1991–92 Calgary Flames season

The 1991–92 Calgary Flames season was the 12th National Hockey League season in Calgary, 20th season overall for the franchise which was founded in 1972. This season represented the start of a new era for the Flames, as Cliff Fletcher, the only general manager the franchise had ever known, left the team to take up the same position with the Toronto Maple Leafs.[1] Doug Risebrough, Fletcher's former assistant, took over the reins for the Flames.

1991–92 Calgary Flames
Division	5th Smythe
Conference	8th Campbell
1991–92 record	31–37–12
Home record	19–14–7
Road record	12–23–5
Goals for	296 (5th)
Goals against	305 (19th)
Team information
General Manager	Doug Risebrough
Coach	Doug Risebrough Guy Charron (interim)
Captain	Joe Nieuwendyk
Arena	Olympic Saddledome
Average attendance	19,719
Team leaders
Goals	Gary Roberts (53)
Assists	Al MacInnis (57)
Points	Gary Roberts (90)
Penalty minutes	Ronnie Stern (338)
Wins	Mike Vernon (24)
Goals against average	Mike Vernon (3.58)

Fletcher quickly took advantage of his former team, orchestrating one of the largest trades in NHL history, a ten-player mega deal that saw disgruntled forward Doug Gilmour go to the Leafs, along with Ric Nattress, Jamie Macoun, Rick Wamsley and Kent Manderville for former 50–goal scorer Gary Leeman, Michel Petit, Jeff Reese, Alexander Godynyuk and Craig Berube.[2] The deal is often regarded as one of the most lopsided in NHL history,[2][3] and helped transform both clubs, as the formerly inept Leafs quickly rose to contention, making two trips to the conference finals in 1993 and 1994. The deal marked the beginning of the Flames' decline, which saw them ultimately bottom out by missing the playoffs for seven straight seasons between 1996 and 2003.[4]

Prior to the season, the Flames lost defenceman Rick Lessard to the San Jose Sharks in the 1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts.

The Flames finished fifth in the Smythe Division, seven points behind the fourth-place Winnipeg Jets and out of the playoffs. It was the first time the Flames had missed the playoffs since 1975, when they were known as the Atlanta Flames and their first losing season since 1982–83[5] This would be the only season that the Flames would miss the playoffs between 1976 and 1996.

Individually, three Flames represented the Campbell Conference at the 1992 All-Star Game: Forwards Gary Roberts and Theoren Fleury, and defenceman Al MacInnis.[6] Roberts' 53 goals tied him for third in the NHL, behind Brett Hull (70) and Kevin Stevens (54).[7]

Fleury and MacInnis also represented Canada at the 1991 Canada Cup, winning the tournament.[8] MacInnis was named a tournament all-star. Joel Otto and Gary Suter suited up for the Americans.[9]

Regular season

On November 4, 1991, the Flames were shut-out 4–0 by the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Flames had not been shut out in a regular-season game since Sunday, February 26, 1989, when they lost 1–0 on the road to the Winnipeg Jets. Prior to their loss in New York, the Flames had gone 188 consecutive regular season games without being shut-out.[10][11][12][13]

The Flames' penalty-killing struggled during the regular season, as they most power-play goals (107) in the NHL. They were also the most penalized team in the league, being short-handed 489 times.[14]

Season standings

Smythe Division[15]

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Vancouver Canucks	80	42	26	12	285	250	96
2	Los Angeles Kings	80	35	31	14	287	250	84
3	Edmonton Oilers	80	36	34	10	295	297	82
4	Winnipeg Jets	80	33	32	15	251	244	81
5	Calgary Flames	80	31	37	12	296	305	74
6	San Jose Sharks	80	17	58	5	219	359	39

Campbell Conference[16]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Detroit Red Wings	NRS	80	43	25	12	320	256	98
2	Vancouver Canucks	SMY	80	42	26	12	285	250	96
3	Chicago Blackhawks	NRS	80	36	29	15	257	236	87
4	Los Angeles Kings	SMY	80	35	31	14	287	296	84
5	St. Louis Blues	NRS	80	36	33	11	279	266	83
6	Edmonton Oilers	SMY	80	36	34	10	295	297	82
7	Winnipeg Jets	SMY	80	33	32	15	251	244	81
8	Calgary Flames	SMY	80	31	37	12	296	305	74
9	Minnesota North Stars	NRS	80	32	42	6	246	278	70
10	Toronto Maple Leafs	NRS	80	30	43	7	234	294	67
11	San Jose Sharks	SMY	80	17	58	5	219	359	39

Divisions: NRS – Norris, SMY – Smythe
bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

