1996–97 Calgary Flames season

1996–97 Calgary Flames
Division 5th Pacific
Conference 10th Western
1996–97 record 32–41–9
Home record 21–18–2
Road record 11–23–7
Goals for 214 (23rd)
Goals against 239 (12th)
Team information
General Manager Al Coates
Coach Pierre Page
Captain Theoren Fleury
Arena Canadian Airlines Saddledome
Average attendance 17,089
Team leaders
Goals Theoren Fleury (29)
Assists Theoren Fleury (38)
Points Theoren Fleury (67)
Penalties in minutes Todd Simpson (208)
Wins Trevor Kidd (21)
Goals against average Trevor Kidd (2.84)

The 1996–97 Calgary Flames season was the 17th National Hockey League season in Calgary. 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 the 1991–92 season, and for only the second time since coming to Calgary.[1]

As a result of missing the playoffs, the Flames fired head coach Pierre Page following the season, replacing him with Brian 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 forward Sasha Lakovic authored one of the more memorable moments in the history of the Battle of Alberta when he attempted to leap over the glass at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton to attack a drunken fan who had reached over the barrier to dump a beer on the head of Flames assistant coach Guy Lapointe. Lakovic, who was held back by his teammates from going into the crowd, was suspended two games, while the Edmonton Oilers were fined $20,000 for having inadequate security.[3]

Theoren Fleury was named to the Western Conference team at the 47th National Hockey League All-Star Game, where he recorded an assist.[4]

Rookie forward Jarome Iginla, acquired the previous season in a trade for Joe Nieuwendyk led all NHL rookies in scoring at 50 points.[5] Despite his success, Iginla failed to win the Calder Memorial Trophy, as defenceman Bryan Berard was voted the league's top rookie. Iginla was named to the All-Rookie team, however.[4]

Regular season

The Flames allowed the most shorthanded goals in the league in 1996–97, with 19.[6]

Season standings

Pacific Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
11Colorado Avalanche8249249277205107
24Mighty Ducks of Anaheim8236331324323185
37Edmonton Oilers823637925224781
49Vancouver Canucks823540725727377
510Calgary Flames823241921423973
612Los Angeles Kings8228431121426867
713San Jose Sharks822747821127862

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[7]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1p – Colorado AvalanchePAC8249249277205107
2Dallas StarsCEN8248268252198104
3Detroit Red WingsCEN8238261825319794
4Mighty Ducks of AnaheimPAC8236331324523385
5Phoenix CoyotesCEN823837724024383
6St. Louis BluesCEN8236351123623983
7Edmonton OilersPAC823637925224781
8Chicago BlackhawksCEN8234351322321081
9Vancouver CanucksPAC823540725727377
10Calgary FlamesPAC823241921423973
11Toronto Maple LeafsCEN823044823027368
12Los Angeles KingsPAC8228431121426867
13San Jose SharksPAC822747821127862

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

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

Schedule and results

1996–97 Game Log

Playoffs

The Flames finished 10th in the Western Conference, eight points behind the 8th place Chicago Blackhawks. The Flames missed the playoffs for the first time since 1991–92, for the second time in Calgary Flames history, and for only the fourth time in franchise history.[1]

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 Fleury1481293867104-----
Dave Gagner518227336048-----
German Titov137922305236-----
Jarome Iginla24/128221295037-----
Jonas Hoglund446819163512-----
Corey Millen346111152632-----
Cory Stillman16586202614-----
Todd Hlushko20587111849-----
Ronnie Stern227971017157-----
Aaron Gavey2341791634-----
Yves Racine36461151624-----
Tommy Albelin5724111514-----
Todd Simpson278211314208-----
Ed Ward4240581349-----
Mike Sullivan3267561110-----
Chris O'Sullivan192728102-----
Joel Bouchard67645949-----
Sandy McCarthy1533358113-----
Marty McInnis18103472-----
Cale Hulse296316791-----
James Patrick3193146-----
Glen Featherstone41313419-----
Hnat Domenichelli17101232-----
Dale McTavish4191232-----
Trevor Kidd375502216-----
Sami Helenius830110-----
Sasha Lakovic381901154-----
Paxton Schulte3510002-----
Zarley Zalapski3320000-----
Marty Murray2820004-----
Marko Jantunen4530000-----
Rick Tabaracci3170000-----
Jamie Allison22000035-----
Dwayne Roloson30310002-----
All traded players--234265201-----

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 Tabaracci3173612401412.33-------
Trevor Kidd375529792123614142.84-------
Dwayne Roloson3031161891437812.89-------


Traded mid-season

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season.

Trades

November 19, 1996 To Calgary Flames
Aaron Gavey
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Rick Tabaracci
March 5, 1997 To Calgary Flames
Hnat Domenichelli
Glen Featherstone
2nd round pick in 1997
3rd round pick in 1998
To Hartford Whalers
Steve Chiasson
Conditional pick in 1997
March 18, 1997 To Calgary Flames
Marty McInnis
Tyrone Garner
6th round pick in 1997
To New York Islanders
Robert Reichel

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 1996 NHL Entry Draft, held in St. Louis, Missouri.[8]

Rnd Pick Player Nationality Position Team (league) NHL statistics
GPGAPtsPIM
113Derek Morris CanadaDRegina Pats (WHL)1107923324241004
239Travis Brigley CanadaLWLethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)5536916
240Steve Begin CanadaCVal-d'Or Foreurs (QMHJL)5245652108561
373Dmitri Vlasenkov RussiaLWTorpedo Yaroslavl (RSL)
489Toni Lydman FinlandDTappara (SM-liiga)84736206242551
494Christian Lefebvre CanadaDGranby Prédateurs (QMJHL)
5122Josef Straka Czech RepublicCHC Litvínov (Czech)
8202Ryan Wade CanadaFKelowna Rockets (WHL)
9228Ronald Petrovicky SlovakiaRWPrince George Cougars (WHL)342415192429

Farm teams

Saint John Flames

The Baby Flames finished the 1996–97 American 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 the Hamilton Bulldogs in the first round of the playoffs, however.[9] 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.[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Year-by-year results, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 106
  2. Head Coaches, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 103
  3. Francis, Eric, The Uncivil War, Calgary Sun, September 19, 2003, accessed January 26, 2007
  4. 1 2 All-Star Selections, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 22
  5. 1996–97 season, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 115
  6. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1997.html
  7. "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  8. Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed January 12, 2007
  9. 1997–98 AHL playoffs @ hockeydb.com, accessed January 26, 2007
  10. Saint John Flames player stats @ hockeydb.com, accessed January 20, 2007
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