Worst moment: squeaking into the playoffs in '96 and getting swept by Chicago. I was at game 4. Having experienced the high of seeing Iggy pot his first goal, what I clearly remember is a brutal, lazy giveaway by German Titov which gifted the Hawks the winner. Chris Chelios had Fleury in his pocket all game. Dead silence in the car on the way home.
Close 2nd: Game 7, 2004. The last 5 minutes or so where I knelt in front of the TV, pounding my fists on the floor trying to get the Flames to score an equalizer.
Honourable mention: Fleury trade – compounded by the fact I ran into him on a connection in Denver airport. He was there to meet his wife and baby and understandably a bit bemused when a dozen fans tried to tell him we wished he was still a Flame. Maybe even worse than that was his first game back in Calgary with the Avs – I was sitting along the glass, 4 seats away from the visitors' bench. Fleury was shouting obscenities at the crowd (in response to a heckler), but he was dissing on the 'unprofessional' ownership group and saying we were all mugs for supporting them. Pretty dark time to be a Flames fan...
My worst moment as a flames fan was without a doubt when I was 11 in 1988 when Wayne Gretzky scored his famous short handed OT goal in game 2. It is my worst moment because I accidentally (really) threw my half full pop can at the tv when it went in.. Mom grabbed her wooden spoon and I frantically tried to explain that it was an accident, she did not believe me (I was too passionate of a fan I guess lol)and gave me a spanking, and worse didn't let me watch the next two games because as she said "that is what watching hockey makes you do.". I always felt if I had been watching we probably would have won those games. Sometimes I think that outside of 89 this team has given me nothing but heartache.
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Our dreadful special teams this year are making a strong case to make my list of worst Flames moments. I'll certainly never forget having the 30th PP and 30th PK. That's about as rock bottom as you can get.
Worst moment: squeaking into the playoffs in '96 and getting swept by Chicago. I was at game 4. Having experienced the high of seeing Iggy pot his first goal, what I clearly remember is a brutal, lazy giveaway by German Titov which gifted the Hawks the winner. Chris Chelios had Fleury in his pocket all game. Dead silence in the car on the way home.
Close 2nd: Game 7, 2004. The last 5 minutes or so where I knelt in front of the TV, pounding my fists on the floor trying to get the Flames to score an equalizer.
Honourable mention: Fleury trade – compounded by the fact I ran into him on a connection in Denver airport. He was there to meet his wife and baby and understandably a bit bemused when a dozen fans tried to tell him we wished he was still a Flame. Maybe even worse than that was his first game back in Calgary with the Avs – I was sitting along the glass, 4 seats away from the visitors' bench. Fleury was shouting obscenities at the crowd (in response to a heckler), but he was dissing on the 'unprofessional' ownership group and saying we were all mugs for supporting them. Pretty dark time to be a Flames fan...
And the guy wonders why this organization refuses to honour him...
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Agree with those who point to the era between 1988 and 1994 for their worst moment. Expectations were high and so the failures were extra depressing. Mine is the moment LA knocked the Flames out of round 1 in 1990. It was still the time of dynasties and Edmonton had just enjoyed 2 in a row (Esks then Oilers) the hope of Calgary having a dynasty of its own was dashed when the Kings knocked us out so early in round one.
Agree with those who point to the era between 1988 and 1994 for their worst moment. Expectations were high and so the failures were extra depressing. .
This is exactly right. Those teams were good enough to win the Cup from 89-94 (except 92, when the Gilmour trade gutted them.) 94 was the most devastating for me because they were up 3-1 in the series and they lost 3 straight OT games. Just no killer instinct.
Still remember Fleury on the radio after that game 7 loss to the Canucks: "It wasn't, you know, our defenceman's fault, you know. And if anyone wants to , you know, argue with me about it, they can meet me in the parking lot and, you know, I'll come out on top." Or something to that effect.
The Fleury trade was a dark moment but he was such a goof sometimes.
Maybe not the worst, but one of my least favourite memories...
I think it was 89-90 after we won the Cup. Mike Kruchelniski scoring in the 4th OT just after we had a goal waived off. We went on to be eliminated from the playoffs in that first round. It was a huge upset. The Flames finished 2nd overall in the league and the Kings made the playoffs being under 0.500. That really started the downward spiral into the dark years.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
Maybe not the worst, but one of my least favourite memories...
