1997 – 98 Calgary Flames season The 1997 – 98 Calgary Flames season was the 18th National Hockey League season in Calgary . After a disappointing 1996 – 97 season , the Flames looked to newly hired coach Brian Sutter to return the Flames to the playoffs . The off - season featured the trade of highly popular forward Gary Roberts shortly before the season began . Roberts missed the entire 1996 – 97 NHL season due to injury after playing only 35 games in 1995 – 96 . Feeling that playing in the Eastern Conference with its lower travel would help aid him in his comeback , the Flames agreed to trade Roberts . He was dealt , along with starting goaltender Trevor Kidd to the Carolina Hurricanes for Andrew Cassels and Jean - Sebastien Giguere . The season would serve as a bitter disappointment for the Flames from start to end , as the Flames would struggle to score goals all season long , ultimately finishing with the worst record in Calgary history at 26 – 41 – 15 , while 67 points was the lowest in franchise history since the expansion Atlanta Flames managed just 65 in 1972 – 73 . Theoren Fleury was named to the North American team at the 1998 NHL All Star Game , where he recorded two assists playing on a line with Wayne Gretzky and Mark Recchi . Defenceman Derek Morris was named a Rookie All Star . Fleury also represented Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano , Japan . Prior to the start of the season , the Flames purchased the Western Hockey League ' s Calgary Hitmen for approximately $ 1 . 5 million . The struggling franchise was nearly destroyed by the fallout of the Graham James scandal . Playoffs . The Flames finished 11th in the Western Conference with just 67 points , eleven points behind the 8th place San Jose Sharks . Calgary missed the playoffs for the second straight season . Player stats . Skaters . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; PIM = Penalty minutes " Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary . Stats reflect time with the Flames only . 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 " Transactions . The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1997 – 98 season . Draft picks . Calgary ' s picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft , held in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . Farm teams . Saint John Flames . The Baby Flames finished the 1997 – 98 American Hockey League season with a franchise record 43 wins , as their 43 – 24 – 13 record led the Flames to the Atlantic Division title , the first division championship in team history . The Flames marched tto the Calder Cup finals , defeating the St . John ' s Maple Leafs 3 – 1 , the Portland Pirates 4 – 2 , and Hartford Wolf Pack 4 – 1 . The Flames fell to the Philadelphia Phantoms 4 – 2 in the finals , however . Hnat Domenichelli led the Flames with 33 goals , while Ladislav Kohn led the team with 56 points . Tyler Moss played the majority of the games in goal , leading the team with 19 wins in 39 games , while his 2 . 49 GAA was just behind the 2 . 46 posted by Jean - Sebastien Giguere in 31 games .