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Revision as of 08:39, 16 April 2006

Template:NHL Team Infobox

The Calgary Flames are a National Hockey League (NHL) team based in Calgary, Alberta.

Founded: 1972
Formerly Known As: Atlanta Flames 1972-1980
Arena: Pengrowth Saddledome
Former Home Arenas: The Omni (as the Atlanta Flames, 1972-1980); Stampede Corral (1980-1982)
Uniform colors: Home: Red with black, white and yellow trim; Road: White with red, yellow and black trim; Alternate: Black with red, yellow and white trim.
Logo design: Home: A black "C" with white flames; Road: A red "C" with yellow flames; Alternate: A "horse head" with flaming nostrils; Assistant captains' "A" on jersey is a miniature Atlanta Flames logo.
Mascot: Harvey the Hound
Division Championships won: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 2006
Conference Championships 1986, 1989, 2004
Stanley Cups won: 1989
Presidents Trophies won: 1988, 1989
Affiliated teams: Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (AHL), Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL)
Rivals: Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks

Franchise history

Summary of Atlanta years

See also: Atlanta Flames

The Flames were the result of the NHL's first preemptive strike against the upstart World Hockey Association. In December 1971, the NHL hastily granted a team to Long Island - the New York Islanders - in order to keep the WHA's New York Raiders out of the brand new Nassau Coliseum. Needing another team to balance the schedule, the NHL awarded a team to the same group that owned the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, headed by businessman Tom Cousins. Cousins named the team the "Flames" after the fire resulting from the March to the Sea.

Some observers thought it was ludicrous to put an NHL team in Atlanta. However, the Flames were very successful early on, at least by the standards of expansion teams. The Flames had a good core of stars who helped them make the playoffs in six of eight seasons in Atlanta, a mark bettered only by the Quebec Nordiques, Edmonton Oilers, and New York Rangers. In marked contrast, their expansion brethren, the Islanders, compiled two of the worst seasons in NHL history during their first two years in the league.

Despite the on-ice success, the Atlanta ownership was never on sound financial footing. Part of the reason was that the Flames' home arena, The Omni, was one of the last arenas to be built without revenue-producing luxury boxes. The Flames were also victims of their own early success, which resulted in several low draft picks. At the same time, the Islanders used high draft picks resulting from their first two wretched seasons to put together the core of a team that would win four Stanley Cups in a row in the early 1980s.

Early years in Calgary

Under the circumstances, Cousins (who had by this time sold the Hawks) was very receptive to a US$16 million offer from a group of Calgary businessmen fronted by American entrepreneur (and, ironically, former Edmonton Oilers owner) Nelson Skalbania--the highest price paid for an NHL franchise at the time. Skalbania promptly moved the team to Calgary, but kept the Flames name since he figured it would be appropriate for an oil town like Calgary. The flaming "A" logo was replaced by a flaming "C" (the "A" survives on the alternate captains' jerseys). Skalbania sold his interest in 1982, and the Flames have been locally owned since then.

In their first year in Alberta, led by Kent Nilsson's 49 goals, the Flames won their first two playoff series (a sweep over the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round and a seven-game victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round) before bowing out to the Minnesota North Stars in the semi-finals.

File:Flames 1980-1995.gif
The original Flames logo, used during 1980-1994. A black border was added in 1995.

This early success was not soon repeated. After a losing record in 1981-82, general manager Cliff Fletcher jettisoned several former Atlanta players unused to a 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. His efforts to match the gifted Edmonton Oilers, though not wholly successful, led him to draw talent from areas previously neglected by the NHL. The Flames were one of the first teams to sign large numbers of U.S. 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 CSKA Moscow star Sergei Makarov, 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 championship.

Glory years (1984-92)

Fletcher's roster moves in 1982 allowed the Flames to become one of the NHL's best teams during the mid-1980s and early 1990s. They failed to earn 90 points in the regular season only once from 1984 to 1991, but were usually unable to transfer that success into a deep playoff run. 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 the conference finals. For example, the Flames had their first 100-point season in 1987-88, earning the President's Trophy for having the league's best record in the process. However, the Oilers swept them in the second round. Many observers thought that during the mid-1980s, the Oilers and Flames were the two best teams in the league.

By 1986 the Flames had landed Doug Risebrough, Lanny McDonald, Dan Quinn, Al MacInnis, and goalie Mike Vernon. They beat the Vancouver Canucks in the first round, beat the Oilers in the second round on Steve Smith's fluke goal into his own net in the seventh game, and also won in seven games over the St. Louis Blues. They were, however, no match for the Montreal Canadiens in the finals, losing in five games. It is no coincidence that the Flames made it to the Finals despite finishing with less than 90 points for the only time between 1984 and 1992, since this was the only time during this period that they defeated the Oilers in the playoffs.