I think it was 89-90 after we won the Cup. Mike Kruchelniski scoring in the 4th OT just after we had a goal waived off. We went on to be eliminated from the playoffs in that first round. It was a huge upset. The Flames finished 2nd overall in the league and the Kings made the playoffs being under 0.500. That really started the downward spiral into the dark years.
The goal eliminated the Flames. Game 6. Chipped it over Mike Vernon who was flat on his back.
Yeah, but he quit months after all that happened, no?
Actually, no. The NHL was strange back then. Gilmour was playing the option year of his contract in 1991-92, but he wasn't UFA eligible and with negotiations on an extension already a mess (the Flames were just entering their tightwad phase as they didn't like the direction salaries were beginning to go), the two sides went to arbitration during the season.
The Arbitrator ruled on the contract - a two-year extension - in the second week of December. Gilmour immediately demanded a trade and threatened legal action based on the tampering. When the Flames hadn't moved him after three weeks, he walked out.
'91. Blowing a 3-0 lead in Game 7 against the Oilers.
Scores! Essa Tikanen has won it for the Oilers
It's one thing to lose big games when you're a Cinderella team. Another to lose them when you're the best team in the league. And it was the Oilers. Series against the Oilers were on a different plane of intensity and passion. Team was never the same after that, and didn't win another playoff series for 13 years.
Tikanen scored the 3-1 goal as well IIRC. It was a fluttering shot from just inside the blueline.
2004 SCF 2ND OT. Stupidly decided near the end of 1st OT intermission that I needed a piss. Heard Maher's voice in the bathroom, did everything at light speed, ran back, was stopped by the usher going into section 224 because the play had not finished. It finished with St. Louis scoring the winner. All I saw was the Tampa bench explode, and heard someone scream from above me. Post-Game 6 SCF on the C-train going home. A sea of red jerseys. Dead Silence. You could hear a pin drop. I wanted the ground to swallow me up.
13th man. That was by far the worst sports related day of my life. In fact it was quite a bit worse than a whole bunch of non-sports related terrible events/days of my life.
Bought a ticket at the last minute, figured I'd be crazy to not attend the GC of my most cherished of all sports teams in my home city. And I lived about a 15 min drive from McMahon, just up crowchild. Went down, got a ticket for $100 in section N or M.
What a glorious 55 minutes of football that was. Give or take that amount of time. Right up until Durant threw that pick.
The section I was sitting was THE endzone it happened in. It all happened right in front of me. I swear I was the only person in my section to see the flag instantly. I didn't cheer for a single second. But the whole rest of the people around me went nuts and started jumping up and down, hugging. These two young ladies, about my age, in front of me were hugging and crying.
I just stood there pointing muttering to myself how there was a flag. And I knew it was against the Riders (though I figured it was procedure or offside, not too many men).
I can still hear that ###### randorf (i think) announce the MVP and hand over the trophy in my mind. And the associated image is of the intersection around 24th ave because I had left the stadium well before then. In fact my seat was on an aisle that allowed me to walk right out of the stadium as soon as the second kick split the uprights.
To this day 2007 and 2013 don't fully wipe clean the horror. I was at both the West Final in Calgary and the Grey Cup in Regina in 2013 and 2009 still hurts man, still hurts.
This is me right now by the way:
Spoiler!
looooool I was at that Grey Cup and it's probably my favourite live sports moment!
The kicker was a few seasons, Hrudey insinuated that the goal the Flames had waived off should counted.
Of course the series should never have been that close to begin with. Such a waste of talent though those few years after the Cup.
My recollection was off. It was only the 2nd OT. I seem to recall a quadruple OT in that series, but I could be wrong.
Man, that goal was heartbreaking, and it was such a complete fluke off of a desperation shot by Krushelnyski while lying on the ice. I always wondered how the hell Vernon missed that puck, but watching it again, it looks like #11 totally interfered with him in front right before the shot. That goal would likely be disallowed in today's NHL, and the Kings would be penalized on the play, even if it does look accidental.
