Historical Replay - Calgary Flames
 

Hello all,

Thanks to the global pandemic sweeping the world, I am housebound with the entire family. Thankfully I'm armed with OOTP21 (which I haven't even touched yet) and FHM6 (which I've touched too much to be honest). Anyway, I decided to occupy my time with rehashing and documenting one of my favourite historical replays: What if I was given control over the Flames in the year 2000 instead of the future GM of the year Craig Button?

When Button was hired in Calgary, there was a lot of optimism. He had helped build the Dallas Stars into one of the best teams in the league. Flames fans, like myself at the time, thought good times were ahead.

Instead, what we got was a guy who shipped out some of Calgary's better pieces and relentlessly pursued poor fits like Rob Niedermayer and Chris Drury. He also stood by an inexperienced coach and shipped out Marc Savard for a handful of magic beans. On the plus side he did acquire Craig Conroy, so he's not all bad. His tenure didn't really set the team back that much, but he did not transform the team into a contender as many thought he would. Calgary would have to wait for Darryl Sutter to roll into town and give the roster a kick in the ass.

I had the pleasure of meeting Craig Button once, in a lounge on 17th avenue one night. I jokingly told him he should trade Iginla straight up for Mike Peca. Thank god he was far too intelligent to follow my advice for I was heavily intoxicated on cheap gin and Peca's leadership on a bad Buffalo team. He did seem like a genuinely wicked guy though.

As with my past dynasty with the Expansion Sharks, I will narrate the season through assorted fictional press-releases and editorials.

I hope this brings me a bit of joy and relief from the madness that we are all going through and gives you all something to read that is hockey related. I don't know about you, but I need the distraction.

The parameters are pretty straight forward. I simmed the '99-'00 season from Sept 17 to June 1st and took over the Flames from there.

A couple of bizarre things have happened: The LA Kings won the Stanley Cup on the back of Stephane Fiset in 18 games. The Kings were the 8th seed and routed everyone in 5 games or less. They faced Ottawa in the finals and beat them 4-0. So yeah, pretty crazy.

The second bizarre thing: the scrappy Edmonton Oilers of the late-90s finished first in the west. And, yeah LA beat them in 5 games in the first round.

Individual player stats seem really standard with lots of familiar faces doing familiar things, so nothing really stands out there. Pittsburgh had fun with Mario, Jagr and Straka all topping 100pts for the year. Brian Rafalski won the Calder trophy, Niedermayer won the Norris, Jagr the Art Ross and John LeClair won the Richard trophy with 55 goals. Brodeur won the Vezina. Rob Blake won the Conn Smyth with a whopping 10 pts and minus 7. Fiset's numbers where pretty stellar so I'm not sure what happened there.

Flames signal change of direction
 

Flames signal change of direction
01.06.00 13.26 MST

Caretakers Coates and Sutter out, Dave Fyvie in as new Coach and General Manager

Days after the surprising image of LA King Luc Robitaille raising the cup over his head was beamed across the league, the team that finished 4 points back of the Cinderella Kings has made a radical change in their front office: a new Coach/GM.

33 year old Dave Fyvie, a dual citizen from Naperville Illinois, intends on steering the seemingly forever rebuilding Calgary Flames back into the playoffs.

Attachment 679990

Harley Hotchkiss (pictured), Owner and Team President announced the hiring this afternoon. “As an organisation was have deep gratitude for how Al Coates has carefully steered this hockey club through a very tumultuous time”. He added “With his job as caretaker done, we are happy to announce a new General Manager and Coach for the Calgary Flames effective immediately. A new man for a new decade of Flames hockey”.

“I think we have the pieces to make the playoffs this year”. Dave Fyvie said in front of a packed media room inside the bowels of the Saddledome. “There’s more depth on this team than people realise. With a couple of minor roster adjustments, we can be playing hockey in May and hopefully June”.

Dave Fyvie went further to illustrate the kind of hockey team he wants to build. “I am keen to build this team down the middle and across the back. So much of the game depends on your centres and defenders and the game between the dots. We have areas of strength on the roster, it is now to to build from that and ice a competitive hockey team.”

Careful not to name any players, Fyvie highlighted the need to be thorough and decisive. “We’ve got a busy few weeks. the Expansion Draft, Free Agency and hosting the Draft make this a critical time for the team.”

The 33-36-13 Flames finished 3rd in the competitive Northwest Division, missing the playoffs by 4pts. Calgary is also hosting the 2000 Entry draft next month, and is eager for their new GM to get started. The move signals an end to the Al Coates era which saw the team transition from a winning Hockey club to rebuilding venture, moving out franchise pillars Theo Fleury, and Joe Nieuwendyk for building blocks Jarome Iginla, and Robyn Regehr.

There is no news at this time regarding Calgary’s existing coaching, scouting and training staff. More to follow.

Where to improve the Flames?
 

Where to improve the Flames?
02.06.00 09.00MST

Attachment 679991

Editorial - New Coach and GM hard pressed to return to the Post Season

With any new appointment, there is optimism. But as the Flames missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year this season, that optimism is fragile. Al Coates’ stewardship of the Flames was not deemed a success, but his hiring was, at the time, seen as more of a band-aid. He was the smart choice. His calm business-like demeanour assured the Flames’ ownership group that Coates was keen to cut costs, and navigate the franchise through the hazardous waters of low Canadian Dollars and rising player salaries. With the ship back into safer waters, and the oil sector in the City thriving, the plan now is to be aggressive. Win now! Get those oil dollars back in the seats, wether they be corporate or proletariate.

Enter Dave Fyvie: a young man in a hurry. Assuming the now rare title of Coach and General Manager, Fyvie is a relative roll of the dice. He has no track record and limited experience. But his ideas impressed Harley Hotchkiss enough that the Team Owner handed him the keys to the City’s pride and joy.

The 33yr old Fyvie assured us the team can make the playoffs. Wether or not that is achievable is open to debate. So let’s begin.

The Flames finished the year with a 33-36-13 record that placed them 9th overall in the Conference, just 3pts shy of 8th place Los Angeles - the team that rode a hot Stephane Fiset all the way to the Stanley Cup. The Flames boast some young up-and-coming talent throughout the lineup with a sprinkling of Phil Housley and other mid-30’s vets adorning the roster.

Dave Fyvie wouldn’t have to look far to realise that Calgary’s goal production could be better along with the penalty killing. Goals against, on the other hand, was top ten in the league whereas the powerplay production was exactly middle-of-the-pack.

Dave Fyvie said “We need to be smart with the puck five-on-five and use our special teams to make plays.”

And where does a new General Manager extract these improvements? One can only guess that moving players in and out offer the new Executive the solution. But as the new chief is hesitant to name names or even positions, it falls on the fans and the media to speculate.

The players that broke-out last season: forwards Iginla, Savard and Martin St Louis all are on the right side of 30 and show signs of improving further still. Cory Stillman and Valeri Bure also dialled in good performances and are in their prime. With the Flames strapped for goals, it would be hard to consider moving any of those names out. Where the team seems to suffer from is the shallow depth of foot soldiers: players that occupy the middle-six of the lineup. Domenichelli, Corbet, Lindsay and Wiemer all have something to contribute, but had trouble complimenting the promising top six forwards. Perhaps augmenting this group of players is where we can expect changes.

As Calgary looks steady with its stable of good young defenders and ‘goalie of the future’ Jean-Sebastien Giguere on the back-end the road seems straight-forward for the new General Manager to improve the forward corps.

All of this sounds simple, but looming just days after free-agency begins, is the dreaded Expansion Draft. Where Mr Fyvie decides to hide his team’s strengths from the hungry clutches of Columbus and Minnesota remain unclear. He needs to simultaneously add to his roster and kick to the curb any deadwood without being stuck with a depleted top-six forward group and top-four blue-line.

The Entry Draft, held in Calgary just days after the Expansion Draft, could proved further agency to the young Executive in his first off-season. The Flames are slotted, after adding two new teams to the order, 15th overall. Not bad, but not a shoe-in to add any assets that can contribute right away. That being said, the trade market on the day of the draft is notably soft. The rest of the league is always keen to upgrade their rosters with the ease of simply walking to the next table with a pen and pad in hand. I imagine the new direction of the Flames will become evident here: in early July under the lights of the Calgary Saddledome.

Fyvie hinted yesterday at his press conference that he intends to “build this team down the middle and across the back.” Sounds to me like centre depth is where he intends on improving the team and looking at teams who have strength at that position could potentially give us some idea of who will be the team’s trading partner in the next few weeks. Narrowing that search to teams deep down the middle but starving for defensemen or wingers could improve speculation.

Calgary’s current centres of Savard, Shantz, Wilm, Dubinsky and Johansson are an interesting group of ‘maybe will be’s’ to ‘never were’s’. What’s missing is a true Franchise Centre that all teams covet, but this is not the 80’s. What Calgary needs most is a centre that can be truly two-way. A pivot that can help the scorers and hold his own in the defensive zone. Savard has proven to be a fantastic playmaker but does not posses a 200ft game. Shantz, and Wilm are great in their own end, but cannot be counted on to provide much offence. Johansson and Dubinsky may not even be good enough for big minutes in the NHL.

An asset that could be spent to shore up the centre corps is the diminutive winger from Russia. Valeri Bure (pictured), blocking a younger, cheaper winger on the depth chart by the name of Martin St Louis, could be the solution to Dave Fyvie’s shallow list of pivots. Bure flirted with the 30 goal mark this season with 28 goals (team leader) and 46 points over a full 82 game schedule. Will Fyvie part with Pavel’s younger brother? It is safe to say, the right handed sniper could be in demand and Calgary has pressing needs down the middle of the lineup. Bure’s even made remarks suggesting he’d be open to go elsewhere if it meant more ice-time.

The coming weeks and months will be critical for this team. Will the route to the playoffs be clear with a steady tailwind? Or will the Flames spend more time toiling in the tempest of mediocrity? Only time will tell.

Flames qualify RFAs
 

Flames qualify RFA's
16.06.00 10.30MST

New GM shores up depth, but 3 players reject qualifying offer.

Many pending RFA's signed on the dotted line this past week, as the new Flames boss, and many of his players came to mutual agreements. Three key players were not so happy and rejected their offers leaving them free to pursue other offers.

Defenders Toni Lydman, Robyn Regehr, and right winger Martin St Louis received qualifying offers, but did not sign meaning that Calgary reserves the right to match any offers these three young players receive. If Calgary refuses, then the Flames will receive compensatory draft picks in the 2001 entry Draft as a result.

"I'm obviously not thrilled with these developments. These guys are really important to our team going forward, and I am optimistic that we'll see them all in Flames' colours this September." Dave Fyvie spoke in front of reports this morning.

In other roster news: some notable names were not offered qualifying offers and risk being without a team come July 1st. Former first rounder Andrei Nazarov, pugilist Wade Belak and Red Deer native Paul Manning are some of the names amongst the list of non-returnees.

The deadline for retaining any players whose contracts expire is June 30th.

