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
Minor league affiliate(s)Saint John Flames
Roanoke Express
Team leaders
GoalsTheoren Fleury (27)
Cory Stillman (27)
AssistsTheoren Fleury (51)
PointsTheoren Fleury (78)
Penalty minutesTheoren Fleury (197)
Plus/minusJim Dowd (+10)
Michael Nylander (+10)
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. The Flames finished eleven points behind the 8th place San Jose Sharks, missing the playoffs for the second straight season.

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 regular season[7]
October: 3–8–2 (home: 3–4–1; road: 0–4–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
1October 1Detroit3 – 1CalgaryTabaracci17,8930–1–00Recap
2October 3Colorado4 – 1CalgaryTabaracci15,3270–2–00Recap
3October 7Toronto2 – 1CalgaryTabaracci16,8310–3–00Recap
4October 9NY Rangers1 – 1CalgaryOTRoloson16,7560–3–11Recap
5October 12Calgary4 – 4DetroitOTTabaracci19,9830–3–22Recap
6October 14Calgary4 – 5DallasOTRoloson14,8920–4–22Recap
7October 17Colorado5 – 6CalgaryOTTabaracci16,4321–4–24Recap
8October 18Boston3 – 0CalgaryTabaracci16,6731–5–24Recap
9October 22Calgary1 – 4BuffaloTabaracci11,2221–6–24Recap
10October 23Calgary3 – 4PhiladelphiaRoloson19,3191–7–24Recap
11October 25Calgary3 – 4TorontoTabaracci15,7261–8–24Recap
12October 28Pittsburgh3 – 6CalgaryMoss15,6452–8–26Recap
13October 30Phoenix2 – 4CalgaryMoss15,7613–8–28Recap
November: 2–7–5 (home: 1–3–1; road: 1–4–4)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
14November 1Calgary2 – 2ColoradoOTMoss16,0613–8–39Recap
15November 2Calgary1 – 3PhoenixTabaracci14,9283–9–39Recap
16November 5Toronto4 – 3CalgaryMoss16,3223–10–39Recap
17November 7Anaheim4 – 3CalgaryOTMoss16,4873–11–39Recap
18November 9Calgary3 – 6DetroitTabaracci19,9833–12–39Recap
19November 10Calgary1 – 1ChicagoOTRoloson15,7533–12–410Recap
20November 13Carolina4 – 2CalgaryRoloson15,1133–13–410Recap
21November 15Calgary2 – 2EdmontonOTTabaracci17,0993–13–511Recap
22November 18Calgary1 – 2New JerseyTabaracci15,0923–14–511Recap
23November 20Calgary2 – 1FloridaTabaracci14,7034–14–513Recap
24November 22Calgary3 – 4Tampa BayTabaracci15,1764–15–513Recap
25November 23Calgary3 – 3CarolinaOTTabracci5,5164–15–614Recap
26November 27Chicago2 – 2CalgaryOTTabaracci16,6414–15–715Recap
27November 29Anaheim3 – 4CalgaryOTTabaracci18,3345–15–717Recap
December: 6–8–1 (home: 4–5–0; road: 2–3–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
28December 1San Jose2 – 3CalgaryOTTabaracci15,2686–15–719Recap
29December 3Detroit4 – 3CalgaryTabaracci16,3106–16–719Recap
30December 5Calgary1 – 4DallasRoloson16,6886–17–719Recap
31December 6Calgary3 – 4St. LouisOTTabaracciN/A6–18–719Recap
32December 9Calgary3 – 1NY IslandersTabaracci9,2517–18–721Recap
33December 10Calgary4 – 1NY RangersTabaracci18,2008–18–723Recap
34December 12Colorado1 – 3CalgaryTabaracci17,4509–18–725Recap
35December 16Chicago3 – 4CalgaryOTTabaracci15,46210–18–727Recap
36December 18Dallas2 – 1CalgaryTabaracci15,66710–19–727Recap
37December 20Los Angeles4 – 1CalgaryTabaracci15,87310–20–727Recap
38December 22Calgary1 – 5AnaheimTabaracci16,97510–21–727Recap
