Calgary Flames

The **Calgary Flames** are a Canadian Ice Hockey Team base on Calgary Alberta in Canada in the National Hockey League. They compete in the Western Conference. They have a rivalry with the Edmonton Oilers, which is known to fans as **The Battle of Alberta**.

## History

The team was originally founded in 1972 in Atlanta as the Atlanta Flames until relocating to Calgary in 1980.

### 1980–1985

Unlike the WHA's Calgary Cowboys (who folded three years earlier, the Calgary Flames were immediately embraced by the city of Calgary.

While the Cowboys could manage to sell only 2,000 season tickets in their final campaign of 1976–77, the Flames sold 10,000 full- and half-season ticket packages in the 7,000 seat Stampede Corral.

Led by Kent Nilsson's 49-goal, 131-point season, the Flames qualified for the playoffs in their first season in Calgary with a 39–27–14 record, good for third in the Patrick Division.

The team found much greater playoff success in Calgary than it did in Atlanta, winning their first two playoff series over the Chicago Black Hawks and Philadelphia Flyers before bowing out to the Minnesota North Stars in the semi-finals. This early success was not soon repeated.

After a losing record in 1981–82, Fletcher jettisoned several holdovers from the Atlanta days who could not adjust to the higher-pressure hockey environment and rebuilt the roster.

Over the next three seasons, he put together a core of players that would remain together through the early 1990s.

The Flames moved into the Olympic Saddledome (now the Scotiabank Saddledome) in 1983
Fletcher's efforts to match the Edmonton Oilers led him to draw talent from areas previously neglected by the NHL.

The Flames were among the earliest teams to sign large numbers of US college players, including Joel Otto, Gary Suter and Colin Patterson.

Fletcher also stepped up the search for European hockey talent, acquiring Hakan Loob and other key players. He was among the first to draft players from the Soviet Union, including HC CSKA Moscow star Sergei Makarov in 1983, but Soviet players were not released to Western teams until 1989.

Still, the team was sufficiently improved to challenge the Oilers, who required the maximum seven games to defeat the Flames en route to their 1984 Stanley Cup Championship.

In 1983, the Flames moved into their new home, the Olympic Saddledome (now known as the Scotiabank Saddledome). Located on the grounds of the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, the Saddledome was built as a venue for the 1988 Winter Olympics. In three seasons in the Corral, the Flames lost only 32 home games.

The Saddledome hosted the 37th NHL All-Star Game in 1985, a 6–4 victory by the Wales Conference.

### 1985–1990

The players acquired by Fletcher matured into one of the strongest teams in the league during the mid-1980s and early 1990s. From 1984–85 to 1990–91, the Flames tallied 90 points in every season but one.

However, they were usually unable to transform that success into a deep playoff run, largely because they could not get the better of their provincial rivals, the powerhouse Oilers.

Although the Oilers and Flames usually finished at or near the top of the Campbell Conference, the NHL's playoff structure of the time made it very likely that the Flames would meet the Oilers in either the first or second round, rather than in Campbell Conference finals.

That same structure made it very likely that the other two playoff qualifiers in the Smythe Division would have to get past the Flames or Oilers (or both) in order to make it to the conference finals.

From 1983 until 1990, either the Oilers or the Flames represented the Campbell Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals.

By 1986, the Flames landed forwards Doug Risebrough, Lanny McDonald & Dan Quinn, defenceman Al MacInnis & goaltender Mike Vernon.

Finishing in second place in the Smythe with a 40–31–9 record (the only season from 1984 to 1991 in which they did not finish with 90 or more points), the Flames swept the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs, setting up a showdown with the Oilers.

Edmonton finished 30 points ahead of Calgary during the season and was heavily favoured to win a third Cup in a row. However, the Flames upset the Oilers in seven games—the only time that the Flames defeated the Oilers in a playoff series during the decade.

The series-winning goal came when an errant clearing attempt by Steve Smith ricocheted off goaltender Grant Fuhr's leg and into his own net. The goal remains one of the most legendary blunders in hockey history.

From there, the Flames went on to the Campbell Conference Finals, where they defeated the St. Louis Blues in another seven-game series. This time, Calgary had to survive a scare of its own, shaking off the Monday Night Miracle at the St. Louis Arena.

Trailing by a score of 5–2 with 10 minutes to play in the third period of Game 6, the Blues mounted a furious comeback to send the contest into overtime where Doug Wickenheiser scored to force a deciding seventh game.

Calgary would win Game 7 at home, 2–1, advancing into the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time.

The Flames proved to be no match for the Montreal Canadiens, losing the championship series in five games. Montreal rookie goaltender Patrick Roy was nearly unbeatable in the last two games, allowing only four goals en route to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.