Fuhr traded, Players protected
 

Fuhr Traded, Players Protected
01.07.00 10.25MST

Attachment 680156


Flames reveal list of protected players and announce All-Star transaction

Future Hall of Fame Goaltender Grant Fuhr (pictured) has been traded to the Expansion Columbus Blue Jackets today in a stunning move that says more about the constraints General Managers face when having a limited number of players they can protect going into tomorrow's expansion draft.

The 37 year old all-star was not shocked. "They can only protect one of us. (Giguere) is obviously the future." When asked how he will remember his time in Calgary, Fuhr wasn't too emotional. "It was great. It's a good group of guys. They'll be fine without me."

Fuhr is the first official member of the Expansion Blue Jackets, as no other player is on the roster.

Close by and available for questions, was winger Jarome Iginla. "We'll miss Coco. He's a legend. I know a lot of us shooters enjoyed listening to his advice on how to improve our scoring. He's a wealth of information, experience and laughs. Great guy."

Fuhr appeared in 38 games for the Flames last season and compiled a 15-15-7 record. He recorded 4 shutouts, a 2.59 GAA, and a .913 SV%.

After announcing the trade with Columbus, a first for rookie GM Fyvie, the Flames revealed the list of players they will protect for the Expansion Draft being held tomorrow. The list is as follows:

Goalie - Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Defense - Albelin,T Gauthier,D Housley,P Lydman,T Morris,D
Forwards - Domenichelli,H Ekman,N Stillman,C Savard,M Shantz,J Wilm,C Bure,V Iginla,J St.Louis,M

One player exempt from the draft due to his age and playing time is RFA defenseman Robyn Regehr.

Notable players left exposed are Fred Brathwaite, Cale Hulse, Jason Weimer, Bill Lindsay, Daniel Tkaczuk and Chris Clark.

The Expansion Draft is scheduled to take place tomorrow at Noon Eastern.

Flames go to College in the First Round
 

Flames go to College in the First Round
03.07.00 13:15MST

Hosts draft diminutive winger in the first round

Attachment 680169

Forward Mike Cammalleri (pictured) of the University of Michigan Wolverines, was drafted 14th overall by the host Calgary Flames today in the 2000 NHL entry draft. The expansion team Columbus Blue Jackets selected Calgary raised Dany Heatley first overall, whilst their fellow expansion team Minnesota Wild picked Russian winger Sergei Mozyakin. The first goalie selected was Swede Henrik Lunqvist, who went 3rd overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Listed at 5'9" and 190lb, Cammalleri is under-sized by some standards, but Flames GM Fyvie was impressed by his tools and ability. "He can skate, score, and win battles along the boards. He interviewed really well with us too. I was happy that he was still available at 14." Asked where he saw Cammalleri playing, Fyvie highlighted the player's versatility and ability to play all three forward positions.

This past season, Cammalleri posted 13 goals and 26 points in 39 games for the Wolverines.

Players still left available when Calgary took the podium were Slovak winger Marian Gaborik, centre Antoine Vermette, and Alberta born Scott Hartnell.

The first round draft order was as follows:

1. Heatley,D - Columbus Blue Jackets
2. Mozyakin,S - Minnesota Wild
3. Lundqvist,H - Tampa Bay Lightning
4. Kunitz,C - Atlanta Thrashers
5. Franzen,J - New York Islanders
6. Sharp,P - Buffalo Sabres
7. Kronwall,N - Chicago Blackhawks
8. DiPietro,R - Anaheim Mighty Ducks
9. Moore,D - Nashville Predators
10. Fiddler, V - Montreal Canadiens
11. Bryzgalov,I - Vancouver Canucks
12. Kopecky,T - New York Rangers
13. Smith,M - Washington Capitals
14. Cammalleri,M - Calgary Flames
15. Gaborik,M - Florida Panthers
16. Umberger,R - Los Angeles Kings
17. Vermette,A - Phoenix Coyotes
18. Williams,Justin - San Jose Sharks
19. Liles,J - Carolina Hurricanes
20. LaRose,C - Boston Bruins
21. Hartnell,S - St.Louis Blues
22. Stoll,J - Dallas Stars
23. Martensson,T - Philadelphia Flyers
24. Ward,J - Colorado Avalanche
25. Moss,D - Detroit Red Wings
26. Williams,Jason - Edmonton Oilers
27. Bieksa,J - Toronto Maple Leafs
28. Ehrhoff,C - Ottawa Senators
29. Martin,P - New Jersey Devils
30. Dallman,K - Pittsburgh Penguins

The second and subsequent rounds will take place tomorrow at 9am at the Calgary Saddledome.

Flurry of moves signal radical change
 

Flurry of Moves signal radical change
11.07.00 14:30MST

Bure and Fata out, O'Neill, Gelinas and Macdonald in.

Valeri Bure and prospect Rico Fata have been traded to Carolina for veteran winger Martin Gelinas and centre Jeff O'Neil as per GM Dave Fyvie. The deal also includes two 3rd round draft picks going to Carolina, one in 2001 and another in 2002. In a separate move, undrafted College centre Andy Macdonald signed an entry level contract with the club for 2 years worth $865,000 a season.

"Picking up Gelinas and O'Neill addresses several needs we have on this hockey club right now." Dave Fyvie said of the transaction. "Valeri Bure is a legitimate top six winger who will thrive with the players they have in Carolina. We are happy to have had him here."

The 30yr old Gelinas joins his fifth franchise and brings a solid two-way game. "He can score and plays a solid 200ft game" Fyvie said of his new port side forward.

For Jeff O'Neill the trade brings new opportunities. "He's got speed and a nose for the net. I have a feeling he'll be useful on both the powerplay and the penalty killing units. He's so versatile and can play down the middle if we need him to."

With the trade, Fyvie seems to have addressed the need his team has for those elusive middle-six wingers he's been looking for all summer.

Attachment 680230

With the trade announced, the young GM then unveiled another transaction - signing centre Andy MacDonald (pictured) from Colgate University. The young 5'11" centre went undrafted and produced 67 goals and 154 points in just 137 games over the past 4 years in the college ranks.

"We love his hockey sense and see this signing as found money." Said Fyvie of the move. "We see him playing potentially as a second line centre."

The three new forwards will hopefully signal a return to playoff hockey for the Flames who have finished out of the second season for 4 straight years.

Flames add grit
 

Flames add grit
18.08.00 14:30MST

Flames and Sharks swap wingers

Attachment 680389

Dave Fyvie has announced that 14yr veteran Dave Lowry (pictured) has been acquired from the San Jose Sharks for winger Nils Ekman. The left winger produced 7 goals and 18 points in 71 games last season and is known for his grit, leadership and defensive acumen. He will join his new teammates in time for Training Camp held in just over a month.

On the other side, Nils Ekman of Sweden will join the Sharks. Last season, the skilled winger split his time between the big club and the minors and produced 2 goals and 9 points in 28 games for the Flames where he played predominately on the 4th line.

"We need someone like Lowry on this team." Noted GM Fyvie. "He brings a lot of qualities that our younger players need right now. There's no doubt Ekman will be a strong player down the line, but he was really getting lost in the numbers game with all the other young wingers we already have on this team."

11 years younger than Lowry, Ekman will join a Sharks team in transition as they attempt to get younger, whereas the Flames have quite a bit of youth on their side and are trying to augment the mix a bit.

The 35yr old Lowry is the 4th new player brought in by the new General Manager, joining fellow forwards Martin Gelinas, Jeff O'Neill and rookie Andy MacDonald. The Flames is his 5th stop on his NHL career that began in Vancouver in 1985. Lowry was an integral member of the Cinderella Florida Panthers team that made the Stanley Cup finals in 1996 where the winger netted 10 goals and 17 points in 22 playoff games.

Pre-Season Preview
 

Pre-Season Preview
20.09.00

Can the new regime in Calgary carry the Flames to the Playoffs?

As the Hockey calendar flips to the 2000/2001 season, the Flames will embark on a new path, under the new regime of rookie Coach/GM Dave Fyvie.

How the team does will rest largely with the cast of players Fyvie has retained and brought in. Returning are three key players that we've identified may have a large impact on how the team performs this season.

Below is a quick list of who came in and who went out this summer:

Players in:
F Andy MacDonald
F Martin Gelinas
F Jeff O'Neill
F Dave Lowry
G Ty Conklin (minors)
G Reinhard Divis (minors)


Players Out:
F Rene Corbet (expansion draft)
F Bill Lindsay (expansion draft)
F Andrei Nazarov (free agency)
D Wade Belak (free agency)
F Nils Ekman (trade)
F Valeri Bure (trade)
F Rico Fata (trade)
G Grant Fuhr (trade)



Key Player Profile - Jean Sebastien Giguere
Attachment 680418

Coming over from the Hartford Whalers in 1997 via trade, Giguere has slowly established himself as a legitimate NHL Starter. Last season, Giguere appeared in 46 games and delivered an impressive 2.12GAA and .927 SV%. If the Flames are going to have any chance on breaking their playoff drought, the 23yr old Giguere will again have to perform heroics.



Key Player Profile - Phil Housley
Attachment 680419

The veteran Blueliner is currently enjoying his second stint with the Flames. The ageless powerplay specialist can still quarterback on the man-advantage but will now have to be insulated more at even strength. The 36yr old as posted a respectable 24 goals and 94 points over his previous two seasons with the Flames and will continue to provide much-needed leadership amongst his much younger defensive partners.



Key Player Profile - Jarome Iginla
Attachment 680420

It almost seems like yesterday that the Edmonton native was acquired for Franchise centre Joe Nieuwendyk in 1995. Since that time, Iginla has slowly matured into the face of the Franchise that previous GM Al Coates envisioned when trading for the young forward. Blessed with a strong stride and an excellent scoring touch, Iginla is fierce along the boards and often drops the gloves to assert his presence against the opposition. If the Flames are to play hockey next spring, it will be on Iginla's shoulders.

Notes from Training Camp
 

Notes from Training Camp
20.09.00 09:35MST

Who goes where and who was in the best shape?

With the start of the 2000/01 season on the horizon the annual Notes from Training has arrived outlining where players lineup on the depth chart and who showed up to camp in the best shape of their lives.

Forwards:

There have been some changes this year to the look of the Flames this season as the new General Manager has decidedly placed his stamp on the team.

After a few days of drills, these have been the most common line combinations:


Stillman Savard Iginla

Gelinas Macdonald St.Louis

Lowry Shantz O'Neill

Wiemer Wilm Domenichelli

Clark Johansson

Savard and Iginla paired up hasn't really surprised anyone, but the new second line of MacDonald, with St.Louis and fellow frenchman Gelinas has a lot of people talking. If Macdonald doesn't look ready for his own line, you may see O'Neill take on being the pivot and Macdonald given a minor role on the left side of Wilm on the 4th line.

Defense:

Not a lot of changes on the back-end this season from the previous year. Expect to see a bit less of Albelin and Housley and a bit more from youngsters Morris, and Regehr.

