2007–08 Calgary Flames
Division	3rd Northwest
Conference	7th Western
2007–08 record	42–30–10
Home record	21–11–9
Road record	21–19–1
Goals for	229
Goals against	227
Team information
General manager	Darryl Sutter
Coach	Mike Keenan
Captain	Jarome Iginla
Alternate captains	Owen Nolan Robyn Regehr Rhett Warrener Stephane Yelle
Arena	Pengrowth Saddledome
Average attendance	19,289 (100%)
Team leaders
Goals	Jarome Iginla (50)
Assists	Jarome Iginla (48)
Points	Jarome Iginla (98)
Penalty minutes	Dion Phaneuf (182)
Plus/minus	Jarome Iginla (+27)
Wins	Miikka Kiprusoff (39)
Goals against average	Miikka Kiprusoff (2.69)
← 2006–07 2008–09 →

The 2007–08 Calgary Flames season was the 28th season for the Calgary Flames and 36th season for the Flames franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL).

In a surprise move, the Flames announced on June 14 that Jim Playfair would be replaced by "Iron" Mike Keenan as the team's head coach. Playfair remained with the Flames organization until 2011. Keenan entered the season sixth all-time in the NHL in wins.

General manager Darryl Sutter spent big bucks on Cory Sarich. He also acquired Adrian Aucoin (and his $4 million annual salary) in a trade.^[1] Owen Nolan,^[2] Anders Eriksson,^[3] and Mark Smith^[4] are all brought in as GM Sutter's free-agent reclamation projects.^[5] Sutter is unable to come to terms with Mark Giordano, and the highly rated prospect heads to the Dynamo Moscow in Russia instead of the NHL.^[6] Sports writer Steve MacFarlane observes that "The team looks like it has no direction — and no confidence in an unpredictable coach".

At the end of the regular season, Miikka Kiprusoff's goals against average of 2.69 was his worst as a Flame up until that point.^[7]

In the playoffs, the team fell to the Sharks in seven games in the first round.

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.^[8]

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.^[9]

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.^[10]

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.^[11][12] 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.^[13]

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.^[14] The cause of death was not immediately known.

Northwest Division

		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – Minnesota Wild	82	44	28	10	223	218	98
2	Colorado Avalanche	82	44	31	7	231	219	95
3	Calgary Flames	82	42	30	10	229	227	94
4	Edmonton Oilers	82	41	35	6	235	251	88
5	Vancouver Canucks	82	39	33	10	213	215	88

Western Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Detroit Red Wings	CE	82	54	21	7	257	184	115
2	y – San Jose Sharks	PA	82	49	23	10	222	193	108
3	y – Minnesota Wild	NW	82	44	28	10	223	218	98
4	Anaheim Ducks	PA	82	47	27	8	205	191	102
5	Dallas Stars	PA	82	45	30	7	242	207	97
6	Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	44	31	7	231	219	95
7	Calgary Flames	NW	82	42	30	10	229	227	94
8	Nashville Predators	CE	82	41	32	9	230	229	91
8.5
9	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	41	35	6	235	251	88
10	Chicago Blackhawks	CE	82	40	34	8	239	235	88
11	Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	39	33	10	213	215	88
12	Phoenix Coyotes	PA	82	38	37	7	214	231	83
13	Columbus Blue Jackets	CE	82	34	36	12	193	218	80
14	St. Louis Blues	CE	82	33	36	13	205	237	79
15	Los Angeles Kings	PA	82	32	43	7	231	266	71

Divisions: PA – Pacific, CE – Central, NW – Northwest
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winner

