1995–96 Calgary Flames season

	1995–96 Calgary Flames
Division	2nd Pacific
Conference	6th Western
1995–96 record	34–37–11
Home record	18–18–5
Road record	16–19–6
Goals for	241 (16th)
Goals against	240 (9th)
Team information
General manager	Doug Risebrough (until Nov. 3); Al Coates
Coach	Pierre Page
Captain	Theoren Fleury
Alternate captains	Unknown ; Unknown
Arena	Canadian Airlines Saddledome
Average attendance	18,000
Team leaders
Goals	Theoren Fleury (46)
Assists	Theoren Fleury (50)
Points	Theoren Fleury (96)
Penalty minutes	Sandy McCarthy (173)
Wins	Rick Tabaracci (19)
Goals against average	Trevor Kidd (2.78)
	← 1994–95 1996–97 →

The 1995–96 Calgary Flames season was the 16th National Hockey League season in Calgary. The Flames entered the season with their fifth coach in five seasons, hiring Pierre Page to replace Dave King.^[1] Page, who had previously been an assistant coach with the Flames in the 1980s, left his head coaching position with the Quebec Nordiques to move west.

The Flames began the season with a disastrous start, posting a 4–15–5 record through the end of November. The team's poor start was exacerbated by the holdout of Joe Nieuwendyk, who was unable to reach a contract agreement with the Flames.^[2] Also, the Flames began the season on a long, seven game road trip while renovations to the Olympic Saddledome were completed.^[3] The Flames reached a low point on October 27, 1995 when they set a franchise record for futility, recording just eight shots in a 3–0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on home ice.^[4]

The Nieuwendyk saga finally came to a close when the Flames dealt him to the Dallas Stars for Corey Millen, and Western Hockey League star Jarome Iginla on December 19. Nieuwendyk immediately ended his holdout, signing a five-year, $11 million contract with Dallas.^[2]

The Flames began to turn the season around, led by Gary Roberts' comeback from neck injuries that had kept him out most of the 1994–95 season. Roberts' comeback lasted only 35 games before he was again sidelined with bone spurs and nerve damage in his neck. Roberts would score an incredible 22 goals and 42 points during that time, earning him the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and dedication to hockey.^[5]

The Flames recovered from their woeful start to finish second in the Pacific Division, and as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. The Flames were swept, however, by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the playoffs, as the team once again failed to win a playoff series since they won the Stanley Cup in 1989. One notable player made his debut during the playoffs: Jarome Iginla, who would become a star for the flames for years to come. The Flames would not qualify for the playoffs again until 2004, missing the post season for the next seven years.^[6]

Theoren Fleury represented the Flames at the 46th National Hockey League All-Star Game. It was the first since since 1986 that the Flames had only one representative.^[7]

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

Pacific Division
No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Colorado Avalanche	82	47	25	10	326	240	104
2	6	Calgary Flames	82	34	37	11	241	240	79
3	7	Vancouver Canucks	82	32	35	15	278	278	79
4	9	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	82	35	39	8	234	247	78
5	10	Edmonton Oilers	82	30	44	8	240	304	68
6	12	Los Angeles Kings	82	24	40	18	256	302	66
7	13	San Jose Sharks	82	20	55	7	252	357	47

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Game log[]

1995–96 Game Log

October: 1–7–3 (Home: 0–2–0; Road: 1–5–3)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
1	October 7	Calgary	3 – 3	Tampa Bay	OT	Kidd	22,735	0–0–1	1
2	October 8	Calgary	3 – 4	Florida		Tabaracci	N/A	0–1–1	1
3	October 10	Calgary	3 – 7	Dallas		Kidd	15,702	0–2–1	1
4	October 15	Calgary	1 – 1	Chicago	OT	Kidd	17,309	0–2–2	2
5	October 17	Calgary	3 – 3	Detroit	OT	Kidd	19,638	0–2–3	3
6	October 19	Calgary	2 – 4	Ottawa		Kidd	8,424	0–3–3	3
7	October 20	Calgary	3 – 4	Toronto	OT	Tabaracci	15,746	0–4–3	3
8	October 25	Colorado	3 – 2	Calgary		Kidd	19,152	0–5–3	3
9	October 27	Detroit	3 – 0	Calgary		Kidd	N/A	0–6–3	3
10	October 29	Calgary	2 – 7	Anaheim		Kidd	17,060	0–7–3	3
11	October 31	Calgary	2 – 1	Los Angeles		Tabaracci	11,241	1–7–3	5

