2007–08 Calgary Flames season

Team notes

On December 16, Keenan recorded his 600th career win as a head coach in a 5–3 victory over one of his former teams, the St. Louis Blues.

Al MacInnis was among four players inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 12, 2007. MacInnis spent 13 years in Calgary, and captured the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when the Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1989.

On November 29, captain Jarome Iginla played in his 804th game, setting a new franchise record for games played in a Flames uniform, surpassing Al MacInnis' mark. Two nights later, Iginla registered his 700th career point in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. On March 10, Iginla scored his 365th goal, surpassing Theoren Fleury's mark of 364 to become the Flames' all-time goal scoring leader.

In December, the Flames became the third team in NHL history to win all six games of a six-game road trip, a feat previously accomplished by the 1971–72 Bruins and 1982–83 Flyers. The 2001–02 Red Wings also won six consecutive road games, though that trip was broken in half by the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Two Flames players were voted to start for the Western Conference at the 2008 All-Star Game. Defenceman Dion Phaneuf joined Iginla for the game, which was held in Atlanta, Georgia.

On February 18, Flames' prospect Mickey Renaud, a fifth round pick in the 2007 draft, collapsed and died at the age of 19 at his home in Tecumseh, Ontario. Renaud had been playing for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League, and was the team's captain. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Regular season

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Playoffs

The Flames finished 7th in the Western Conference with 94 points, earning a first-round match-up against the Pacific Division champion San Jose Sharks. It was the third time the two teams had met in the playoffs, with the Sharks defeating the Flames in seven games in the first round of the 1995 playoffs, while the Flames defeated San Jose in six games in the 2004 Western Conference final.

After splitting the first two games in San Jose, the Flames gave up three goals to the Sharks in the first 3½ minutes of the game, but came back to win 4–3. In doing so, the Flames became only the second team in NHL history, after the 1985 Minnesota North Stars to come back from a 3–0 deficit in the first ten minutes of a playoff game. During Game 6, in which the Flames faced elimination, they scored once in the first and second period each to shut out the Sharks 2–0, as the Sharks did during Game 2. Nolan and Langkow scored both goals respectively and Kiprusoff made 21 saves for his 6th postseason shutout.

Schedule and results

Regular season

|- | 1 || October 4 || Philadelphia || 3 – 2 || Calgary || || Kiprusoff || 19,305 || 0–1–0 || 0 || |- | 2 || October 6 || Vancouver || 4 – 3 || Calgary || OT || Kiprusoff || 19,289 || 0–1–1 || 1 || |- | 3 || October 10 || Calgary || 2 – 4 || Detroit || || Kiprusoff || 16,629 || 0–2–1 || 1 || |- | 4 || October 12 || Calgary || 3 – 2 || Dallas || OT || Kiprusoff || 17,132 || 1–2–1 || 3 || |- | 5 || October 13 || Calgary || 7 – 4 || Nashville || || Kiprusoff || 13,152 || 2–2–1 || 5 || |- | 6 || October 16 || Calgary || 4 – 5 || Colorado || SO || Kiprusoff || 16,722 || 2–2–2 || 6 || |- | 7 || October 18 || Los Angeles || 3 – 4 || Calgary || || Kiprusoff || 19,305 || 3–2–2 || 8 || |- | 8 || October 20 || Edmonton || 1 – 4 || Calgary || || Kiprusoff || 19,289 || 4–2–2 || 10 || |- | 9 || October 22 || San Jose || 4 – 1 || Calgary || || Kiprusoff || 19,289 || 4–3–2 || 10 || |- | 10 || October 24 || Minnesota || 3 – 5 || Calgary || || Kiprusoff || 19,289 || 5–3–2 || 12 || |- | 11 || October 26 || Colorado || 3 – 2 || Calgary || OT || Kiprusoff || 19,289 || 5–3–3 || 13 || |- | 12 || October 30 || Nashville || 1 – 5 || Calgary || || Kiprusoff || 19,289 || 6–3–3 || 15 ||

| Legend:

Playoffs

|- | 1 || April 9 || Calgary || 3–2 || San Jose || || Kiprusoff || 17,496 || Flames lead 1–0 || |- | 2 || April 10 || Calgary || 0–2 || San Jose || || Kiprusoff || 17,496 || Series tied 1–1 || |- | 3 || April 13 || San Jose || 3–4 || Calgary || || Joseph || 19,289 || Flames lead 2–1 || |- | 4 || April 15 || San Jose || 3–2 || Calgary || || Kiprusoff || 19,289 || Series tied 2–2 || |- | 5 || April 17 || Calgary || 3–4 || San Jose || || Kiprusoff || 17,496 || Sharks lead 3–2 || |- | 6 || April 20 || San Jose || 0–2 || Calgary || || Kiprusoff || 19,289 || Series tied 3–3 || |- | 7 || April 22 || Calgary || 3–5 || San Jose || || Kiprusoff || 17,496 || Sharks win series 4–3 ||

| Legend:

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus

†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; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Awards and records

Records

• 7: most games to start the season with a player scoring two goals in one game.
• 6: consecutive wins on a single road trip (tied for record).