The Flames followed up their run to the Finals with their best regular season to that point. Calgary's 46–31–3 record in the 1986–87 season was good enough for third overall in the NHL, behind the Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers.

However, the Flames were unable to duplicate their playoff success of a year prior, losing their first-round match-up with the Jets in six games. The season was also difficult off the ice, as 1986 first-round draft pick George Pelawa was killed in a car accident prior to the season's start.

The Flames recorded their first 100-point season in the 1987–88 season, earning the Presidents' Trophy for having the league's best record and ending the Oilers' six-year reign atop the Smythe Division in the process.

Joe Nieuwendyk became the second rookie in league history to score 50+ goals, earning the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year.

Looking to bolster the line-up for a playoff run, the Flames dealt young sniper Brett Hull (along with Steve Bozek) to the Blues for Rob Ramage & Rick Wamsley on March 7, 1988.

However, their playoff frustrations continued after defeating the Los Angeles Kings in five games, Calgary was swept out of the playoffs in four straight by the Oilers.

In the 1988–89 season, the Flames continued to improve. They captured their second consecutive presidents' Trophy with a franchise record 117 points, finishing 26 points better than the second-place Kings in the Smythe Division.

Fletcher continued to tinker with the roster, acquiring Doug Gilmour as part of a six player deal at the trade deadline. In the playoffs, the Flames were stretched to seven games in the first round by the Vancouver Canucks.

They relied on several saves by goaltender Mike Vernon, including a famous glove save off a Stan Smyl breakaway in overtime. The save remains a defining moment in Flames history.

The Flames then made short work of the Kings, defeating them in four straight before eliminating the Chicago Blackhawks in five games to set up a rematch of the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals against Montreal.

This time, the Flames won in six games, the last being a 4–2 victory in Montreal on May 25, 1989.

The clinching win was especially significant in that it marked the only time that an opposing team defeated the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup on Montreal Forum ice.

Al MacInnis captured the Conn Smythe as playoffs' most valuable player while long-time captain Lanny McDonald announced his retirement.

The 1989 Stanley Cup win gave Flames co-owner Sonia Scurfield (Ralph's widow) the distinction of being the first and only (and as of 2013) Canadian woman to have her name engraved on the Cup.

It also made Kwong one of the few to have his name on both the Stanley Cup and the Grey Cup.

In 1989, due in part to Cliff Fletcher's diplomatic efforts, the Soviets gave permission for a select group of Soviet hockey players to sign with NHL teams. The first of these players was Sergei Pryakhin.

Although Pryakhin never became an NHL regular, his arrival blazed a trail for the large number of Russian players who entered the NHL beginning in the 1989–90 season.

Sergei Makarov joined the Flames that season and, though already in his thirties, became the fifth Flame to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's Rookie of the Year.

The selection would prove controversial, prompting the league to amend the rules to exclude any player over the age of 26 from future consideration. During that season, the team fell two points shy of their third straight presidents' Trophy with 99 points.

Also during that season, they won their third straight Smythe Division title. In the playoffs, they were dethroned in six games by the Los Angeles Kings.

They would not win another playoff series until 2004 (one of the longest such droughts in NHL history).

### 1991–2003

In 1991, Fletcher left the Flames to become the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had been the team's general manager since its inception in 1972.

He was succeeded in Calgary by Doug Risebrough, and the two quickly completed a ten player mega-trade that saw disgruntled forward Doug Gilmour dealt to Toronto with four other players for former 50 goal scorer Gary Leeman and four others.

The trade transformed both clubs. The formerly inept Leafs turned into a contender almost immediately while Leeman scored only eleven goals in a Flames uniform.

Despite the blossoming of Theoren Fleury into an NHL star, the Flames missed the playoffs entirely in 1992, only a year after finishing with their third 100-point season in franchise history.

It was the first time the Flames had missed the playoffs since 1975, when they were still in Atlanta. It was also only the third time out of the playoffs in the franchise's 20-year history.

Calgary rebounded to make the playoffs for the next four seasons (including two consecutive division titles). However, they were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs each time.

The 1994 and 1995 Division titles led to Game 7 overtime home defeats in the opening round to the Canucks and San Jose Sharks respectively.

In the 1995–96 season, Nieuwendyk was traded to the Dallas Stars in a deal that acquired Jarome Iginla. Iginla would make his Flames debut in the 1996 postseason during which the Flames again lost in the first round, a four-game sweep by the Blackhawks.

In 1997, only two years after winning their second consecutive division title, the Flames missed the playoffs and would not return for seven years.

The low point came in the 1997–98 season in which the Flames finished with only 67 points, the second-lowest point total in franchise history (behind only the 1972–73 Atlanta Flames).

During this time, the team found it increasingly difficult to retain their best players as salaries escalated while the Canadian dollar lost value against the American dollar.

