1998–99 Calgary Flames season
NHL team season
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The 1998–99 Calgary Flames season was the 19th National Hockey League season in Calgary. The Flames opened their season up at "home", in Tokyo, Japan, as the NHL scheduled a two-game series in the Asian country between the Flames and the San Jose Sharks.[1]
| 1998–99 Calgary Flames | |
|---|---|
| Division | 3rd Northwest |
| Conference | 9th Western |
| 1998–99 record | 30–40–12 |
| Home record | 15–20–6 |
| Road record | 15–20–6 |
| Goals for | 211 |
| Goals against | 234 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Al Coates |
| Coach | Brian Sutter |
| Captain | Todd Simpson |
| Alternate captains | Theoren Fleury (Oct.–Feb.) Jason Wiemer |
| Arena | Canadian Airlines Saddledome |
| Average attendance | 16,201 |
| Minor league affiliates | Saint John Flames Johnstown Chiefs |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Theoren Fleury (30) |
| Assists | Phil Housley (43) |
| Points | Theoren Fleury (69) |
| Penalty minutes | Jason Wiemer (177) |
| Plus/minus | Theoren Fleury (+18) Todd Simpson (+18) |
| Wins | Fred Brathwaite (11) |
| Goals against average | Fred Brathwaite (2.45) |
The Flames were plagued by numerous injuries to their goaltenders, including both starter Ken Wregget and backup Tyler Moss at the same time. Ultimately, the Flames were forced to recall Tyrone Garner from his junior team on an emergency basis before finally signing Fred Brathwaite, who was playing in Europe with the Canadian National team. The highly popular Brathwaite recorded a shutout against the Dallas Stars in his first start, allowing the Flames goaltending situation to stabilize. In all, the Flames used six different goaltenders.
February 28, 1999, marked the end of an era for the Flames, as diminutive star Theoren Fleury was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche in a five player trade that ultimately saw prospect Robyn Regehr come to the Flames as part of the deal. Fleury was the Flames' all-time leading scorer when he was dealt. The deal was made as the small-market Flames felt they would be unable to meet Fleury's contract demands, as he was set to become an Unrestricted Free Agent in the summer.[2]
Despite losing their top star, the Flames proceeded to win seven of their first ten games without Fleury, propelling them into a playoff position. Calgary would win only two of their last eleven games, however, falling to 9th in the conference and missing the playoffs by six points.
Before being dealt, Fleury represented the Flames at the 1999 NHL All Star Game, recording two assists for the North American team.[3]
During this season, the Flames introduced the "flaming horse" third jerseys in conjunction with the "Year of the Cowboy."[4]
Prior to the season, the Flames lost defenceman Joel Bouchard to the Nashville Predators in the 1998 NHL expansion draft. In addition, the Flames dealt Jim Dowd to the Preds in exchange for a promise not to draft a goaltender in the draft.
Regular season
Season standings
| R | CR | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 44 | 28 | 10 | 239 | 205 | 1619 | 98 |
| 2 | 8 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 33 | 37 | 12 | 230 | 226 | 1373 | 78 |
| 3 | 9 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 30 | 40 | 12 | 211 | 234 | 1389 | 72 |
| 4 | 13 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 23 | 47 | 12 | 192 | 258 | 1764 | 58 |
| R | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | p – Dallas Stars | PAC | 82 | 51 | 19 | 12 | 236 | 168 | 114 |
| 2 | y – Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 44 | 28 | 10 | 239 | 205 | 98 |
| 3 | y – Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 43 | 32 | 7 | 245 | 202 | 93 |
| 4 | Phoenix Coyotes | PAC | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 205 | 197 | 90 |
| 5 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 37 | 32 | 13 | 237 | 209 | 87 |
| 6 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 35 | 34 | 13 | 215 | 206 | 83 |
| 7 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 31 | 33 | 18 | 196 | 191 | 80 |
| 8 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 33 | 37 | 12 | 230 | 226 | 78 |
| 9 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 30 | 40 | 12 | 211 | 234 | 72 |
| 10 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 202 | 248 | 70 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 32 | 45 | 5 | 189 | 222 | 69 |
| 12 | Nashville Predators | CEN | 82 | 28 | 47 | 7 | 190 | 261 | 63 |
| 13 | Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 23 | 47 | 12 | 192 | 258 | 58 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest
bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division
Schedule and results
| 1998–99 regular season[7][8] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 2–5–2 (home: 0–2–2; road: 2–3–0)
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November: 5–8–0 (home: 4–4–0; road: 1–4–0)
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December: 4–8–1 (home: 1–6–0; road: 3–2–1)
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January: 4–6–2 (home: 3–1–1; road: 1–5–1)
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February: 5–2–5 (home: 4–2–3; road: 1–0–2)
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March: 7–5–2 (home: 2–1–0; road: 5–4–2)
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April: 2–6–0 (home: 1–4–0; road: 1–2–0)
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Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
Scoring
- Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
- † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.
- ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | |||
| 14 | Theoren Fleury‡ | RW | 60 | 30 | 39 | 69 | 18 | 68 |
| 16 | Cory Stillman | C | 76 | 27 | 30 | 57 | 7 | 38 |
| 6 | Phil Housley | D | 79 | 11 | 43 | 54 | 14 | 52 |
| 8 | Valeri Bure | RW | 80 | 26 | 27 | 53 | 0 | 22 |
| 12 | Jarome Iginla | RW | 82 | 28 | 23 | 51 | 1 | 58 |
| 21 | Andrew Cassels | C | 70 | 12 | 25 | 37 | −12 | 18 |
| 53 | Derek Morris | D | 71 | 7 | 27 | 34 | 4 | 73 |
| 11 | Jeff Shantz† | C | 69 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 15 | 40 |
| 24 | Jason Wiemer | C | 78 | 8 | 13 | 21 | −12 | 177 |
| 23 | Clarke Wilm | C | 78 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 11 | 53 |
| 55 | Steve Smith | D | 69 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 80 |
| 62 | Andrei Nazarov† | LW | 36 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 30 |
| 18 | Steve Dubinsky† | C | 61 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −7 | 14 |
| 32 | Cale Hulse | D | 73 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −8 | 117 |
| 17 | Hnat Domenichelli | C | 23 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −4 | 11 |
| 27 | Todd Simpson | D | 73 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 151 |
| 20 | Rene Corbet† | LW | 20 | 5 | 4 | 9 | −2 | 10 |
| 42 | Ed Ward | RW | 68 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −4 | 67 |
| 3 | Denis Gauthier | D | 55 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 68 |
| 25 | Dave Roche | C | 36 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −1 | 44 |
| 5 | Tommy Albelin | D | 60 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −11 | 8 |
| 26 | Michael Nylander‡ | C | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| 28 | Bob Bassen | C | 41 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −13 | 35 |
| 33 | Greg Pankewicz‡ | RW | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
| 18 | Marty McInnis‡ | C | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 6 |
| 15[a] | Martin St. Louis | C | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 10 |
| 40 | Fred Brathwaite† | G | 28 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 29 | Wade Belak† | D | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 23 |
| 38 | Eric Charron | D | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −6 | 14 |
| 44[b] | Rico Fata | C | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 47 | Jean-Sebastien Giguere | G | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 26 | Eric Landry | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | Tyler Moss | G | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 19 | Chris O'Sullivan‡ | D | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 2 |
| 31 | Ken Wregget | G | 27 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 26 | Tom Chorske† | LW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 2 |
| 1 | Tyrone Garner | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Sami Helenius‡ | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 8 |
| 33 | Lee Sorochan† | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| 22 | Rocky Thompson | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| 35 | Andrei Trefilov† | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Goaltending
- † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | ||
| 40 | Fred Brathwaite† | 28 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 796 | 68 | 2.45 | .915 | 1 | 1663 |
| 31 | Ken Wregget | 27 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 712 | 67 | 2.87 | .906 | 1 | 1590 |
| 47 | Jean-Sebastien Giguere | 15 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 447 | 46 | 3.21 | .897 | 0 | 860 |
| 30 | Tyler Moss | 11 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 295 | 23 | 2.51 | .922 | 0 | 550 |
| 1 | Tyrone Garner | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 74 | 12 | 5.18 | .838 | 0 | 139 |
