1987–88 Calgary Flames season

1987–88 Calgary Flames
1987–88 Calgary Flames
Presidents' Trophy winners
Smythe Division champions
Division	1st Smythe
Conference	1st Campbell
1987–88 record	48–23–9
Home record	26–11–3
Road record	22–12–6
Goals for	397 (1st)
Goals against	305 (t-12th)
Team information
General manager	Cliff Fletcher
Coach	Terry Crisp
Captain	Lanny McDonald and ; Jim Peplinski
Alternate captains	Tim Hunter
Arena	Olympic Saddledome
Average attendance	18,881
Team leaders
Goals	Joe Nieuwendyk (51)
Assists	Gary Suter (70)
Points	Hakan Loob (106)
Penalty minutes	Tim Hunter (337)
Wins	Mike Vernon (39)
Goals against average	Mike Vernon (3.53)
	← 1986–87 1988–89 →

The 1987–88 Calgary Flames season was the eighth National Hockey League season in Calgary and the 16th season in the NHL for the Flames franchise. The Flames finished atop the Smythe Division standings for the first time in team history, en route to winning their first ever Presidents' Trophy as the top club in the NHL.^[1]

The Flames spent almost the entire month of February playing away games as the 1988 Winter Olympics were being held in Calgary at that time.

In the playoffs, the Flames easily defeated the Los Angeles Kings four games to one, setting a franchise record that still stands by scoring 30 goals in a five-game series.^[2] The Flames season was ended by their provincial archrivals, again as the Edmonton Oilers swept Calgary out of the Smythe Division Finals en route to their fourth Stanley Cup in five years.

The Flames set numerous franchise records this season, including most wins (48), most home wins (26), most road wins (22), and most points (105), all of which that were tied or broken in 1988–89. The Flames 397 goals remains a franchise record,^[3] and one of the highest totals in league history. The Flames also finished first in scoring during the regular season.^[4] Furthermore, the Flames led the league in short-handed goals scored (23) and power-play percentage (28.46%).^[5]

Freshman sniper Joe Nieuwendyk became the second rookie in NHL history to score 50 goals, as his 51 fell just two shy of Mike Bossy's record of 53 set in 1977–78. Nieuwendyk captured the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie-of-the-Year for his effort.^[6]

Lanny McDonald became the first player to win the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded to players who best exemplify leadership qualities and make notable humanitarian contributions to their community.^[7] In addition, Brad McCrimmon won the Emery Edge Award for leading the league in Plus/Minus at +48.^[8]

The Flames sent five players to the 1988 All-Star Game: Al MacInnis, Gary Suter, Brad McCrimmon, Joe Nieuwendyk and Mike Vernon. Nieuwendyk was also named to the NHL All-Rookie team.^[9]

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

Smythe Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Calgary Flames	80	48	23	9	397	305	105
Edmonton Oilers	80	44	25	11	363	288	99
Winnipeg Jets	80	33	36	11	292	310	77
Los Angeles Kings	80	30	42	8	318	359	68
Vancouver Canucks	80	25	46	9	272	320	59

^[10]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Schedule and results[]

1987–88 Game log

October: 5–5–1 (home: 1–3–0; road: 4–2–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Record	Pts
1	October 8	Detroit	1 – 5	Calgary		1–0–0	2
2	October 10	Winnipeg	5 – 1	Calgary		1–1–0	2
3	October 12	Calgary	2 – 3	Winnipeg		1–2–0	2
4	October 14	Calgary	5 – 4	Edmonton		2–2–0	4
5	October 16	Edmonton	5 – 2	Calgary		2–3–0	4
6	October 18	Boston	6 – 5	Calgary	OT	2–4–0	4
7	October 20	Calgary	4 – 5	NY Islanders		2–5–0	4
8	October 21	Calgary	5 – 4	NY Rangers		3–5–0	6
9	October 24	Calgary	7 – 5	Quebec		4–5–0	8
10	October 26	Calgary	5 – 3	Montreal		5–5–0	10
11	October 30	Calgary	3 – 3	Vancouver	OT	5–5–1	11

November: 9–3–2 (home: 6–2–2; road: 3–1–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Record	Pts
12	November 3	NY Rangers	3 – 5	Calgary		6–5–1	13
13	November 5	Edmonton	4 – 4	Calgary	OT	6–5–2	14
14	November 8	Buffalo	6 – 3	Calgary		6–6–2	14
15	November 10	Calgary	3 – 4	Winnipeg		6–7–2	14
16	November 11	Calgary	4 – 3	Minnesota		7–7–2	16
17	November 13	Los Angeles	7 – 10	Calgary		8–7–2	18
18	November 15	Vancouver	4 – 8	Calgary		9–7–2	20
19	November 17	Boston	6 – 3	Calgary		9–8–2	20
20	November 19	Quebec	1 – 9	Calgary		10–8–2	22
21	November 21	Pittsburgh	4 – 4	Calgary	OT	10–8–3	23
22	November 23	New Jersey	2 – 9	Calgary		11–8–3	25
23	November 25	Calgary	4 – 2	Vancouver		12–8–3	27
24	November 28	Calgary	8 – 4	Los Angeles		13–8–3	29
25	November 30	Chicago	0 – 4	Calgary		14–8–3	31