Regehr Morris

Albelin Housley

Lydman Hulse

Smith

The one major difference we've seen is placing Housley on the right side as he was predominately on the left side last season. It may aid his offense a bit more, but hamper him a bit when defending.

Goalies:

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Fred Brathwaite

Brathwaite slots back in to a major role this season after losing his roster sport to Giguere and veteran Fuhr last season. Both goalies have very contrasting styles, Giguere relying far more on his size and technique whereas Brathwaite is a far more physical goaltender. Giguere is expected to start at least 50 games this season, but Brathwaite has shown he can handle a large workload too.

Other notes:

The powerplay has a different look this year too. Fyvie is utilizing the wingers more for zone entry. The top unit is using a 1-3-1 system with Housley on the point. The second unit is more spread out and conventional with Morris on the point. St.Louis has also been seen on the point.

The Penalty Kill has been amended to using more of a Diamond formation keep shots to the outside, with the units collapsing when down to 3 man formation.

Robyn Regehr showed up to camp early this year and was deemed by the medical staff to be in the best shape with Jean-Sebastien Giguere coming in a close second. Fyvie said he was impressed with all of the player's commitment to fitness in the off-season but was especially encouraged by his younger players.

The first of 7 exhibition games begins tonight as the Flames host the New York Islanders. Puck drops at 19:15MST.

Flames finish pre-season with perfect record
 

Flames finish pre-season with perfect record
29.09.00 22:15MST

Islanders fall to Flames in final pre-season tilt

Attachment 681082

The Calgary Flames closed out their pre-season schedule the same way it began: with a win over the lowly New York Islanders. Leading the charge tonight, with a first star selection and 3 helpers in the 5-1 drubbing, was left winger Cory Stillman (pictured).

"We had a lot of fun these past two weeks. Our powerplay has been really clicking this fall. Let's hope it continues this winter." Stillman finished the 7 game pre-season with 4 goals and 13 points, 9 of which with the man-advantage.

Flames fans have much to feel optimistic about. Though the pre-season counts for nothing, it was encouraging to see positive results up and down the lineup.

The new-look second line, affectionately referred to as the "M&M's", featuring Martin Gelinas, college graduate Andy MacDonald, and Martin St.Louis were surprisingly effective during the exhibition season. All three players featured heavily on the scoresheet this September, combining for 8 goals and 16 points over 7 games.

The Goaltending battery of Brathwaite and Giguere posted solid numbers too. Brathwaite, eager to impress on his return to the NHL, provided a respectable .913SV% and a 2.33GAA. Giguere was better still, posting an impressive .949SV% and a stingy 1.50GAA.

Coach Fyvie was impressed with how his new look 'shutdown line' worked in September also. Shantz, with newcomers Lowry (from San Jose) and Jeff O'Neill (from Carolina) consistently shutdown the opposition and won key draws in their own end. "They worked really well together. You have no idea until you put them in a real situation. It was nice to see them feed off of each other. They all get it and want to contribute."

Over the 7 game exhibition season, Cory Stillman led the Flames with 13 points, with Jarome Iginla coming in second with a team leading 6 goals and 11 points. Marc Savard was third with 1 goal and 7 points. Leading all defenseman was Toni Lydman with 6pts.

The NHL season starts in earnest with Calgary hosting the Detroit Red Wings October 5th.

Fyvie wins Home Opener
 

Fyvie wins Home Opener
05.10.00 21:45MST

Flames send Red Wings packing

Rookie Coach and General Manager Dave Fyvie got his first National Hockey League win tonight as the Calgary Flames dispatched the visiting Red Wings by a score of 5 to 2.

Team Captain, and first star selection Jarome Iginla lead the team with 3 goals. Starter J.S. Giguere received the 3rd star for a 47 save performance.

"We really battled and managed to make their PK unit pay dearly for the penalities." Dave Fyvie spoke in front of the media after the game. "Giguere faced a lot of rubber and kept us in the game early."

After 4 minutes of play in the first period, Detroit had already amassed 17 shots on the net, many of them on their first powerplay of the game.

Also scoring for Calgary were defensemen Derek Morris and Phil Housley.

Kirk Maltby of Detroit started the scoring at 4:56 of the first, followed shortly by Derek Morris at 8:09 of the first. After that Jarome Iginla went to work, scoring his first late in the frame at 19:26 on the powerplay.

Deadline acquisition from last year, Peter Bondra scored his first of the year at 2:38 of the second to tie the game for Detroit. Phil Housley took the lead for the Flames for good with his go-ahead-goal at 3:05. Captain Jarome Iginla scored two more to ice the game later in the second at 9:17 (his 200th career point) and at 13:06 respectively.

"Anytime your best player dominates like that, you've got a chance to win. We're lucky that our best players made the plays tonight."

Shots were 49 to 18 for the Red Wings. The Red Wings went 1 for 8 on the powerplay. Calgary went 2 for 7.

Calgary plays host to the Colorado Avalanche October 10th, and Detroit heads North to face Edmonton tomorrow before getting 4 days off.

This is awesome to read as a fellow Calgarian. I often thought what if with Jiggy and St. Louis if management had handled their situations better.

Love that you’ve kept them and can’t wait to see how you do before the magical 2004 run

Facing St.Louis in Tampa in the finals in '04 was tough for me. My Dad and I really like St.Louis when he was in Calgary - he showed a lot of promise and was an exciting puck hound. Sadly, the new regime probably just glanced at his stats and small dimensions and cut him and the rest is history.

Savard nets trick in route of Blue Jackets
 

Savard nets Trick in route of Blue Jackets
12.10.00 21:47MST

Flames remain undefeated against Expansion Jackets

In what can be termed a foregone conclusion, the Calgary Flames beat the expansion Blue Jackets by a score of 3-0 tonight with Calgary's number one centre registering his first hat trick of the year.

Attachment 681344

Marc Savard (pictured), known more for his passing, started the scoring at 14:29 of the second period in the one-sided affair.

"It was a nice surprise to see him shoot the puck as much as he did tonight. He got some good looks and was justly rewarded." Mused Coach Fyvie. "Anytime you host an expansion team, you have to make the game count. You've got to take them seriously, play them hard and earn your 2pts in the standings."

Registering his first shutout of the season, and his first start, was veteran backup, Fred Brathwaite. "I was happy to get a start in just our third game of the season. Coach told me earlier in the week that this game was mine, so I was ready." Brathwaite only faced 7 shots, and was completely redundant in the 3rd as Columbus failed to even register a shot.

Savard added to his goal total in the 3rd tallying his second of the game at 2:45 and capping his hat trick at 6:11.

Shots were 45-7 for Calgary. On the powerplay, Calgary went 0 for 3 and Columbus was 0-4. Calgary now stands at 2-0-1 and the Blue Jackets are off to a 1-2-0 record.

Calgary will hit the road for the first time this season and face the New York Islanders on Saturday. Columbus continues their current road swing with a date with the Avalanche, also on Saturday, the 14th October.

First Battle of Alberta goes to Calgary
 

First Battle of Alberta goes to Calgary
01.11.00 22:02MST

Newcomer Jeff O'Neill nets winner in Round 1

The Calgary Flames have thrown down the gauntlet in this season's first edition of the Battle of Alberta with a 3-2 win.

Jeff O'Neill, enjoying his first BoA, scored the winner unassisted at 11:12 of the second period. "So this was my first Battle of Alberta, and it was pretty tense. You'd never know this was November. It felt like a playoff game out there." Said O'Neil, who was brought in over the summer from the Carolina Hurricanes. It was Jeff O'Neill's 4th goal of the season and gave the visiting Flames a 3-1 lead.

Jarome Iginla opened the scoring on the powerplay at 13:22 of the first, from Savard and Stillman. Bill Guerin tied it up early in the second period, also on the powerplay, from Smith and Comrie at 1:20. Cale Hulse, the first star selection, took the lead at 7:38 from St.Louis and Shantz. It was his first of the season.

After O'Neill's insurance goal, Ryan Smyth of Edmonton made it 3-2 at 11:30 of the second with a goal from Laflamme and Devereaux. That was as close as the Oilers would get as the Flames shut the door in the third.

Jarome Iginla led both teams with a whopping 10 shots on net.

Bill Ranford, Edmonton's former starter of past glory days, started in net for the Oilers and made 27 saves on 30 shots. Giguere made 24 saves on 26 shots.

Calgary went 1-8 on the powerplay, and the Oilers went 1-6.

The 6-5-2 Calgary Flames host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday November 4th, and the 7-6-1 Edmonton Oilers host the Minnesota Wild on Friday November 3rd before going on a 5 game road-trip next week.

This was the first of 5 meetings between the two teams. The next Battle of Alberta takes place again in Edmonton later in the on Sunday the 19th.

Milestones scored in tilt against the Rangers
 

Milestones scored in tilt against the Rangers
18.11.00 22:14MST

Flames crush visiting Rangers 6-2

Attachment 681970

Former first rounder Cory Stillman (pictured) scored his 100th career goal en-route to a 6-2 win over the visiting Rangers. Stillman opened the scoring at 14:36 of the first, with his centenary goal, in what turned out to be a route of the New Yorkers. It was Stillman's 6th goal, and 15th point of the season.

"It was great to get it out of the way. I had no idea I was so close to 100 goals. I think I checked at the beginning of the year and just forgot about it." Stillman added. "It wasn't until they announced over the PA that I realized it. Kind of funny, really."

The Rangers tied the game up at 16:16 of the second off the stick of Petr Nedved before the Flames took the lead once again with a Derek Morris snapshot at 18:21 from Gelinas and O'Neill, who was playing his first game down the middle of the second line.

The game stayed close until the 3rd period when Calgary managed to score 4 to New York's one. Iginla on the powerplay at 3:27, Lydman on the powerplay at 10:09, St.Louis on the powerplay at 10:26 and Regehr at 10:51. The 3 goals in less than a minute sealed it for the Flames who allowed only one goal in the final frame: Tim Taylor at 7:31 from Leetch and Quintal.

The second Rangers' goal capped the night with another career milestone. Brian Leetch's 850th point which received a full standing ovation from the Calgary faithful.

"Obviously it would've been nice to win the game, but I'll take the point. I've had the benefit of playing this wonderful game for a very long time." Said Leetch.

Shots were 53 to 25 for Calgary. The Flames went 3 for 5 on the powerplay, whilst the Rangers went 0 for 3.

The Flames next play the Oilers in Edmonton tomorrow night while the Rangers return home to face the Leafs on 21st November.

Iginla scores 100 against Wild
 

Iginla scores 100 against Wild
22.11.00 22:25MST

Captain hits milestone in OT

Attachment 682098

Just a few days after his linemate Cory Stillman scored his 100th goal, Jarome Iginla (pictured) followed suit with a milestone of his own, as the Flames downed the Wild in OT by a score of 2-1.

"It feels great to score 100 goals in the best league in the world." Beamed Jarome Iginla, who potted his special goal for the Overtime winner. "To be able to win a game with it too is pretty special." Iginla leads all Flames with 11 goals and 23 points in 23 games.

