1996–97 Calgary Flames season

1996–97 Calgary Flames
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)
Penalty minutes	Todd Simpson (208)
Wins	Trevor Kidd (21)
Goals against average	Trevor Kidd (2.84)
	← 1995–96 1997–98 →

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
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.

Western Conference^[7]
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 – Won Presidents' Trophy

Schedule and results[]

1996–97 Game Log

October: 7–5–1 (Home: 4–1–0; Road: 3–4–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
1	October 5	Calgary	1 – 3	Vancouver		Kidd	17,501	0–1–0	0
2	October 6	Buffalo	0 – 3	Calgary		Tabaracci	17,311	1–1–0	2
3	October 9	St. Louis	3 – 1	Calgary		Tabaracci	15,011	1–2–0	2
4	October 11	Calgary	2 – 1	Detroit		Kidd	19,983	2–2–0	4
5	October 13	Calgary	1 – 0	Philadelphia		Kidd	N/A	3–2–0	6
6	October 14	Calgary	4 – 5	NY Rangers		Kidd	18,200	3–3–0	6
7	October 16	Calgary	2 – 4	Montreal		Tabaracci	20,597	3–4–0	6
8	October 20	Edmonton	3 – 6	Calgary		Kidd	16,295	4–4–0	8
9	October 22	Colorado	1 – 5	Calgary		Kidd	15,644	5–4–0	10
10	October 24	Pittsburgh	5 – 7	Calgary		Kidd	15,856	6–4–0	12
11	October 26	Calgary	0 – 0	Los Angeles	OT	Kidd	12,787	6–4–1	13
12	October 27	Calgary	4 – 1	Anaheim		Tabaracci	16,592	7–4–1	15
13	October 30	Calgary	1 – 3	San Jose		Kidd	17,442	7–5–1	15

November: 3–9–1 (Home: 2–5–0; Road: 1–4–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
14	November 1	Phoenix	3 – 2	Calgary	OT	Tabaracci	16,246	7–6–1	15
15	November 2	Calgary	3 – 4	Vancouver		Kidd	17,546	7–7–1	15
16	November 9	St. Louis	3 – 2	Calgary		Tabaracci	16,786	7–8–1	15
17	November 13	Calgary	3 – 3	Dallas	OT	Roloson	16,149	7–8–2	16
18	November 14	Calgary	2 – 1	Chicago	OT	Kidd	17,359	8–8–2	18
19	November 16	Calgary	0 – 2	St. Louis		Kidd	16,834	8–9–2	18
20	November 18	NY Rangers	3 – 5	Calgary		Kidd	18,173	9–9–2	20
21	November 20	Dallas	3 – 1	Calgary		Kidd	15,173	9–10–2	20
22	November 22	Chicago	5 – 2	Calgary		Kidd	16,613	9–11–2	20
23	November 23	Calgary	2 – 3	Edmonton		Roloson	16,829	9–12–2	20
24	November 26	Edmonton	10 – 1	Calgary		Kidd	17,146	9–13–2	20
25	November 28	Los Angeles	0 – 2	Calgary		Roloson	15,367	10–13–2	22
26	November 30	Calgary	1 – 3	Phoenix		Roloson	15,988	10–14–2	22

December: 3–7–3 (Home: 1–3–2; Road: 2–4–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
27	December 3	Calgary	1 – 3	NY Islanders		Kidd	8,716	10–15–2	22
28	December 5	Calgary	1 – 2	New Jersey		Roloson	13,539	10–16–2	22
29	December 7	Calgary	1 – 1	Boston	OT	Kidd	15,055	10–16–3	23
30	December 10	Ottawa	5 – 5	Calgary	OT	Roloson	16,103	10–16–4	24
31	December 12	Calgary	5 – 1	Los Angeles		Roloson	9,620	11–16–4	26
32	December 14	Colorado	1 – 4	Calgary		N/A	N/A	12–16–4	28
33	December 16	New Jersey	5 – 0	Calgary		Roloson	15,186	12–17–4	28
34	December 18	Detroit	3 – 3	Calgary	OT	Kidd	16,237	12–17–5	29
35	December 20	Calgary	0 – 7	Anaheim		Kidd	17,084	12–18–5	29
36	December 22	Calgary	7 – 2	Phoenix		Roloson	15,537	13–18–5	31
37	December 23	Calgary	3 – 4	Colorado		Roloson	16,061	13–19–5	31
38	December 29	Philadelphia	4 – 2	Calgary		Kidd	18,882	13–20–5	31
39	December 31	San Jose	5 – 1	Calgary		Roloson	18,882	13–21–5	31