39December 23Calgary2 – 2PhoenixOTRoloson15,42410–21–828Recap
40December 27Philadelphia2 – 5CalgaryRoloson18,74211–21–830Recap
41December 29Phoenix5 – 3CalgaryRoloson18,74211–22–830Recap
42December 31Montreal3 – 2CalgaryTabaracci18,74211–23–830Recap
January: 3–6–3 (home: 1–1–2; road: 2–5–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
43January 3Calgary3 – 4St. LouisTabaracciN/A11–24–830Recap
44January 5Calgary1 – 1ChicagoOTTabaracci15,94111–24–931Recap
45January 6Calgary3 – 1ColoradoRoloson16,06112–24–933Recap
46January 9Florida3 – 3CalgaryOTTabaracci17,01012–24–1034Recap
47January 10St. Louis5 – 1CalgaryRoloson18,56212–25–1034Recap
48January 14Calgary2 – 5EdmontonRoloson17,09912–26–1034Recap
49January 20Calgary3 – 4Los AngelesMoss10,36712–27–1034Recap
50January 21Calgary1 – 7San JoseRoloson16,55312–28–1034Recap
51January 24Vancouver2 – 5CalgaryRoloson18,62713–28–1036Recap
52January 28Calgary5 – 2AnaheimTabaracci16,75814–28–1038Recap
53January 29Calgary3 – 5Los AngelesTabaracci9,58614–29–1038Recap
54January 31New Jersey2 – 2CalgaryRoloson18,71914–29–1139Recap
February: 2–1–1 (home: 2–1–1; road: 0–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
55February 3Los Angeles6 – 3CalgaryRoloson15,81514–30–1139Recap
56February 5San Jose2 – 4CalgaryRoloson15,39115–30–1141Recap
57February 7Edmonton2 – 4CalgaryRoloson18,71916–30–1143Recap
58February 27Vancouver4 – 4CalgaryOTRoloson15,58616–30–1244Recap
March: 8–6–1 (home: 6–1–0; road: 2–5–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
59March 1Ottawa1 – 2CalgaryRoloson17,46317–30–1246Recap
60March 3Tampa Bay1 – 2CalgaryRoloson15,83118–30–1248Recap
61March 5Calgary6 – 2VancouverRoloson15,61319–30–1250Recap
62March 7Calgary1 – 2OttawaRoloson18,03619–31–1250Recap
63March 9Calgary2 – 5WashingtonTabaracci12,01119–32–1250Recap
64March 11Calgary1 – 4PittsburghRoloson14,65519–33–1250Recap
65March 12Calgary5 – 2BostonRoloson14,67720–33–1252Recap
66March 14Calgary1 – 2TorontoRoloson15,72620–34–1252Recap
67March 16Calgary3 – 3MontrealOTRoloson20,50420–34–1353Recap
68March 20NY Islanders1 – 4CalgaryTabaracci18,18921–34–1355Recap
69March 22St. Louis3 – 5CalgaryTabaracci16,67522–34–1357Recap
70March 24Buffalo2 – 0CalgaryTabaracci16,29622–35–1357Recap
71March 26Washington2 – 3CalgaryTabaracci15,78223–35–1359Recap
72March 28Los Angeles2 – 5CalgaryTabaracci16,99824–35–1361Recap
73March 30Calgary1 – 3EdmontonTabaracci17,09924–36–1361Recap
April: 2–5–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 1–3–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
74April 1Dallas1 – 3CalgaryRoloson17,01225–36–1363Recap
75April 5Calgary3 – 3AnaheimOTRoloson17,17425–36–1464Recap
76April 7Calgary0 – 6San JoseTabaracci17,48325–37–1464Recap
77April 9Vancouver6 – 3CalgaryRoloson16,31325–38–1464Recap
78April 11Edmonton5 – 4CalgaryRoloson18,71925–39–1464Recap
79April 13Calgary2 – 4Los AngelesRoloson12,04925–40–1464Recap
80April 15San Jose3 – 3CalgaryOTRoloson16,56725–40–1565Recap
81April 17Calgary4 – 2VancouverRoloson16,60226–40–1567Recap
82April 18Calgary1 – 4San JoseRoloson17,48326–41–1567Recap
Legend:

  Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring
  • Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.
Regular season
No. Player Pos GP G A Pts +/- PIM
14Theoren FleuryRW822751780197
16Cory StillmanLW72272249−940
18Marty McInnisLW75192544134
21Andrew CasselsC81172744−732
13German TitovC68182240−138
92Michael NylanderC651323361035
12Jarome IginlaRW70131932−1029
53Derek MorrisD8292029188
32Cale HulseD79522271169
5Tommy AlbelinD6921719932
3James PatrickD6061117−226
17Hnat DomenichelliLW31971646
34Jim DowdC4868141012
44Jonas Hoglund‡LW506814−916
15Sandy McCarthy‡RW528513−18170
6Joel BouchardD445712057
2Jamie AllisonD4338113104
8Valeri Bure†RW1654902
42Ed WardLW64459−1122
33Zarley Zalapski‡D35279−1241
7Chris DingmanLW70336−11149
27Todd SimpsonD53156−10109
24Jason Wiemer†LW12415−128
23Aaron GaveyC26235−524
30Dwayne RolosonG3904410
29Erik AnderssonC12213−48
19Chris O'SullivanD12022410
11Eric LandryC12101−24
4Kevin DahlD19011−36
20Todd HlushkoLW13011027
26Ladislav KohnRW401120
31Rick TabaracciG4201114
57Steve BeginC5000023
43Travis BrigleyLW5000023
39Eric CharronD200004
24Denis GauthierD10000−516
1Tyler MossG60000
28Marty MurrayC200012
8Mike Peluso‡LW23000−6113
55Rocky ThompsonD12000061
58Sergei VarlamovLW100000

Goaltending
Regular season
No. Player GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
31Rick Tabaracci421322610871162.88.89302419
30Dwayne Roloson39111689971102.99.89002205
1Tyler Moss6231186203.27.8920367

Awards and records

Awards
Type Award/honour Recipient Ref
League
(annual)		 NHL All-Rookie Team Derek Morris (Defence) [8]
League
(in-season)		 NHL All-Star Game selection Theoren Fleury [9]
Team Molson Cup Theoren Fleury [10]
Ralph T. Scurfield Humanitarian Award Ed Ward [11]

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1997–98 season.[12]

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

Draft picks
Main article: List of Calgary Flames draft picks

Calgary's picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[13]

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.[14] 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.[15]

See also

References
  • Player stats: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 114.
  • "Calgary Flames 1997-98 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  • "1997-98 Calgary Flames Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  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 (June 14, 1997). "Hitmen finally go up in Flames". Calgary Sun. p. S5.
  5. "Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames Box Score — October 17, 1997".
  6. "1997-1998 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  7. "1997-98 Calgary Flames Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  8. "Postseason All-Star Teams". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  9. "NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1998". NHL.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  10. Hanlon, Peter; Kelso, Sean (eds.), 2010–11 Calgary Flames Media Guide, Calgary Flames Hockey Club, p. 143
  11. "JAROME IGINLA SELECTED AS RECIPIENT OF RALPH SCURFIELD HUMANITARIAN AWARD". Calgary Flames. April 9, 2002. Archived from the original on October 21, 2002. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  12. Calgary Flames 1997–2003 transactions, hockeynut.com, accessed January 14, 2007.
  13. Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed January 12, 2007.
  14. 1997–98 AHL playoffs @ hockeydb.com, accessed January 20, 2007.
  15. Saint John Flames player stats @ hockeydb.com, accessed January 20, 2007.
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