2007–08 Game log
October: 6–3–3 (Home: 4–2–2; Road: 2–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 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
November: 4–10–0 (Home: 2–5–0; Road: 2–5–0 ) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 13 November 1 Detroit 4 – 1 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 6–4–3 15 14 November 3 Calgary 1 – 4 Minnesota Kiprusoff 18,568 6–5–3 15 15 November 5 Calgary 1 – 4 Colorado Kiprusoff 15,655 6–6–3 15 16 November 8 Vancouver 3 – 2 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 6–7–3 15 17 November 10 Edmonton 4 – 2 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 6–8–3 15 18 November 13 Minnesota 2 – 3 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 7–8–3 17 19 November 17 Calgary 3 – 1 Edmonton Kiprusoff 16,839 8–8–3 19 20 November 18 Calgary 1 – 4 Vancouver Kiprusoff 18,630 8–9–3 19 21 November 20 Colorado 1 – 4 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 9–9–3 21 22 November 22 Chicago 2 – 1 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 9–10–3 21 23 November 24 Calgary 5 – 2 Colorado Kiprusoff 18,007 10–10–3 23 24 November 25 Calgary 0 – 3 St. Louis McElhinney 15,138 10–11–3 23 25 November 27 Calgary 3 – 5 Detroit McElhinney 17,108 10–12–3 23
December: 9–1–4 (Home: 3–0–4; Road: 6–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 27 December 1 Columbus 4 – 3 Calgary OT Kiprusoff 19,289 10–13–4 24 28 December 4 St. Louis 1 – 3 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 11–13–4 26 29 December 6 Pittsburgh 3 – 2 Calgary SO Kiprusoff 19,289 11–13–5 27 30 December 9 Calgary 3 – 2 Chicago Kiprusoff 13,382 12–13–5 29 31 December 11 Calgary 2 – 1 Florida SO Kiprusoff 12,499 13–13–5 31 32 December 13 Calgary 9 – 6 Tampa Bay Kiprusoff 19,026 14–13–5 33 33 December 14 Calgary 4 – 3 Carolina Kiprusoff 15,536 15–13–5 35 34 December 16 Calgary 5 – 3 St. Louis Kiprusoff 16,733 16–13–5 37 35 December 18 Calgary 3 – 1 Columbus Kiprusoff 13,181 17–13–5 39 36 December 21 Dallas 3 – 2 Calgary OT Kiprusoff 19,289 17–13–6 40 37 December 23 New Jersey 1 – 0 Calgary OT Kiprusoff 19,289 17–13–7 41 38 December 27 Calgary 3 – 5 Vancouver Kiprusoff 18,630 17–14–7 41 39 December 29 Anaheim 3 – 5 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 18–14–7 43 40 December 31 Vancouver 1 – 2 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 19–14–7 45
January: 7–3–1 (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 3–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 41 January 2 NY Rangers 3 – 4 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 20–14–7 47 42 January 3 Calgary 3 – 2 San Jose OT Kiprusoff 17,496 21–14–7 49 43 January 5 Calgary 6 – 4 Los Angeles Kiprusoff 18,118 22–14–7 51 44 January 8 Phoenix 3 – 1 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 22–15–7 51 45 January 11 NY Islanders 5 – 4 Calgary SO Kiprusoff 19,289 22–15–8 52 46 January 13 Calgary 1 – 2 Edmonton Kiprusoff 16,839 22–16–8 52 47 January 15 Calgary 0 – 3 Nashville Kiprusoff 11,764 22–17–8 52 48 January 16 Calgary 3 – 2 Minnesota SO Kiprusoff 18,568 23–17–8 54 49 January 18 Los Angeles 1 – 6 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 24–17–8 56 50 January 22 Minnesota 1 – 2 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 25–17–8 58 51 January 30 San Jose 4 – 5 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 26–17–8 60
February: 7–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 4–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 52 February 2 Dallas 2 – 1 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 26–18–8 60 53 February 4 Calgary 0 – 5 Edmonton Joseph 16,839 26–19–8 60 54 February 5 Phoenix 3 – 4 Calgary SO Kiprusoff 19,289 27–19–8 62 55 February 7 Chicago 3 – 1 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 27–20–8 62 56 February 9 Edmonton 1 – 4 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 28–20–8 64 57 February 12 Calgary 4 – 3 San Jose OT Kiprusoff 17,269 29–20–8 66 58 February 15 Calgary 3 – 6 Los Angeles Kiprusoff 18,118 29–21–8 66 59 February 17 Calgary 2 – 4 Anaheim Kiprusoff 17,174 29–22–8 66 60 February 19 Calgary 4 – 1 Phoenix Kiprusoff 15,208 30–22–8 68 61 February 20 Calgary 3 – 2 Dallas Joseph 18,584 31–22–8 70 62 February 22 Detroit 0 – 1 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 32–22–8 72 63 February 24 Calgary 2 – 1 Minnesota Kiprusoff 18,568 33–22–8 74 64 February 26 Colorado 3 – 2 Calgary OT Kiprusoff 19,289 33–22–9 75 65 February 29 Calgary 1 – 3 Anaheim Kiprusoff 17,174 33–23–9 75
March: 7–6–1 (Home: 5–1–1; Road: 2–5–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 66 March 1 Calgary 3 – 1 Phoenix Joseph 17,529 34–23–9 77 67 March 4 Columbus 0 – 1 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,239 35–23–9 79 68 March 7 Nashville 2 – 1 Calgary OT Kiprusoff 19,289 35–23–10 80 69 March 10 St. Louis 3 – 7 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 36–23–10 82 70 March 12 Calgary 2 – 3 Washington Kiprusoff 17,560 36–24–10 82 71 March 13 Calgary 4 – 6 Atlanta Joseph 16,244 36–25–10 82 72 March 16 Calgary 4 – 2 Chicago Kiprusoff 20,177 37–25–10 84 73 March 18 Calgary 0 – 3 Columbus Kiprusoff 14,270 37–26–10 84 74 March 20 Colorado 1 – 2 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 38–26–10 86 75 March 22 Minnesota 4 – 5 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 39–26–10 88 76 March 24 Calgary 0 – 2 Colorado Kiprusoff 18,007 39–27–10 88 77 March 25 Vancouver 2 – 3 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 40–27–10 90 78 March 29 Edmonton 2 – 1 Calgary Kiprusoff 19,289 40–28–10 90 79 March 30 Calgary 2 – 6 Vancouver Kiprusoff 18,630 40–29–10 90
April: 2–1–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 2–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 80 April 1 Calgary 3 – 2 Edmonton Kiprusoff 16,839 41–29–10 92 81 April 3 Calgary 1 – 3 Minnesota Kiprusoff 18,568 41–30–10 92 82 April 5 Calgary 7 – 1 Vancouver Joseph 18,630 42–30–10 94