| 35 | Andrei Trefilov† | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 84 | 11 | 4.01 | .869 | 0 | 162 |
Awards and records
Awards
| Type | Award/honour | Recipient | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| League (in-season) |
NHL All-Star Game selection | Theoren Fleury | [9] |
| Team | Molson Cup | Fred Brathwaite | [10] |
| Ralph T. Scurfield Humanitarian Award | Ed Ward | [11] |
Milestones
| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| First game | Rico Fata | October 9, 1998 | [12] |
| Martin St. Louis | |||
| Clarke Wilm | |||
| Tyrone Garner | January 2, 1999 | ||
| Lee Sorochan | March 27, 1999 |
Transactions
The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1998–99 season.[13]
Trades
| June 17, 1998 | To Calgary Flames Ken Wregget Dave Roche |
To Pittsburgh Penguins German Titov Todd Hlushko |
| June 26, 1998 | To Calgary Flames Future Considerations |
To Nashville Predators Jim Dowd |
| July 2, 1998 | To Calgary Flames David Cooper |
To Toronto Maple Leafs Ladislav Kohn |
| July 14, 1998 | To Calgary Flames Bob Bassen |
To Dallas Stars Aaron Gavey |
| August 7, 1998 | To Calgary Flames Future Considerations |
To Washington Capitals Rick Tabaracci |
| October 27, 1998 | To Calgary Flames Jeff Shantz Steve Dubinsky |
To Dallas Stars Jamie Allison Marty McInnis Erik Andersson |
| December 29, 1998 | To Calgary Flames Andrei Trefilov |
To Chicago Blackhawks Future Considerations |
| February 28, 1999 | To Calgary Flames Rene Corbet Wade Belak Robyn Regehr |
To Colorado Avalanche Theoren Fleury Chris Dingman |
| March 22, 1999 | To Calgary Flames Tom Chorske |
To Washington Capitals Future Considerations |
| March 23, 1999 | To Calgary Flames Cash considerations |
To San Jose Sharks Greg Pankewicz |
Free agents
|
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Draft picks
Calgary's picks at the 1998 NHL entry draft, held in Buffalo, New York.[14]
| Rnd | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | Team (league) | NHL statistics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||||||
| 1 | 6 | Rico Fata |  Canada | RW | London Knights (OHL) | 230 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 104 |
| 2 | 33 | Blair Betts | Canada | C | Prince George Cougars (WHL) | 477 | 41 | 37 | 78 | 118 |
| 3 | 62 | Paul Manning | Canada | D | Colorado College (NCAA) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | 102 | Shaun Sutter | Canada | RW | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) | |||||
| 4 | 108 | Dany Sabourin | Canada | G | Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL) | 57 | 17–23–2–4, 2.87GAA | |||
| 5 | 120 | Brent Gauvreau | Canada | RW | Oshawa Generals (OHL) | |||||
| 7 | 192 | Radek Duda |  Czech Republic | RW | Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) | |||||
| 8 | 206 | Jonas Frogren |  Sweden | D | Färjestads BK (SEL) | 41 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 28 |
| 9 | 234 | Kevin Mitchell |  United States | D | Guelph Storm (OHL) | |||||
Farm teams
Saint John Flames
The Baby Flames finished the 1998–99 AHL season with a record of 31–40–8–1, fourth in the Atlantic Division with 71 points. They proceeded to shock the division winning Lowell Lock Monsters in the first round of the playoffs 3 games to 0. The Flames would then be swept themselves by the Fredericton Canadiens.[15] Martin St. Louis led the Flames in both goals (28) and points (62). Saint John used five different goaltenders as a result of Calgary's injury woes in goal. Jean-Sebastien Giguere played the most games, going 18–16–3 in 39 games.[16]
Johnstown Chiefs
The Flames signed a secondary affiliation deal with the Johnstown Chiefs of the East Coast Hockey League prior to the start of the season.[13] They finished 27–34–9, fifth, and last, in the Northeast Division. The Chiefs missed the playoffs.[17]