December: 9–3–1 (home: 5–2–1; road: 4–1–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Record	Pts
26	December 3	Toronto	3 – 5	Calgary		15–8–3	33
27	December 5	Minnesota	4 – 4	Calgary	OT	15–8–4	34
28	December 8	Calgary	5 – 4	Washington		16–8–4	36
29	December 9	Calgary	2 – 5	Pittsburgh		16–9–4	36
30	December 11	Calgary	5 – 1	New Jersey		17–9–4	38
31	December 13	Calgary	7 – 1	Buffalo		18–9–4	40
32	December 16	Winnipeg	4 – 5	Calgary		19–9–4	42
33	December 19	Calgary	4 – 1	Los Angeles		20–9–4	44
34	December 20	Los Angeles	6 – 3	Calgary		20–10–4	44
35	December 22	Hartford	5 – 6	Calgary	OT	21–10–4	46
36	December 26	Edmonton	5 – 4	Calgary		21–11–4	46
37	December 28	Montreal	3 – 9	Calgary		22–11–4	48
38	December 31	Philadelphia	4 – 5	Calgary		23–11–4	50

January: 9–3–2 (home: 6–1–0; road: 3–2–2)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Record	Pts
39	January 2	Calgary	3 – 5	St. Louis		23–12–4	50
40	January 3	Calgary	5 – 3	Chicago		24–12–4	52
41	January 6	Winnipeg	1 – 6	Calgary		25–12–4	54
42	January 8	NY Islanders	4 – 7	Calgary		26–12–4	56
43	January 10	Washington	2 – 8	Calgary		27–12–4	58
44	January 13	Calgary	3 – 5	Edmonton		27–13–4	58
45	January 15	Calgary	4 – 4	Vancouver	OT	27–13–5	59
46	January 19	Vancouver	5 – 7	Calgary		28–13–5	61
47	January 21	Los Angeles	5 – 4	Calgary	OT	28–14–5	61
48	January 23	Calgary	4 – 4	Detroit	OT	28–14–6	62
49	January 25	Calgary	11 – 3	Toronto		29–14–6	64
50	January 27	Hartford	1 – 5	Calgary		30–14–6	66
51	January 29	Calgary	5 – 4	Edmonton		31–14–6	68
52	January 30	Vancouver	3 – 4	Calgary		32–14–6	70

February: 5–6–1 (home: 0–1–0; road: 5–5–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Record	Pts
53	February 1	New Jersey	5 – 4	Calgary		32–15–6	70
54	February 3	Calgary	0 – 9	Winnipeg		32–16–6	70
55	February 5	Calgary	1 – 5	Detroit		32–17–6	70
56	February 7	Calgary	5 – 2	Los Angeles		33–17–6	72
57	February 12	Calgary	3 – 2	Philadelphia		34–17–6	74
58	February 14	Calgary	4 – 5	Washington	OT	34–18–6	74
59	February 16	Calgary	3 – 9	NY Islanders		34–19–6	74
60	February 17	Calgary	3 – 5	NY Rangers		34–20–6	74
61	February 20	Calgary	6 – 3	St. Louis		35–20–6	76
62	February 21	Calgary	3 – 3	Chicago	OT	35–20–7	77
63	February 26	Calgary	5 – 3	Vancouver		36–20–7	79
64	February 28	Calgary	3 – 2	Edmonton		37–20–7	81

March: 10–2–2 (home: 7–1–0; road: 3–1–2)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Record	Pts
65	March 3	Philadelphia	3 – 6	Calgary		38–20–7	83
66	March 5	Edmonton	4 – 7	Calgary		39–20–7	85
67	March 7	Pittsburgh	5 – 4	Calgary		39–21–7	85
68	March 9	Calgary	6 – 6	Winnipeg	OT	39–21–8	86
69	March 10	Winnipeg	3 – 5	Calgary		40–21–8	88
70	March 12	Buffalo	4 – 10	Calgary		41–21–8	90
71	March 15	Calgary	8 – 6	Hartford		42–21–8	92
72	March 17	Calgary	7 – 5	Boston		43–21–8	94
73	March 19	Calgary	5 – 4	Quebec	OT	44–21–8	96
74	March 21	Calgary	3 – 3	Montreal	OT	44–21–9	97
75	March 24	Toronto	1 – 7	Calgary		45–21–9	99
76	March 26	Vancouver	1 – 6	Calgary		46–21–9	101
77	March 28	St. Louis	2 – 7	Calgary		47–21–9	103
78	March 30	Calgary	7 – 9	Los Angeles		47–22–9	103

