Calgary Flames

About the Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames franchise was founded in 1972 as the Atlanta Flames. Atlanta joined the NHL alongside the New York Islanders and became the league's first franchise based in the American South.

The Flames reached the playoffs six times during their eight seasons in Atlanta but struggled financially. The franchise was sold and relocated to Calgary in 1980, retaining the Flames name while replacing the flaming "A" logo with the now-familiar flaming "C."

Calgary quickly became a consistent playoff team and developed a fierce provincial rivalry with the Edmonton Oilers known as the Battle of Alberta. The franchise reached its greatest height during the 1988-89 season, when the Flames won their first and only Stanley Cup championship.

Division History

The Atlanta Flames began play in the NHL's West Division in 1972. Following league realignment in 1974, the team moved into the Patrick Division.

When the franchise relocated to Calgary in 1980, the Flames spent their first season in the Patrick Division before another NHL realignment placed them in the Smythe Division for the 1981-82 season.

Calgary remained in the Smythe Division until 1993, when the NHL renamed and reorganized its conferences and divisions. The Flames then became members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference.

The Flames have remained in the Pacific Division since then, with the exception of the shortened 2020-21 season, when all seven Canadian teams competed together in the temporary North Division.

Championship History

The Flames won their first division championship in 1987-88 and also captured the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top regular-season team. Calgary repeated as Presidents' Trophy winner the following season.

The 1988-89 campaign became the greatest season in franchise history. Calgary finished with a franchise-record 117 points before defeating the Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

There, the Flames faced the Montreal Canadiens in a rematch of the 1986 Final. Calgary won the series in six games, becoming the first visiting team to win the Stanley Cup on Montreal Forum ice.

The Flames have reached the Stanley Cup Final three times. Montreal defeated Calgary in 1986, the Flames beat Montreal in 1989, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated Calgary in seven games in 2004.

Calgary has won eight division championships, most recently capturing the Pacific Division in 2021-22. The Flames also won division titles in 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1993-94, 1994-95, 2005-06 and 2018-19.

Home of the Flames

The Flames initially played their home games at the Stampede Corral after relocating to Calgary in 1980.

The team moved into the Saddledome in 1983. Originally known as the Olympic Saddledome, the arena was built in preparation for the 1988 Winter Olympics and became one of Calgary's most recognizable landmarks. It has also been known as the Canadian Airlines Saddledome and Pengrowth Saddledome before adopting the Scotiabank Saddledome name.

The 2026-27 season is scheduled to be the Flames' final season at the Saddledome.

Construction of the team's future home, Scotia Place, began in 2024. The new arena and entertainment district are scheduled to open in fall 2027.

Notable Flames

Lanny McDonald was one of the defining players of the Flames' early years in Calgary. He joined the team during the 1981-82 season and went on to score a franchise-record 66 goals in 1982-83, a mark that still stands.

McDonald finished his playing career by helping Calgary win the Stanley Cup in 1989. In Game 6 of the Final against Montreal, he scored one of the Flames' goals in what proved to be the final game of his NHL career. McDonald was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.

Jarome Iginla became the most prolific offensive player in franchise history. He played 1,219 regular-season games for Calgary and holds the franchise records for goals with 525 and points with 1,095.

Iginla produced one of his best seasons in 2001-02, when he scored 52 goals and recorded 96 points. He won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer, the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league's leading goal scorer and the Lester B. Pearson Award, now known as the Ted Lindsay Award, as the outstanding player selected by his peers.

Iginla became Flames captain in 2003 and helped lead Calgary to Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final. His No. 12 was retired by the Flames in 2019, and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020.

Al MacInnis was selected by Calgary with the 15th overall pick in the 1981 NHL Draft and spent 13 seasons with the Flames. Known for possessing one of the hardest slapshots in hockey, MacInnis became one of the NHL's premier offensive defensemen.

He was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the most valuable player of the 1989 Stanley Cup Playoffs after recording 31 points in 22 postseason games. Two seasons later, MacInnis recorded 103 points, making him one of the few defensemen in NHL history to reach 100 points in a season.

MacInnis recorded 609 assists during his time with the franchise, the most in Flames history, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.

Other notable players from Flames history include Mike Vernon, Joe Nieuwendyk, Theoren Fleury, Gary Suter, Miikka Kiprusoff, Mark Giordano and Johnny Gaudreau.