2016–17 Calgary Flames season

The 2016–17 Calgary Flames season was their 37th season in Calgary, and the 45th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 6, 1972.[1]

2016–17 Calgary Flames
Division4th Pacific
Conference7th Western
2016–17 record45–33–4
Home record24–17–0
Road record21–16–4
Goals for226
Goals against221
Team information
General managerBrad Treliving
CoachGlen Gulutzan
CaptainMark Giordano
Alternate captainsTroy Brouwer
Sean Monahan
ArenaScotiabank Saddledome
Average attendance18,727 (97.1%)
Minor league affiliate(s)Stockton Heat (AHL)
Adirondack Thunder (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsSean Monahan (27)
AssistsJohnny Gaudreau (43)
PointsJohnny Gaudreau (61)
Penalty minutesMatthew Tkachuk (105)
Plus/minusMark Giordano (+22)
WinsBrian Elliott (26)
Goals against averageJon Gillies (1.00)

Off-season

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After a season of high expectations from the 2014–15 season for the Flames, those results did not carry over into the 2015–16 season. The team finished with only 77 points and failed to qualify for the 2016 NHL Playoffs. To start with, Bob Hartley was let go, and Glen Gulutzan was brought in as the new coach. The biggest question the Flames faced in the off-season was acquiring a proven number one goalie. Jonas Hiller, Karri Ramo, and Joni Ortio all combined for a save percentage of .892 and goals against of 3.13, an NHL-worst in the 2015–16 season. General manager Brad Treliving addressed this need by acquiring veteran Brian Elliott on June 24, 2016, in a deal on the sidelines of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. On the draft's opening day the Flames got top prospect Matthew Tkachuk as the 6th overall pick of the Draft. On July 1, 2016, the Flames made significant acquisitions by signing power forward Troy Brouwer and journeyman goaltender Chad Johnson. Several other players such as Alex Chiasson and Linden Vey were also brought in. The next biggest task Treliving faced was signing rising stars Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan to contracts. On August 19, 2016, Monahan and the Flames agreed to a 7-year deal worth $44.625 million.[citation needed] On October 10, 2016, two days before the start of the regular season, Gaudreau and the Flames agreed to a 6-year deal worth $40.5 million.[2] Gaudreau was tied with defenceman and captain Mark Giordano as the highest-paid Flames player.

Regular season

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October – December

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The Flames open their season with their first two losses 7-4 and 5–3 to their provincial rival Edmonton Oilers. The team was expected to have an improved save percentage with Brian Eliott. However, they had a rough time with their No. 1 goaltender Brian Elliott which led them being placed outside of playoff picture promoting them to switch to their backup goaltender Chad Johnson. Chad Johnson was proved to be a better goaltender than Brian Eliott for about a month. They had a six-game winning streak from November 30 to December 14 which elevated them back into playoff position. After their six-game winning streak ended with a 6–3 loss to Tampa Bay Lightning 6–3, the starting goaltender position slowly shifted back to Brian Elliott.

January – April

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The Flames continued to maintain their position in the playoff spot. They struggled the rest of the month, but they continued to keep pace in the conference standings. Even on February 25, 2017, the Flames still held the first wildcard spot in the Western Conference.

With their win over the New York Islanders on March 5, the Flames surpassed their total number of wins – 35 – of the 2015–16 season.[3]

With their win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 11, the Flames surpassed their franchise-long winning streak while based in the city of Calgary, at 9 consecutive games.[4] Goalie Brian Elliott also recorded his second shutout in a row. The Flames tied their all-time franchise winning streak of 10 games with a shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 13. The Atlanta Flames won 10 straight from October 14 to November 3, 1978.[5] The streak would end with their next game on March 15, being outscored by the Boston Bruins 5–2. Though Chad Johnson started in net due to Brian Elliott waking up that morning with the flu, coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters that no individual player was responsible for the loss to the Bruins and the end of the streak.[6]

On March 20, Brian Elliott was named the NHL's 3rd Star of the Week for the week of March 20 to the 26th.[7] From February 20 – March 20, Elliott recorded a career-best winning streak of 11 games, featuring back-to-back shutouts on March 9 and 11. In addition during the streak, Elliott also tied the longest winning streak for a Flames game-starting goalie, an 11-game record set by the legendary Mike Vernon from January 17 to February 27, 1989.[8]

Forward Matthew Tkachuk was suspended by the NHL for two games (on March 21 and March 23) due to Tkachuk's elbow purposely hitting the head of the L.A. Kings' Drew Doughty in the Flames' win on March 19.[9]