April: 1–1–0 (home: 1–1–0; road: 0–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Record	Pts
79	April 1	Los Angeles	6 – 3	Calgary		47–23–9	103
80	April 3	Minnesota	1 – 4	Calgary		48–23–9	105

Playoffs[]

1988 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Smythe Division Semi-final vs. Los Angeles - Flames win 4–1
Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Series
1	April 6	Los Angeles	2 – 9	Calgary		Calgary leads 1–0
2	April 7	Los Angeles	4 – 6	Calgary		Calgary leads 2–0
3	April 9	Calgary	2 – 5	Los Angeles		Calgary leads 2–1
4	April 10	Calgary	7 – 3	Los Angeles		Calgary leads 3–1
5	April 12	Los Angeles	4 – 6	Calgary		Calgary wins 4–1

Smythe Division Final vs. Edmonton - Oilers win 4–0
Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Series
1	April 19	Edmonton	3 – 1	Calgary		Edmonton leads 1–0
2	April 21	Edmonton	5 – 4	Calgary	OT	Edmonton leads 2–0
3	April 23	Calgary	2 – 4	Edmonton		Edmonton leads 3–0
4	April 25	Calgary	4 – 6	Edmonton		Edmonton wins 4–0

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
Hakan Loob	12	80	50	56	106	47	9	1	9	10	6
Mike Bullard	22	79	48	55	103	68	6	0	2	2	6
Joe Nieuwendyk	25	75	51	41	92	23	8	3	4	7	2
Gary Suter	20	75	21	70	91	124	9	1	9	10	6
Joe Mullen	7	80	40	44	84	30	7	2	4	6	10
Al MacInnis	2	80	25	58	83	114	7	3	6	9	18
John Tonelli	27	74	17	41	58	84	6	2	5	7	8
Joel Otto	29	62	13	39	52	194	9	3	2	5	24
Jim Peplinski	24	75	20	31	51	234	9	0	5	5	45
Brett Hull^‡	16	52	26	24	50	12	-	-	-	-	-
Brad McCrimmon	4	80	7	35	42	98	9	2	3	5	22
Carey Wilson^‡	33	34	9	11	20	18	-	-	-	-	-
Gary Roberts	10	74	13	15	28	282	9	2	3	5	29
Lanny McDonald	9	60	10	13	23	57	9	3	1	4	6
Perry Berezan	21	29	7	12	19	66	8	0	2	2	13
Brian Glynn	32	67	5	14	19	87	1	0	0	0	0
Colin Patterson	11	39	7	11	18	28	9	1	0	1	8
Ric Nattress	6	63	2	13	15	37	6	1	3	4	0
Tim Hunter	19	68	8	5	13	337	9	4	0	4	32
Dana Murzyn^†	5	41	6	5	11	94	5	2	0	2	13
Steve Bozek^‡	26	26	3	7	10	12	-	-	-	-	-
Neil Sheehy^‡	5	36	2	6	8	73	-	-	-	-	-
Jiri Hrdina	17	9	2	5	7	2	1	0	0	0	0
Rob Ramage^†	55	12	1	6	7	37	9	1	3	4	21
Mike Vernon	30	64	0	7	7	47	9	0	2	2	2
Shane Churla^†	15	29	1	5	6	132	7	0	1	1	17
Craig Coxe^†	18	7	2	3	5	32	2	1	0	1	16
Paul Reinhart	23	14	0	4	4	10	8	2	7	9	6
Kevan Guy	3	11	0	3	3	8	-	-	-	-	-
Doug Dadswell	36	25	0	2	2	2	-	-	-	-	-
Rich Chernomaz	33	2	1	0	1	0	-	-	-	-	-
Randy Bucyk	18	2	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-
Rick Wamsley	31	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Bob Bodak	28	3	0	0	0	22	-	-	-	-	-

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.
^‡Traded mid-season.

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
Mike Vernon	30	64	3565	39	16	7	210	1	3.53	9	515	4	4	34	0	3.96
Rick Wamsley^†	31	2	73	1	0	0	5	0	4.11	1	33	0	1	2	0	3.64
Doug Dadswell	36	25	1221	8	7	2	89	0	4.37	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.

Transactions[]

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1988–89 season.

