1993–94 Calgary Flames season

The 1993–94 Calgary Flames season was the 14th National Hockey League season in Calgary. It was a season of change across the NHL, as the league reorganized its divisions and playoff format. The Smythe Division was retired and the Flames joined the new Pacific Division of the Western Conference, as the NHL aligned itself with the other major sports leagues in naming divisions by geographical boundaries. The change angered fans, who preferred the traditional convention, which honoured the game's past builders.[1]

1993–94 Calgary Flames
Pacific Division champions
Division1st Pacific
Conference2nd Western
1993–94 record42–29–13
Home record25–12–5
Road record17–17–8
Goals for302 (3rd)
Goals against256 (11th)
Team information
General managerDoug Risebrough
CoachDave King
CaptainJoe Nieuwendyk
Alternate captainsAl MacInnis
Joel Otto
ArenaOlympic Saddledome
Average attendance19,325
Team leaders
GoalsGary Roberts (41)
AssistsAl MacInnis (54)
PointsRobert Reichel (93)
Penalty minutesRon Stern (243)
Plus/minusFrank Musil (+38)
WinsMike Vernon (26)
Goals against averageMike Vernon (2.81)

Realignment also led to significant changes in the playoff format, as the top eight teams in each conference now qualified for the post-season, rather than the top four in each division. Under the new format, the top team in each division was guaranteed one of the top two seeds, and declared the divisional champion, as opposed to having to win two playoff rounds to capture the division title. Thus, the Flames became the first Pacific Division champions, and the second seed in the playoffs. They faced the second place Vancouver Canucks in the playoffs rather than the fourth place Mighty Ducks of Anaheim who failed to qualify under the new system.[2]

The playoffs ended in another bitter disappointment, as the Flames blew a 3–1 series lead, losing the last three games in overtime to the Canucks,[3] who would eventually go onto the Stanley Cup finals before bowing out to the New York Rangers.[4]

Two Flames represented the Western Conference at the 1994 All-Star Game: Forward Joe Nieuwendyk and defenceman Al MacInnis.[5]

For the second consecutive season, four Flames reached the 30-goal plateau. Three of them (Theoren Fleury, Robert Reichel and Gary Roberts) were also 40-goal scorers.[6][7]

Prior to the season, Calgary lost two players in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft, as the Florida Panthers selected defenceman Alexander Godynyuk 13th overall, and centre Brian Skrudland 32nd overall. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim did not select any Flames players.

Regular season

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The Flames were shorthanded a total of 465 times during the regular season, the most among all 26 teams.[8]

Season standings

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Pacific Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 3 Calgary Flames 84 42 29 13 302 256 97
2 7 Vancouver Canucks 84 41 40 3 279 276 85
3 8 San Jose Sharks 84 33 35 16 252 265 82
4 9 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 84 33 46 5 229 251 71
5 10 Los Angeles Kings 84 27 45 12 294 322 66
6 11 Edmonton Oilers 84 25 45 14 261 305 64

[9] Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Western Conference[10]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 y- Detroit Red Wings * CEN 84 46 30 8 356 275 100
2 x- Calgary Flames * PAC 84 42 29 13 302 256 97
3 Toronto Maple Leafs CEN 84 43 29 12 280 243 98
4 Dallas Stars CEN 84 42 29 13 286 265 97
5 St. Louis Blues CEN 84 40 33 11 270 283 91
6 Chicago Blackhawks CEN 84 39 36 9 254 240 87
7 Vancouver Canucks PAC 84 41 40 3 279 276 85
8 San Jose Sharks PAC 84 33 35 16 252 265 82
9 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim PAC 84 33 46 5 229 251 71
10 Los Angeles Kings PAC 84 27 45 12 294 322 66
11 Edmonton Oilers PAC 84 25 45 14 261 305 64
12 Winnipeg Jets CEN 84 24 51 9 245 344 57

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); * – Division leader


Schedule and results

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1993–94 Game Log

Playoffs

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The Flames entered the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs as the second seed under the new alignment, facing the seventh seeded Vancouver Canucks. After getting blown out at home in game one, the Flames responded by winning the next three games to take a 3–1 series lead. The Flames, however, lost the last three games in overtime, as they proved unable to overcome a series of injuries to key players, and the tenacious play of the Canucks. Pavel Bure scored the series winner on a breakaway in double overtime for the Canucks, who reached the Stanley Cup finals before falling to the New York Rangers in seven games.