In the Flames' 3–2 win over the St. Louis Blues on March 25, centreman and alternate captain Sean Monahan broke Jarome Iginla's franchise regular-season overtime winning goal record with Monahan's seventh career regular-season 5-minute overtime period goal.[10]

With a win against the San Jose Sharks on March 31, the Flames clinched a playoff berth, their first postseason appearance since the 2014–15 season and only their second playoff appearance in the last eight seasons.[11]

Standings

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Pacific Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 y – Anaheim Ducks 82 46 23 13 43 223 200 +23 105
2 x – Edmonton Oilers 82 47 26 9 43 247 212 +35 103
3 x – San Jose Sharks 82 46 29 7 44 221 201 +20 99
4 x – Calgary Flames 82 45 33 4 41 226 221 +5 94
5 Los Angeles Kings 82 39 35 8 37 201 205 −4 86
6 Arizona Coyotes 82 30 42 10 24 197 260 −63 70
7 Vancouver Canucks 82 30 43 9 26 182 243 −61 69
Source: National Hockey League[12]
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division
Western Conference Wild Card
Pos Div Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 PA x – Calgary Flames 82 45 33 4 41 226 221 +5 94
2 CE x – Nashville Predators 82 41 29 12 39 240 224 +16 94
3 CE Winnipeg Jets 82 40 35 7 37 249 256 −7 87
4 PA Los Angeles Kings 82 39 35 8 37 201 205 −4 86
5 CE Dallas Stars 82 34 37 11 33 223 262 −39 79
6 PA Arizona Coyotes 82 30 42 10 24 197 260 −63 70
7 PA Vancouver Canucks 82 30 43 9 26 182 243 −61 69
8 CE Colorado Avalanche 82 22 56 4 21 166 278 −112 48
Source: National Hockey League[13]
x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

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Pre-season

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Regular season

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2016–17 game log[15]

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

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2017 Stanley Cup playoffs

Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

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Skaters

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Final stats

Goaltenders

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Final stats

Regular season[18]
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Brian Elliott 49 45 2844:25 26 18 3 121 2.55 1,338 .910 2 0 0 4
Chad Johnson 36 36 2013:12 18 15 1 87 2.59 969 .910 3 0 0 0
Jon Gillies 1 1 60:00 1 0 0 1 1.00 28 .964 0 0 0 0
David Rittich 1 0 20:00 0 0 0 1 3.00 10 .900 0 0 0 0
Playoffs[17]
Player GP GS TOI W L GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Brian Elliott 4 4 185:20 0 3 12 3.89 100 .880 0 0 0 0
Chad Johnson 1 0 51:50 0 1 1 1.15 21 .952 0 0 0 0

Denotes player spent time with another organization before joining Flames. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.
Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.

Awards and honours

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Awards

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Player Award Awarded Ref.
Johnny Gaudreau NHL All-Star game selection January 10, 2017 [19]
Johnny Gaudreau NHL 3rd Star of the Week (Feb. 27 – Mar. 5) February 27, 2017 [20]
Brian Elliott NHL 3rd Star of the Week (Mar. 20 – Mar. 26) March 20, 2017 [7]

Milestones

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Player Milestone Reached Ref
Matthew Tkachuk 1st NHL game October 12, 2016 [21]
Brett Kulak 1st NHL point (assist) October 18, 2016 [22]
Matthew Tkachuk 1st NHL goal October 18, 2016 [22]
Garnet Hathaway 1st NHL goal November 20, 2016 [23]
Sean Monahan 100th NHL goal February 23, 2017 [24]
Johnny Gaudreau 200th NHL point March 27, 2017 [25]
Jon Gillies 1st NHL start
1st NHL win
April 6, 2017 [26]

Records

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Transactions

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Trades

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February 20, 2017 To Calgary Flames
Michael Stone
To Arizona Coyotes
3rd-round pick in 2017
conditional 5th-round pick in 2018
[27]
June 17, 2017 To Calgary Flames
Mike Smith
To Arizona Coyotes
Chad Johnson
Brandon Hickey
conditional 2nd-round pick in 2018 or
     3rd-round pick in 2018
[28]