January: 5–5–1 (Home: 4–2–0; Road: 1–3–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
40	January 2	Calgary	2 – 3	Colorado		Kidd	16,061	13–22–5	31
41	January 4	Calgary	4 – 3	San Jose		Kidd	17,442	14–22–5	33
42	January 7	Toronto	3 – 4	Calgary	OT	Kidd	17,345	15–22–5	35
43	January 9	Hartford	2 – 3	Calgary		Roloson	17,121	16–22–5	37
44	January 11	Florida	4 – 1	Calgary		Roloson	17,273	16–23–5	37
45	January 15	Anaheim	1 – 2	Calgary		Kidd	16,207	17–23–5	39
46	January 21	Calgary	2 – 4	Pittsburgh		Kidd	16,764	17–24–5	39
47	January 22	Calgary	3 – 5	Toronto		Roloson	15,685	17–25–5	39
48	January 24	Calgary	2 – 2	Ottawa	OT	Kidd	13,306	17–25–6	40
49	January 28	NY Islanders	3 – 4	Calgary		Kidd	16,072	18–25–6	42
50	January 30	San Jose	6 – 3	Calgary		Kidd	16,117	18–26–6	42

February: 8–5–1 (Home: 7–2–0; Road: 1–3–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
51	February 1	Vancouver	0 – 3	Calgary		Kidd	18,661	19–26–6	44
52	February 3	Los Angeles	3 – 2	Calgary		Kidd	16,328	19–27–6	44
53	February 5	Calgary	2 – 5	Edmonton		Kidd	16,770	19–28–6	44
54	February 7	Washington	2 – 5	Calgary		Kidd	16,686	20–28–6	46
55	February 9	Anaheim	1 – 6	Calgary		Kidd	16,219	21–28–6	48
56	February 11	Boston	1 – 5	Calgary		Kidd	18,332	22–28–6	50
57	February 13	Edmonton	2 – 3	Calgary	OT	Kidd	18,882	23–28–6	52
58	February 15	Toronto	0 – 3	Calgary		Kidd	18,882	24–28–6	54
59	February 18	Calgary	5 – 5	Buffalo	OT	Roloson	15,867	24–28–7	55
60	February 19	Calgary	0 – 4	Detroit		Kidd	19,983	24–29–7	55
61	February 21	Calgary	2 – 4	Dallas		Kidd	16,924	24–30–7	55
62	February 23	Calgary	5 – 3	St. Louis		Roloson	19,154	25–30–7	57
63	February 26	Phoenix	5 – 2	Calgary		Kidd	16,651	25–31–7	57
64	February 28	Montreal	2 – 3	Calgary		Roloson	18,882	26–31–7	59

March: 6–5–1 (Home: 3–2–0; Road: 3–3–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
65	March 1	Dallas	1 – 4	Calgary		Roloson	17,787	27–31–7	61
66	March 4	Calgary	1 – 2	Washington		Roloson	10,003	27–32–7	61
67	March 5	Calgary	0 – 2	Hartford		Kidd	12,140	27–33–7	61
68	March 7	Calgary	3 – 1	Florida		Roloson	14,703	28–33–7	63
69	March 9	Calgary	1 – 2	Tampa Bay	OT	Roloson	15,636	28–34–7	63
70	March 12	Calgary	3 – 2	Colorado		Kidd	16,061	29–34–7	65
71	March 15	Calgary	5 – 2	Los Angeles		Kidd	15,135	30–34–7	67
72	March 16	Calgary	2 – 2	Anaheim	OT	Kidd	17,174	30–34–8	68
73	March 19	San Jose	2 – 4	Calgary		Kidd	16,610	31–34–8	70
74	March 21	Tampa Bay	4 – 3	Calgary	OT	Kidd	17,278	31–35–8	70
75	March 25	Anaheim	2 – 3	Calgary		Kidd	17,118	32–35–8	72
76	March 29	Vancouver	5 – 2	Calgary		Kidd	18,882	32–36–8	72

April: 0–5–1 (Home: 0–3–0; Road: 0–2–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
77	April 2	Colorado	5 – 1	Calgary		Roloson	18,882	32–37–8	72
78	April 4	Calgary	3 – 3	Vancouver	OT	Kidd	18,422	32–37–9	73
79	April 6	Chicago	2 – 1	Calgary		Kidd	18,397	32–38–9	73
80	April 7	Detroit	3 – 2	Calgary	OT	Roloson	17,841	32–39–9	73
81	April 11	Calgary	3 – 7	Chicago		Roloson	22,475	32–40–9	73
82	April 12	Calgary	1 – 4	Toronto		Roloson	15,726	32–41–9	73

