| 1996–97Calgary Flames | |
|---|---|
| Division | 5thPacific |
| Conference | 10thWestern |
| 1996–97 record | 32–41–9 |
| Home record | 21–18–2 |
| Road record | 11–23–7 |
| Goals for | 214 |
| Goals against | 239 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Al Coates |
| Coach | Pierre Page |
| Captain | Theoren Fleury |
| Arena | Canadian Airlines Saddledome |
| Average attendance | 17,089 |
| Minor league affiliates | Saint John Flames Roanoke Express |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Theoren Fleury (29) |
| Assists | Theoren Fleury (38) |
| Points | Theoren Fleury (67) |
| Penalty minutes | Todd Simpson (208) |
| Plus/minus | Yves Racine (+4) |
| Wins | Trevor Kidd (21) |
| Goals against average | Trevor Kidd (2.84) |
The1996–97 Calgary Flames season was the17thNational Hockey Leagueseason inCalgary. It was another season of decline, as the Flames began the rebuilding process after remaining near the top of the league standings for nearly a decade. Finishing 5th in the Pacific Division, the Flames missed the playoffs for the first time since 1992, and for only the second time since coming to Calgary.[1]
As a result of missing the playoffs, the Flames fired head coachPierre Page following the season, replacing him withBrian Sutter. Page ended his Flames career with a coaching record of 66–78–20. His .463 winning percentage was, at the time, the worst for any coach in Flames history.[2]
On November 23, 1996, rugged forwardSasha Lakovic authored one of the more memorable moments in the history of theBattle of Alberta when he attempted to leap over the glass atNorthlands Coliseum inEdmonton toattack a drunken fan who had reached over the barrier to dump a beer on the head of Flames assistant coachGuy Lapointe. Lakovic, who was held back by his teammates from going into the crowd, was suspended two games, while theEdmonton Oilers were fined $20,000 for having inadequate security.[3]
Theoren Fleury was named to theWestern Conference team at the47th National Hockey League All-Star Game, where he recorded an assist.[4]
Rookie forwardJarome Iginla, acquired the previous season in a trade forJoe Nieuwendyk led all NHL rookies in scoring at 50 points.[5] Despite his success, Iginla failed to win theCalder Memorial Trophy, as defencemanBryan Berard was voted the league's top rookie. Iginla was named to the All-Rookie team, however.[4]
The Flames allowed the most shorthanded goals in the league in 1996–97, with 19.[6]
| No. | CR | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 49 | 24 | 9 | 277 | 205 | 107 |
| 2 | 4 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 82 | 36 | 33 | 13 | 243 | 231 | 85 |
| 3 | 7 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 36 | 37 | 9 | 252 | 247 | 81 |
| 4 | 9 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 35 | 40 | 7 | 257 | 273 | 77 |
| 5 | 10 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 32 | 41 | 9 | 214 | 239 | 73 |
| 6 | 12 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 28 | 43 | 11 | 214 | 268 | 67 |
| 7 | 13 | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 211 | 278 | 62 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
| R | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | p –Colorado Avalanche | PAC | 82 | 49 | 24 | 9 | 277 | 205 | 107 |
| 2 | Dallas Stars | CEN | 82 | 48 | 26 | 8 | 252 | 198 | 104 |
| 3 | Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 38 | 26 | 18 | 253 | 197 | 94 |
| 4 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 36 | 33 | 13 | 245 | 233 | 85 |
| 5 | Phoenix Coyotes | CEN | 82 | 38 | 37 | 7 | 240 | 243 | 83 |
| 6 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 36 | 35 | 11 | 236 | 239 | 83 |
| 7 | Edmonton Oilers | PAC | 82 | 36 | 37 | 9 | 252 | 247 | 81 |
| 8 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 34 | 35 | 13 | 223 | 210 | 81 |
| 9 | Vancouver Canucks | PAC | 82 | 35 | 40 | 7 | 257 | 273 | 77 |
| 10 | Calgary Flames | PAC | 82 | 32 | 41 | 9 | 214 | 239 | 73 |