For the Flames, it was another year of playoff frustration, as for the fifth consecutive year, Calgary failed to reach the second round of the post-season.

1994 Stanley Cup playoffs

Player statistics

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Skaters

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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
Robert Reichel 26 84 40 53 93 58 7 0 5 5 0
Theoren Fleury 14 83 40 45 85 186 7 6 4 10 5
Gary Roberts 10 71 41 43 84 145 7 2 6 8 24
Al MacInnis 2 75 28 54 82 95 7 2 6 8 12
Joe Nieuwendyk 25 64 36 39 75 51 6 2 2 4 0
German Titov 13 76 27 18 45 28 7 2 1 3 4
Wes Walz 17 53 11 27 38 16 6 3 0 3 2
Kelly Kisio 11 51 7 23 30 28 7 0 2 2 8
Ron Stern 22 71 9 20 29 243 7 2 0 2 12
Paul Ranheim 28 67 10 14 24 20 - - - - -
Joel Otto 29 81 11 12 23 92 3 0 1 1 4
Michel Petit 7 63 2 21 23 110 - - - - -
Trent Yawney 18 58 6 15 21 60 7 0 0 0 16
Dan Keczmer 39 57 1 20 21 48 3 0 0 0 4
Gary Suter 20 25 4 9 13 20 - - - - -
Ted Drury 27 34 5 7 12 26 - - - - -
Chris Dahlquist 5 77 1 11 12 52 1 0 0 0 0
Paul Kruse 12 68 3 8 11 185 7 0 0 0 14
Michael Nylander 92 15 2 9 11 6 3 0 0 0 0
Sandy McCarthy 15 79 5 5 10 173 7 0 0 0 34
Zarley Zalapski 33 13 3 7 10 18 7 0 3 3 2
Frank Musil 3 75 1 8 9 10 7 1 1 2 8
Brad Schlegel 21 26 1 6 7 4 - - - - -
Mike Sullivan 32 19 2 3 5 6 7 1 1 2 8
James Patrick 6 15 2 2 4 6 7 0 1 1 6
Trevor Kidd 37 31 0 4 4 4 - - - - -
Vesa Viitakoski 32/19 8 1 2 3 0 - - - - -
Len Esau 36 6 0 3 3 7 - - - - -
Kevin Dahl 4 33 0 3 3 23 6 0 0 0 4
Greg Paslawski 23 15 2 0 2 2 - - - - -
David Haas 19 2 1 1 2 7 - - - - -
Guy Larose 42 7 0 1 1 4 - - - - -
Brad Miller 55/34 8 0 1 1 14 - - - - -
Lee Norwood 6 16 0 1 1 16 - - - - -
Jason Muzzatti 31 1 0 0 0 0 - - - - -
Jeff Reese 35 1 0 0 0 0 - - - - -
Mark Freer 16 2 0 0 0 4 - - - - -
Peter Ahola 38 2 0 0 0 0 - - - - -
David Struch 33 4 0 0 0 4 - - - - -
Kevin Wortman 34 5 0 0 0 2 - - - - -
Andrei Trefilov 1 11 0 0 0 4 - - - - -
Mike Vernon 30 48 0 0 0 14 7 0 0 0 2

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

Goaltenders

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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
Andrei Trefilov 1 11 623 3 4 2 26 2 2.50 - - - - - - -
Mike Vernon 30 48 2798 26 17 5 131 3 2.81 7 466 3 4 23 0 2.96
Trevor Kidd 37 31 1614 13 7 6 85 0 3.16 - - - - - - -
Jeff Reese 35 1 13 0 0 0 1 0 4.62 - - - - - - -
Jason Muzzatti 36 1 60 0 1 0 8 0 8.00 - - - - - - -

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

Transactions

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The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1993–94 season.

