Atlanta Flames

Atlanta Flames
List of Atlanta Flames seasons
Founded	1972
History	Atlanta Flames 1972–1980 Calgary Flames 1980–present
Home arena	Omni Coliseum
City	Atlanta, Georgia
Colors	Red, yellow and white
Stanley Cups	0
Conference championships	0
Division championships	0

The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1972 to 1980. The team, a member of the National Hockey League (NHL), was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the start of the 1980–81 NHL season and were re-named the Calgary Flames. The NHL returned to the city with the Atlanta Thrashers for 1999–2000 NHL season. The Thrashers left the city for Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 2011 to become the Winnipeg Jets, making Atlanta the only NHL city in the modern era to lose 2 franchises.

The team's name originated from the burning of Atlanta led by U.S. Army general William Sherman during the American Civil War.

Franchise history

Formation

Tom Lysiak (l.) celebrates with Dave Shand and Harold Phillipoff after a goal against the Colorado Rockies in 1978

The Flames' history began in 1968, when businessman Tom Cousins and former Georgia Governor Carl Sanders brought Atlanta its third major professional sports franchise, buying the NBA's St. Louis Hawks and moving them to the city. The Hawks were in need of a venue suitable for professional sports, and as a result one was built for them: the Omni Coliseum. This new facility, owned by Cousins and the rest of the Omni Sports Group consortium, was the crux of the expansion bid made to the National Hockey League for a new hockey franchise.

In November 1971, the NHL granted an expansion franchise to Cousins' group for the 1972-73 season. The NHL had not initially proposed an expansion for 1972, but hastily elected to award a franchise to Long Island (the New York Islanders) to keep the upstart World Hockey Association (WHA) out of the newly-built Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Needing another team to balance the schedule, the NHL also awarded a team to Atlanta.

When it was first announced that Atlanta would have an NHL franchise, many hockey observers thought that a team based in the Southern United States was a ludicrous and foolish move, especially since the talent pool had been diluted by repeated expansion and the advent of the WHA. Nevertheless, the team quickly began front office operations, naming young St. Louis Blues assistant general manager Cliff Fletcher as general manager. Soon after, Fletcher had found the team its first coach: former Montreal Canadiens star forward Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion.

First and second seasons

The team was a pleasant surprise in its first season on the ice, its success built on new star goaltenders Dan Bouchard and Phil Myre, solid defensemen such as Randy Manery and Pat Quinn, and forwards Rey Comeau, (captain) Keith McCreary, Larry Romanchych and Bob Leiter. Despite their inexperience as a team, the Flames were quite successful in the beginning of their rookie season, posting a 20–19–8 record by January 19, 1973 off of the personal success of their young goaltending tandem. However, they lost 19 of their last 31 games, finishing out of the playoffs. Part of the problem was that despite geographic reality (but like baseball's Atlanta Braves at the time), the Flames were placed in the West Division, saddling them with some of the longest road trips in the league. However, their 65 points were 35 better than the Islanders, who toiled at the bottom of the East Division.

On- and off-ice success continued into the Flames' second season, as they drafted Tom Lysiak and Eric Vail, who quickly became the team's top forwards. Lysiak led the Flames in scoring in his rookie season; the team improved to fourth in the West Division and earned their first playoff berth. In contrast, the Islanders had another wretched season. The Flames were quickly dispatched in the first round, being swept in the best-of-seven series by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers.

Under Fred Creighton

The Flames' third season, 1974–75, was marked by disappointment as the team failed to qualify for the post-season. Unlike the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft in which Fletcher had picked immediate success from Lysiak, the 1974 draft was notably unsuccessful (the only notable players being Guy Chouinard, the youngest draft pick ever taken, and defenseman Pat Ribble). Injuries plagued the team's top veteran forwards, Leiter and Romanchych, and former first round pick Jacques Richard. Late in the season popular coach Geoffrion, runner-up in the previous year's coach-of-the-year voting, resigned, forcing Fletcher to replace him with Fred Creighton, the head coach of the team's Central Hockey League affiliate. Geoffrion then shifted to the broadcast booth, where he joined the Flames' popular announcer Jiggs McDonald. The season was not without bright spots, as Lysiak continued to lead the team in scoring and Vail scored a franchise record 39 goals in his first season, winning the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie.

