55 Facts About Calgary Flames

1.

Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary.

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2.

The Calgary Flames are one of two NHL franchises based in Alberta, the other being the Edmonton Oilers.

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3.

The Calgary Flames' unexpected run to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals gave rise to the Red Mile, and in 2011, the team hosted and won the second Heritage Classic outdoor game.

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4.

Calgary Flames have won two Presidents' Trophies as the NHL's top regular-season team, and have claimed eight division championships.

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5.

Calgary Flames were the result of the NHL's first pre-emptive strike against the upstart World Hockey Association .

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6.

Under head coaches Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, Fred Creighton and Al MacNeil, the Calgary Flames made the playoffs in six of eight seasons in Atlanta.

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7.

However, this success did not carry over to the playoffs, as the Calgary Flames won only two postseason games during their time in Atlanta.

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8.

The Calgary Flames were a poor draw, and never signed a major television contract.

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9.

Calgary Flames was fronting a group of Calgary businessmen that included oil magnates Harley Hotchkiss, Ralph T Scurfield, Norman Green, Doc and Byron Seaman, and former Calgary Stampeders great Norman Kwong.

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10.

Calgary Flames chose to retain the Flames name, feeling it would be a good fit for an oil town like Calgary, while the flaming "A" logo was replaced by a flaming "C".

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11.

The Flames were among the earliest teams to sign large numbers of U S college players, including Joel Otto, Gary Suter and Colin Patterson.

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12.

Calgary Flames was among the first to draft players from the Soviet Union, including CSKA Moscow star Sergei Makarov in 1983, but Soviet players were not released to Western teams until 1989.

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13.

The Oilers and Calgary Flames usually finished at or near the top of the Campbell Conference and were usually among the best teams in the entire league during this time.

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14.

However, the NHL's playoff structure of the time made it very likely the Calgary Flames would meet the Oilers in either the first or second round, rather than in the Campbell Conference finals.

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15.

From 1983 until 1990, either the Oilers or the Calgary Flames represented the Campbell Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals.

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16.

The Calgary Flames proved to be no match for the Montreal Canadiens, losing the championship series in five games.

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17.

Calgary Flames followed up their run to the Finals with their best regular season to that point.

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18.

However, the Calgary Flames were unable to duplicate their playoff success of a year prior, losing their first-round match-up with the Jets in six games.

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19.

However, their playoff frustrations continued after defeating the Los Angeles Kings in five games, as Calgary Flames was swept out of the playoffs in four straight by the Oilers.

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20.

Calgary Flames then made short work of the Kings, defeating them in four straight, before eliminating the Chicago Blackhawks in five games to set up a rematch of the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals against Montreal.

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21.

In 1991, Fletcher left the Calgary Flames to become the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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22.

Calgary Flames had been the team's general manager since its inception in 1972.

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23.

Calgary Flames was succeeded in Calgary by Doug Risebrough, and the two quickly completed a ten-player mega-trade that saw disgruntled forward Doug Gilmour dealt to Toronto with four other players in exchange for former 50-goal scorer Gary Leeman and four others.

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24.

Calgary Flames rebounded to make the playoffs for the next four seasons, including two consecutive division titles.

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25.

In 1997, only two years after winning their second consecutive division title, the Calgary Flames missed the playoffs and did not return for seven years.

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26.

Calgary Flames has always been one of the smallest markets in the NHL and the NHL's small-market Canadian teams found it increasingly difficult to compete in the new environment.

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27.

In 1999, for example, the Calgary Flames traded Fleury to the Colorado Avalanche midway through the season.

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28.

Fleury was due to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and the Calgary Flames did not want to risk losing him without getting anything in return.

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29.

The Calgary Flames issued another appeal for more season tickets in the summer of 2000.

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30.

However, the Calgary Flames lost to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in seven games during the first round of the playoffs.

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31.

Calgary Flames was replaced by former Vancouver Canucks assistant coach Glen Gulutzan.

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32.

Calgary Flames acquired veterans Troy Brouwer, Kris Versteeg, Alex Chiasson, Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson in the 2016 off-season, but overshadowing these additions were the ongoing negotiations with pending restricted free agents Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau.

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33.

The Calgary Flames re-signed Matthew Tkachuk to a new three-year deal, making him the highest paid player on the Calgary Flames' roster, as well as re-signing goaltender David Rittich, and wingers Sam Bennett, and Andrew Mangiapane.

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34.

The Calgary Flames faced the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs, but lost the series in six games.

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35.

The Calgary Flames attempted to retain Gaudreau, reportedly offering him an eight-year, $84 million contract extension; instead, the 28-year-old forward signed a seven-year deal to join the Columbus Blue Jackets in unrestricted free agency.

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36.

In 1994, the Calgary Flames approached the Saddledome Foundation with a proposal to renovate the Olympic Saddledome, rename it the Canadian Airlines Saddledome and take over management of the facility.

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37.

Calgary Flames are close partners with the Alberta Children's Hospital and the Gordon Townsend School housed within.

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38.

In December 2018, Calgary rock band The Dudes and the Calgary Flames organization teamed up to release a cover of their hockey-themed song "Saturday Night" called "My C is Alright, " paying homage to the C of Red.

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39.

In 1994, the Calgary Flames modified their jersey design, adding black to the team's colour scheme.

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40.

In 1998, to celebrate the "Year of the Cowboy", the Calgary Flames introduced its inaugural third jersey design, featuring the "flaming horse" logo on a black background.

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41.

In 2007, with the introduction of the Rbk Edge jersey, the Calgary Flames updated their look , replacing the horizontal striping with vertical striping down the sides.

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42.

The Calgary Flames adapted the Tigers' black-and-gold jerseys to darker shades of their own colours – maroon and burnt yellow, with a yellow stripe across the chest and alternating stripes on the sleeves.

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43.

In 2013, the Calgary Flames introduced a new third jersey to replace their throwback uniform.

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44.

Calgary Flames retained their current uniform look when the NHL switched to Adidas as its uniform provider in 2017, with the exception of player names and numbers going from an italicized to a straight alignment.

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45.

In 2020, the Calgary Flames promoted the throwback alternate and Heritage Classic uniforms to primary status, while retaining the black-trimmed red uniforms as an alternate.

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46.

The original "Flaming A" logo of the Atlanta Calgary Flames has been restored for use as a patch denoting the team's alternate captains.

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47.

Calgary Flames was created in 1983 to serve both with the Flames and the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

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48.

Calgary Flames have retired three numbers, and a fourth was retired league-wide.

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49.

Several members of the Flames organization have been honoured by the Hockey Hall of Fame during the team's history in Calgary.

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50.

Eleven former Flames have been elected to the Hall of Fame, five of whom earned their credentials primarily in Calgary.

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51.

Calgary Flames was joined in 2000 by a fellow member of the 1989 Stanley Cup championship team, Joe Mullen.

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52.

Mullen spent five seasons with the Calgary Flames, recording 388 points and capturing two Lady Byng Trophies.

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53.

Calgary Flames is best remembered for his booming slapshot, as well as for winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1989 as playoff MVP.

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54.

Calgary Flames was the team's longtime governor, and hence the public face of the consortium.

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55.

Calgary Flames has called six All-Star Games and four Stanley Cup Finals.

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