1991–92 Game Log
October: 6–5–1 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 3–4–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts 1 October 4 Edmonton 2 – 9 Calgary 1–0–0 2 2 October 6 Calgary 3 – 5 Winnipeg 1–1–0 2 3 October 8 Calgary 3 – 4 San Jose 1–2–0 2 4 October 10 Calgary 7 – 1 Los Angeles 2–2–0 4 5 October 12 Calgary 1 – 3 Edmonton 2–3–0 4 6 October 15 Minnesota 3 – 6 Calgary 3–3–0 6 7 October 17 Toronto 4 – 6 Calgary 4–3–0 8 8 October 19 Calgary 2 – 5 Vancouver 4–4–0 8 9 October 22 Calgary 4 – 2 Minnesota 5–4–0 10 10 October 24 Calgary 5 – 2 Chicago 6–4–0 12 11 October 26 Calgary 2 – 2 St. Louis OT 6–4–1 13 12 October 30 New Jersey 5 – 2 Calgary 6–5–1 13
November: 5–5–3 (Home: 2–3–2; Road: 3–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts 13 November 1 Calgary 7 – 6 Winnipeg OT 7–5–1 15 14 November 4 Calgary 0 – 4 NY Rangers 7–6–1 15 15 November 6 Calgary 3 – 2 Hartford 8–6–1 17 16 November 7 Calgary 4 – 4 Boston OT 8–6–2 18 17 November 9 Calgary 6 – 1 Toronto 9–6–2 20 18 November 12 Detroit 5 – 4 Calgary OT 9–7–2 20 19 November 14 Vancouver 2 – 2 Calgary OT 9–7–3 21 20 November 16 Buffalo 5 – 4 Calgary 9–8–3 21 21 November 21 Vancouver 2 – 3 Calgary 10–8–3 23 22 November 22 Calgary 5 – 6 Vancouver OT 10–9–3 23 23 November 25 Winnipeg 3 – 3 Calgary OT 10–9–4 24 24 November 28 Los Angeles 3 – 5 Calgary 11–9–4 26 25 November 30 San Jose 2 – 1 Calgary 11–10–4 26
December: 5–7–1 (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 1–6–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts 26 December 3 Calgary 2 – 5 Detroit 11–11–4 26 27 December 5 Calgary 3 – 6 New Jersey 11–12–4 26 28 December 7 Calgary 1 – 5 Montreal 11–13–4 26 29 December 8 Calgary 4 – 2 Buffalo 12–13–4 28 30 December 10 Calgary 1 – 4 Washington 12–14–4 28 31 December 14 Detroit 4 – 3 Calgary OT 12–15–4 28 32 December 17 Winnipeg 4 – 7 Calgary 13–15–4 30 33 December 19 Quebec 5 – 5 Calgary OT 13–15–5 31 34 December 21 Calgary 2 – 7 Winnipeg 13–16–5 31 35 December 23 Calgary 3 – 5 Edmonton 13–17–5 31 36 December 28 Philadelphia 1 – 5 Calgary 14–17–5 33 37 December 29 Los Angeles 2 – 6 Calgary 15–17–5 35 38 December 31 Montreal 2 – 3 Calgary OT 16–17–5 37
January: 5–5–2 (Home: 2–2–1; Road: 3–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts 39 January 4 Edmonton 3 – 2 Calgary 16–18–5 37 40 January 5 Calgary 3 – 2 Edmonton 17–18–5 39 41 January 8 San Jose 3 – 10 Calgary 18–18–5 41 42 January 10 Pittsburgh 5 – 7 Calgary 19–18–5 43 43 January 13 Calgary 2 – 2 Montreal OT 19–18–6 44 44 January 14 Calgary 5 – 3 Quebec 20–18–6 46 45 January 16 Calgary 4 – 6 NY Rangers 20–19–6 46 46 January 22 NY Rangers 4 – 4 Calgary OT 20–19–7 47 47 January 24 Calgary 3 – 2 San Jose 21–19–7 49 48 January 25 Calgary 3 – 4 Los Angeles 21–20–7 49 49 January 27 Chicago 3 – 4 Calgary OT 21–21–7 49 50 January 30 Calgary 1 – 3 Boston 21–22–7 49
February: 4–7–2 (Home: 3–3–1; Road: 1–4–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts 51 February 1 Calgary 2 – 5 Washington 21–23–7 49 52 February 2 Calgary 3 – 6 NY Islanders 21–24–7 49 53 February 5 Quebec 3 – 5 Calgary 22–24–7 51 54 February 7 Calgary 1 – 4 Winnipeg 22–25–7 51 55 February 11 NY Islanders 3 – 1 Calgary 22–26–7 51 56 February 13 Washington 4 – 4 Calgary OT 22–26–8 52 57 February 15 Calgary 2 – 7 St. Louis 22–27–8 52 58 February 16 Calgary 5 – 5 Chicago OT 22–27–9 53 59 February 19 Boston 4 – 6 Calgary 23–27–9 55 60 February 21 Los Angeles 7 – 9 Calgary 24–27–9 57 61 February 23 Calgary 4 – 2 San Jose 25–27–9 59 62 February 25 Buffalo 5 – 3 Calgary 25–28–9 59 63 February 27 Philadelphia 3 – 0 Calgary 25–29–9 59
March: 5–7–2 (Home: 5–3–2; Road: 0–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts 64 March 1 Calgary 0 – 11 Vancouver 25–30–9 59 65 March 3 Pittsburgh 6 – 3 Calgary 25–31–9 59 66 March 5 Toronto 5 – 5 Calgary OT 25–31–10 60 67 March 7 St. Louis 1 – 5 Calgary 26–31–10 62 68 March 10 Calgary 2 – 5 Pittsburgh 26–32–10 62 69 March 12 Calgary 4 – 5 Philadelphia OT 26–33–10 62 70 March 14 Vancouver 6 – 4 Calgary 26–34–10 62 71 March 16 Hartford 4 – 3 Calgary 26–35–10 62 72 March 19 San Jose 1 – 3 Calgary 27–35–10 64 73 March 21 Calgary 2 – 5 Los Angeles 27–36–10 64 74 March 24 Edmonton 4 – 4 Calgary OT 27–36–11 65 75 March 26 Los Angeles 2 – 7 Calgary 28–36–11 67 76 March 28 Minnesota 3 – 4 Calgary 29–36–11 69 77 March 31 Edmonton 2 – 5 Calgary 30–36–11 71
April: 1–1–1 (Home: 0–1–0; Road: 1–0–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts 78 April 12 Winnipeg 4 – 3 Calgary 30–37–11 71 79 April 15 Calgary 4 – 3 San Jose 31–37–11 73 80 April 16 Calgary 4 – 4 Vancouver OT 31–37–12 74