On 7 March 1988, the Flames traded away young future super-star Brett Hull along with Steve Bozek to the St. Louis Blues for Rob Ramage and Rick Wamsley. In hindsight, it looked like a bad trade as Hull came out of his shell with St. Louis and became one of the best pure goal scorers in NHL history. But at that time, the acquisition of Wamsley and Ramage helped them win their first Stanley Cup in 1989 against the Canadiens. After the Cup win, veteran captain Lanny McDonald retired to end his career with a Stanley Cup celebration. This victory was especially significant in that it marked the second time that an opposing team won the Stanley Cup on Montreal Forum ice (the first being the New York Rangers in 1928, against the Montreal Maroons), and the first time against the storied Canadiens.

File:1989Flames.jpg
Calgary Flames winning the Stanley Cup in 1989

In 1989, thanks in part to Fletcher's diplomatic efforts, the Soviets finally gave permission for a select group of Soviet hockey players to sign with NHL teams. The first of these players was Sergei Priakin, a forward who joined the Flames in time for their 1989 playoff run. Priakin never became an NHL regular, but his arrival blazed a trail for the large numbers of Russian players who entered the NHL beginning in 1989-90. Sergei Makarov joined the Flames that season and, though already in his thirties, won the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. It was Fletcher's last great contribution to NHL hockey and to the Flames. In 1991, he left the team to become general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Decline, rebound, decline, rebound (1992-present)

Fletcher was succeeded by Risebrough, who soon traded Doug Gilmour and four other Flames to his former boss for five inferior Toronto players. With that trade, the Flames entered a long, slow decline. Despite the blossoming of Theoren Fleury (a rookie in the Stanley Cup championship year) into an NHL star, the Flames missed the playoffs entirely in 1992 for the first time since 1975, while they were still in Atlanta.

They rebounded to make the playoffs for the next three seasons in a row, including two consecutive division titles. However, they failed to get out of the first round in either year. More importantly, the Flames found it increasingly difficult to hold onto their best players as salaries escalated in the 90s. Most of the NHL's Canadian teams (aside from Montreal and Toronto) found it difficult to compete in the new environment. As a result, the collapse was swift and total. In 1996, a year after winning their second consecutive division title, the Flames missed the playoffs and would not return for seven years. As an example of the difficulties the once-proud franchise faced during this time, they had to trade Fleury midway through the 1998-99 season rather than lose him to free agency. More ominously, the Flames were almost forced to move across the border after being among the league's attendance leaders for much of the 80s and early 90s. One of the few bright spots in this stretch was Jarome Iginla.

2004 Playoffs

After seven consecutive seasons out of the playoffs, the Flames returned to glory in 2004, surprising the hockey world by defeating all three Western Conference division champions to become the first Canadian team in a decade to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Flames' first victim was the Northwest Division winners, the Vancouver Canucks, in seven games. It was the Flames' first playoff series win since 1989. Then, they shocked the Detroit Red Wings, who had garnered the league's best record that season, in six games. After eliminating the Pacific Division champs, the San Jose Sharks, in six games in the Western Conference finals, the Flames earned a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals to face the Tampa Bay Lightning. By this time, practically all of Canada had thrown immense support behind the Cinderella-story Flames, who had now become a hockey-mad country's first chance to win the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. The Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. flew the Flames flag beside the Maple Leaf, as did San Jose's city hall (after the Sharks lost the series, the Mayor of San Jose declared his city hall the world headquarters of Flames fans.) Calgary especially exploded in a non-stop fit of partying unprecedented in the normally conservative city (see "The Red Mile" below). The final series went to seven games, with the Flames suffering a controversial non-goal in game six at home. After winning game 6 in double overtime, Tampa Bay Lightning went on to hold the Flames to only 7 shots in the first two periods in game 7. The Flames went on to a late surge, but it was too little too late as they lost game 7 on 7 June 2004 by a score of 2-1. Both of Tampa Bay's goals were scored by Ruslan Fedotenko. Interestingly, all of Calgary's series winning goals during the playoffs were scored by Martin Gelinas. He also "scored" what many Flames fans believed was the go-ahead goal late in game 6, however the officials did not signal it a goal, and the play was not reviewed. Prior to the 2005-06 season, Gelinas left the Flames as a free agent.