Trades

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Date Details
June 20, 1993 (1993-06-20) To Hartford Whalers
Sergei Makarov
To Calgary Flames
Future Considerations (1993 WSH 4th-round pick (#95 overall))
June 26, 1993 (1993-06-26) To Washington Capitals
Craig Berube
To Calgary Flames
1993 5th-round pick (#121 overall)
June 26, 1993 (1993-06-26) To Washington Capitals
1993 7th-round pick (#174 overall)
To Calgary Flames
Brad Schlegel
September 2, 1993 (1993-09-02) To Toronto Maple Leafs
Todd Gillingham
Paul Holden
To Calgary Flames
Jeff Perry
Brad Miller
October 5, 1993 (1993-10-05) To Tampa Bay Lightning
Cash
To Calgary Flames
Peter Ahola
November 19, 1993 (1993-11-19) To Hartford Whalers
Jeff Reese
To Calgary Flames
Dan Keczmer
Future Considerations
January 24, 1994 (1994-01-24) To Hartford Whalers
Todd Harkins
To Calgary Flames
Scott Morrow
March 10, 1994 (1994-03-10) To Hartford Whalers
Gary Suter
Paul Ranheim
Ted Drury
To Calgary Flames
Michael Nylander
James Patrick
Zarley Zalapski

Draft picks

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Calgary's picks at the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, held in Quebec City, Quebec.[11]

Rnd Pick Player Nationality Position Team (league) NHL statistics
GP G A Pts PIM
1 18 Jesper Mattsson   Sweden RW Malmö Redhawks (SEL)
2 44 Jamie Allison   Canada D Detroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL) 372 7 23 30 639
3 70 Dan Tompkins   United States F Omaha Lancers (USHL)
4 95 Jason Smith   Canada D Princeton (NCAA)
4 96 Marty Murray   Canada C Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) 261 31 42 73 41
5 121 Darryl LaFrance   Canada RW Oshawa Generals (OHL)
5 122 John Emmons   United States C Yale University (NCAA) 85 2 4 6 64
6 148 Andreas Karlsson   Sweden C Leksands IF (SEL) 264 16 35 51 72
8 200 Derek Sylvester   United States RW Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL)
10 252 German Titov   Russia C Voskresensk Khimik (RSL) 624 157 220 377 311
11 278 Burke Murphy   Canada RW St. Lawrence University (NCAA)

Farm teams

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The 1993–94 American Hockey League season was the first for the Flames top minor league affiliate as the new expansion team was created in Saint John, New Brunswick. The Flames posted a respectable 37–33–10 record in their first season, good enough for second in the Atlantic division. They fell to the Moncton Hawks in seven games in the first round of the playoffs, however.[12] Cory Stillman led the Flames with 35 goals, while Mark Freer lead with 86 points. Jason Muzzatti was the starting goaltender, posting a 26–23–3 record with a 3.74 GAA in 51 games.[13]

See also

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References

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  • Player stats: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg 118
  • Game log: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg 137
  • Team standings: 1993–94 NHL standings @hockeydb.com
  • Trades: hockeydb.com player pages
  1. ^ A question of values, sportsillustrated.com, January 18, 2007, accessed March 4, 2007
  2. ^ Hockey's revised roadmap, USAToday, reproduced by findarticles.com, November 1993, accessed March 4, 2007
  3. ^ All-time playoff results, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 220
  4. ^ SI Flashback: Stanley Cup 1994, sportsillustrated.com, accessed March 4, 2007
  5. ^ All-star selections, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 22
  6. ^ "1992-93 Calgary Flames Roster and Statistics".
  7. ^ "1993-94 Calgary Flames Roster and Statistics".
  8. ^ "1993-94 NHL Season Summary | Hockey-Reference.com". Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  9. ^ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  10. ^ "NHL Hockey Standings". NHL.com. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  11. ^ Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed February 25, 2007
  12. ^ 1993–94 AHL playoffs, hockeydb.com, accessed March 4, 2007
  13. ^ Saint John Flames player stats, hockeydb.com, accessed March 4, 2007