# 1986–87 Calgary Flames season

The 1986–87 Calgary Flames season was the seventh National Hockey League season in Calgary and 15th for the Flames franchise. The Flames posted their best record in franchise history to that time, as Calgary's 95 points was the third best total in the league. The Flames' defence of their 1986 Campbell Conference championship was quickly snuffed out by the Winnipeg Jets, as the Flames were upset in the first round of the playoffs in six games by their Manitoba rivals.
Joe Mullen captured his first Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for gentlemanly conduct, while Al MacInnis was named a Second Team All-star. The Flames had no player representatives at Rendez-vous '87, which replaced the All-Star Game for this season, though head coach Bob Johnson served as an assistant coach for the NHL all-stars.
Tragedy struck the Flames in the summer of 1986, as their first round draft pick, George Pelawa, died in an automobile crash over the Labour Day weekend. Pelawa's death is commonly rumoured to be an inspiration for the 1988 Tom Cochrane song "Big League", but has never been confirmed as true.
Following the season, the Flames released a music video to benefit charity. The "Red Hot" video featured many players, including Lanny McDonald, Gary Roberts, Mike Vernon, Al MacInnis and Joel Otto, among others, lipsynching and pretending to play instruments. It was released on VHS and on vinyl. It enjoyed popularity then but was forgotten until the video surfaced on the internet in 2005.

## Regular season
### Season standings

Smythe Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 50 | 24 | 6 | 372 | 284 | 106 |
| Calgary Flames | 80 | 46 | 31 | 3 | 318 | 289 | 95 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 40 | 32 | 8 | 279 | 271 | 88 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 31 | 41 | 8 | 318 | 341 | 70 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 29 | 43 | 8 | 282 | 314 | 66 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents

Smythe Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Smythe Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
Calgary
—6–1–15–34–42–617–14–1
Edmonton
1–6–1—4–2–27–0–15–317–11–4
Los Angeles
3–52–4–2—2–5–13–510–19–3
Vancouver
4–40–7–15–2–1—3–512–18–2
Winnipeg
6–23–55–35–3—19–13–0
Vs. Norris Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
Calgary
3–01–21–1–11–22–18–6–1
Edmonton
1–23–02–0–13–02–111–3–1
Los Angeles
1–1–13–00–2–11–1–11–1–16–5–4
Vancouver
1–1–11–20–32–0–12–16–7–2
Winnipeg
0–31–1–12–11–0–21–25–7–3
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
Calgary
1–23–02–11–22–19–6–0
Edmonton
1–22–12–13–03–011–4–0
Los Angeles
1–21–22–10–30–34–11–0
Vancouver
1–23–00–2–12–11–27–7–1
Winnipeg
1–22–11–1–11–21–0–26–6–3
Vs. Patrick Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
Calgary
2–12–0–12–12–12–12–112–5–1
Edmonton
2–12–0–13–01–22–11–211–6–1
Los Angeles
2–12–10–2–12–12–13–011–6–1
Vancouver
0–2–12–11–21–20–1–20–34–11–3
Winnipeg
3–01–1–12–11–22–11–1–110–6–2 :