The Flames' on-ice play improved the following season under the demanding Creighton, as they recorded their first winning season and qualified for the playoffs once again. Lysiak continued to lead the team in scoring, while general manager Fletcher added depth at all positions, acquiring tough veteran forward Bill Clement, WHA product Claude St. Sauveur, scoring forward Bill Flett, and stalwart defenseman Larry Carriere. Vail's sophomore season was cut short by injury. Again, the team bowed out of the post-season quickly, losing to the Los Angeles Kings two games to none in the first round. Signs of trouble off the ice appeared for the first time as well; average attendance at the Omni had dropped by 1,000.

1976–77 was marked by the addition of noteworthy prospects from the minor league affiliate in Tulsa. Talented forward Guy Chouinard had finally matured into an NHL-caliber player, and tough defenseman Ken Houston and forward Willi Plett began terrorizing opponents with their physical play. The team's older faces (Pat Quinn, Kerry Ketter, Randy Manery, Larry Romanchych, and Bob Leiter among others) had been moved, making way for the young core of Lysiak, Vail, Plett, and Chouinard. Again they faced the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, finally winning a playoff game but ultimately losing the hard-fought series 2 games to 1.

By 1977, outstanding young goaltender Dan Bouchard had publicly stated his desire to be the clear starting goaltender for the club, refusing to share duties with Myre. In 1978, Myre was traded to the Blues, along with high-scoring forward Curt Bennett and tough blueliner Barry Gibbs. In return, the Flames received scoring forward Bob MacMillan and defenseman Dick Redmond. Attendance continued to fall, another 1,500 a night. Post-season success continued to elude the young Flames, as they were easily dispatched once again in the preliminary round.

1978–79 began with an impressive 12–1–2 record, the product of a 10-game winning streak. While this pace did not continue throughout the rest of the season, the Flames finished 41–31–8, good for 90 points – a new team record. While Lysiak contributed greatly to the early streak he became injured for the first time in his career, slowing his point production. He was dealt to the Chicago Black Hawks as part of a seven-player trade which saw the Flames acquire talented Yugoslavian center Ivan Boldirev, quick forward Darcy Rota, and staunch defenseman Phil Russell. Chouinard finished the season with 50 goals, the only Atlanta Flame to reach the plateau, while MacMillan won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most gentlemanly player.

1979–80 would prove to be the Flames' last season in Atlanta. The team's lack of success in the playoffs led to the end of Creighton's reign as head coach; he was replaced by Al MacNeil. Fletcher added more talent, including outstanding Swede Kent Nilsson from the WHA, rookie defenseman Paul Reinhart, Finnish defenseman Pekka Rautakallio and veteran forward Don Lever. The team made the playoffs once again, and once again were ousted quickly.

Move to Calgary

Off the ice, the Omni Sports Group found it increasingly difficult to financially maintain the team, as ticket sales fell and operating costs rose. The team also lacked a major television deal. Also, while Omni Sports had hoped to attract an NHL team to the Omni early on, their calculations failed to include a second league in the picture. Owner, Tom Cousins' Properties lost $33 million from 1974 to 1976, when the Depression bottomed out. Business performance was so poor that it nearly ruined Tom Cousins. In 1978 he had sold his interest in the Atlanta Hawks and in 1980 would sell the Atlanta Flames to cover the 33 million in property losses.

Under the circumstances, Cousins and the rest of his consortium were very receptive to an offer from a group of Calgary businessmen fronted by Canadian entrepreneur Nelson Skalbania. Cousins sold the team for a then-NHL record $16 million, and the franchise was promptly moved to Calgary. Kent Nilsson was the last active Atlanta Flame in the NHL, retiring in 1995.