The "Red Mile"

File:RedMile 215x200.jpg
Red Mile, Calgary 2004

During the Flames' run to the Stanley Cup finals of 2004, the city of Calgary essentially became the host of a "non-stop party". The 17th Ave SW entertainment district, which runs west from the Saddledome, flooded with as many as 100,000 red-clad fans after games. Similar celebrations had occurred during Flames celebrations during the successful 1980s and primarily took place along 11th Ave SW, then known as "Electric Avenue". During these celebrations, 17th Ave became known as "The Red Mile" and the "Red Mile" moniker was transposed to 17th Ave in 2004.

The "Red Mile" also gained notoriety quickly in 2004 as women would frequently celebrate a win by baring their breasts for the crowd atop shoulders or cars. The Red Mile party became world-famous and received coverage in newspapers around the world. While other sports-celebrating crowds frequently turn violent, such as soccer riots, the Red Mile was notable in that incidents were minimal, the crowds were positive, and only one arrest was made.

In April 2006, the Calgary Police Service announced that the Red Mile celebrations of 2004 would not be repeated in 2006, and that measures would be taken to prevent it. Those measures include traffic diversions and zero-tolerance on noise and rowdy behavior. Plainclothes officers will be amongst the crowd to give out tickets to offenders. Still, many are skeptical that this will prevent a repeat of the 2004 partying should the Flames go far in the playoffs.

The "Sea" of Red

During the Flames' run to the Stanley Cup finals of 2004, most of the Flames fans attending the hockey games at the Saddledome wore a red jersey with the Flames' famous flaming C on it. Many of those who did not have a red jersey wore a red shirt instead. Thus, the "Sea" of Red became the nickname for the fans at the Saddledome during the Flames' playoff runs. The tradition of the Sea/"C" of red dates back to the 1989 Cup win, where fans did the same.

Jerseys

The Third Jersey of the Flames was first seen in the year of 1999. It was all black and a broad "V" strip on the sleeves and bottom of the jersey. This strip was red and had a thin yellow line in the upper parts of the strip. The logo was an elaborate horse head with snorting fire (see top - alternate logo), a homage to the Calgary Stampede. The jersey was adapted as the regular away jersey for the Flames. In 2003, when the league introduced the practice of home teams normally wearing dark colours while the away team wore predominantly white jerseys, reversing the previous practice, the Flames introduced a new red home jersey which took the place of the black jersey, which once again became the third jersey.

Franchise Statistics

Career Leaders (1972-current)

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Logo Season GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1980-81 80 39 27 14 -- 92 329 298 1450 5th in Patrick Lost in Semifinal (MIN)
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1981-82 80 29 34 17 -- 75 334 345 1331 5th in Smythe Lost in Division Semifinal (VAN)
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1982-83 80 32 34 14 -- 78 321 317 1146 2nd in Smythe Lost in Division Final (EDM)
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1983-84 80 34 32 14 -- 82 311 314 1390 2nd in Smythe Lost in Division Final (EDM)
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1984-85 80 41 27 12 -- 94 363 302 1400 3rd in Smythe Lost in Division Semifinal (WPG)
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1985-86 80 40 31 9 -- 89 354 315 2297 2nd in Smythe Lost in Stanley Cup Final (MTL)
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1986-87 80 46 31 3 -- 94 318 289 2036 2nd in Smythe Lost in Division Semifinal (WPG)
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1987-88 80 48 23 9 -- 105 397 305 2431 1st in Smythe Lost in Division Final (EDM)
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1988-89 80 54 17 9 -- 117 354 226 2444 1st in Smythe Won Stanley Cup
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1989-90 80 42 23 15 -- 99 348 265 1751 1st in Smythe Lost in Division Semifinal (LA)
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1990-91 80 46 26 8 -- 100 344 263 2197 2nd in Smythe Lost in Division Semifinal (EDM)
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1991-92 80 31 37 12 -- 74 296 305 2643 5th in Smythe Did not qualify
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1992-93 84 43 30 11 -- 97 322 282 1951 2nd in Smythe Lost in Division Semifinal (LA)
File:Flames 1980-1995.gif 1993-94 84 42 29 13 -- 97 302 256 1847 1st in Pacific Lost in Conference Quarterfinal (VAN)
File:Calgary Flames.gif 1994-951 48 24 17 7 -- 55 163 135 1249 1st in Pacific Lost in Conference Quarterfinal (SJ)
[[Image:Calgary_Flames.gif 25px]] 1995-96 82 34 37 11 -- 79 241 240 1524 2nd in Pacific Lost in Conference Quarterfinal (CHI)
[[Image:Calgary_Flames.gif 25px]] 1996-97 82 32 41 9 -- 73 214 239 1444 5th in Pacific Did not qualify
[[Image:Calgary_Flames.gif 25px]] 1997-98 82 26 41 15 -- 67 217 252 1859 5th in Pacific Did not qualify
[[Image:Calgary_Flames.gif 25px]] 1998-99 82 30 40 12 -- 72 211 234 1389 3rd in Pacific Did not qualify
[[Image:Calgary_Flames.gif 25px]] 1999-00 82 31 36 10 5 77 211 256 1267 4th in Northwest Did not qualify
[[Image:Calgary_Flames.gif 25px]] 2000-01 82 27 36 15 4 73 197 236 1376 4th in Northwest Did not qualify
[[Image:Calgary_Flames.gif 25px]] 2001-02 82 32 35 12 3 79 201 220 1586 4th in Northwest Did not qualify
[[Image:Calgary_Flames.gif 25px]] 2002-03 82 29 36 13 4 75 186 228 1391 5th in Northwest Did not qualify
[[Image:Calgary_Flames.gif 25px]] 2003-04 82 42 30 7 3 94 200 176 1428 3rd in Northwest Lost in Stanley Cup Final (TB)
[[Image:Calgary_Flames.gif 25px]] 2004-052 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
[[Image:Calgary_Flames.gif 25px]] 2005-06 80 46 24 -- 10 102 214 194 ? 1st In Northwest
Logo Season GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
[[Image:Calgary_Flames.gif 25px]] Grand Totals3 1967 905 765 271 26 2104 6873 6428 41717
1 Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout.
2 Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.
3 Totals through April 7, 2006.