## Schedule and results

1986–87 Schedule :
October: 3–7–0 (home: 1–3–0; road: 2–4–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
1October 9Calgary5 – 3Boston1–0–02
2October 11Calgary5 – 6Hartford1–1–02
3October 12Calgary4 – 2Buffalo2–1–04
4October 16Quebec4 – 2Calgary2–2–04
5October 18Detroit5 – 3Calgary2–3–04
6October 22Edmonton3 – 6Calgary3–3–06
7October 24Calgary2 – 5Winnipeg3–4–06
8October 26Boston6 – 0Calgary3–5–06
9October 28Calgary4 – 7Minnesota3–6–06
10October 29Calgary2 – 6Winnipeg3–7–06 :
November: 10–3–0 (home: 9–2–0; road: 1–1–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
11November 1Washington1 – 4Calgary4–7–08
12November 3Los Angeles2 – 4Calgary5–7–010
13November 5Calgary3 – 1Edmonton6–7–012
14November 7Edmonton4 – 6Calgary7–7–014
15November 9Montreal0 – 3Calgary8–7–016
16November 11Vancouver3 – 5Calgary9–7–018
17November 13Hartford3 – 4Calgary10–7–020
18November 15Calgary1 – 4Los Angeles10–8–020
19November 18Calgary0 – 5Vancouver10–9–020
20November 20Pittsburgh5 – 2Calgary10–10–020
21November 22NY Rangers5 – 8Calgary11–10–022
22November 24Edmonton5 – 6Calgary12–10–024
23November 27Winnipeg4 – 3Calgary12–11–024
24November 29Chicago4 – 5Calgary13–11–026 :
December: 9–4–1 (home: 3–1–1; road: 6–3–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
25December 2NY Islanders3 – 3Calgary13–11–127
26December 4Chicago1 – 4Calgary14–11–129
27December 6Calgary3 – 2Quebec15–11–131
28December 8Calgary3 – 5Montreal15–12–131
29December 10Calgary6 – 4Pittsburgh16–12–133
30December 11Calgary3 – 5Philadelphia16–13–133
31December 13Calgary6 – 3Los Angeles17–13–135
32December 16Detroit3 – 8Calgary18–13–137
33December 18Quebec2 – 6Calgary19–13–139
34December 20Calgary5 – 3Vancouver20–13–141
35December 22Los Angeles5 – 3Calgary20–14–141
36December 28Calgary4 – 1Buffalo21–14–143
37December 30Calgary4 – 3New Jersey22–14–145
38December 31Calgary4 – 6Detroit22–15–145 :
January:6–7–1 (home: 3–2–1; road: 3–5–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
39January 3Calgary4 – 7St. Louis22–16–145
40January 4Calgary4 – 1Chicago23–16–147
41January 8Los Angeles4 – 5Calgary24–16–149
42January 10St. Louis2 – 5Calgary25–16–151
43January 11Calgary3 – 5Edmonton25–17–151
44January 14NY Rangers8 – 5Calgary25–18–151
45January 16Calgary5 – 9Vancouver25–19–151
46January 17Vancouver4 – 3Calgary25–20–151
47January 20Calgary3 – 1NY Islanders26–20–153
48January 22Calgary5 – 7New Jersey26–21–153
49January 24Calgary3 – 5Boston26–22–153
50January 26Calgary6 – 5TorontoOT27–22–155
51January 29Minnesota3 – 3CalgaryOT27–22–256
52January 31New Jersey3 – 5Calgary28–22–258 :
February: 9–3–0 (home: 5–3–0; road: 4–0–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
53February 3Vancouver4 – 2Calgary28–23–258
54February 5St. Louis2 – 1Calgary28–24–258
55February 7NY Islanders1 – 4Calgary29–24–260
56February 8Calgary3 – 2Vancouver30–24–262
57February 14Calgary3 – 2Minnesota31–24–264
58February 16Calgary5 – 0Philadelphia32–24–266
59February 17Calgary3 – 1Pittsburgh33–24–268
60February 20Toronto2 – 7Calgary34–24–270
61February 22Washington5 – 2Calgary34–25–270
62February 24Vancouver0 – 2Calgary35–25–272
63February 26Philadelphia3 – 4Calgary36–25–274
64February 28Winnipeg3 – 5Calgary37–25–276 :
March: 9–5–0 (home: 4–1–0; road: 5–4–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
65March 1Calgary3 – 6Winnipeg37–26–276
66March 3Montreal4 – 2Calgary37–27–276
67March 5Los Angeles2 – 7Calgary38–27–278
68March 8Calgary7 – 4NY Rangers39–27–280
69March 10Calgary6 – 3Washington40–27–282
70March 11Calgary6 – 1Hartford41–27–284
71March 14Calgary4 – 6Toronto41–28–284
72March 17Buffalo2 – 6Calgary42–28–286
73March 19Edmonton4 – 5Calgary43–28–288
74March 20Calgary6 – 3Edmonton44–28–290
75March 25Calgary1 – 10Winnipeg44–29–290
76March 26Winnipeg1 – 3Calgary45–29–292
77March 28Calgary4 – 3Los Angeles46–29–294
78March 30Calgary4 – 5Los Angeles46–30–294 :
April: 0–1–1 (home: 0–1–0; road: 0–0–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
79April 2Calgary4 – 4EdmontonOT46–30–395
80April 5Winnipeg3 – 1Calgary46–31–395 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Playoffs