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 Fleury	14	81	29	38	67	104	-	-	-	-	-
Dave Gagner	51	82	27	33	60	48	-	-	-	-	-
German Titov	13	79	22	30	52	36	-	-	-	-	-
Jarome Iginla	24/12	82	21	29	50	37	-	-	-	-	-
Jonas Hoglund	44	68	19	16	35	12	-	-	-	-	-
Corey Millen	34	61	11	15	26	32	-	-	-	-	-
Cory Stillman	16	58	6	20	26	14	-	-	-	-	-
Todd Hlushko	20	58	7	11	18	49	-	-	-	-	-
Ronnie Stern	22	79	7	10	17	157	-	-	-	-	-
Aaron Gavey^†	23	41	7	9	16	34	-	-	-	-	-
Yves Racine	36	46	1	15	16	24	-	-	-	-	-
Tommy Albelin	5	72	4	11	15	14	-	-	-	-	-
Todd Simpson	27	82	1	13	14	208	-	-	-	-	-
Ed Ward	42	40	5	8	13	49	-	-	-	-	-
Mike Sullivan	32	67	5	6	11	10	-	-	-	-	-
Chris O'Sullivan	19	27	2	8	10	2	-	-	-	-	-
Joel Bouchard	6	76	4	5	9	49	-	-	-	-	-
Sandy McCarthy	15	33	3	5	8	113	-	-	-	-	-
Marty McInnis^†	18	10	3	4	7	2	-	-	-	-	-
Cale Hulse	29	63	1	6	7	91	-	-	-	-	-
James Patrick	3	19	3	1	4	6	-	-	-	-	-
Glen Featherstone^†	4	13	1	3	4	19	-	-	-	-	-
Hnat Domenichelli^†	17	10	1	2	3	2	-	-	-	-	-
Dale McTavish	41	9	1	2	3	2	-	-	-	-	-
Trevor Kidd	37	55	0	2	2	16	-	-	-	-	-
Sami Helenius	8	3	0	1	1	0	-	-	-	-	-
Sasha Lakovic	38	19	0	1	1	54	-	-	-	-	-
Paxton Schulte	35	1	0	0	0	2	-	-	-	-	-
Zarley Zalapski	33	2	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-
Marty Murray	28	2	0	0	0	4	-	-	-	-	-
Marko Jantunen	45	3	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-
Rick Tabaracci	31	7	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-
Jamie Allison	2	20	0	0	0	35	-	-	-	-	-
Dwayne Roloson	30	31	0	0	0	2	-	-	-	-	-
All traded players	--	23	42	65	201	-	-	-	-	-

^†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 Tabaracci^‡	31	7	361	2	4	0	14	1	2.33	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Trevor Kidd	37	55	2979	21	23	6	141	4	2.84	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dwayne Roloson	30	31	1618	9	14	3	78	1	2.89	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

^‡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[]

Player	Former team

Player	New team

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
Rnd	Pick	Player	Nationality	Position	Team (league)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1	13	Derek Morris	Canada	D	Regina Pats (WHL)	1107	92	332	424	1004
2	39	Travis Brigley	Canada	LW	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)	55	3	6	9	16
2	40	Steve Begin	Canada	C	Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMHJL)	524	56	52	108	561
3	73	Dmitri Vlasenkov	Russia	LW	Torpedo Yaroslavl (RSL)
4	89	Toni Lydman	Finland	D	Tappara (SM-liiga)	847	36	206	242	551
4	94	Christian Lefebvre	Canada	D	Granby Prédateurs (QMJHL)
5	122	Josef Straka	Czech Republic	C	HC Litvínov (Czech)
8	202	Ryan Wade	Canada	F	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
9	228	Ronald Petrovicky	Slovakia	RW	Prince George Cougars (WHL)	342	41	51	92	429

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]

References[]

Player stats: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg 115
Game log: 1996–97 Calgary Flames game log, usatoday.com, accessed January 21, 2007
Team standings: 1996–97 NHL standings @hockeydb.com
Trades: hockeydb.com player pages

^ ^a ^b Year-by-year results, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 106
^ Head Coaches, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 103
^ Francis, Eric, The Uncivil War^{[permanent dead link]}, Calgary Sun, September 19, 2003, accessed January 26, 2007
^ ^a ^b All-Star Selections, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 22
^ 1996–97 season, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 115
^ "1996-97 NHL Summary".
^ "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
^ Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed January 12, 2007
^ 1997–98 AHL playoffs @ hockeydb.com, accessed January 26, 2007
^ Saint John Flames player stats @ hockeydb.com, accessed January 20, 2007

[results-1] 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^{[permanent dead link]}, Calgary Sun, September 19, 2003, accessed January 26, 2007

[allstar-4] All-Star Selections, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 22

[5] 1996–97 season, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 115

[6] "1996-97 NHL Summary".

[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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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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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 1996–97 NHL season
Northeast	Boston Buffalo Hartford Montreal Ottawa Pittsburgh
Atlantic	Florida New Jersey NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Tampa Bay Washington
Central	Chicago Dallas Detroit Phoenix St. Louis Toronto
Pacific	Anaheim Calgary Colorado Edmonton Los Angeles San Jose Vancouver
See also	Draft Red Wings–Avalanche brawl Legion of Doom Stanley Cup Playoffs Stanley Cup Finals