Tonight's win is the fourth consecutive time the Flames have beaten their new division rivals this season.

The scoring opened with a powerplay goal off the stick of Tommy Albelin 14:44 of the first period. Minnesota tied up the tight contest with a powerplay goal of their own from Espen Knutsen at 18:01 of the second period. The game remained tied throughout the 3rd setting it up for Jarome Iginla to score the winner in at 00:38 of overtime.

Coach Fyvie was pleased the result. "It was a tight affair out there tonight. Anytime you can win a game on the road it is important. We were hungry after that tough loss in Edmonton and are were eager to get the right result tonight."

The shots were 34 to 11 for Calgary. The Flames went 2 for 8 on the powerplay whereas the Wild went 1 for 9 on the man advantage.

The Flames return home to host the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on Friday the 24th. Minnesota remains at home to host the Chicago Blackhawks, also on Friday the 24th.

GM shakes up Flames
 

GM shakes up Flames
30.12.00

Attachment 682357

Flames send prospect and Wilm for Chris Drury and Tom Barrasso

Hot off the heels of another loss, a 10-1 drubbing at that hands of the Vancouver Canucks, GM Dave Fyvie pulled the trigger on a deal with the Colorado Avalanche.

Coming to Calgary is veteran netminder Tom Barrasso, who's currently toiling in the minors, and former Rookie of the Year centre Chris Drury (pictured). Going the other way is shutdown centre Clark Wilm and Russian AHL'er Oleg Saprykin.

"Drury offers a lot of what we need on this team right now. We're having a difficult time finding a fit for the second line. By getting Chris, we may be able to move bodies back to where they belong." Fyvie didn't mention names but he did highlight the musical chairs of trying Stillman, O'Neill and MacDonald centring the second line. Whether Drury goes to the second line, or moves to the top line remains unclear. But everyone agrees that the Flames got the best player out of the 4 involved in the transaction.

Going to the Avalanche, Clarke Wilm has slowly established himself as productive shutdown presence down the middle, and the 19yr old Saprykin has shown flashes of brilliance in the AHL.

"We'll certainly miss them." Said Fyvie of the duo. "I think Saprykin is not far from making the NHL. We're quite deep on the wings so it seemed best to move him to a team that needs him."

Coming along with Drury is 35yr old goaltender Tom Barrasso. Currently playing in the AHL, Barrasso is hoping for another chance to play in the National Hockey League. Sources indicate that taking Barrasso was integral to completing the deal for Colorado who were eager to offload the netminder.

Colorado currently sits second on the Conference with 51pts in 38 games. Calgary sits 11th with 36pts in 38 games and are currently mired in a 6 games winless streak.

Drury is expected to start tomorrow when the Flames host the Montreal Canadiens in the annual New Year's eve battle between the two teams.

Flames snap winless streak with win over Habs
 

Flames snap winless streak with win over Habs
31.12.00

Drury leads Flames in first as a Flame

In the last game of the year, new Flame Chris Drury helped his new team to an emphatic win over the visiting Canadiens 4-2. Drury finished the game with 1 goal and 1 assist and received the first star selection while skating on the new look line of St.Louis, O'Neill and Drury.

"It felt really good out there, and having a chance to play with two wingers that can really skate makes my job easier." Noted the new forward. "I got a chance to play on the powerplay with them too we scored so I hope it makes the coach happy."

The new line combined for 6 points as St.Louis, O'Neill and Drury figured on the both of the line's goals, one on even strength and the other on the powerplay.

Rookie Michael Ryder opened the scoring at 00:56 of the second period on the powerplay from Koivu and Linden. The Habs held the lead until O'Neill tied it up in the third period from Drury and St.Louis on the powerplay. Calgary kept scoring with goals from Shantz at 4:11, and Stillman at 8:35 of the third before Montreal answered back with a goal from Sergei Zholtok at 12:21. Chris Drury scored his first as a Flame at 13:52 to ice the game for the hosts.

Shots were a whopping 47 to 17 for the Flames. Calgary went 1 for 6 on the man advantage, and Montreal went 1 for 4.

With the win, the Flames come within one game of .500 and puts an end to their 6 games winless slide which has seen them go 0-5-1 over the past few weeks.

Drury and the Flames next play the Sharks in San Jose on 3rd of January. Montreal returns home to play the New York Islanders on 2nd of January.

Flames stretch undefeated streak to 7 games
 

Flames stretch undefeated streak to 7 games
14.01.01

Captain nets hat-trick in critical win over Canucks

Attachment 682871

Calgary extended their season high 7 game undefeated streak as they crashed Vancouver's party, by a score of 7-4. Ensuring the win was Captain Jarome Iginla who snapped an 8 game goalless drought with a critical hat-trick, his second of the season. Previous to tonight's game, Iginla had scored just 2 goals in his past 17 games.

"It's been a rough few weeks for sure." Beamed the young Captain. "We made a change, putting Gelinas on our line and it seemed to work."

Coach Fyvie had made some minor changes going into tonight's game by moving Stillman back with Drury and St.Louis, sending O'Neill back to Shantz's line with Lowry and promoting Martin Gelinas to the top line with Savard and Iginla. The move sparked the offense as Gelinas set up Iginla on two even-strength goals.

The shuffle effected results up and down the lineup as the other 3 lines produced goals as well.

The team has yet to lose since they last played Vancouver, dropping an embarrassing 10-1 decision. The loss prompted Fyvie to pull the trigger on a critical trade, acquiring Chris Drury for Clarke Wilm and prospect Oleg Saprykin. Since the swap, the Flames have been undefeated, going 6-0-1 in that time.

St.Louis opened the scoring at 01:47 of the first period with his 11th of the season from new linemate Cory Stillman and Tommy Albelin. Hnat Domenichelli (pictured) scored his 4th at 05:51 from Housley and Wiemer and Iginla scored his first of 3 at 08:19 to make it a 3 goal lead from Gelinas and Savard.

Vancouver got on the board to close out the period at 18:56 from Todd Bertuzzi making it 3-1 after 20 minutes.

Jarome extended the lead at 06:30 of the second with his second of the night from Gelinas and McDonald. Jeff Shantz potted his 5th of the season at 10:11 from O'Neill and Lowry to make it a 4 goal game.

From here Vancouver went to work in the dying moments of the second with two quick goals on Fred Brathwaite, O'Sullivan at 18:09 and Naslund at 19:15 with his 21st goal of the year.

Naslund would score again midway through the 3rd period at 08:39 making it a one goal game. The score held until the dying moments of the 3rd when Iginla completed his hat-trick on a two-man advantage at 18:54 for his 19th of the season. Stillman capped the game less than a minute later, on the powerplay and into an empty net to finish off the host Canucks.

Shots were 38 to 28 for the Flames. Calgary went 2 for 6 whereas the Canucks went 3 for 5 on the man-advantage.

The win places Calgary in a 3-way tie with Vancouver, and Edmonton for 6th place in the conference. Both the Flames and Canucks have one game in hand over the Oilers.

The Flames look to continue their winning ways when they play the Sharks in San Jose on the 17th of January before returning to Calgary. Vancouver will host the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday the 16th of January before going on a 3 game road trip.

Flames and Panthers deal at the deadline
 

Flames and Panthers deal at the deadline
13.03.01 10:25MST

Boyle acquired for players and picks

Attachment 683864

The Flames have acquired 24yr old d-man Dan Boyle (pictured) for Cale Hulse, Andy McDonald, and 2 second round picks in a deadline deal. Also coming with Boyle is 24yr old checking centre Ryan Johnson.

The Flames are currently tied with the Vancouver Canucks for the final playoff spot in the west with 72 points.

Introducing the trade was GM and Coach Dave Fyvie. "We are very excited to be able to acquire a high calibre defenseman so early in his career. We hope Dan will have a positive impact on this hockey club down the stretch here and obviously down the road."

The asking price was high as Boyle's current ability and sky-high potential netting the Panther's 2 roster players and 2 second round draft picks. "We did pay a high price, but Boyle has got his whole career ahead of him. His age and ability come with a premium. And we were willing to pay."

Also coming over in the trade is centre Ryan Johnson. "Ryan is a quality forward. He can take the tough assignments and contribute on the penalty kill at a high level. Both of these players will have a major impact on our special teams."

The acquisition promises to alter the lineup for the Flames as Boyle is a legitimate top pair defenseman. Where he fits in will obviously be a hot topic of conversation.

"Right now we've got a few ideas of where Boyle slots in for us. Obviously we know where we'll be playing him, it's more of who he plays with."

The currently Flames blueline boasts the following players:

R Boyle
L Regehr
R Morris
L Lydman
L Housley
L Albelin
L Smith

Potential partners for Boyle seem to be between 20yr old phenom Robyn Regehr and the ageless Phil Housley. Regehr has already asserted himself as a top pair defenseman in the league and would strike and balance with Boyle's offensive abilities. Housley plays a similar style to that of Boyle and could make the top pair a high-end offensive unit that could radically shift how the Flames generate offense.

"We are toying with the idea of having an offensive pair and a premiere shutdown pair as our top two defensive units, right now. Shifting Housley back to the left side to play with Boyle and moving Regehr back to play with Morris is something we are looking at as a possibility."

Fans will get their first look at the new players tomorrow as they face-off against the Blue Jackets in Columbus tomorrow. The Flames don't return home until March 17th when they host the St.Louis Blues.

Flames outside looking in this Spring
 

Flames outside looking in this Spring
09.04.01 06:30MST

Editorial - What's next for the Flames?

Attachment 684175

When Dave Fyvie was hired last summer, it was with the intention of finding that final piece that would catapult the Flames into the playoffs. Whether that final piece be the man himself, or that man would acquire that final piece was the question.

Fyvie made some moves. He acquired players. He moved out players, prospects and draft picks. Oh so many draft picks.

The result - a team that finished with 83 points. 4 points more than the previous season and 2 points back of the 8th place Sharks for the last playoff spot.

Where can this team improve? What will the Flames do this off-season?

Calgary had three players score more than 20 goals this season:

Iginla 38 goals
Stillman 28 goals
St.Louis 24 goals

Which is a decent upgrade over last season where they only had two:

Bure 28 goals
Iginla 27 goals

Giguere's numbers took a slight nose-dive over the previous year:

2000/01
65gp 2.57GAA .916SV

1999/00
46gp 2.12GAA .927SV

He started 19 more games and it seemed to take a toll.

On the back-end one glaring issue that seemed to plague Fyvie all year was how ineffective Phil Housley was as a top-4 option. Despite this, the new bench boss relied heavily on the veteran until the deadline, when he brought in Dan Boyle from Florida. Housley posted 36 points over the course of the year but was uninspired -8.

And speaking of veterans, Dave Lowry had a rough first year as a Flame too. The 35yr old winger posted a dismal -19 as a 'shutdown' winger. Perhaps we've identified the problem. In a league where shutting down the opposition is so important, the Flames charged with this duty were abysmal at it.