The Flames made the playoffs in six of their first eight seasons, a mark bettered only by the Quebec Nordiques, Edmonton Oilers, and New York Rangers in the entire history of the NHL, and the team would not post a losing record after the 1974 season. They never won a playoff series. In Calgary, the uniform color scheme was kept, with the flaming "A" changed to a flaming "C". The team reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1986 and 2004 and won the Cup in 1989.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
1972–73	78	25	38	15	65	191	239	852	7th, West	Did not qualify
1973–74	78	30	34	14	74	214	238	841	4th, West	Lost in Quarterfinals, 0-4 (Flyers)
1974–75	80	34	31	15	83	243	233	915	4th, Patrick	Did not qualify
1975–76	80	35	33	12	82	262	237	928	3rd, Patrick	Lost in Preliminary Round, 0-2 (Kings)
1976–77	80	34	34	12	80	264	265	889	3rd, Patrick	Lost in Preliminary Round, 1-2 (Kings)
1977–78	80	34	27	19	87	274	252	984	3rd, Patrick	Lost in Preliminary Round, 0-2 (Red Wings)
1978–79	80	41	31	8	90	327	280	1158	4th, Patrick	Lost in Preliminary Round, 0-2 (Maple Leafs)
1979–80	80	35	32	13	83	282	269	1048	4th, Patrick	Lost in Preliminary Round, 1-3 (Rangers)
Totals	636	268	260	108	644	2057	2013	7615

Career leaders

• Games: Rey Comeau, Eric Vail, 469
• Goals: Vail, 174
• Assists: Tom Lysiak, 276
• Points: Lysiak, 431
• Penalty minutes: Pat Quinn, 555
• Goaltender games: Dan Bouchard, 384
• Goaltender wins: Bouchard, 164
• Shutouts: Bouchard, 20

Notable players

Hall of Famers

• Bernie Geoffrion, coach, 1972–75, inducted 1972

Team captains

• Keith McCreary 1972–75
• Pat Quinn 1975–77
• Tom Lysiak 1977–79
• Jean Pronovost 1979–80

Retired numbers

None

First round draft picks

Note: This list does not include selections as the Calgary Flames.

• 1972: Jacques Richard (second overall)
• 1973: Tom Lysiak (second overall)
• 1974: none
• 1975: Richard Mulhern (eighth overall)
• 1976: David Shand (eighth overall) and Harold Phillipoff (10th overall)
• 1977: none
• 1978: Brad Marsh (11th overall)
• 1979: Paul Reinhart (12th overall)

Scoring leaders

These are the top ten scorers for the franchise during its time in Atlanta.

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player	POS	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Tom Lysiak	C	445	155	276	431	329
Eric Vail	LW	469	174	209	383	223
Guy Chouinard	F	318	126	168	294	56
Curt Bennett	C	405	126	140	266	190
Bob MacMillan	RW	208	90	131	221	50
Rey Comeau	F	468	88	126	214	153
Ken Houston	RW	350	91	108	199	332
Bill Clement	C	297	69	107	176	136
Willi Plett	RW	296	91	83	174	738
Randy Manery	D	377	30	142	172	242

Records

• Most goals in a season: Guy Chouinard, 50 (1978–79)
• Most assists in a season: Bob MacMillan, 71 (1978–79)
• Most points in a season: Bob MacMillan, 108 (1978–79)
• Most penalty minutes in a season: Willi Plett, 231 (1979–80)
• Most points in a season, defenseman: Ken Houston, 54 (1979–80)
• Most points in a season, rookie: Tom Lysiak, 64 (1973–74)
• Most wins in a season: Dan Bouchard, 32 (1978–79)

See also

• Calgary Flames
• Atlanta Thrashers
• List of Atlanta Flames players
• List of Atlanta Flames head coaches

References

• [1]