November: 3–8–2 (Home: 1–4–2; Road: 2–4–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
12	November 1	Calgary	1 – 6	Colorado		Tabaracci	15,390	1–8–3	5
13	November 4	Vancouver	4 – 4	Calgary	OT	Kidd	18,717	1–8–4	6
14	November 6	Calgary	2 – 4	NY Rangers		Tabaracci	18,200	1–9–4	6
15	November 8	Calgary	2 – 1	New Jersey		Kidd	15,611	2–9–4	8
16	November 9	Calgary	1 – 3	Philadelphia		Kidd	17,255	2–10–4	8
17	November 11	Montreal	4 – 0	Calgary		Kidd	19,646	2–11–4	8
18	November 14	Edmonton	2 – 4	Calgary		Kidd	17,570	3–11–4	10
19	November 17	Colorado	5 – 3	Calgary		Kidd	17,928	3–12–4	10
20	November 18	Calgary	2 – 5	Colorado		Tabaracci	16,061	3–13–4	10
21	November 21	Anaheim	3 – 2	Calgary		Kidd	17,584	3–14–4	10
22	November 24	Edmonton	5 – 2	Calgary		Kidd	18,436	3–15–4	10
23	November 26	Chicago	2 – 2	Calgary		Tabaracci	17,364	3–15–5	11
24	November 29	Calgary	5 – 3	San Jose		Tabaracci	17,190	4–15–5	13

December: 7–6–2 (Home: 3–3–1; Road: 4–3–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
25	December 1	Calgary	8 – 2	Edmonton		Tabaracci	14,189	5–15–5	15
26	December 3	Calgary	2 – 5	Winnipeg		Tabaracci	8,721	5–16–5	15
27	December 5	St. Louis	1 – 1	Calgary	OT	Kidd	16,284	5–16–6	16
28	December 9	Vancouver	4 – 3	Calgary		Kidd	17,147	5–17–6	16
29	December 11	Los Angeles	2 – 6	Calgary		Tabaracci	17,349	6–17–6	18
30	December 13	Calgary	8 – 4	Dallas		Tabaracci	15,184	7–17–6	20
31	December 14	Calgary	3 – 3	St. Louis	OT	Tabaracci	17,197	7–17–7	21
32	December 16	Calgary	3 – 6	Boston		Kidd	17,392	7–18–7	21
33	December 19	Calgary	1 – 7	Pittsburgh		Kidd	7,170	7–19–7	21
34	December 20	Calgary	3 – 2	Hartford		Tabaracci	6,563	8–19–7	23
35	December 22	Detroit	5 – 1	Calgary		Tabaracci	17,302	8–20–7	23
36	December 26	Calgary	4 – 2	Vancouver		Kidd	18,422	9–20–7	25
37	December 27	Toronto	0 – 4	Calgary		Kidd	19,810	10–20–7	27
38	December 29	Philadelphia	3 – 2	Calgary		Kidd	19,989	10–21–7	27
39	December 31	NY Rangers	1 – 3	Calgary		Kidd	19,284	11–21–7	29

January: 7–2–2 (Home: 6–2–0; Road: 1–0–2)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
40	January 2	Tampa Bay	0 – 10	Calgary		Kidd	16,893	12–21–7	31
41	January 5	Anaheim	3 – 1	Calgary		Kidd	16,821	12–22–7	31
42	January 6	Florida	0 – 2	Calgary		Tabaracci	16,792	13–22–7	33
43	January 10	Hartford	2 – 3	Calgary	OT	Tabaracci	16,469	14–22–7	35
44	January 12	Buffalo	1 – 3	Calgary		Tabaracci	17,432	15–22–7	37
45	January 14	Calgary	4 – 4	Colorado	OT	Kidd	16,061	15–22–8	38
46	January 16	Calgary	5 – 5	Los Angeles	OT	Tabaracci	12,235	15–22–9	39
47	January 17	Calgary	4 – 1	Anaheim		Kidd	17,174	16–22–9	41
48	January 24	NY Islanders	1 – 4	Calgary		Kidd	17,348	17–22–9	43
49	January 26	Dallas	4 – 2	Calgary		Tabaracci	18,292	17–23–9	43
50	January 30	Edmonton	2 – 3	Calgary	OT	Kidd	17,724	18–23–9	45