The shutdown line Fyvie employed the most was Lowry, Shantz and O'Neill. Their combined +/- on the year was -42.

To his credit, Fyvie identified this and demoted Shantz and acquired Ryan Johnson at the deadline but more needs to be done. Expect the front-office to address this issue during the off-season. It is a critical issue and has repercussions throughout the team.

One area to investigate is the Flames' special teams. One quick look shows that the Flames actually had a decent season on both sides of the man-advantage.

Powerplay 17.5% - 10th best in the league

Penalty-kill 85.5% - 10th best in the league

Both units found themselves in the top-ten of the league (barely). To be fair, that is better than being in the bottom of the league or even in the middle of the pack.

One final area to look at is shots for/against for the year. Again, the Flames posted decent numbers:

Shots per game: 32.48 9th best in the league

Shots agains per game: 30.70 12th best in the league

Surprisingly, the Flames averaged exactly the same for goals for/goals against for the year - posting 2.65 for and against. Improving their team defensive should help shift that ratio for next season.

Where the front-office takes this team this summer is anyone's guess. The team has assembled a solid group of young players up and down the lineup. Perhaps it's time the youth wrestle the torch from the veterans and begin to assert their place in the league.

Flames hire new coach
 

Flames hire new coach
26.06.01 14:45MST

Fyvie hires replacement Paul Maurice

Attachment 684176

Dave Fyvie has announced today that he is stepping down as Head Coach of the Calgary Flames by introducing his replacement, Paul Maurice (pictured). Maurice was recently released from his coaching duties in Carolina where he had coached for the previous 5 seasons.

"We are extremely excited today to announce the new coach of the Calgary Flames. Maurice is a coach I have admired for several years and we are honoured to have him step behind the bench, here in Calgary."

The move was unexpected as from all accounts, Fyvie seemed intent on guiding the Flames behind the bench for at least another season.

"I think I felt that the team I had assembled had underperformed this past season. I think I am doing myself and my team a disservice by remaining as the coach. This team and this city deserve a professional to do the job."

Maurice has had mixed results in Carolina, but does possess a track record in the NHL and is taking over a team with more talent than his previous group.

"We have a good team here. It's a tough climb to make the playoffs, but the group of guys are more than capable of getting us there." Maurice said.

When asked why he decided to make the move, Fyvie was absolutely clear. "I saw Paul was available and pulled the trigger. Relinquishing my role as coach was something that was always on the table for me. It was just a matter of me seeing if the right fit was available, and when Paul became available I had to make the move."

This is Fyvie's first coach hiring of his tenure as General Manager. This is Paul Maurice's second job as Head Coach. He coached the Carolina Hurricanes from 1996 to 2001 season.

Flames busy on Draft Day
 

Flames busy on Draft Day
03.07.01 18:27MST

Housley and Shantz moved for prospects and picks

Attachment 684179

Attachment 684180

Calgary Flames General Manager announced a pair of trades on the Draft Day floor today, in Miami Florida. Eager to acquire a few picks, spent earlier in the season to upgrade the lineup, Fyvie moved veteran defenseman Phil Housley and centre Jeff Shantz (both pictured) to Pittsburgh and Boston respectively.

Coming back from Pittsburgh was a 3rd round draft pick the Flames will use tomorrow, along with Boston's 6th round pick Calgary received for Jeff Shantz. Calgary also received 22yr old prospect defenseman Tom Preissing.

Both trades occurred just prior to Calgary taking the podium to announce their first round selection for 2001: Czech defender Zbynek Michalek at 14th overall.

Michalek is a physically mature right-handed defenseman that Fyvie believes has an opportunity to step right into an NHL roster this season. "We were keen to add to our blueline in the first round this year and Zbynek is unique in that he could potentially start the season in the big leagues. He's smart, and physical. We're very happy to get him."

Michalek has a legitimate chance of joining the big club as Calgary dealt veteran Phil Housley earlier in the day creating a hole in the lineup that could be filled by the rookie.

Going first overall this season was Finnish netminder Pekka Rinne to the Carolina Hurricanes. Defenseman Duncan Keith went to Boston and forward Tomas Plekanec was selected by the Buffalo Sabres to fill out the top 3 picks.

The entire first round went as follows:

1: Rinne,P Carolina
2: Keith,D Boston
3: Plekanec,T Buffalo
4: Greene,A Minnesota
5: Niemi,A Atlanta
6: Spezza,J Columbus
7: Emery,R Florida
8: Pominville,J Phoenix
9: Hamhius,D Chicago
10: Kovalchuk,I Tampa bay
11: Tyutin,F Nashville
12: Koivu,M Dallas
13: Laich,B New York Rangers
14: Michalek,Z Calgary
15: Wideman,D Montreal
16: Koshechkin,V Washington
17: Gilbert,T Toronto
18: Greene,M Anaheim
19: Ruutu,T Pittsburgh
20: Glencross,C New Jersey
21: McClement,J New York Islanders
22: Roy,D San Jose
23: Whitney,R Los Angeles
24: Jokinen,J Vancouver
25: Hemsky,A Philadelphia
26: Ebbett,A Edmonton
27: Ballard,K Ottawa
28: Goc,M St.Louis
29: Gleason,T Detroit
30: Clowe,R Colorado

Flames make minor move with Sharks
 

Flames make minor move with Sharks
7.07.01 14:30MST

Tkaczuk swapped for Sutherby

The Calgary Flames made a minor league move shipping 22yr old prospect Daniel Tkaczuk for 19yr old Brian Sutherby of the San Jose Sharks today.

Tkaczuk was drafted 6th overall by the previous regime in Calgary in the 1997 NHL entry draft. He has spent the previous two seasons playing in the AHL and posted 29 goals and 81 points in 130 games played.

Edmonton native, Brian Sutherby spent his first season in the AHL posting 10 goals and 34 points and a whopping 129PIM in 70 games. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2000 entry draft from the Moose Jaw Warriors.

GM Fyvie was happy to give Tkaczuk a chance to play in a new environment. "Daniel has shown a lot of promise but it's time we gave him his chance on another club. As a centre, there just isn't a lot of opportunities with us. We're pretty deep down the middle right now."

Coming from San Jose, Sutherby has a lot of size, versatility and youth on his side. "Brian is a big player that has a lot of upside for us. He goes to the net, uses his size and can play on the wing and down the middle. He's still a few years away so he has time to really cement his position on the depth chart."

Flames acquire Pushor
 

Flames acquire Pushor
14.07.01 14:00MST

Flames swap pick and prospect for veteran D-man

Attachment 684181

The Calgary Flames announced a trade today with the Dallas Stars. AHL winger Dmitri Kirilenko and an 8th round pick in the 2002 NHL entry draft have been sent to the Stars for 28yr old defenseman Jamie Pushor (pictured).

Lethbridge native Pushor is a right-handed shutdown blueliner that looks to relieve a bit of pressure in front of JS Giguere this coming season.

"I feel like anytime you can get a 3rd pair guy like Pushor, you do it." Said GM Fyvie of his new defenseman. "Jamie's a big guy and had played on some good teams. He's won a cup with the Red Wings. He know's what it takes."

The move also signals the end of any thoughts people had that top prospect Michalek had on assuming an NHL role this season.

"I think Michalek could probably do the job, but limited minutes in the best league in the world may not be the best plan for him from a development perspective. We want him to get top minutes right now, and that wouldn't happen on the big club. It's not fair to him and not fair to our new coach either."

The final spots on the blueline are now open to some healthy competiton on training camp. 38yr old Steve Smith, 24yr old Denis Gauthier and now Pushor are all in the running to fight over the 6th and 7th spot on the roster.

O'Neill scores hat-trick in win over Sabres
 

O'Neill scores hat-trick in win over Sabres
03.01.02 21:45MST

Flames score 6 in route

It's been a tough year for Flames' winger Jeff O'Neill but the forward had a bit of luck in tonight's tilt against the visiting Sabres. O'Neill's 3 goals were the difference in a 6-3 win against the visitors.

O'Neill scored his second, third and fourth goals of the campaign in each of the 3 periods.

"It felt nice to finally get a few goals in a game. Coach has me playing a different role this year and it's taking me a long time to adjust." Coach Maurice had O'Neill as one of his favourite scoring wingers in Carolina, but the winger has been relegated to more of a checking role in Calgary.

Veteran Dave Lowry opened the scoring with his 3rd of the year at 8:09 of the first period from Wiemer and Johansson. Brian Campbell of the Sabres was quick to tie the game with his 6th of the season at 12:51 of the first. Then the Flames took the lead for good with O'Neill's 2nd of the year and first of 3 on the night.

Martin St.Louis and Ryan Johnson also figured into the scoring with St.louis' 18th from Marc Savard and Johnson's 4th which was unassisted.

Fred Brathwaite, in a rare appearance this season, turned aside 25 of 28 shots. Ryan Miller faced 36 shots, stopping 31 of them.

The Sabres went 1 for 7 on the powerplay, whereas the Flames went 0 for 4.

Calgary currently sits 7th in the conference with 44pts in 41 games. Buffalo sits last in the East with 25 points in 41 games.

Flames make deadline deal with Sabres
 

Flames make deadline deal with Sabres
14.03.02 14:45MST

Zhitnik acquired for prospect and pick

Attachment 684471

The Calgary Flames announced a trade with the Buffalo Sabres this afternoon which will see top 4 defenseman Alexei Zhitnik (pictured) suit up for the Flames down the stretch. In exchange, the Flames have sent prospect centre Steve Begin and a 9th round pick in this coming entry draft.

The 29yr old Alexei Zhitnik is a known commodity who can handle top minutes and adds a puck moving dimension to the Flames' blueline. Zhitnik has an impressive 15 goals and 43 points in 65 games this season for the lowly Sabres and the Flames are hoping he can continue his impressive production on his new team.

"We're locked in a playoff race at the moment and are looking to add some value to our backend. Zhitnik will really help us on our powerplay." Fyvie said.

Zhitnik looks to be placed on one of the top two pairs on the blueline and give Boyle some support on the powerplay.

"We have a lot of good young defenders on this club that would enjoy some veteran presence. He's going to be a great fit." Said coach Maurice of the new blueliner.

Zhitnik's contract is due to expire at the end of the season, but Flames GM stressed he intends to hang on to this recent acquisition.

"We have quite a bit of room on the blueline this July so we're hoping to retain Alexei. This was a great opportunity to add to our depth now and into the future." Said Fyvie.

Returning to Buffalo is 23r old Steve Begin who has spend that last several seasons in the AHL. Begin was drafted 40th overall in 1996 and has been surpassed on the depth chart by several recent prospects. Buffalo give the young centre an new opportunity with a rebuilding club looking to get younger.

Calgary is tied for 5th with the rival Edmonton Oilers in the conference with 73 points in 68 games. Their next game is in Columbus against the Blue Jackets as they continue their epic 9 game road trip. The Flames don't return home until March 21st when they host the San Jose Sharks.

Flames make Playoffs!
 

