Calgary Flames Tickets

The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team. It is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Calgary Flames are one of two NHL franchises in Alberta. They are a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary. The cities' proximity has led to a famous rivalry, known as the Battle of Alberta.

The team was founded in Atlanta and moved to Calgary. The Calgary Flames played their first three seasons in Calgary at the Stampede Corral before moving into their current home arena. The Calgary Flames became the first Calgary team since the Tigers compete for the Stanley Cup. In December 1971, the NHL hastily granted a team to Long Island, the New York Islanders to keep the WHA's New York Raiders out of the brand new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Cousins named the team the 'The Calgary Flames' after the fire resulting from the March to the Sea in the American Civil War by General William Tecumseh Sherman, in which Atlanta was nearly destroyed. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum in downtown Atlanta. The Calgary Flames were relatively successful early on. Under head coaches Bernie 'Boom Boom' Geoffrion, Fred Creighton and Al MacNeil, the Calgary Flames made the playoffs in six of eight seasons in Atlanta.

In marked contrast, their expansion cousins, the Islanders, won only 31 games during their first two years in the league combined. This relative success didn't carry over to the playoffs, however, as The Calgary Flames won only two post-season games during their time in Atlanta. Despite the on-ice success, the Atlanta ownership was never on sound financial footing. Longtime general manager Cliff Fletcher said years later that Cousins' initial financial projections for an NHL team did not account for the WHA entering the picture.

The Calgary Flames were also a poor draw, and never signed a major television contract. In 1980, Cousins was in considerable financial difficulty and was forced to sell the Calgary Flames to stave off bankruptcy. With few serious offers from local groups, he was very receptive to an offer from a group of Calgary businessmen fronted by Canadian entrepreneur Nelson Skalbania. A last-ditch effort to keep the team in Atlanta fell short, and Cousins sold the team to Skalbania for US$16 million.

In the same year, Skalbania announced that the team would move to Calgary. He chose to retain the Calgary Flames name, feeling it would be a good fit for an oil town like Calgary, while the flaming 'A' logo was replaced by a flaming 'C'. Skalbania sold his interest, and the Calgary Flames have been locally owned since. The Calgary Flames have maintained an active presence in the community since their arrival in Calgary.

Through the team's non-profit charity, the Calgary Flames Foundation, the team has donated over $29 million to causes throughout southern Alberta. Along with the Rotary Club, the Calgary Flames are helping to fund the first children's hospice in Alberta, and one of only six in North America. The Calgary Flames are also close partners with the Alberta Children's Hospital. Among many activities, the Calgary Flames participated in the Wheelchair Hockey Challenge with the Townsend Tigers. In 1998, to celebrate the 'Year of the Cowboy', the Calgary Flames introduced their third jersey design, the 'flaming horse' logo on a black background.

Two years later, the jersey became the Calgary Flames road jersey, while the home jersey was updated to incorporate the same V-style striping on the arms and waist of the jersey. This jersey was once again relegated to third jersey status in 2003 when the NHL adopted the colored jerseys for the home team. In 2007, with the introduction of the Rbk Edge jersey, the Calgary Flames updated their look once again, replacing the horizontal striping with vertical striping down the sides.

To honor the team's heritage, the Calgary Flames added the flags of Alberta and Canada as shoulder patches. Through the Calgary Flames Foundation, the team has donated over $29 million to charity throughout southern Alberta since the franchise arrived.