Calgary has always been one of the smallest markets in the league (it is currently third-smallest, behind only Edmonton and Winnipeg) and the NHL's small-market Canadian teams found it increasingly difficult to compete in the new environment.

In 1999, for example, the Flames traded Fleury to the Colorado Avalanche midway through the season.

The trade came shortly after Fleury became the franchise's all-time leading scorer. Fleury was due to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and the team did not want to risk losing him without getting anything in return.

As the Calgary Flames sank in the standings, their attendance also sagged.

For most of their first 16 years in Calgary, Flames tickets were among the toughest to get in the NHL. However, by 1999, attendance had fallen off so severely that the owners issued an ultimatum: buy more season tickets or the team would join its departed counterparts in Winnipeg and Quebec City in leaving for the United States.

The fans responded by buying enough season tickets to keep the Flames in Calgary for the 1999–2000 season.

The team issued another appeal for more season tickets in the summer of 2000. The campaign (aimed at increasing season ticket sales from a franchise low of 8,700 to 14,000) proved to be successful.

However, the increased sales did not halt the Flames' financial losses as the team estimated it lost $14.5 million between 2001 and 2003.

One of the few bright spots in this stretch was Iginla, who captured the Rocket Richard and Art Ross Trophies in 2001–02 as NHL goal and point-scoring champion after scoring 52 goals and 96 points.

Iginla again won the Rocket Richard Trophy (which was also tied with Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk) with 41 goals in the 2003–04 season

Another bright spot for the team during this time was defencemanRobyn Regehr who became the youngest nominee ever for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (which recognizes perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey).

Regehr had suffered two broken legs in a car accident the summer of 1999, but he recovered in time to play 57 games at the age of 19.

During the 2002–03 season, the Flames hired Darryl Sutter as the team's head coach, replacing Greg Gilbert, who was fired as the Flames languished in last place in the Western Conference.

Sutter also became the team's general manager following the season and is credited with revitalizing the franchise.

Among Sutter's first moves was to acquire goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff (whom he had previously coached in San Jose, early in the 2003–04 season). Kiprusoff responded by setting a modern NHL record for lowest goals against average at 1.69.

### 2004–2010

After seven consecutive seasons of not making the playoffs, the Calgary Flames finally returned to the post-season in 2004.

They became the first team in league history to defeat three division champions en route to becoming the first Canadian team to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals since the Canucks in 1994.

The Flames' first victim was the Northwest Division champion Vancouver Canucks, whom they defeated in seven games. It was their first playoff series win since they won the 1989 final.

The Flames then upset the presidents' Trophy winning Detroit Red Wings in six games.

After eliminating the Pacific Division champion Sharks (also in six games) in the Western Conference Final, the Flames earned a trip to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals to face the Tampa Bay Lightning. Martin Gelinas scored the winning goal in all three series.

The Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., flew the Flames flag beside the Maple Leaf while Prime Minister Paul Martin dubbed the Flames "Canada's team."

The final series went to seven games with the Flames suffering a controversial non-goal in game six at home.

Replays showed that Martin Gelinas may have scored what would have been the go-ahead goal late in the third period; however, the referees never signalled a goal and later replays were ruled inconclusive. The goal would have made Gelinas the only player in NHL history to score the winning goal in every playoff series en route to winning the Stanley Cup.

The Lightning would go on to win the game in double overtime before winning game seven at home to capture the Stanley Cup. Despite the loss, 30,000 fans packed into Olympic Plaza to celebrate the Flames run.

The Flames would not raise their Western Conference championship banner for nearly 15 months, as the 2004–05 season was wiped out by a labour dispute.

During the lockout, team owner and chairman of the board, Harley Hotchkiss, attempted to save the season by engaging in discussions with National Hockey League Players Association president Trevor Linden.

While their discussions failed to save the season, Hotchkiss was credited with easing tensions that allowed for a successful negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement.

The Flames played their 25th season in Calgary in 2005–06, finishing with 103 points. It was their best total since the 1989 Cup winning season, and good enough to capture their first division title in 12 years.

However, the team lost to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in seven games during the first round of the playoffs.

Miikka Kiprusoff captured both the William M. Jennings and Vezina Trophies as the NHL's top goaltender while Dion Phaneuf's 20 goals was the third-highest total for a rookie defenceman in league history.

The 2006 off-season began with a trade for Alex Tanguay (formerly of the Colorado Avalanche) and with Sutter relinquishing his head coaching position to assistant Jim Playfair so he could focus on his duties as general manager.

Despite a marked improvement in team offence and a solid 96-point season, it was only good enough for eighth place in a Western Conference where seven teams cracked the 100-point barrier.

In the playoffs, Calgary fell in six games to the top seeded Red Wings in the first round. During the series, the Flames were fined by the NHL for several stick-related penalties in the fifth game.