Flames make Playoffs!
14.04.02

Flames finish 6th on West

Attachment 684473

The Calgary Flames ended their 5 year post-season hiatus earlier this week finishing 6th in the Western Conference. Top amongst the players feeling ecstatic, was long standing Flame Cory Stillman (pictured).

"It's been a long time for us. 1996 feels like a long time ago." Said the winger. "All year we've been hovering around 6th in the West and we are just really proud and grateful to be able to finally reward the fans and make the playoffs."

Stillman, for his efforts, had a difficult season on the scoresheet with just 13 goals and 33 points and a minus -1. What made it more difficult was Stillman broke out offensively last season with 28 goals, 53 points and a plus +20.

"I'm not sure what happened this year. I just really struggled getting used to the new system. But making the playoffs makes it all worth it. The real season starts soon and it is a clean sheet.

Stillman has been out recently with a mild oblique strain but hopes to be healthy in time for the first round against the Dallas Stars.

The Flames finished with a 37-32-13 record for 87 points and finished 6 points back of the 5th place Oilers.

The Western Conference stacks up as the following:

1: Detroit Red Wings 112 pts
2: Colorado Avalanche 111 pts
3: Dallas Stars 102 pts
4: St.Louis Blues 112 pts
5: Edmonton Oilers 94 pts
6: Calgary Flames 87 pts
7: Chicago Blackhawks 85 pts
8: San Jose Sharks 78 pts

This makes the first time since the 1992/93 season that both the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers have made the playoffs in the same season.

St.Louis nets 3 to force game 7
 

St.Louis nets 3 to force game 7
30.04.02 23:05MST

Flames beat Stars at home

Attachment 684474

The Calgary Flames held onto their post-season lives with a 6-2 rout of the Dallas Stars tonight. Calgary's top line of Savard, St.Louis (pictured) and Iginla connected for 5 of the teams 6 goals and combined for 11 points.

Coach Maurice was delighted with the win. "Our backs were against the wall and our top guys delivered."

Martin St.Louis led the charge with 3 goals, all of them at even strength. "I got a little bit of open ice out there tonight. We put it all on the table. We had nothing to lose." Said the pint-sized winger. St.Louis broke out this season finishing second on team scoring with 28 goals and 63 points. He leads all Flames in the playoffs with 5 goals.

Calgary plays the Stars in game 7 in Dallas May 2nd to finish the series.

Dallas douse Flames
 

Dallas douse Flames
02.05.02 23:45MST

Stars withstand late charge to eliminate Flames

Attachment 684475

The Dallas Stars asserted their home-ice advantage tonight as they put down the Calgary Flames by a score of 3-2 and advance to the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The win came on the back of a dominate 1st period where Dallas chased Giguere from the crease with 3 goals on the first 6 shots of the game. The Flames pused back with two goals in the 3rd but were unable to get the critical tying goal, sending them to the off-season.

"This was a tough round. This team was happy to be back in the playoffs and were very hungry for 7 games." Noted Dallas coach Hitchcock (pictured). "We went to work early and got a nice lead but they made it close."

With the game in the books, the Flames' season is officially over. Many questions now surround the future of Head Coach Paul Maurice who signed a 2 year deal to start the year. There are rumblings around the organization that GM Fyvie was not overly happy with how Maurice handled the roster throughout the year. Many think Fyvie may step back behind the bench next season. GM Fyvie was not available to comment.

Offseason Review - Calgary Flames
 

Offseason Review - Calgary Flames
01.09.02

Attachment 684478

The 2001/02 campaign in Calgary was deemed a success. GM Fyvie, not content with his own job at guiding his team from behind the bench, fired himself and hired Paul Maurice to guide his team to begin the season. For the second straight year the Flames improved and for the first time in 5 seasons, made the playoffs.

Despite going one and done in the first round, the Flames did take a solid Dallas team to 7 games. The experience gained for the many players on this team was valuable as the Flames look to return to the playoffs in Fyvie's 3rd and potential final year as General Manager.

Offseason Additions:

RW Grant Marshall (FA)
LW/C Dean McAmmond (FA)
RW Ales Kotalik
C Dominic Moore

Offseason Subtractions:

G Fred Brathwaite (FA)
D Jamie Pushor (FA)
D Tommy Albelin (FA)
D Steve Smith (FA)
LW Dave Lowry (FA)
LW Jason Wiemer (FA)
RW Jeff O'Neill (traded to Chicago for Kotalik and a 5th round draft pick)
RW Hnat Domenichelli (traded to Nashville for Dominic Moore)


Draft Picks:

1: C Kyle Brodziak
2: LW Scottie Upshall
4: LW Ben Eager
5: LW Petr Dvorak
5: C Karri Akkanen

Players to Watch:

LW Mike Cammalleri
C Marc Savard
D Zbynek Michalek


In an effort to build a team that matches his coach's style, Fyvie brought in significant upgrades through free-agency to shore-up his middle-six. Grant Marshall and Dean McAmmond are both solid two-way options on the wing, and the latter can even play centre in a pinch.

Rumours out of the team also suggest that Maurice and Fyvie are going to put St.Louis back on rightwing opening up opportunities for Stillman to play a larger role, like he did in 2000/01 when he put up career points.

It was addition by subtraction on the blueline as Fyvie kicked veterans Albelin, Smith and Pushor to the curb. Expect former first rounder Zbynek Michalek to play a significant role along with deadline acquisition Alexei Zhitnik who Fyvie re-signed at seasons end. The result is a blue-line core that is well balanced with Zhitnik and Boyle providing much of the offense. Regehr, Lydman, and Morris remain and look to continue to provide a steady presence in front of a new look Goalie tandem.

25yr old Ty Conklin looks to secure his spot in the lineup as J-S Giguere's back up this year, replacing crowd favourite Fred Brathwaite who was not re-signed.

Giguere started a career high 71 games last season and it is hoped that Conklin will receive more confidence than his predecessor did and thus lighten Giguere's load.

Outlook:

All signs point to the Flames returning to the Playoffs this season. The team boasts a solid blueline, starting goaltender and deep group of forwards that can skate with anyone. Rumours of Fyvie and Maurice clashing over how the team played seemed to evaporate when Maurice was retained this off-season. Both men are under the gun as both of their contracts are due to expire at the end of the season. Fans hope that any differences the two have had in the past will but put to the side this season.

Fearless prediction:

38-30-14 - 90pts

Hasek ends Flames unbeaten streak
 

Hasek ends Flames unbeaten streak
31.10.02 21:52MST

Sabres hand the Flames first loss of the season

Attachment 684597

Everyone knew it had to end. The Flames entered tonight's game at the Saddledome as the only team yet to be defeated. But as it was Hallowe'en, the Sabres came into town ready for a trick and a treat.

Dominic Hasek stole the show with a 50 save performance and Geoff Sanderson's powerplay marker late in the second ended up being the game winner in this tight affair thus ending the Calgary's undefeated streak at 9 games to begin the season.

Brian Campbell opened the scoring at just :24 into for the first period on an early powerplay. Iginla tied it up with his 5th of the season from Zhitnik and Boyle at 10:48. Buffalo took the lead before for the first intermission with another powerplay goal from Methot at 11:39.

Both teams traded goals in the second. Rookie Mike Cammalleri tied the game at 4:33 of the middle frame from McAmmond and Zhitnik and Geoff Sanderson sealed it for the Sabres with his powerplay marker giving the Sabres three goals with the man advantage.

The third saw an onslaught of rubber as the Flames outshot the visitors 16 to 1 but as we've all seen before, Hasek put up his wall and the Sabres left town with an hard fought 2 points.

Shots were 52 to 17 for the Flames and the Flames went goalless on the man-advantage 8 times. Buffalo went 3 for 9.

Calgary ends the month of October with an impressive 6-1-3 start to the season and next plays Colorado in Calgary Nov 2. Buffalo plays tomorrow night in Edmonton.

Giguere wins 'Goalie of the Month' Award
 

Giguere wins 'Goalie of the Month' Award
01.12.02

Flames goalie takes home monthly hardware

Attachment 684734

Flames' goalie J-S Giguere (pictured) has taken home his first player of the month award of his young career. The 25yr old netminder is in his 3rd season as the Flames' undisputed starter and has put together a phenomenal year.

For the season thus far, Giguere has 6 shutouts just 20 starts, 15 of them wins. He also boasts a gaudy 1.29GAA and a stingy .947 SV%.

Paul Maurice isn't surprised at Giguere's success. "He's a solid talent. We've got a good team in front of him and he's feeding off of that. Right now we have our best players winning us games. That includes Giguere."

The timing couldn't be better for the Flames' netminder as his contract expires at the end of the season. "Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worrying about that a bit." Noted Giguere. "But really I forget about all that stuff and focus on one game at a time."

The Flames are currently enjoying a very successful campaign with a fantastic 16-5-3 record good enough for 2nd in the Western Conference. Giguere's success is matched by Martin St.Louis' breakout start with a team leading 16 goals and 26 points in 24 games and Boyle's 18 points in 24 games.

"A lot of guys on our roster have arrived at the same time." Said Maurice. "Jarome, St.Louis, Drury, and Boyle are all playing at a high level and have put it all together for us. Giguere's numbers are a reflection of that. He's been phenomenal behind them and they're helping him by outplaying the opposition, night in and night out."

The only question now is can Calgary maintain this level of play for the entire year. The 3rd month of the long regular season begins tonight as the Flames host the Detroit Red Wings.

Good read! I'm surprised to see Kovalchuk go 10th, guessing he wasn't rated that highly. Giggy is kicking ass for you!

Flames secure first in the West
 

Flames secure first in the West
07.02.03

Flames beat Oilers and lead West

Attachment 684933

The Calgary Flames are now number one in the Western Conference with a win over the rival Edmonton Oilers. The Flames handed the host Oilers a 3-2 loss with the help of Calgary's dynamic duo of Martin St.Louis and Jarome Iginla.

Chris Drury (pictured), the duo's centre tonight had this to say about the pair: "They're great to play with and are so different that they compliment each other really well. Marty's got the speed and Jarome has the power. It's like being between thunder and lightning sometimes."

It was Iginla who opened the scoring tonight with a wrist shot past former Flame Trevor Kidd at 2:14 of the first period from St.Louis. It was his 20th of the season. St.Louis tallied his 26th of the season from Jarome at 8:10 of the first on the powerplay to double the lead to 2-0.

After a scoreless 2nd period, Edmonton's Ryan Smyth went to work in the 3rd with two powerplay goals of his own at 6:17 from Weight and Jason Williams, and again at 10:51 from Nycholat and Williams again.

With the scored tied, Captain Jarome Iginla roofed one past Kidd on the man-advantage at 15:58 from St.Louis and Drury for his 21st of the season. The goal held up as the winner and secured Calgary's place atop the Western Conference.

"We've been chasing Phoenix all season so I'm happy we've finally passed them." Remarked coach Maurice. "We've been consistent all year, up and down the lineup. It makes it easier when you have two studs on your top-line leading the team.

