg | Canada | LW | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) | | | | | |
| 6 | 173 | Adam Pardy | Canada | D | Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL) | 342 | 4 | 48 | 52 | 269 |
| 6 | 182 | Fred Wikner | Sweden | F | Frolunda Jr. | | | | | |
| 7 | 200 | Matthew Schneider | Canada | C | Tri-City Americans (WHL) | | | | | |
| 7 | 213 | James Spratt | United States | G | Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) | | | | | |
| 9 | 279 | Adam Cracknell | Canada | RW | Kootenay Ice (WHL) | 210 | 21 | 22 | 43 | 46 |

## Farm teams
### Lowell Lockmonsters

The Flames American Hockey League affiliate for the second year was the Lowell Lockmonsters, whom they shared with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Lockmonsters finished with a franchise best record of 47–27–5–1, good for third in the Atlantic Division. The Lockmonsters would be bounced from the playoffs in the second round, however.
Chuck Kobasew led Lowell with a franchise record 38 goals, while Brent Krahn recorded six shutouts in only 35 games as he played backup to Carolina's top goaltending prospect, Cam Ward.

### Las Vegas Wranglers

The Las Vegas Wranglers were the Flames ECHL affiliate for the second year in 2004–05. The second year club finished with a 31–33–8 record, missing the playoffs after finishing 7th in the West Division.