Trades[]

June 13, 1987	To Calgary Flames Ric Nattress	To St. Louis Blues 4th round pick in 1987 (Andy Rymsha) 5th round pick in 1988 (Dave Lacouture)
August 26, 1987	To Calgary Flames Brad McCrimmon	To Philadelphia Flyers 3rd round pick in 1988 (Dominic Roussel) 1st round pick in 1989 (traded to Toronto Maple Leafs; Maple Leafs selected Steve Bancroft)
September 17, 1987	To Calgary Flames 5th round pick in 1988 (Scott Matusovich)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Dale DeGray
January 3, 1988	To Calgary Flames Shane Churla Dana Murzyn	To Hartford Whalers Neil Sheehy Carey Wilson rights to Lane MacDonald
March 6, 1988	To Calgary Flames Craig Coxe	To Vancouver Canucks Peter Bakovic Brian Bradley Kevan Guy
March 7, 1988	To Calgary Flames Rob Ramage Rick Wamsley	To St. Louis Blues Steve Bozek Brett Hull

Free agents[]

Player	Former team
C Randy Bucyk	Montreal Canadiens
RW Rich Chernomaz	New Jersey Devils

Player	New team
G Reggie Lemelin	Boston Bruins
F Nick Fotiu	Philadelphia Flyers

Draft picks[]

Calgary's picks at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, held in Detroit, Michigan.^[11]

Rnd	Pick	Player	Nationality	Position	Team (league)	NHL statistics
Rnd	Pick	Player	Nationality	Position	Team (league)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1	19	Bryan Deasley	Canada	LW	University of Michigan (CCHA)
2	25	Stephane Matteau	Canada	LW	Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)	848	144	172	316	742
2	40		Canada	D	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
3	61	Scott Mahoney	Canada	RW	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
4	70	Tim Harris	Canada	RW	LSSU (CCHA)
5	103	Tim Corkery	Canada	D	Ferris State University (CCHA)
6	124	Joe Aloi	Canada	D	Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)
7	145	Peter Ciavaglia	United States	C	N/A	5	0	0	0	0
8	166	Theoren Fleury	Canada	RW	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)	1084	455	633	1088	1840
9	187	Mark Osiecki	United States	D	N/A	93	3	11	14	43
10	208	Bill Sedergren	United States	D	N/A
11	229		Sweden	D	N/A
12	250	Magnus Svensson	Sweden	D	N/A	46	4	14	18	31
S2	20	Peter Lappin	United States	RW	St. Lawrence University	7	0	0	0	2

References[]

Player stats: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 124.
Game log: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 139.
Team standings: 1987–88 NHL standings @hockeydb.com
Trades: Individual player pages at hockeydb.com

^ 1987–88 season, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 124.
^ Playoff Records, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 224.
^ Year-by-year Results, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 106.
^ "1987-88 NHL Summary".
^ "1987-88 NHL Summary".
^ Joe Nieuwendyk profile, legendsofhockey.net, accessed August 20, 2007.
^ King Clancy Memorial Trohpy at nhl.com, accessed August 20, 2007.
^ Award Winners, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 23.
^ All-Star Selections, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 22.
^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
^ Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed August 19, 2007.

[1] 1987–88 season, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 124.

[2] Playoff Records, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 224.

[3] Year-by-year Results, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 106.

[4] "1987-88 NHL Summary".

[5] "1987-88 NHL Summary".

[6] Joe Nieuwendyk profile, legendsofhockey.net, accessed August 20, 2007.

[7] King Clancy Memorial Trohpy at nhl.com, accessed August 20, 2007.

[8] Award Winners, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 23.

[9] All-Star Selections, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 22.

[nhl-gd-standings-10] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.

[11] Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed August 19, 2007.

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v t Calgary Flames seasons
Pre-1980	Atlanta Flames
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
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2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
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Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

v t Calgary Flames
Formerly the Atlanta Flames Founded in 1972 Based in Calgary, Alberta
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks Expansion draft Seasons Current season
History	Records Award winners Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) Calgary Sports and Entertainment General manager Brad Treliving Head coach Darryl Sutter Team captain Vacant Current roster
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Media	TV City Sportsnet West Radio Sportsnet 960
Culture and lore	Atlanta Flames George Canyon Harvey the Hound Red Mile The Monday Night Miracle Calgary Hitmen Ice hockey in Calgary Calgarypuck 2011 Heritage Classic 2019 Heritage Classic
Category Commons

v t 1987–88 NHL season
Patrick	New Jersey NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Pittsburgh Washington
Adams	Boston Buffalo Hartford Montreal Quebec
Norris	Chicago Detroit Minnesota St. Louis Toronto
Smythe	Calgary Edmonton Los Angeles Vancouver Winnipeg
See also	Entry Draft Supplemental Draft All-Star Game Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup Finals