Notable players

Current squad

As of 10 March 2006 [1]

Goaltenders
Number Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
33 United States Brian Boucher L 2006 Woonsocket, Rhode Island
34 Finland Miikka Kiprusoff L 2003 Turku, Finland
Defencemen
Number Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
3 Canada Dion Phaneuf L 2003 Edmonton, Alberta
4 Czechoslovakia Roman Hamrlik L 2005 Zlin, Czechoslovakia
6 United States Jordan Leopold
(Injured Reserve) 		L 2000 Golden Valley, Minnesota
7 Canada Bryan Marchment L 2005 Scarborough, Ontario
21 Canada Andrew Ference L 2003 Edmonton, Alberta
28 Brazil Robyn Regehr - A L 1999 Recife, Brazil
32 Canada Cale Hulse
(Injured Reserve) 		R 2006 Edmonton, Alberta
44 Canada Rhett Warrener - A R 2003 Shaunavon, Saskatchewan
Forwards
Number Player Shoots Position Acquired Place of Birth
10 United States Tony Amonte L RW/LW 2005 Hingham, Massachusetts
11 Canada Stephane Yelle L C 2002 Ottawa, Ontario
12 Canada Jarome Iginla - C R RW 1995 St. Albert, Alberta
15 Canada Byron Ritchie L C 2004 Burnaby, British Columbia
16 Canada Shean Donovan R RW 2003 Timmins, Ontario
17 Canada Chris Simon L LW 2004 Wawa, Ontario
18 Canada Matthew Lombardi L C 2002 Montreal, Quebec
19 Canada Chuck Kobasew R RW/LW 1998 Osoyoos, British Colombia
20 Sweden Kristian Huselius L RW 2005 Osterhaninge, Sweden
22 Canada Daymond Langkow L C 2004 Edmonton, Alberta
24 Canada Jamie Lundmark R C/W 2006 Edmonton, Alberta
25 Canada Darren McCarty R RW 2005 Burnaby, British Columbia
26 Sweden Marcus Nilson
(Injured Reserve) 		R C/W 2004 Balsta, Sweden
27 Canada Mike Leclerc L LW/RW 2006 Winnipeg, Manitoba
29 Canada Craig MacDonald L C/LW 2005 Antigonish, Nova Scotia
39 Canada Carsen Germyn R RW 2004 Campbell River, British Columbia

Hall of Famers

Team captains

Note: This list does not include Atlanta Flames captains

Retired numbers

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in the history of the Flames (both Atlanta and Calgary). Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season. Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player POS GP G A Pts
Theoren Fleury RW 791 364 466 830
Al MacInnis D 803 213 609 822
Joe Nieuwendyk C 577 314 302 616
Gary Suter D 617 128 437 565
Kent Nilsson C 425 229 333 562
Guy Chouinard C 514 193 336 529
Gary Roberts LW 585 257 248 505
Jarome Iginla RW 626 250 253 503
Eric Vail LW 539 206 246 452
Paul Reinhart D 517 109 336 445

See also

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