2003 – 04 Calgary Flames season The 2003 – 04 Calgary Flames season was the 24th National Hockey League season in Calgary , and the 32nd for the franchise in the NHL . The Flames ended a seven - year playoff drought , qualifying for the post - season for the first time since 1996 . The Flames defeated three division winners en - route to an appearance in the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals . The Flames were defeated in the finals by the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games . The run to the finals captured the imagination of the city , while the Red Mile celebrations gained international attention for the " Mardi Gras - like " atmosphere as up to 80 , 000 people celebrated in the streets after each playoff game . Head coach Darryl Sutter succeeded Craig Button as the Flames ' general manager . Sutter made numerous changes to the roster as he worked to remake the Flames into a fast , physical club . Chris Drury was dealt to Buffalo for Rhett Warrener and Steve Reinprecht before the season began . A knee injury to starting goaltender Roman Turek led Sutter to trade for Miikka Kiprusoff , a player he knew from his days with the San Jose Sharks . Kiprusoff responded to the deal by posting an NHL record low Goals Against Average of 1 . 69 . The Flames were led offensively by Jarome Iginla , who tied Ilya Kovalchuk and Rick Nash for the league lead with 41 goals as the trio shared the Rocket Richard Trophy . Iginla represented the Flames at the 54th National Hockey League All - Star Game in Minnesota , and was named a second team all - star for his performance during the season . Iginla ' s charity work and leadership both on and off the ice led to his also being awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and NHL Foundation Player Award . Regular season . After struggling with an injury to starting goaltender Roman Turek in the first game of the season , an early November trade for San Jose Sharks third stringer Miikka Kiprusoff sparked the Flames , as Kiprusoff led Calgary into the playoffs for the first time in eight years . Defenceman Mike Commodore became a cult hero for his unruly red mop of hair during the playoffs , leading many fans to wear red afro wigs to playoff games . Craig Conroy brought a team building idea from his days with the St . Louis Blues , having the team award a green hard hat to the hardest working player each time the Flames won . As the exercise gained popularity , fans also began wearing green hard hats do the arena themselves . Playoffs . Calgary ' s defeat of the Vancouver Canucks in the first round was the first playoff series victory for the Flames since they won the Cup in 1989 . Jarome Iginla scored two goals and assisted on Martin Gelinas ' overtime winner in game seven , sending fans in Calgary into the streets to celebrate the victory . The Flames pulled off an even bigger upset in round two , knocking off the President ' s Trophy winning Red Wings in six , including back - to - back 1 – 0 shutouts in the final two games . Once again , Gelinas scored the overtime winner on a rebound on a play set up by Iginla . In doing so , Gelinas became the first player in NHL history to record three career OT winners to end a series . The third round series pitted the Flames against head coach Darryl Sutter and goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff ' s old team - the San Jose Sharks . After jumping out to a 2 – 0 series lead on the road , the Sharks returned the favour , defeating Calgary twice at home . After blanking the Sharks in San Jose in game five , the Flames returned home with a chance to go to the Stanley Cup Finals . Led once again by Iginla and Gelinas , the Flames cruised to a 3 – 1 victory . Gelinas once again scored the series clinching goal , this time in the second period , to return the Flames to the Stanley Cup final for the first time since winning it in 1989 . The Finals became known for controversy . First , referee Kerry Fraser was pulled from his game six assignment in Calgary after drawing the ire of Flames fans following several calls in game four that upset the local fans . Fraser would instead officiate game seven in Tampa . The officiating in game four prompted a rant by Sutter , in which he alleged that the NHL did not want Calgary to win . Late in game six , with the score tied , a shot that deflected off of Gelinas was stopped by Tampa goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin on the goal line . Later replays indicated that the puck may have crossed the line , however the play was not reviewed at the time , and the NHL would later rule the video was inconclusive . Instead , the Lightning would win in double overtime , and go on to win game seven by a 2 – 1 score . Despite the game seven loss , the playoff run lifted the city to a new high . Over 30 , 000 fans celebrated the Flames run at a rally at Olympic Plaza shortly after the finals ended . Due to the team ' s playoff success their fans set new expectations , perhaps unrealistic ones , for the Flames . Player stats . Jarome Iginla ' s 41 goals placed him in a tie for the league lead , earning him his second Rocket Richard Trophy . Iginla shared the award with Atlanta ' s Ilya Kovalchuk and Columbus ' Rick Nash , both of whom also scored 41 goals . Iginla also led the league in playoff goals , as his total of 13 was one better than Tampa ' s Brad Richards and Ruslan Fedotenko . Iginla led the team in scoring for the fourth consecutive season , Miikka Kiprusoff , acquired from the San Jose Sharks early in the season , set a modern NHL record low Goals Against Average of 1 . 69 in 39 games played . He recorded five shutouts in the playoffs , a franchise record . Kiprusoff ' s performance with the Flames led to his being named the starting goaltender for team Finland at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey , where he led the Finns to the championship final . 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 . Bold denotes league leader Goaltenders . " Note : GP = Games played ; TOI = Time on ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; OT = Overtime / shootout losses ; GA = Goals against ; SO = Shutouts ; SV % = Save percentage ; GAA = Goals against average " Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary . Stats reflect time with the Flames only . Traded mid - season Bold text denotes league record " Italics " denotes franchise record Transactions . Prior to the season , the Flames sent restricted free agent Chris Drury to the Buffalo Sabres for defenceman Rhett Warrener and forward Steve Reinprecht , whom the Sabres had acquired from the Colorado Avalanche , then included in the Drury trade . Warrener especially was seen as being a key player for the Flames as they attempted to qualify for the playoffs . The acquisition of Miikka Kiprusoff proved to be a significant turning point for the Flames ' season . Darryl Sutter dealt for Kiprusoff after starting goaltender Roman Turek suffered a knee injury that left him unable to play for several months . Kiprusoff stabilized the Flames ' goaltending situation , producing a league record low goals against average . Draft picks . The 2003 NHL Entry Draft was held in Nashville , Tennessee on June 21 – 22 , 2003 . The Flames selected nine players in the draft . Calgary selected offensive minded defenceman Dion Phaneuf with their first pick , ninth overall . Phaneuf ' s coach with the Red Deer Rebels described him as being a physical player on draft day . " This kid doesn ' t hit to hit . He hits to hurt . It ' s a mind - set that ' s rare in the game . At any level . You can ' t teach it , you can ' t fake it . You ' re either born with it , or you ' re not . " Phaneuf quickly made an impact in the NHL , scoring 20 goals as a rookie in 2005 – 06 , earning a nomination for the Calder Memorial Trophy as top rookie . Phaneuf was nominated for the Norris Trophy as top defenceman in 2007 – 08 , just his third year in the NHL . Farm teams . Lowell Lock Monsters . After shutting down the Saint John Flames , the Flames entered into an agreement to share an affiliation with the Lowell Lockmonsters with the Carolina Hurricanes . The Lockmonsters posted a 32 – 36 – 6 – 6 record , out of the playoffs with a 6th place finish in the Atlantic Division . Las Vegas Wranglers . The Las Vegas Wranglers entered the ECHL as an expansion team , immediately entering an affiliation agreement with the Flames . The team was immediately competitive , finishing second in the Pacific Division with a 43 – 22 – 7 record . This did not translate into the playoffs however , as the Wranglers lost in the divisional semi - finals .