A professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, the Calgary Flames are known for producing some of the most competitive hockey players in the world. As a member of the Western Conference, they are a member of the Pacific Division of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is Calgary’s third premier professional ice hockey team, following the Calgary Tigers (1921–1927) and Calgary Cowboys (1975–1977). There are two NHL franchises within Alberta, the Flames and the Edmonton Oilers, and the two have a powerful rivalry, better known as the “Battle of Alberta”.
1. In 1972, the Atlanta Flames were founded in Atlanta before relocating to Calgary in 1980.
2. The team is co-owned by Canadian billionaire Norman Murray Edwards, which Calgary Sports and Entertainment manage.
3. The team has an estimated valuation of 480 million U.S. dollars.
4. In 1983, the Flames moved into their current home arena, the Scotiabank Saddledome (originally known as Olympic Saddledome), after spending their first three seasons at Calgary’s Stampede Corral.
5. The Flames became the first teams from Calgary since the Tigers from 1923-24 to contend for Stanley Cup in 1985–86.
6. The Flames won a Stanley Cup championship in 1988–89, their only trophy in team history.
7. The Vancouver Canucks were dispatched in seven games in 1989 by the Flames.
8. During the 1989 season, eight players were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
9. 117 points helped the Flames to the NHL’s top spot in 1989.
10. In a Calgary Flames uniform, Miikka Kiprusoff has won the most games by a goalie.
11. In 2008, the team won the Heritage Classic during its second outdoor game, following an unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004.
12. Two Presidents’ Trophies have been awarded to the Flames, who have won seven division championships and two Presidents’ Trophies.
13. A two-time winner of the Maurice Richard Trophy, the NHL’s leading goal scorer Jarome Iginla is the franchise leader in games played, goals and points.
14. Among Calgary’ ’s teams that fought for the Stanley Cup, the Flames were not the first. That distinction belongs to the Calgary Tigers from 1923. During the mid-1920s and early 1930s, the Tigers participated in four leagues. In the 1923-1924 final, they were defeated by the mighty Montreal Canadiens.
15. Sonia Scurfield co-owned the Flames for nearly a decade, which meant her name appears along with the team’s players and staff on the Cup. She is the second woman in history to have her name engraved on Lord Stanley.
16. A second-round sweep by the Calgary Flames saw fans celebrate an 8-3 blowout win by Flames fans in Game 2. The game involved Wayne Gretzky and his LA Kings.
17. A total of 21 Canadian players and coaches made up the 1989 Calgary Flames roster, but only five were from outside Canada; these three players came from the US, Sweden, and Czechoslovakia.