February: 6–5–2 (Home: 5–2–2; Road: 1–3–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
51	February 1	New Jersey	1 – 1	Calgary	OT	Kidd	16,862	18–23–10	46
52	February 3	Los Angeles	1 – 2	Calgary		Kidd	18,923	19–23–10	48
53	February 6	Ottawa	1 – 3	Calgary		Kidd	16,442	20–23–10	50
54	February 8	Washington	4 – 4	Calgary	OT	Kidd	16,516	20–23–11	51
55	February 10	Winnipeg	3 – 2	Calgary		N/A	N/A	20–24–11	51
56	February 11	Calgary	2 – 4	Edmonton		N/A	N/A	20–25–11	51
57	February 13	Calgary	2 – 3	Washington		Kidd	9,272	20–26–11	51
58	February 15	Calgary	6 – 3	NY Islanders		Tabaracci	7,792	21–26–11	53
59	February 17	Calgary	1 – 5	Montreal		Kidd	17,959	21–27–11	53
60	February 20	San Jose	3 – 5	Calgary		Tabaracci	16,465	22–27–11	55
61	February 23	Anaheim	2 – 3	Calgary		Tabaracci	17,516	23–27–11	57
62	February 24	Boston	2 – 1	Calgary		Tabaracci	19,989	23–28–11	57
63	February 29	Pittsburgh	3 – 7	Calgary		Tabaracci	19,989	24–28–11	59

March: 7–6–0 (Home: 2–4–0; Road: 5–2–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
64	March 3	Calgary	5 – 1	San Jose		N/A	N/A	25–28–11	61
65	March 7	Calgary	4 – 2	St. Louis		Tabaracci	20,590	26–28–11	63
66	March 9	Calgary	3 – 4	Toronto		Tabaracci	15,706	26–29–11	63
67	March 12	St. Louis	2 – 4	Calgary		Kidd	19,989	27–29–11	65
68	March 15	Calgary	3 – 1	Buffalo		Tabaracci	15,587	28–29–11	67
69	March 17	Calgary	2 – 4	Detroit		Tabaracci	19,983	28–30–11	67
70	March 20	Calgary	3 – 2	Chicago		Kidd	20,367	29–30–11	69
71	March 22	San Jose	2 – 1	Calgary	OT	Tabaracci	18,267	29–31–11	69
72	March 23	Calgary	4 – 0	Vancouver		Kidd	18,422	30–31–11	71
73	March 25	Toronto	4 – 2	Calgary		Kidd	19,989	30–32–11	71
74	March 27	Chicago	0 – 1	Calgary		Tabaracci	16,668	31–32–11	73
75	March 29	Los Angeles	4 – 3	Calgary		Tabaracci	18,280	31–33–11	73
76	March 31	Winnipeg	4 – 1	Calgary		Kidd	18,155	31–34–11	73

April: 3–3–0 (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 2–2–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
77	April 3	Vancouver	3 – 4	Calgary		Tabaracci	18,300	32–34–11	75
78	April 6	Calgary	3 – 4	Winnipeg		Tabaracci	15,557	32–35–11	75
79	April 8	Calgary	3 – 2	Edmonton		Kidd	15,869	33–35–11	77
80	April 9	Dallas	4 – 3	Calgary	OT	Kidd	17,756	33–36–11	77
81	April 12	Calgary	6 – 0	San Jose		Tabaracci	17,190	34–36–11	79
82	April 13	Calgary	0 – 5	Vancouver		Tabaracci	18,422	34–37–11	79

Playoffs[]

Despite finishing 2nd in the Pacific Division, the Flames were only the 6th seed in the playoffs. They met the 2nd place finisher in the Central Division, the Chicago Blackhawks. It was the third time Calgary and Chicago had met in the playoffs, as the Flames had previously defeated the Blackhawks in 1989, 1986 and 1981. This time around, Chicago had the better of the Flames, sweeping Calgary out in four straight, and continuing the Flames playoff futility.

Looking for a spark, the Flames signed junior star Jarome Iginla to a contract before the third game, allowing him to make his NHL debut at home. Iginla scored a goal and an assist in his first two games.

This series was the Flames last playoff appearance for eight years, as Calgary did not return to the post season until 2004.

