Atlanta Flames

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Atlanta Flames
Atlanta Flames logo
founding November 1971
history Atlanta Flames
1972 - 1980
Calgary Flames
since 1980
Stadion Omni Coliseum
Location Atlanta , Georgia
Team colors Red, yellow, white
Stanley Cups no
Conference title no
Division title no

The Atlanta Flames ( IPA : [ətˈlæntə fleɪms] ) were an American ice hockey team from the National Hockey League , which was founded in 1972. The name came from the great fire of Atlanta in 1864 in the Civil War that destroyed much of the city. In 1980 the team moved to Calgary and has played there as the Calgary Flames ever since .

history

The Atlanta Flames came in 1972 as part of the expansion together with the New York Islanders as a so-called "Expansion Team" in the National Hockey League. Their stadium in Atlanta was called the Omni Coliseum . On October 7, 1972, they completed their first game against the Islanders and emerged as the winner with a final score of 3-2. A week later, the Flames played their first competitive game against the Buffalo Sabers , which ended 1: 1. The franchise ended its first season in seventh place in the Western Division with a record 25-38-15. In the second season, the team reached the playoffs for the first time. There the Flames met the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round , but lost the series against the eventual Stanley Cup winner with 4-0 wins.

Tom Lysiak (12) celebrates a goal with David Shand and Harold Phillipoff (24)

The following year the divisions were reallocated and the Atlanta Flames came to the Patrick Division in the Campbell Conference . Therefore, despite their first season with a win rate higher than 50 percent, they finished the conference in last place.

In the 1975/76 season , the Flames reached the playoffs for the second time. It was the beginning of a long streak that the team never missed the finals until the 1991/92 season. In the 1978/79 season , the team managed to surpass the 90-point mark for the first time in its history, but it ended the season as the last of the division. Despite this, the Flames reached the playoffs for the sixth time since their existence, but failed in the first round. The following season was the last of the Atlanta franchise so far . Goalkeeper Jim Craig , who won gold at the Winter Olympics with Team USA six days earlier , made his NHL debut with the Flames. Due to his appearance, the Omni Coliseum was completely sold out one last time. The Atlanta Flames did not manage to reach the second playoff round in this postseason and won only two playoff games during their time in Atlanta despite seven playoff appearances (against the New York Rangers in 1980 and against the Los Angeles Kings in 1977).

Tom Cousins, the owner of the Atlanta Flames saw his empire crumbling and to avert an impending bankruptcy, he had to sell the Flames. Since there was only a small fan base in Atlanta, there were no adequate offers from investors in the region and so the Flames were sold to the Canadian Nelson Skalbania. On May 21, 1980, the team finally moved from the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta to Calgary in the Stampede Corral , a stadium that could hold 8,000 spectators.

Season statistics

Abbreviations: GP = games, W = wins, L = defeats, T = draws, OTL = defeats after overtime , SOL = defeats after shootout , Pts = points, GF = goals scored, GA = goals conceded, PIM = penalty minutes

season GP W. L. T OTL SOL Pts GF GA PIM space Playoffs
1972/73 78 25th 38 15th - - 65 191 239 852 7th, west not qualified
1973/74 78 30th 34 14th - - 74 214 238 841 4th, west Conference semi-finals lost, 4-0 ( Philadelphia )
1974/75 80 34 31 15th - - 83 243 233 915 4th, Patrick not qualified
1975/76 80 35 33 12 - - 82 262 237 928 3rd, Patrick Conference quarterfinals lost, 2-0 ( Los Angeles )
1976/77 80 34 34 12 - - 80 264 265 889 3rd, Patrick Conference quarterfinals lost, 2-1 ( Los Angeles )
1977/78 80 34 27 19th - - 87 274 252 984 3rd, Patrick Conference quarterfinals lost, 2-0 ( Detroit )
1978/79 80 41 31 8th - - 90 327 280 1158 4th, Patrick Conference quarterfinals lost, 2-0 ( Toronto )
1979/80 80 35 32 13 - - 83 282 269 1048 4th, Patrick Conference quarterfinals lost, 3-1 ( New York )
total 636 268 260 108 - - 644 2057 2013 7615 6 playoff appearances
6 series: 0 wins, 6 losses
17 games: 2 wins, 15 losses

Remembering Atlanta

Robyn Regehr wears the "A" of the Atlanta Flames on his chest as a sign of an alternative captain

In memory of the Atlanta Flames, the alternative captains of the Calgary Flames wear the "A" from the Atlanta Flames logo on their chests.

Trainer

Period Trainer
1972/73 - 1974/75 Bernie Geoffrion
1974/75 - 1978/79 Fred Creighton
1979/80 - 1981/82 Al MacNeil

Players to be mentioned

Team captains

year Surname
1972-1975 Keith McCreary
1975-1977 Pat Quinn
1977-1979 Tom Lysiak
1979-1980 Jean Pronovost

Top 10 draft picks

Surname year Draft position
Jacques Richard 1972 2.
Tom Lysiak 1973 2.
Richard Mulhern 1975 8th.
David Shand
Harold Phillipoff 		1976 8.
10.

Top point collector

Top ten points collectors in the history of the Atlanta Flames in the regular season and playoffs.

Abbreviations: Pos = position, GP = games, G = goals, A = assists, Pts = points, P / G = points per game

Regular season
Surname Item season GP G A. Pts P / G
Tom Lysiak C. 1973 / 74–1978 / 79 445 155 276 431 0.97
Eric Vail LW 1973 / 74–1979 / 80 469 174 209 383 0.82
Guy Chouinard C. 1974 / 75-1979 / 80 318 126 168 294 0.92
Curt Bennett RW 1972 / 73–1979 / 80 405 126 140 266 0.66
Bob MacMillan RW 1977 / 78-1979 / 80 208 90 131 221 1.06
Rey Comeau C. 1972 / 73-1977 / 78 468 88 126 214 0.46
Ken Houston RW 1975 / 76–1979 / 80 350 91 108 199 0.57
Bill Clement C. 1975 / 76–1979 / 80 297 69 107 176 0.59
Willi Plett RW 1975 / 76–1979 / 80 296 91 83 174 0.59
Randy Manery D. 1972 / 73-1976 / 77 377 30th 142 172 0.46
Playoffs
Surname Item GP G A. Pts P / G
Eric Vail LW 14th 5 6th 11 0.79
Guy Chouinard C. 13 5 5 10 0.77
Tom Lysiak C. 11 2 5 7th 0.64
Larry Romanchych RW 7th 2 2 4th 0.57
Willi Plett RW 9 3 0 3 0.33
Rey Comeau C. 9 2 1 3 0.33
Bill Clement C. 13 1 2 3 0.23
Bob MacMillan RW 8th 0 3 3 0.38
Richard Mulhern D. 5 0 3 3 0.60
Garry Unger C. 4th 0 3 3 0.75

Web links

Commons : Atlanta Flames  - collection of images, videos, and audio files