Winger Martin St.Louis leads the team with 26 goals and 55 points in 55 games this season, and is closely followed by line-mate Iginla who is second in goals with 21. Blue-liner Dan Boyle is second in points with 41 in 55 games and leads the team with an impressive +23.

The Flames now have an impressive 33-12-10 record for 76 points in the West. The Flames are comfortably leading the Northwest Division by 12 points over the second place Canucks. Phoenix does have 2 games in hand and have themselves 75 points, so many do expect the place to switch hands a few more times before the season concludes.

This was the third meeting between the Flames and the Oilers, and Calgary leads the Battle of Alberta 2 games to 1. Calgary's next game is tomorrow in Colorado to play the Avalanche.

Flames clinch second in the West
 

Flames clinch second in the West
05.04.03

Win over Oilers give Flames 108pts

Attachment 685343

When the final buzzer sounded, Maurice looked more relieved than anything else. It had been a long and successful season and the coach was happy his team escaped intact. "We're a solid group. A deep group. I'm just happy that we've got home-ice for the playoffs, and we're all healthy. We're ready to go." Said the coach.

The Flames capped off their successful season with a 3-2 win over the Oilers and finished their season on a high note: a 5 game winning streak.

Martin St.Louis (pictured) scored his final goal of the year, a team leading 41 to cap off an amazing breakout season.

"It was a great year, for us, for me. I'm just happy to be able to share it the rest of the team. Without them, I'd probably still be in the minors somewhere." St.Louis arrived in Calgary in 1998 as for a try-out and made the team shortly after. He became a regular contributor the following season and is now a fixture on the top line with Jarome Iginla.

With Calgary finishing atop of the Northwest Division, and finishing 2nd in the Conference, a rematch with the Dallas Stars is in the cards for the first round, but with the shoe being on the other foot.

"We're pretty excited to be playing Dallas again this year." Noted defenseman Dan Boyle who led all blue-liners on the team with 52 points. "We took them to 7 games last year. Now we're the favourites. The pressure is on."

Aside from Boyle and St.Louis, many Flames enjoyed personal bests this season. J-S Giguere, the team's starting goaltender, realized his promise between the pipes. Giguere posted a career high 1.85 GAA and .931SV%. He also had 13 shutouts. The numbers placed him in the top 3 in many statistically categories, placing him amongst the best in the business.

Jarome Iginla scored 30 goals for the second time in his young career. He finished second on team scoring with 62 points in 76 games.

Shutdown centre Ryan Johnson led the team with an impressive +31 and enjoyed a career high in points with 36.

Aside from the playoffs, there is other business to attend to now that the season is over. Notably, the contracts of General Manager Dave Fyvie, and his coach Paul Maurice are both due to expire at the end of June.

"June is a long way off right now." Noted GM Fyvie, who was in the dressing room for the first time this season, congratulating his players and coaches. "It's on the back burner, and we'll get there when we get there."

2nd place Calgary is primed to begin the Playoffs which being April 9th. The Flames will host the 7th place Dallas Stars in a rematch of last season's opening round. The Flames won the season series 3 games to 1.

Flames one and done again
 

Flames one and done again
20.04.03

Flames fall in 5 to Stars

Attachment 685344

The Calgary Flames lost the game and the series tonight by a score of 4-1. Despite outplaying the opposition throughout the series, the Calgary Flames are once again left to contemplate what could have been, from the front seat of their respective golf carts.

Marc Savard opened the scoring for the Flames early in the second at 2:51 from Zhitnik. Dallas quickly responded with two goals of their own: Sushinsky from Gainey and Letang at 6:50, and Zubov from Horcoff and Langenbrunner at 11:24.

Dallas kept up the pressure in the 3rd with another goal from Sushinsky from Sydor and Gainey at 11:11 of the 3rd. Morrow cemented the Flames' fate with an empty netter from Letang and Lukowich at 19:28.

Like many games this series, Calgary looked dominate at times but struggled to score. Giguere, for his part, faced limited action but appeared out of sync through much of the series, posting a dismal .896 SV% and 2.84 GAA. By contrast, Star's goalie Ed Belfour (pictured) stole the series with a excellent .931 SV%.

This is the second season in a row that the Flames have failed to advance past the first round. Calgary has yet to advance past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs since their Championship run in the spring of 1989.

With both the Head Coach and General Manager looking for contract renewals, there is now some question has to who will take the reigns of this hockey club going further.

Draft Day Drama
 

Draft Day Drama
03.07.03 17:30MST

Flames and Lightning forge 4-man swap

Attachment 685368

The Draft day floor in Nashville was buzzing as NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (pictured) announced a blockbuster trade between the Calgary Flames and the Tampa Bay lightning before the Philadelphia Flyers took to the stage to announce their first overall selection.

Calgary sent centre Marc Savard, Defenseman Derek Morris and goaltending prospect Craig Anderson to the Lightning for 23yr old centre Brad Richards.

In Richards, Fyvie hopes he has finally acquired a number one centre that befits his dynamic duo of Martin St.Louis and Jarome Iginla. "Richards is a premiere centre in all three zones. He can run your powerplay, he can shutdown the opposition, he can win battles." Fyvie said of his new prize. "He's won rookie of the year, he's capable of a high workload and he's a leader."

In return, Calgary gives up considerable depth. "Obviously the price is high for a top-line forward. We're giving up two key players and a prospect we feel has a chance to be a starting goaltender in the NHL."

Centre Savard has struggled under Maurice to find his role on the team, as he has been consistently shuffled up and down the lineup. Derek Morris has been with the Flames his entire career but has struggled to live up to the high expectations that come with his draft position. Craig Anderson has only one year of professional hockey under his belt, but has shown early promise, but with 25yr old Giguere already established, Anderson's route to the starting role in Calgary is blocked.

23yr old PEI native Brad Richards comes to Calgary with a lot of promise and is seen as franchise centre that the team has missed since moving Joe Nieuwendyk in the mid-90s. Since breaking into the league in 2000, his point totals have consistently increased along with his ice-time and responsiblilty. Calgary hopes the young forward can compliment Iginla and St.Louis and make the Flames a force to be reckoned with.

Time will tell if this move can take a Flames team over the hump and past the first round.

Calgary's Summer of Discontent
 

Calgary's Summer of Discontent
20.07.03

Editorial - Flurry of moves must pay off

Attachment 685629

After posting a formidable 108 point season, the Flames could be excused for thinking that they had the group that could propel them deep into Lord Stanley's tournament. But after a prompt exit from the first round, the Coach and the General Manager pulled out their scalpels and went to work.

After the drama of the draft day trade, the Flames selected Zbynek's younger brother Milan Michalek, a rangy winger with speed and scorer's touch, in the first round. Geoff Platt was drafted in the 3rd round, a pint-sized winger with speed and fearless tenacity to score. Patrick O'Sullivan, long touted as a top-line talent until a few months ago, was drafted by Calgary in the 4th round. His intangibles, an overbearing Father, hurting his stock, made it possible for Calgary to select the talented centre as low as 118th overall. It made for an interesting Draft Day in Calgary where only tea-leaves can tell us at this stage if any of these players will forge an impactful career in the Stampede City.

Gone are longtime 'young guns' Marc Savard, Cory Stillman, and Derek Morris. Prospect Blair Betts was kicked to the curb. As was starter-in-waiting Craig Anderson. Fourth line swedish army-knife Mathias Johansson was also jettisoned. In their place is young centre Tim Connolly, defender Nick Wallin, winger Juraj Kolnik and the Flames missing piece: 23yr old saviour Brad Richards.

It is a figurative heart-transplant, if not an actual one. It has been the most turbulent off season seen in Calgary in awhile, but one that the Front Office defends is more of a mild chinook than a sweeping tempest.

The team is younger, cheaper, more versatile. Stillman was renewed in January, only to be moved for young playmaker Tim Connolly, a player who closely resembles former Flame Marc Savard, but is 7 years younger than Stillman, and infinitely cheaper.

Brad Richards, is cheaper and younger too, but his potential promises to be very costly in the end. But if the centre can stitch the complicated ends of Iginla and St.Louis into a beautiful pattern, than the money would be worth it.

Attachment 685630

And there's the rub: Fyvie and Maurice and trying to make this team work better together. On paper the Flames were a good group of players, but a group that wasn't integrated on the ice as well as they could be. Enter Richards: the conductor of instruments. The on-ice general. The missing link. Is Richards the longtime Franchise centre this team has been looking for? Stay tuned.

St.Louis' trick dispatches Vancouver
 

St.Louis' trick dispatches Vancouver
29.11.03 21:58MST

Calgary beats Vancouver and stays atop Division

Attachment 685806

For an early season contest, tonight's game was billed as a heavy weight bout for two teams battling for the lead in the Northwest Division. In the end it was more of a one-sided beat down as the host Flames beat the Canucks 4-1, with the game winner going to 1st rounder Mike Cammalleri (pictured) and Martin St.Louis providing the knock-out hat-trick.

St.Louis opened the scoring at 8:21 of the first from Brad Richards and Jarome Iginla for his 9th of the season. Cammalleri followed up with his 8th from McAmmond and Johnson at 11:27 of the opening frame to double the lead. St.Louis struck again to finish off the first period abuse with his 10th from Michalek at 12:33.

Vancouver answered back early in the second with an unassisted tally from Mattias Ohlund at 00:28. The score stayed at 3-1 until St.Louis finished his hat-trick at 4:39 of the third period on the powerplay from Boyle and Richards.

Coach Maurice was pleased with the effort. "Some nights before Christmas it is key to get motivated. Vancouver is a good team and these matches are important when it's all said and done in April. You need to win these. And we did."

Calgary pelted Vancouver starter Ilya Bryzgalov with 52 shots. Giguere faced only 19 in comparison. The Flames went 1 for 5 on the powerplay where as the Canucks went 0 for 1.

For the season, the Flames lead the Northwest Division with 32 points in 21 games. Vancouver failed to gain any ground and remain in second with 29 points in 25 games.

Brad Richards continues to lead the team in points by gaining a couple of assists. He now has 8 goals and 29 points in 21 games. St.Louis leads all Flames with 11 goals. Jarome Iginla and rookie defenseman Tom Preissing are tied for second in points with 16 each.

The Flames next play the Sharks, who are playing well with a 15-6-2 record, in Calgary December 2nd. Vancouver gets a few days off to recover only to play the Flames again December 4th in Calgary.

Flames' centre wins Player of the Month
 

Flames' centre wins Player of the Month
01.12.03 14:00MST

Brad Richards wins monthly honours

Attachment 685808

Brad Richards (pictured) won his first hardware as a member of the Calgary Flames as the centre topped all position players in the month of November with 18 points in 12 games.

"It's an honour." Beamed the young centre. "I'm really happy and relieved. It's the first time I've been traded, and for me to hit the ground running on this team means a lot."

Since being acquired for Marc Savard, Derek Morris and prospect goalie Anderson, Richards has found himself the centre of attention in Calgary, placed perfectly between two star wingers.

"I'm really happy to be with those two. They're really easy to play with and never seem to make a bad play."