Playoffs

The Flames finished 5th in the Smythe Division, seven points back of the 4th place Winnipeg Jets. As a result, the Flames missed the playoffs for the first time since their move to Calgary. The last time the franchise had missed the post season was in 1974–75 when the team was still known as the Atlanta Flames[5]

Player statistics

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
Gary Roberts	10		76	53	37	90	207		-	-	-	-	-
Al MacInnis	2		72	20	57	77	83		-	-	-	-	-
Theoren Fleury	14		80	33	40	73	133		-	-	-	-	-
Sergei Makarov	42		68	22	48	70	60		-	-	-	-	-
Joe Nieuwendyk	25		69	22	34	56	55		-	-	-	-	-
Gary Suter	20		70	12	43	55	128		-	-	-	-	-
Robert Reichel	26		70	20	34	54	32		-	-	-	-	-
Paul Ranheim	28		80	23	20	43	32		-	-	-	-	-
Doug Gilmour^‡	39		38	11	27	38	46		-	-	-	-	-
Joel Otto	29		78	13	21	34	161		-	-	-	-	-
Carey Wilson	33		42	11	12	23	37		-	-	-	-	-
Ron Stern	22		72	13	9	22	338		-	-	-	-	-
Marc Habscheid	17		46	7	11	18	42		-	-	-	-	-
Tomas Forslund	27		38	5	9	14	12		-	-	-	-	-
Jamie Macoun^‡	34		37	2	12	14	53		-	-	-	-	-
Michel Petit^†	7		36	3	10	13	79		-	-	-	-	-
Trent Yawney	18		47	4	9	13	45		-	-	-	-	-
Frank Musil	3		78	4	8	12	103		-	-	-	-	-
Gary Leeman^†	11		29	2	7	9	27		-	-	-	-	-
Mark Osiecki	55		50	2	7	9	24		-	-	-	-	-
Chris Lindberg	32		17	2	5	7	17		-	-	-	-	-
Mike Vernon	30		63	0	7	7	8		-	-	-	-	-
Craig Berube^†	23/16		36	1	4	5	155		-	-	-	-	-
Ric Nattress^‡	6		19	0	5	5	31		-	-	-	-	-
Paul Kruse	12		16	3	1	4	65		-	-	-	-	-
Martin Simard	13		21	1	3	4	119		-	-	-	-	-
Tim Hunter	19		30	1	3	4	167		-	-	-	-	-
Tim Sweeney	7		11	1	2	3	4		-	-	-	-	-
Neil Sheehy	15		35	1	2	3	119		-	-	-	-	-
Nevin Markwart^†	23		10	2	1	3	25		-	-	-	-	-
Greg Smyth^†	6		7	1	1	2	15		-	-	-	-	-
Stephane Matteau	23		4	1	0	1	19		-	-	-	-	-
Richard Zemlak	21		5	0	1	1	42		-	-	-	-	-
Alexander Godynyuk^†	21		6	0	1	1	4		-	-	-	-	-
Jeff Reese^†	35		12	0	1	1	12		-	-	-	-	-
Jim Kyte	4		21	0	1	1	107		-	-	-	-	-
Darryl Olsen	32		1	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Scott Sharples	1		1	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Trevor Kidd	37		2	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Kevan Guy	5		3	0	0	0	2		-	-	-	-	-
Todd Harkins	37		5	0	0	0	7		-	-	-	-	-
Rick Wamsley^‡	31		9	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Rich Chernomaz	16		11	0	0	0	6		-	-	-	-	-