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.^[15] 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.

2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Western Conference quarter-final vs. San Jose (2) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series 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

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

		Regular season							Playoffs
Player		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-
Jarome Iginla		82	50	48	98	83	27		7	4	5	9	2	-1
Kristian Huselius		81	25	41	66	40	10		7	0	4	4	6	-1
Daymond Langkow		80	30	35	65	19	16		7	3	2	5	0	E
Dion Phaneuf		82	17	43	60	182	12		7	3	4	7	4	-2
Alex Tanguay		78	18	40	58	48	11		7	0	4	4	4	-1
Matthew Lombardi		82	14	22	36	67	-6		7	0	0	0	4	-2
Adrian Aucoin		76	10	25	35	37	13		7	0	3	3	4	3
Craig Conroy		79	12	22	34	71	6		7	0	2	2	8	E
Owen Nolan		77	16	16	32	71	6		7	3	2	5	2	E
Robyn Regehr		82	5	15	20	79	11		7	0	2	2	2	E
Anders Eriksson		61	1	17	18	36	-5		3	0	1	1	2	E
Stephane Yelle		74	3	9	12	20	-4		7	2	0	2	6	2
Dustin Boyd		48	7	5	12	6	-11		—	—	—	—	—	—
David Moss		41	4	7	11	10	-4		5	1	1	2	4	2
Wayne Primeau		43	3	7	10	26	-3		7	1	0	1	4	E
Eric Nystrom		44	3	7	10	48	-5		7	0	0	0	2	-2
Cory Sarich		80	2	5	7	135	2		7	0	1	1	4	1
Marcus Nilson		47	3	2	5	4	2		2	0	0	0	0	E
Mark Smith		54	1	3	4	59	-6		—	—	—	—	—	—
Rhett Warrener		31	1	3	4	21	-2		—	—	—	—	—	—
Eric Godard		74	1	1	2	171	-8		5	0	0	0	2	E
Jim Vandermeer†		21	0	2	2	39	4		7	0	0	0	4	-6
David Hale		58	0	2	2	46	E		6	0	0	0	2	-1
Tim Ramholt		1	0	0	0	0	-1		—	—	—	—	—	—