Notably, backup goaltender Jamie McLennan was suspended five games for slashing Red Wings forward Johan Franzen. Franzen would score the series clinching goal in the Game 6 defeat in Double Overtime.

Prior to the start of the 2007–08 season, the Flames demoted Playfair to associate coach, bringing in Mike Keenan as the team's third head coach in three years.

During the season, Jarome Iginla became the Flames' all-time leader in games played, passing Al MacInnis' mark of 803. Iginla also passed Theoren Fleury's mark of 364 goals to become the Flames all-time goal scoring leader on March 10, 2008.

Despite having another solid season with 94 points, the Flames only garnered the seventh seed in the Western Conference. They fell in the Western Conference quarterfinals to the Pacific Division champion Sharks in seven games.

Iginla continued to set franchise records in the 2008–09 season, surpassing Fleury's franchise mark of 830 points, and scoring his 400th goal on the same night against the Lightning.

The team failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs, being knocked out by the Chicago Blackhawks in 6 games, resulting in the dismissal of head coach Mike Keenan after two seasons. Brent Sutter was named his successor on June 23, 2009, but the Flames failed to qualify for the playoffs in the 2009–10 season.

### 2011–2014

The Calgary Flames struggled to begin the 2010–11 NHL season, falling to 14th place in the conference at the Christmas break.

Consequently, the organization asked Darryl Sutter to step aside as general manager. The team named assistant Jay Feaster the interim general manager in his place, making it permanent following the season.

The Flames pulled itself back into playoff contention following the change, but once again, they failed to qualify for the post-season.

Calgary hosted the 2011 Heritage Classic, the NHL's second outdoor game of the year, at McMahon Stadium on February 22, 2011.

The Flames defeated the Canadiens 4–0 before 41,022 spectators and Miikka Kiprusoff became the first goaltender to record a shutout in an NHL outdoor game.

Jarome Iginla reached two major milestones late in the season. He became the 10th player in NHL history to score at least 30 goals in ten consecutive seasons and scored his 1,000th career point, all with the Flames, with a goal against the St. Louis Blues on April 1.

Iginla also scored his 500th career goal on January 7, 2012, against the Minnesota Wild. He scored the goal against goaltender Niklas Backstrom en route to a 3-1 Flames victory.

On March 27, 2013, longtime captain and player Jarome Iginla was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for prospects Kenny Agostino & Ben Hanowski and a first-round pick in 2013 (Morgan Klimchuk), leaving the team without a captain for the first time since the end of the 2002–2003 season.

Prior to the beginning of the 2013–14 NHL season, Mark Giordano was named as the new captain of the Calgary Flames.

### 2014–present

The Flames used their low finishes in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons to draft prospects such as Sean Monahan, Emile Poirier, Morgan Klimchuk and Sam Bennett (prospects who are expected to greatly assist the Flames towards victory in future seasons).

In the 2014–15 season, the Flames (assisted by 2013 draft pick Monahan and other highly touted prospect Johnny Gaudreau), won one of their final home games against the Los Angeles Kings to clinch their first playoff spot since 2009 which eliminated the Kings from the playoffs.

They eliminated the Vancouver Canucks in six games in the first round of the playoffs (which was their first playoff series win since 2004), but they would be eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in five games in the second round.

In the 2015–16 season, the Flames (along with other six Canadian teams) failed to qualify for the playoffs and as a result, head coach Bob Hartley was relieved of his duties in May of 2016 and was replaced by former Vancouver Canucks assistant coach, Glen Gulutzan.

The Flames rebounded to make the playoffs in the 2016–17 season as the conference's first wild card seed, but they were swept by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round.

However, during the 2017–18 season, the Flames once again failed to qualify for the playoffs and Glen Gulutzan was relieved of his coaching duties in mid-April; Bill Peters was hired as head coach on April 23, 2018.

## Coaching History

* 1980-1982: Al MacNeil
* 1982-1987: Bob Johnson
* 1987-1990: Terry Crisp
* 1990-1992: Doug Risebrough
* 1992: Guy Charron
* 1992-1995: Dave King
* 1995-1997: Pierre Page
* 1997-2000: Brian Sutter
* 2000-2001: Don Hay
* 2001-2002: Greg Gilbert
* 2002-2003: Al MacNeil
* 2003-2006: Darryl Sutter
* 2006-2007: Jim Playfair
* 2007-2009: Mike Keenan
* 2009-2012: Brent Sutter
* 2012-2016: Bob Hartley
* 2016-Present: Glen Gulutzan

## Facts

* Location: Calgary, Alberta
* Arena: Scotiabank Saddledome

## Players

* Mikael Backlund
* Lance Bouma
* Theoren Fleury
* Tim Hunter
* Jarome Iginla
* Mike Vernon