In 21 games this season, Richards has already produced 29 points and is amongst the league's elite to start the season, tied for second in total points with Teemu Selanne of Anaheim and the young Russian phenom Pavel Datsyuk of Detroit.

"It's exciting to be in the race with those names, but honestly we're just trying to win here. The fans are really passionate and it is winning that trumps everything else."

At just 23 years of age, the future is bright for the young Flames centre and he looks to surpass his previous career high total of 25 goals and 64 points which he produced last season.

Flames blowout Predators, lose Boyle
 

Flames blowout Predators, lose Boyle
20.03.04 22:30MST

Despite win, Flames lose best d-man indefinitely

Tonight, the Flames got their 49th win of the season, but lost their number 1 defenseman indefinitely with what team officials are calling an 'upper body injury' that threatens to impact the Flames' chances in the Playoffs next month.

The 8-0 win over Nashville draws the Flames within one point of the Conference leading St.Louis Blues with 101 points.

Robyn Regehr opened the scoring in the dying seconds of the first from Martin Gelinas and Tom Preissing on the powerplay at 19:45. A goal from Tim Connolly early in the second doubled the lead, again from Gelinas and centre Chris Drury.

The Flames exploded for 6 goals in the 3rd period. Gelinas scored his second on the night, Mike Cammalleri, enjoying a breakout season, scored two, and Tim Connolly scored his second of the night. Georges Laraque and Dean McAmmond also tallied goals in the onslaught.

But away from the goal celebrations was the absence of Dan Boyle, who has emerged as an important factor on this team. Not on the bench in the 3rd, officials indicated that on a play in the corner Boyle suffered a severe upper body injury that takes him out of the lineup for the rest of the season and into the playoffs.

Coach Maurice was limited in what he could say. "All we can say at the moment is that the injury takes him out of hockey indefinitely. He's had a few injuries this year and we've done well enough without him, but he skates top minutes for us and as a coach, you wish you had him to use when you need him."

Boyle has 10 goals and 39 points in 59 games, having already missed 16 games this season with previous injuries. He broke out offensively in 2001/02, his first full year with the Flames, with 15 goals and 51 points in 80 games. He followed that up with an 11 goal 52 point season last year which has cemented his status as a true number one defenseman.

Calgary will have rookie Tom Preissing and veteran Alexei Zhitnik on hand to pick up the slack, left behind by Boyle.

Calgary next hosts the Dallas Stars on Mar 22nd to begin the stretch that ends the season on the 4th of April. The sit comfortably in second in the West, with one point shy of the St.Louis Blues who have 102 points on the year.

Flames draw Canucks in First Round
 

Flames draw Canucks in First Round
08.04.04

Divisional Rivals set to face-off

Attachment 686247

The 7th place Canucks will be Calgary's first round opponent this season, as the Flames look to advance beyond the first round since their magical run in the spring of 1989.

Leading the charge for the Canucks is the formidable tandem of Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund (both pictured). The Canucks also possess a deep blueline core of sophomore Jay Bouwmeester, Mattias Ohlund, Ed Jovanovski, and Adrian Aucoin. The colourful Ilya Bryzgalov looks to be the starter, with Kevin Weekes waiting in the wings.

Maurice was confident by cautious. "They've built their team the right way. That backend is one of the best in the league and they've got enough depth upfront too. We went 5-1 against them this year, so we can beat them, but none of that matters now."

For Calgary, the challenge is replacing Dan Boyle's production. The blueliner went down with a Fractured Coracoid in his shoulder and looks to miss the entire post-season. As the injury occurred a month after the trade-deadline, solutions for the Flames have to be found within the organization.

The hope in Calgary is that the team performs better than last year's playoffs where the Flames hosted the Stars and lost in 5 games.

Flames dispatch Canucks in Six
 

Flames dispatch Canucks in Six
20.04.04 22:46MST

Flames end 15yr curse, beat Canucks 4-0

Attachment 686256

Facing elimination for the third game in a row was too much for the Vancouver Canucks, who succumbed to the Flames by a score of 4-0, ending the series in six hard fought games.

Leading the charge for the Flames was two-way centre Chris Drury with 2 assists. "We are extremely happy to finally get the monkey off our backs and move on to the next round, tonight." Said the former Little League World Series Champ, and Stanley Cup winner with the Colorado Avalanche. "It's a special feeling being in the playoffs, and it is an honour to play with these men."

For their troubles, the Flames had a commanding 3 game to nothing lead before the Canucks stormed back to win back-to-back games to fight off elimination. But forcing a game 7 proved too difficult for the Canucks as the Flames played a stingy road game and limited the Canucks to a paltry 12 shots in game 6.

This is the first time in 15 years for Calgary fans to see their team advance beyond the first round in the playoffs.

"1989 was a long time ago." Said Paul Maurice. "We're on a mission. We believe we're just as good as any team in the league right now, we just have to do the work."

The Flames now have the benefit of playing the waiting game with the top seed Blues who also won their series, against the Avalanche in 5 games. Still battling in the first round are the Sharks against the Stars (Sharks lead 3-2) and the Kings and the Red Wings (Wings lead 3-2).

Flames and Sharks face-off in Round 2
 

Flames and Sharks face-off in Round 2
24.04.04

Flames welcome Marleau and the Sharks in Second Round action

Attachment 686257

The San Jose Sharks dispatched the Dallas Stars in 6 games earlier this week and now face the Calgary Flames, a team they played 4 times during the regular season. The Season series was a close one with Calgary having the slight edge winning 1 and tying 3.

The Flames match up well against their second round foes, except when it comes to goaltending. J-S Giguere has slowly carved out a niche as a top tier goaltender, but Sharks' goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff (pictured) has emerged as one of the league's best. The Vezina Trophy finalist this season leads the league in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage.

"We like how we stack up against them, but Kiprusoff can win games on his own." Said Flames Captain Jarome Iginla. "We're going to have to work twice as hard to help (Giguere) win some games. It falls on the scorers to score."

Both teams are strong in net, but the Flames have a slight edge with the talent and depth on the forward ranks and on the blueline, even without Boyle eating valuable minutes.

"We'll miss him for sure, but we handled Vancouver well enough in the last round. We can do it, as a team." Coach Maurice added. "Their strength is in net, so it'll be a grind. A goalie can make all the difference in the spring, but we have a good one too."

The second round begins tonight, with the 3rd place Sharks visiting the second place Calgary Flames.

Sharks advance in 7 over Flames
 

Sharks advance in 7 over Flames
06.05.04 22:52MST

Sharks beat Flames 3-2 to advance to the Semi's

Attachment 686258

Patrick Marleau (pictured) had a great night to help his team eliminate the Calgary Flames and advance to the Western Conference Finals after a hard fought 7 game series. The Shark scored 3 unanswered goals to erase a 2 goal deficit en-route to the win.

Chris Drury opened the scoring with his 4th of the playoffs from Iginla and McAmmond at 3:44 of the first period. Iginla scored his 5th of the playoffs from McAmmond and Drury shortly after at 5:09 to double the lead. But the Sharks responded.


Former Flame Nils Ekman scored at 6:01 of the second from young linemates Derek Roy and Jonathan Cheechoo to draw the visitors to within one. The Sharks continued their comeback in the third with 2 quick goals from Justin Williams, scoring his 6th on the powerplay from Marleau and Roy at 5:18, and Marleau shorthanded from Bradley and Hannan at 7:56 for the winner.

"Marleau's shortie was the back breaker." Noted Head Coach Paul Maurice. "We had the lead, sat back and got scared. Once they got going we had nothing left. We were emotionally spent."

With one season left for both the General Manager and Head Coach may speculate that there maybe changes brewing in Calgary ahead of this year's draft.

The Sharks will face-off against first place St.Louis, who defeated the Detroit Red Wings in 6 games earlier this week, in the Western Conference Finals. Pittsburgh and Carolina face off in the East.

Offseason Review - Calgary Flames
 

Offseason Review - Calgary Flames
15.09.04

Attachment 686700

The 2003/2004 season was the first season under General Manager Fyvie where the team's record did not improve, despite winning 4 more games than the year before. As such, one can be forgiven for thinking the Flames have plateaued under Fyvie's regime, but it hasn't. The team is probably as talented as it's been in the 25 years it's been in Calgary.

This past year was the first in Calgary for number one centre Brad Richards who tied his career high in goals with 28 and surpassed his career high in points with 89. Mike Cammalleri also enjoyed success in just his second year in the NHL with a 28 goal performance from the second line. St.Louis, Jarome Iginla and Dan Boyle also performed at a high level.

Chris Drury, one of Fyvie's first high profile acquisitions, was shipped to Boston on Draft Day along with Calgary's 29th overall pick, for two-way centre Shawn Bates and Boston's own first round selection, a 20th overall pick. The move was simply a salary dump, as much as a way for Calgary to trade up 9 spots in the draft. With the selection, the Flames selected Russian defenseman Alexei Emelin.

The second move this off-season was another salary dump. Alexei Zhitnik was swapped with Nashville for stay-at-home defender Brad Bombardir.

These moves are little more than arranging deck chairs. Drury's impact on the Flames had been reduced since the acquisition of Richards and Connolly, and Zhitnik's contributions began to diminish. Both were swapped from smaller salaries, in the case of Bates it is almost $2 million of difference.

What we are left with is a team very similar to the one we saw last season. The Flames are still very much in the hunt for winning the division and challenging for Lord Stanley's Cup.

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Flames dismiss Maurice
 

Flames dismiss Maurice
01.12.04 08:45MST

Fyvie fires coach and returns behind bench

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In a surprising move, Dave Fyvie announced this morning the dismissal of his Head Coach Paul Maurice (pictured), effective immediately. The Flames currently in the middle of a long home-stand, find themselves one game below .500 and in 9th place in the conference with 23 points in 24 games.

"We have been spinning our tires all season. This move is in the interest of the team, and in the interest of the players." Said Fyvie who did not announce a successor. "I will not be replacing Maurice at this time with a new hire. I will be stepping in behind the bench in an interim capacity."

Both Maurice and Fyvie are in the last year of their respective deals, making the move not that surprising considering the anaemic start to the season. The Flames have topped 100 points the last two seasons and are the defending Division champs. Both of those accomplishments seem a world away this season as the Flames have struggled to win games.

"We're finding ways to lose. We're not making the adequate changes and adjustments on the ice." Fyvie said of the team.

For all his faults, Maurice has been a solid addition to the team when he was hired prior to the 2001/2002 season. As the Flames coach he was an impressive 143-81-36 record but has struggled in the first two months of this season as his team seems unable to replace Chris Drury who was an integral member of Maurice's game structure. The Flames have also suffered several injuries to key players to start the season too, losing Robyn Regehr, Dan Boyle, and Brad Richards for periods of time. Zbynek Michalek, who has established himself as a top four member of the blueline is out indefinitely with a broken hand.

The Flames next play December 3rd when they host the Conference leading Vancouver Canucks which will prove to be Fyvie's first challenge as he steps behind the bench.