1987 Stanley Cup Playoffs :
Smythe Division Semi-final vs. Winnipeg – Jets win 4–2
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTSeries
1April 8Winnipeg4 – 2CalgaryWinnipeg leads 1–0
2April 9Winnipeg3 – 2CalgaryWinnipeg leads 2–0
3April 11Calgary3 – 2WinnipegOTWinnipeg leads 2–1
4April 12Calgary3 – 4WinnipegWinnipeg leads 3–1
5April 14Winnipeg3 – 4CalgaryWinnipeg leads 3–2
6April 16Calgary1 – 6WinnipegWinnipeg wins 4–2 :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Joe Mullen | 7 | 79 | 47 | 40 | 87 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Al MacInnis | 2 | 79 | 20 | 56 | 76 | 97 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Paul Reinhart | 26 | 76 | 15 | 53 | 68 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Carey Wilson | 33 | 80 | 20 | 36 | 56 | 42 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Mike Bullard$^†$ | 25 | 57 | 28 | 26 | 54 | 34 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| John Tonelli | 27 | 78 | 20 | 31 | 51 | 72 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Joel Otto | 29 | 68 | 19 | 31 | 50 | 185 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Jim Peplinski | 24 | 80 | 18 | 32 | 50 | 181 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 24 |
| Gary Suter | 20 | 68 | 9 | 40 | 49 | 70 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| Håkan Loob | 12 | 68 | 18 | 26 | 44 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Jamie Macoun | 6 | 79 | 7 | 33 | 40 | 111 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Steve Bozek | 26 | 71 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Brian Bradley | 14 | 40 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 16 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Lanny McDonald | 9 | 58 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 54 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Colin Patterson | 11 | 68 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 54 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Tim Hunter | 19 | 73 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 361 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gary Roberts | 32/10 | 32 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 85 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Dale DeGray | 28 | 27 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 29 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Neil Sheehy | 5 | 54 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 151 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Dan Quinn$^‡$ | 10 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 14 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Perry Berezan | 21 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Nick Fotiu | 22 | 42 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 145 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Kari Eloranta | 32 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Joe Nieuwendyk | 18 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Doug Risebrough | 8 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 66 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
| Kevan Guy | 3 | 24 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
| Brian Engblom | 6 | 32 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 28 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Paul Baxter | 4 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 66 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Mike Vernon | 30 | 54 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brett Hull | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Doug Dadswell | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rejean Lemelin | 1 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary. Stats reflect time with the Flames only. $^‡$Traded mid-season.

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | GAA |
| Rejean Lemelin | 31 | 34 | 1735 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 94 | 1 | 3.15 | 2 | 101 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3.56 |
| Mike Vernon | 30 | 54 | 2957 | 30 | 21 | 1 | 178 | 1 | 3.61 | 5 | 263 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 3.65 |
| Doug Dadswell | 36 | 2 | 125 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 4.80 |

## Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1986–87 season.

### Trades

| October 3, 1986 | To Calgary FlamesJim Korn | To Toronto Maple Leafs Terry Johnson |
| October 3, 1986 | To Calgary FlamesBrian Engblom | To Buffalo Sabres Jim Korn |
| October 7, 1986 | To Calgary FlamesMark Paterson | To Hartford Whalers Yves Courteau |
| November 12, 1986 | To Calgary FlamesMike Bullard | To Pittsburgh Penguins Dan Quinn |

### Free agents

| Player | Former team |
| G Doug Dadswell | Cornell University (NCAA) |
| C Marc Bureau | Longueuil Chevaliers (QMJHL) |
| Player | New team |
| D Robin Bartell | Vancouver Canucks |
| C Mark Lamb | Detroit Red Wings |

## Draft picks

Calgary's picks at the 1986 NHL Entry Draft, held in Montreal.
| 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 | 16 | George Pelawa | United States | F | Bemidji (USHS) | | | | | |
| 2 | 37 | Brian Glynn | Canada | D | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) | 431 | 25 | 79 | 104 | 410 |
| 4 | 79 | Tom Quinlan | United States | RW | N/A | | | | | |
| 5 | 100 | Scott Bloom | United States | LW | N/A | | | | | |
| 6 | 121 | John Parker | United States | C | N/A | | | | | |
| 7 | 142 | Rick Lessard | Canada | D | Ottawa 67's (OHL) | 15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 18 |
| 8 | 163 | Mark Olsen | United States | D | N/A | | | | | |
| 9 | 184 | Scott Sharples | Canada | G | Penticton Knights (BCJHL) | 1 | 0–0–1, 3.69GAA | 0–0–1, 3.69GAA | 0–0–1, 3.69GAA | 0–0–1, 3.69GAA |
| 10 | 205 | Doug Pickel | Canada | LW | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) | | | | | |
| 11 | 226 | Anders Lindstrom | Sweden | C | N/A | | | | | |
| 12 | 247 | Antonin Stavjana | Czechoslovakia | D | N/A | | | | | |
| S2 | 19 | Steve MacSwain | United States | RW | N/A | | | | | |