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.

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
Mike Vernon	30		63	3640	24	30	9	217	2	3.58		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Scott Sharples	1		1	65	0	0	1	4	0	3.69		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jeff Reese^†	35		12	587	3	2	2	37	1	3.78		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Trevor Kidd	37		2	120	1	1	0	8	0	4.00		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rick Wamsley^‡	31		9	457	3	4	0	34	0	4.46		-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1991–92 season.

Trades

August 26, 1991	To Calgary Flames 6th round pick in 1991	To Hartford Whalers Paul Fenton
January 2, 1992	To Calgary Flames Gary Leeman Alexander Godynyuk Jeff Reese Michel Petit Craig Berube	To Toronto Maple Leafs Doug Gilmour Jamie Macoun Ric Nattress Rick Wamsley Kent Manderville

Free agents

Player Former team

Player New team

This sports-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Draft picks

Main article: List of Calgary Flames draft picks

Calgary's picks at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, held in Buffalo, New York.[17]

Rnd	Pick	Player	Nationality	Position	Team (league)	NHL statistics
						GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1	19	Niklas Sundblad	Sweden	RW	AIK (SEL)	2	0	0	0	0
2	41	Francois Groleau	Canada	D	Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)	8	0	1	1	6
3	52	Sandy McCarthy	Canada	RW	Laval Titan (QMJHL)	736	72	76	148	1534
3	63	Brian Caruso	Canada	LW	UMD (WCHA)
4	85	Steve Magnusson	United States	C	Minnesota (WCHA)
5	107	Jerome Butler	United States	G	UMD (WCHA)
6	129	Bobby Marshall	Canada	D	Miami University (CCHA)
7	140	Matt Hoffman	United States	C	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
7	151	Kelly Harper	Canada	RW	Michigan State (CCHA)
8	173	David St. Pierre	Canada	C	Longueuil (QMJHL)
9	195	David Struch	Canada	C	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)	4	0	0	0	4
10	217	Sergei Zolotov	Russia	LW	Krylya Sovetov (RUS)
11	239	Marko Jantunen	Finland	RW	Reipas Lahti (FNL)	3	0	0	0	0
12	261	Andrei Trefilov	Russia	G	HC Dynamo Moscow (RSL)	54	12–25–4, 3.45GAA
S	25	Dean Larson	Canada	C	N/A

See also

• 1991–92 NHL season

References

• Player stats: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg 120
• Game log: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg 138
• Team standings: 1991–92 NHL standings @hockeydb.com
• Trades:

1. Shea, Kevin, One on One with Cliff Fletcher Archived 2010-07-03 at the Wayback Machine, legendsofhockey.net, accessed May 14, 2007
2. Dolezar, Jon A., Say it aint so: Calgary Flames, cnnsi.com, August 8, 2001, Accessed May 14, 2007
3. Patrick, Anthony, Fear and Loathing in Calgary Archived 2007-10-08 at the Wayback Machine, Calgarypuck, June 8, 2001, accessed May 14, 2007
4. Gilmour begins again with Leafs in Calgary, cbc.ca, March 13, 2003, accessed May 14, 2007
5. Year-by-year results, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 106
6. All-star selections, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 22
7. 1991–92 scoring leaders, hockeydb.com, accessed May 14, 2007
8. 1991 Canada Cup - Team Canada roster Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, hhof.com, accessed May 16, 2007
9. 1991 Canada Cup - Team USA roster Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, hhof.com, accessed May 16, 2007
10. https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CGY/1989_games.html
11. https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CGY/1990_games.html
12. https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CGY/1991_games.html
13. https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CGY/1992_games.html
14. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1992.html
15. "1991-1992 Division Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
16. "1991-1992 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
17. Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed May 14, 2007