1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Western Conference quarter-final vs. Chicago (3)
Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Series
1	April 17	Calgary	1 – 4	Chicago		Chicago leads 1–0
2	April 19	Calgary	0 – 3	Chicago		Chicago leads 2–0
3	April 21	Chicago	7 – 5	Calgary		Chicago leads 3–0
4	April 23	Chicago	2 – 1	Calgary	3OT	Chicago wins 4–0

Player stats[]

Skaters[]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

		Regular season					Playoffs
Player	#	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Theoren Fleury	14	80	46	50	96	112	4	2	1	3	14
German Titov	13	82	28	39	67	24	4	0	2	2	0
Michael Nylander	92	73	17	38	55	20	4	0	0	0	0
Phil Housley^‡	6	59	16	36	52	22	-	-	-	-	-
Gary Roberts	10	35	22	20	42	78	-	-	-	-	-
Cory Stillman	16	74	16	19	35	41	2	1	1	2	0
James Patrick	3	80	3	32	35	30	4	0	0	0	2
Steve Chiasson	21	76	8	25	33	62	4	2	1	3	0
Zarley Zalapski	33	80	12	17	29	115	4	0	1	1	10
Mike Sullivan	32	81	9	12	21	24	4	0	0	0	0
Sandy McCarthy	15	75	9	7	16	173	4	0	0	0	10
Pavel Torgayev	35/18	41	6	10	16	14	1	0	0	0	0
Ron Stern	22	52	10	5	15	111	4	0	2	2	8
Paul Kruse	12	75	3	12	15	145	3	0	0	0	4
Dean Evason	20	67	7	7	14	38	3	0	1	1	0
Corey Millen^†	34	31	4	10	14	10	-	-	-	-	-
Jamie Huscroft	7	70	3	9	12	162	4	0	1	1	4
Sheldon Kennedy	23	41	3	7	10	36	3	1	0	1	2
Claude Lapointe^†	47	32	4	5	9	20	2	0	0	0	0
Jocelyn Lemieux^†	45	20	4	4	8	10	4	0	0	0	0
Ed Ward	42	41	3	5	8	44	-	-	-	-	-
Marty Murray	45/28	15	3	3	6	0	-	-	-	-	-
Yves Sarault^†	36	11	2	1	3	4	-	-	-	-	-
Trent Yawney	8	69	0	3	3	88	4	0	0	0	2
Bob Sweeney^†	17	6	1	1	2	6	2	0	0	0	0
Kevin Dahl	4	32	1	1	2	26	1	0	0	0	0
Rick Tabaracci	31	43	0	2	2	8	3	0	0	0	4
Trevor Kidd	37	47	0	2	2	4	2	0	0	0	0
Ladislav Kohn	46	5	1	0	1	2	-	-	-	-	-
Tommy Albelin	5	20	0	1	1	4	4	0	0	0	0
Jarrod Skalde	38	1	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-
Niklas Sundblad	35	2	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-
Cale Hulse^†	29	3	0	0	0	5	1	0	0	0	0
Todd Hlushko	17	4	0	0	0	6	-	-	-	-	-
Joel Bouchard	5	4	0	0	0	4	-	-	-	-	-
Vesa Viitakoski	19	5	0	0	0	2	-	-	-	-	-
Todd Simpson	40/27	6	0	0	0	32	-	-	-	-	-
Pat Conacher^‡	11	7	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-
Craig Ferguson^†	38	8	0	0	0	4	-	-	-	-	-
Dan Keczmer^‡	39	13	0	0	0	14	-	-	-	-	-
Jarome Iginla	24	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	1	2	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.
^‡Traded mid-season

Goaltenders[]

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

		Regular season								Playoffs
Player	#	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Trevor Kidd	37	47	2570	15	21	9	119	3	2.78	2	83	0	1	9	0	6.51
Rick Tabaracci	31	43	2391	19	16	3	117	3	2.94	3	204	0	3	7	0	2.06

Transactions[]

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1995–96 season.

Trades[]

November 1, 1995	To Calgary Flames Claude Lapointe	To Colorado Avalanche 7th round pick in 1997
November 26, 1995	To Calgary Flames Yves Sarault Craig Ferguson	To Montreal Canadiens 8th round pick in 1997
December 19, 1995	To Calgary Flames Jarome Iginla Corey Millen	To Dallas Stars Joe Nieuwendyk
February 26, 1996	To Calgary Flames Tommy Albelin Cale Hulse Jocelyn Lemieux	To New Jersey Devils Phil Housley Dan Keczmer
March 20, 1996	To Calgary Flames Bob Sweeney	To New York Islanders Pat Conacher 6th round pick in 1997

Free agents[]

Player	Former team

Player	New team

Draft picks[]

Main article: List of Calgary Flames draft picks

Calgary's picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, held in Edmonton, Alberta.^[8]

