The Calgary Flames are a result of what can happen when a city does not support their hockey team. In an era where hockey has become a business rather than sport and loyalty is based on how long you can remain profitable, one city's problems became another city's success.

The Atlanta Flames entered the NHL in the 1972-73 season with all the hope that a new franchise could have. The team was owned by a local group of businessmen, The Omni Sports Group, led by Tom Cousins. At the outset all was well, but during that same season the upstart league, World Hockey Association began to operate and quickly threw salaries out of whack and put a financial strain on many teams as they scrambled to meet skyrocketing salaries being offered by the new league.

For eight years the Atlanta Flames were unable to get beyond the first round of the playoffs. According to Cliff Fletcher, Calgary's early general manager, "The Atlanta Flames always found a way to lose."

The process of transferring ownership to a new group came about through a weird set of circumstances. There were two groups interested in acquiring the Atlanta Flames. The first was a group of Calgary businessmen, Doc and B.J. Seaman, and Harley Hotchkiss. This group was interested in the team for two reasons. The first was that they loved the game, and the second was they cared about the community. With Calgary in the hunt to host the 1988 Olympics, it would make things more financially attractive if there was a long term tenant in the arena that would have to be build for the Olympics.

The second entity looking to purchase the club was Vancouver businessman, Nelson Skalbania. According to the first group, Nelson's involvement drove the price of the Flames to a level that otherwise would not have been paid, had the original group been left on their own. The Seaman Group was well along the way to completing the deal with the Atlanta Flames when Skalbania jumped into the bidding process. Behind the scenes he had negotiated a T.V. rights deal with Molsons for $6 Millionfor 10 years. Skalbania in turn used the $6 Million as a down payment on the club, which, according to the Seaman's group took them out of the running, or so they thought.

Skalbania was based in Vancouver which proved to make it somewhat difficult for him to negotiate with the parties concerned, so he hired Norm Green of Calgary to help him out. In May of 1980, Green was able to bring both parties together and work out a deal. The final deal was that the Calgary group would own 50% and Skalbania would own the other 50%. By August of 1981 the Calgary group had bought out Skalbania in two separate transactions.

The Calgary group now including Edmonton Eskimo former running back Norm Kwong who originally had a 1% share. Now with the new deal going through and costing the Calgary group bwtween $20-$30 Million to tie up loose ends, Kwong's share had increased to 10% while the 2 Seamans, Hotchkiss and new players Ralph Scurfield owned about 90% of the club.

So on October 9, 1980, hockey officially arrived in Calgary, with the Flames and Quebec Nordiques playing to a 5-5 tie. The Flames finished their inaugural season with a 39-27-14 record, good enough for a third place finish in the Patrick Division. Although Lanny McDonald joined the Flames in their second season and went on to hold the club's scoring record with 66 goals and eventually was co-captain of the 1988-89 Stanley Cup Champions, he could not help the Flames in their second season as they went out in the first round of the playoffs to the Vancouver Canucks.

This then was Calgary's wake up call and they began to rebuild for the future. This process was to begin with the coaching staff with then coach Al MacNeil being replaced by Bob "Badger" Johnson. With Johnson's collegiate background, the Flames began the task of recruiting from the college ranks and were able to sign future stars such as Joel Otto and Joe Nieuwendyk. Not only was Calgary rebuilding for battle throughout the league, but there was also a battle heating up between Edmonton and Calgary which has lasted up until now, and is still one of the most fiercest rivalry's in the NHL. It has become to be known as the Battle of Alberta. For the better part of the 80's Edmonton dominated the battle and so Calgary had to develop a team that could skate, hit and shoot as good as or better than the Oilers. In order to do this, Calgary acquired the services of players like Al MacInnis, Hakan Loob and goalie Mike Vernon.

In 1983 the Flames moved into what was then known as the Calgary Saddledome. It was so named to reflect not only the western flavour of the city, but its unique saddle like shape made the name an easy choice. That year the Flames battled the Oilers to 7 games in the Smythe Division finals but were finally beaten by the Oilers who went on to win the Stanley Cup.

The 1985-86 saw the Calgary Flames finally figure out the key to beating Edmonton, and did so with a little help from then Oiler Steve Smith as he accidentally put the puck in his own net. The Calgary fans went wild as less than 2 hours after the game there were over 25,000 waiting at the airport to greet their heros. In 1987-88 the Flames won the President's Trophy with a 48-23-9 record and would do so again the following year when they won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. This great achievement could not have been accomplished without stars like Doug Gilmour who was brought in on a trade with St. Louis and Theoren Fleury the franchise's future superstar was merely a 4th line player. Lanny MacDonald scored the final goal of his career at 4:24 of the second period of game six. It was Doug Gilmour who scored the game winner and iced the cake with an empty netter and game the Flames the Stanley Cup Championships. It was only a year later that coach Terry Crisp was fired in a team mutiny.

The following year Doug Risebrough replaced Crisp and Cliff Fletcher left for Toronto. In 1992 Fletcher gave Risebrough, his pupil, a lesson he would not soon forget. Fletcher managed to get Jamie Macoun, Kent Manderville, Ric Nattress, Rick Wamsley and Doug Gilmour in exchange for Gary Leeman, Alexander Godynyuk, Jeff Resses, Michel Petit and Craig Berube. Two years later, only Craig Berube remained an active NHL player and Fletcher still had the services of all his trades. In 1990 Calgary signed Russian Sergei Priakin to a contract, and in doing so, became the first NHL team to do so.

By the mid 90's many of the superstars were departing for other teams. Gone were Mike Vernon, Al MacInnis, Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Suter and Gary Robers. Pierre Page was now behind the bench with the coaching duties and Doug Risebrough was fired. The Flames have not made it past the semi finals since winning the Cup back in 1989, and their future stars like Jarome Iginla and Cale Hulse will have to be the leaders of the future. The future though will also rest with the City of Calgary itself. As with many other small market teams Calgary is faced with the same monetary challenges high salaries and low revenue. The Flames will have to succeed both on and off the ice if they are going to be winners in the future.