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

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

		Regular season										Playoffs
Player		GP	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA		GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Miikka Kiprusoff		76	4398	39	26	10	197	2	.906	2.69		7	336	2	4	18	1	.908	3.21
Curtis Joseph		9	400	3	2	0	17	0	.906	2.55		2	79	1	0	1	0	.970	0.76
Curtis McElhinney		5	150	0	2	0	5	0	.902	2.00		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Matt Keetley		1	9	0	0	0	0	0	1.000	0.00		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

• 7: most games to start the season with a player scoring two goals in one game.^[16]
• 6: consecutive wins on a single road trip (tied for record).

Regular Season
Player	Milestone	Reached
Dion Phaneuf	100th NHL point	October 4, 2007
Daymond Langkow	200th NHL goal 500th NHL point	October 18, 2007
Daymond Langkow	300th NHL assist	October 20, 2007
Curtis McElhinney	1st NHL game	October 22, 2007
Owen Nolan	1000th NHL game	October 22, 2007
Eric Nystrom	1st NHL goal 1st NHL point	October 30, 2007
Matt Keetley	1st NHL game	November 5, 2007
Jarome Iginla	804th NHL game (franchise record)	November 29, 2007
Tim Ramholt	1st NHL game	November 29, 2007
Jarome Iginla	700th NHL point	December 1, 2007
Mike Keenan	600th Coaching win	December 16, 2007
Stephane Yelle	800th NHL game	December 18, 2007
Owen Nolan	800th NHL point	February 24, 2008
Jarome Iginla	365th NHL goal (franchise record)	March 10, 2008

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

June 22, 2007	To Calgary Flames Adrian Aucoin 7th-round pick in 2007 – C. J. Severyn	To Chicago Blackhawks Andrei Zyuzin Steve Marr
June 22, 2007	To Calgary Flames 24th overall pick in 2007 – Mikael Backlund 3rd round pick in 2007 – John Negrin	To St. Louis Blues 18th overall pick in 2007 – Ian Cole
February 20, 2008	To Calgary Flames Jim Vandermeer	To Philadelphia Flyers 3rd-round pick in 2009 – Adam Morrison

Players signed Former team Contract terms Cory Sarich Tampa Bay Lightning 5 years, $18 million Owen Nolan Phoenix Coyotes 1 year, $2 million Anders Eriksson Columbus Blue Jackets 2 years, $3 million Grant Stevenson San Jose Sharks 1 year, $475,000 Mark Smith San Jose Sharks 1 year, $488,000 Curtis Joseph Phoenix Coyotes 1 year, $1.5 million

Players lost New team Roman Hamrlik Montreal Canadiens Byron Ritchie Vancouver Canucks Brad Stuart Los Angeles Kings Brad Ference Detroit Red Wings Jamie McLennan Metallurg (RSL) Mark Giordano Moscow Dynamo (RSL)

The Flames made five selections at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio.^[17] 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.^[18] Backlund joined third round selection John Negrin in making their NHL debuts with the Flames in the 2008–09 season. The Flames tragically 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.^[19] The Ontario Hockey League created a new trophy in his honour, the Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy in 2009.^[20]

Rnd	Pick	Player	Nationality	Position	Team (league)	NHL statistics
						GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1	24	Mikael Backlund†	Sweden	C	Västerås IK (SEL)	298	51	77	128	115
3	70	John Negrin	Canada	D	Kootenay Ice (WHL)	3	0	1	1	2
4	116	Keith Aulie†	Canada	D	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)	167	4	10	14	196
5	143	Mickey Renaud	Canada	C	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
7	186	C. J. Severyn	United States	LW	U.S. National Team Development Program (NAHL)

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

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.^[21] The new team, known as the Quad City Flames, will play in the West Division of the Western Conference.

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.^[22]

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.^[23]

• 2007–08 NHL season