Rnd	Pick	Player	Nationality	Position	Team (league)	NHL statistics
Rnd	Pick	Player	Nationality	Position	Team (league)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1	20	Denis Gauthier	Canada	D	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)	554	17	60	77	748
2	46	Pavel Smirnov	Russia	F	Samara CSK VVS (RSL)
3	72	Rocky Thompson	Canada	RW	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)	25	0	0	0	117
4	98	Jan Labraaten	Sweden	RW	Färjestads BK (SEL)
6	150	Clarke Wilm	Canada	C	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)	455	37	60	97	336
7	176	Ryan Gillis	Canada	D	North Bay Centennials (OHL)
9	233	Steve Shirreffs	United States	D	N/A

Statistics are updated to the end of the 2008–09 NHL season. Players in italics were active on an NHL roster in 2008–09.

Farm teams[]

Saint John Flames[]

The Baby Flames finished the 1995–96 American Hockey League season in second place in the Canadian Division with a 35–30–11–4 record. The tied the Prince Edward Island Senators in points, but lost out on the division title by virtue of having three fewer wins. The Flames defeated the St. John's Maple Leafs three games to one, then knocked off the Fredericton Canadiens four games to one before falling to the Portland Pirates in seven games.^[9] Ladislav Kohn led the Flames with 28 goals and 73 points. Dwayne Roloson was the starting goaltender, posting an 33–22–11 record with a 2.83 GAA in 67 games.^[10]

References[]

Player stats: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg 116
Game log: 1995–96 Calgary Flames game log, usatoday.com, accessed January 26, 2007
Team standings: 1995–96 NHL standings @hockeydb.com
Trades: hockeydb.com player pages

↑ Flames turn to Page, New York Times, July 18, 1995, accessed January 29, 2007
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Dolezar, Jon A., Say it aint so: Calgary Flames, cnnsi.com, August 8, 2001, Accessed January 29, 2007
↑ Calgary Flames history, calgaryflames.com, accessed January 29, 2007
↑ Boxscore: Detroit 3, Calgary 0, usatoday.com, accessed January 29, 2007
↑ Legends of Hockey player profile: Gary Roberts, legendsofhockey.net, accessed January 29, 2007
↑ Longtime Flames relish playoff opportunity, cbc sports, April 5, 2004, accessed January 29, 2007
↑ All-Star Selections, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 22
↑ Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed January 12, 2007
↑ 1995–96 AHL playoffs @ hockeydb.com, accessed January 29, 2007
↑ Saint John Flames player stats @ hockeydb.com, accessed January 29, 2007

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1995–96 Calgary Flames season. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).

[1] Flames turn to Page, New York Times, July 18, 1995, accessed January 29, 2007

[joentrade-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Dolezar, Jon A., Say it aint so: Calgary Flames, cnnsi.com, August 8, 2001, Accessed January 29, 2007

[3] Calgary Flames history, calgaryflames.com, accessed January 29, 2007

[4] Boxscore: Detroit 3, Calgary 0, usatoday.com, accessed January 29, 2007

[5] Legends of Hockey player profile: Gary Roberts, legendsofhockey.net, accessed January 29, 2007

[6] Longtime Flames relish playoff opportunity, cbc sports, April 5, 2004, accessed January 29, 2007

[allstar-7] All-Star Selections, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 22

[8] Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed January 12, 2007

[9] 1995–96 AHL playoffs @ hockeydb.com, accessed January 29, 2007

[10] Saint John Flames player stats @ hockeydb.com, accessed January 29, 2007

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1995–96 NHL season by team
Northeast Division	Buffalo • Pittsburgh • Boston • Montreal • Hartford • Ottawa
Atlantic Division	Philadelphia • NY Rangers • Florida • Washington • Tampa Bay • New Jersey • NY Islanders
Central Division	Detroit • Chicago • Toronto • St. Louis • Winnipeg • Dallas
Pacific Division	Anaheim • Calgary • Colorado • Edmonton • Los Angeles • San Jose • Vancouver
See also	1995 NHL Entry Draft • Stanley Cup Playoffs • Stanley Cup Finals

Calgary Flames
Franchise	Seasons · Players · Coaches · General Managers · Records · Draft Picks · Award Winners
Lore	Atlanta Flames · Battle of Alberta
Affiliates	Calgary Wranglers (AHL) • Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL)
Arenas	Stampede Corral · Scotiabank Saddledome
See also	Calgary Hitmen · Ice hockey in Calgary