Free agents acquired

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Free agents lost

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Claimed via waivers

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Lost via waivers

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Player signings

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Draft picks

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Below are the Calgary Flames' selections at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 24–25, 2016, at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 6 Matthew Tkachuk LW   United States London Knights (Ontario Hockey League)
2 54[a] Tyler Parsons G   United States London Knights (OHL)
2 56[b] Dillon Dube C   Canada Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
3 66 Adam Fox D   United States U.S. NTDP (USHL)
4 96 Linus Lindstrom C   Sweden Skelleftea AIK (SHL)
5 126 Mitchell Mattson C   United States Grand Rapids Thunderhawks (US-MN HS)
6 156 Eetu Tuulola RW   Finland HPK (Liiga)
6 166[c] Matthew Phillips C   Canada Victoria Royals (WHL)
7 186 Stepan Falkovsky D   Belarus Ottawa 67's (OHL)

References

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  1. ^ National Hockey League (2013). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. Diamond Sports Data, Inc. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-894801-26-3.
  2. ^ Offin, Sarah (October 10, 2016). "'I just want to play hockey': Calgary Flames re-sign Johnny Gaudreau for six-year contract extension". Global Calgary. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  3. ^ Johnson, George (March 5, 2017). "Getting it done: Flames making believers out of everyone". Calgary Flames. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  4. ^ "Elliott blanks Jets as Flames win ninth straight". Winnipeg: Sportsnet.ca. The Canadian Press. March 11, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  5. ^ "Calgary Flames tie franchise record with 10th straight win". Calgary: Sportsnet.ca. The Canadian Press. March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  6. ^ Haynes, Darren (March 15, 2017). "Calgary Flames' attempt at franchise record crushed by loss to Boston Bruins". Calgary: Global Calgary. The Canadian Press. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Brad Marchand leads 3 Stars of the Week". NHL.com. March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  8. ^ Gilbertson, Wes (March 20, 2017). "Flames legend Mike Vernon on Brian Elliott's bunch: 'A team to reckon with'". Calgary Herald. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  9. ^ Gilbertson, Wes (March 20, 2017). "Flames' Tkachuk suspended for two games for elbow to Doughty's head". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  10. ^ "Monahan's OT winner lifts Flames past Blues". St. Louis: TSN.ca. The Canadian Press. March 25, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  11. ^ "Flames clinch playoff spot with win over Sharks". Calgary: TSN.ca. The Canadian Press. March 31, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  12. ^ "2016-2017 NHL Hockey Standings". NHL.com.
  13. ^ "2016-2017 NHL Hockey Standings". NHL.com.
  14. ^ "Flames announce 2016-17 pre-season schedule". Calgary Flames. June 14, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  15. ^ "Calgary Flames Schedule – Sep 1, 2016 MT – NHL.com". NHL.com. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  16. ^ "2016–2017 – Regular Season – Calgary Flames – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.com.
  17. ^ a b "Calgary Flames Stats – 2016–2017 – Calgary Flames". NHL.com/Flames.
  18. ^ "2016–2017 – Regular Season – Calgary Flames – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  19. ^ Torie, Peterson (January 10, 2017). "Gaudreau named 2017 NHL All-Star". Calgary Flames. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  20. ^ "Filip Forsberg leads 3 Stars of the Week". NHL.com. February 27, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  21. ^ Vickers, Aaron (October 12, 2016). "Flames fall to Oilers in season opener". Calgary Flames. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  22. ^ a b Johnson, Jason (October 18, 2016). "Monahan's overtime tally gives Flames win over Sabres". Calgary Flames. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  23. ^ Vickers, Aaron (November 20, 2016). "Hathaway scores first NHL goal in win over Red Wings". Calgary Flames. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  24. ^ "Monahan scores 100th goal in Flames' win". TSN.ca. The Canadian Press. February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  25. ^ Haynes, Darren (March 27, 2017). "Monahan nabs 4 points as Calgary Flames beat the Colorado Avalanche". Calgary: Global Calgary. The Canadian Press. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  26. ^ Vickers, Aaron (April 6, 2017). "Gillies stands tall". Calgary Flames. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  27. ^ "Michael Stone Traded to Flames by Coyotes". nhl.com. February 20, 2017.
  28. ^ Vickers, Aaron (June 17, 2017). "Mike Smith traded to Flames by Coyotes". nhl.com.
  29. ^ "Flames acquire Elliott from Blues for pick". June 24, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  30. ^ "Flames ship Hudler to Panthers for two picks". February 27, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  31. ^ a b "Flames deal D Russell to Stars". February 29, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  32. ^ "Flames acquire Backstrom, sixth round pick from Minnesota for Jones". February 29, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016.