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.

1997–98 Calgary Flames
Division5th Pacific
Conference11th Western
1997–98 record26–41–15
Home record18–17–6
Road record8–24–9
Goals for217 (14th)
Goals against252 (22nd)
Team information
General managerAl Coates
CoachBrian Sutter
CaptainTodd Simpson
Alternate captainsTheoren Fleury
Andrew Cassels
ArenaCanadian Airlines Saddledome
Average attendance16,940
Team leaders
GoalsTheoren Fleury (27)
Cory Stillman (27)
AssistsTheoren Fleury (51)
PointsTheoren Fleury (78)
Penalty minutesTheoren Fleury (197)
WinsRick Tabaracci (13)
Goals against averageRick Tabaracci (2.88)

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.[1]

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.[2]

Fleury also represented Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.[3]

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.[4]

Regular season

On Friday, October 17, 1997, the Flames scored three short-handed goals in a 6-5 win over the Colorado Avalanche.[5]

Season standings

Pacific Division
No. GP W L T GF GA Pts
1Colorado Avalanche8239261723120595
2Los Angeles Kings8238331122722587
3Edmonton Oilers8235371021522480
4San Jose Sharks8234381021021678
5Calgary Flames8226411521725267
6Mighty Ducks of Anaheim8226431320526165
7Vancouver Canucks8225431422427364

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.

Western Conference[6]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1p – Dallas StarsCEN82492211242167109
2x – Colorado AvalanchePAC8239261723120595
3Detroit Red WingsCEN82442315250196103
4St. Louis BluesCEN824529825620498
5Los Angeles KingsPAC8238331122722587
6Phoenix CoyotesCEN8235351222422782
7Edmonton OilersPAC8235371021522480
8San Jose SharksPAC8234381021021678
9Chicago BlackhawksCEN8230391319219973
10Toronto Maple LeafsCEN823043919423769
11Calgary FlamesPAC8226411521725267
12Mighty Ducks of AnaheimPAC8226431320526165
13Vancouver CanucksPAC8225431422427364

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won Division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Schedule and results

1997–98 Game Log

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 statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
Theoren Fleury1482275178197-----
Cory Stillman167227224940-----
Marty McInnis187519254434-----
Andrew Cassels218117274432-----
German Titov136818224038-----
Michael Nylander926513233635-----
Jarome Iginla127013193229-----
Derek Morris53829202988-----
Cale Hulse327952227169-----
Tommy Albelin5692171932-----
James Patrick3606111726-----
Hnat Domenichelli173197166-----
Jim Dowd3448681412-----
Joel Bouchard644571257-----
Jamie Allison2433811104-----
Valeri Bure8165492-----
Ed Ward4264459122-----
Chris Dingman770336149-----
Todd Simpson2753156109-----
Jason Wiemer241241528-----
Aaron Gavey232623524-----
Dwayne Roloson303904410-----
Erik Andersson29122138-----
Chris O'Sullivan191202210-----
Eric Landry11121014-----
Ladislav Kohn4640110-----
Todd Hlushko201301127-----
Kevin Dahl4190116-----
Rick Tabaracci314201114-----
Sergei Varlamov5810000-----
Eric Charron3920004-----
Marty Murray2820002-----
Travis Brigley43500023-----
Steve Begin57500023-----
Tyler Moss160000-----
Denis Gauthier241000016-----
Rocky Thompson551200061-----
Mike Peluso823000113-----
Traded players162036227-----

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

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP TOI W L T GA SO GAA GP TOI W L GA SO GAA
Rick Tabaracci314224191322611602.88-------
Dwayne Roloson303922051116811002.99-------
Tyler Moss163672312003.27-------

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1997–98 season.[7]

Trades

June 21, 1997 To Calgary Flames
Rick Tabaracci
To Tampa Bay Lightning
4th round pick in 1998
August 25, 1997 To Calgary Flames
Andrew Cassels
Jean-Sebastien Giguere
To Carolina Hurricanes
Gary Roberts
Trevor Kidd
February 1, 1998 To Calgary Flames
Valeri Bure
4th round pick in 1998
To Montreal Canadiens
Zarley Zalapski
Jonas Hoglund
March 24, 1998 To Calgary Flames
Jason Wiemer
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Sandy McCarthy
3rd round pick in 1998
5th round pick in 1998

Free agents

PlayerFormer team
PlayerNew team
This sports-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Draft picks

Calgary's picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[8]

Rnd Pick Player Nationality Position Team (league) NHL statistics
GPGAPtsPIM
16Daniel Tkaczuk CanadaCBarrie Colts (OHL)19471114
232Evan Lindsay CanadaGPrince Albert Raiders (WHL)
242John Tripp CanadaRWOshawa Generals (OHL)4327935
251Dmitri Kokorev RussiaDMoscow Dynamo (RSL)
360Derek Schultz CanadaCSpokane Chiefs (WHL)
370Erik Andersson SwedenLWUniversity of Denver (NCAA)122138
492Chris St. Croix United StatesDKamloops Blazers (WHL)
4100Ryan Ready CanadaLWBelleville Bulls (OHL)70110
5113Martin Moise CanadaRWBeauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
6140Ilya Demidov RussiaDOshawa Generals (OHL)
7167Jeremy Rondeau CanadaLWSwift Current Broncos (WHL)
9223Dustin Paul CanadaRWMoose Jaw Warriors (WHL)

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 to 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.[9] 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.[10]

See also

References

  1. Dolezar, Jon A., Say it aint so: Calgary Flames, cnnsi.com, August 8, 2001, Accessed January 13, 2007.
  2. All Star Selections, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 22.
  3. New York Rangers press release Archived 2006-11-26 at the Wayback Machine, July 8, 1999, accessed January 20, 2007.
  4. Miller, Mark (1997-06-14). "Hitmen finally go up in Flames". Calgary Sun. p. S5.
  5. https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/199710170CGY.html
  6. "1997-1998 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  7. Calgary Flames 1997–2003 transactions, hockeynut.com, accessed January 14, 2007.
  8. Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed January 12, 2007.
  9. 1997–98 AHL playoffs @ hockeydb.com, accessed January 20, 2007.
  10. Saint John Flames player stats @ hockeydb.com, accessed January 20, 2007.
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