Milestones

Transactions

The Flames have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.

Trades

Free agents

|}

Draft picks

The Flames made five selections at the 2007 NHL entry draft in Columbus, Ohio. Calgary selected Swedish forward Mikael Backlund with their first selection, 24th overall. Heading into the draft, Backlund was the second highest ranked European prospect, and 10th overall, by International Scouting Services. Backlund joined third round selection John Negrin in making their NHL debuts with the Flames in the 2008–09 season. The Flames lost their fifth round draft pick, Mickey Renaud, when the 19-year-old captain of the Windsor Spitfires collapsed and died in his home late in the 2007–08 OHL season. The Ontario Hockey League created a new trophy in his honour, the Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy in 2009.

:Statistics are updated to the end of the 2014–15 NHL season. † denotes player was on an NHL roster in 2014–15.

Farm teams

Quad City Flames

After two seasons in Omaha, Nebraska, and over $4 million in operating losses, the Calgary Flames chose to relocate their American Hockey League affiliate to the Quad Cities. The new team, known as the Quad City Flames, will play in the West Division of the Western Conference.

Las Vegas Wranglers

Led by team scoring leader Chris Ferraro, the Las Vegas Wranglers reached the ECHL's Kelly Cup Finals in 2007–08 where they fell to the Cincinnati Cyclones four games to two. Head Coach Glen Gulutzan expressed the team's disappointment in losing the championship. "It's an empty feeling, and I certainly don't like to talk about it, but the only way around it for me now is to try to move forward and start looking at next year," said Gulutzan.

The playoff disappointment represented a bitter end to a successful season, as the Wranglers finished first in the Pacific Division for the second consecutive season. Their 47–13–5–7 record was the best in the National Conference, and their 106 points was good enough to finish third overall in the ECHL.

References

• Player stats: Calgary Flames player stats on espn.com
• Game log: Calgary Flames game log on espn.com
• Team standings: NHL standings on espn.com

References

1. "Flames' fall from glory {{!}} Hockey {{!}} Sports {{!}} London Free Press".
2. [http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8449895&view=notes Owen Nolan - Notes - NHL.com - Players]
3. [http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8459443&view=notes Anders Eriksson - Notes - NHL.com - Players]
4. [http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8466343&view=notes Mark Smith - Notes - NHL.com - Players]
5. The Calgary Sun, April 11, 2007, Sports Pullout p. 9
6. [http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8470966&view=notes Mark Giordano, Flames - Notes - NHL.com - Players]
7. [http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8462147 Miikka Kiprusoff, Flames - Stats - NHL.com - Players]
8. link. (December 18, 2007 , Calgary Flames Hockey Club, December 16, 2007.)
9. link. (May 19, 2011 , calgaryflames.com, June 29, 2007.)
10. [https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=231745&hubname= Iginla passes Fleury in Flames' win], tsn.ca, March 11, 2008.
11. [https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=225548 Keenan rediscovers passion for coaching], tsn.ca, December 19, 2007.
12. McFarlane, Steve, [http://calsun.canoe.ca/Sports/Hockey/Flames/Headlines/2007/12/19/4731907–sun.html Road warriors complete sweep], [[Calgary Sun]], December 19, 2007. {{dead link. (September 2011)
13. (September 2011)
14. link. (2008-02-27 , tsn.ca, February 18, 2008.)
15. [https://archive.today/20120715060101/http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=280413003 Game Story: San Jose 3, Calgary 4], espn.com, April 13, 2008.
16. "2007-08 Calgary Flames Schedule".
17. link. (October 20, 2007)
18. "2009–10 Calgary Flames Media Guide". Calgary Flames Hockey Club.
19. (2007-06-12). "ISS Top 30 for 2007 -- Final Ranking". Hockey's Future.
20. (2008-02-18). "Windsor Spitfires captain Mickey Renaud dead at 19". [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]].
21. (2009-02-04). "Ontario Hockey League to present annual award in honour of Mickey Renaud".
22. [https://archive.today/20120907115847/http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1200&u_sid=2384412 AHL: Knights are leaving for the Quad Cities], Omaha World-Herald, May 15, 2007.
23. Dewey, Todd. (June 10, 2008). "Wranglers struggle to digest finals loss". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
24. "2007–08 ECHL season". The Internet Hockey Database.