| 11 | Toronto Maple Leafs | CEN | 82 | 30 | 44 | 8 | 230 | 273 | 68 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 28 | 43 | 11 | 214 | 268 | 67 |
| 13 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 211 | 278 | 62 |
Divisions:CEN – Central,PAC – Pacific
bold – Qualified for playoffs;p – WonPresidents' Trophy
| 1996–97 regular season[8] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 7–5–1 (home: 4–1–0; road: 3–4–1)
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November: 3–9–1 (home: 2–5–0; road: 1–4–1)
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December: 3–7–3 (home: 1–3–2; road: 2–4–1)
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January: 5–5–1 (home: 4–2–0; road: 1–3–1)
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February: 8–5–1 (home: 7–2–0; road: 1–3–1)
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March: 6–5–1 (home: 3–2–0; road: 3–3–1)
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April: 0–5–1 (home: 0–3–0; road: 0–2–1)
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Legend:W Win (2 points)L Loss (0 points)T Tie (1 point) |
| No. | Player | Regular season | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | ||
| 37 | Trevor Kidd | 55 | 21 | 23 | 6 | 1416 | 141 | 2.84 | .900 | 4 | 2979 |
| 30 | Dwayne Roloson | 31 | 9 | 14 | 3 | 760 | 78 | 2.89 | .897 | 1 | 1618 |
| 31 | Rick Tabaracci‡ | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 155 | 14 | 2.33 | .910 | 1 | 361 |
| Type | Award/honour | Recipient | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Jarome Iginla(Forward) | [9] |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Theoren Fleury | [10] |
| Team | Molson Cup | Trevor Kidd | [11] |
| Ralph T. Scurfield Humanitarian Award | Mike Sullivan | [12] |
| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| First game | Jonas Hoglund | October 5, 1996 | [13] |
| Chris O'Sullivan | |||
| Marko Jantunen | October 9, 1996 | ||
| Sasha Lakovic | October 11, 1996 | ||
| Dwayne Roloson | November 13, 1996 | ||
| Sami Helenius | December 14, 1996 | ||
| Dale McTavish | December 31, 1996 |
The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season.
| November 19, 1996 | ToCalgary Flames Aaron Gavey | ToTampa Bay Lightning Rick Tabaracci |
| March 5, 1997 | To Calgary Flames Hnat Domenichelli Glen Featherstone 2nd round pick in1997 3rd round pick in1998 | ToHartford Whalers Steve Chiasson Conditional pick in 1997 |
| March 18, 1997 | To Calgary Flames Marty McInnis Tyrone Garner 6th round pick in 1997 | ToNew York Islanders Robert Reichel |
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Calgary's picks at the1996 NHL entry draft, held inSt. Louis, Missouri.[14]
| Rnd | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | Team (league) | NHL statistics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||||||
| 1 | 13 | Derek Morris | D | Regina Pats (WHL) | 1107 | 92 | 332 | 424 | 1004 | |
| 2 | 39 | Travis Brigley | LW | Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) | 55 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 16 | |
| 2 | 40 | Steve Begin | C | Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMHJL) | 524 | 56 | 52 | 108 | 561 | |
| 3 | 73 | Dmitri Vlasenkov | LW | Torpedo Yaroslavl (RSL) | ||||||
| 4 | 89 | Toni Lydman | D | Tappara (SM-liiga) | 847 | 36 | 206 | 242 | 551 | |
| 4 | 94 | Christian Lefebvre | D | Granby Prédateurs (QMJHL) | ||||||
| 5 | 122 | Josef Straka | C | HC Litvínov (Czech) | ||||||
| 8 | 202 | Ryan Wade | F | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) | ||||||
| 9 | 228 | Ronald Petrovicky | RW | Prince George Cougars (WHL) | 342 | 41 | 51 | 92 | 429 | |
The Baby Flames finished the1996–97American Hockey League season in second place in the Canadian Division with a 28–36–13–3 record. They were defeated in three games to two by theHamilton Bulldogs in the first round of the playoffs, however.[15]Jarrod Skalde led the Flames with 32 goals and 68 points.Darrin Madeley was the starting goaltender, posting an 11–18–11 record with a 3.21 GAA in 46 games.[16]