The 4 Captains In Atlanta Flames History

The Atlanta Flames joined the National Hockey League, along with the New York Islanders, for the 1972-73 season. The Flames lasted eight years in Atlanta before moving to Calgary for 1980-81. The team was fairly successful in that they reached the Stanley Cup playoffs in six of the eight years. However, they never won a series and only won two games in the post season, one against the Los Angeles Kings in 1976-77 and one against the New York Rangers in 1979-80.

Over their eight years in the NHL before moving to Alberta, the Flames had four team captains. Two finished their careers in Atlanta, one was a second overall pick by the Flames in 1973 and one played just two games shy of 1,000 over his NHL career.

Keith McCreary

Atlanta’s first team captain wore the ‘C’ from 1972-73 to 1974-75, the final three years of his NHL career. McCreary was picked up 18^th overall by the Flames in the 1972 Expansion Draft. Five years earlier, he was involved in another NHL Expansion Draft, picked up by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1967, 52^nd overall.

It was expansion that made the NHL career of Keith McCreary. Previous to 1967-68, he played just one playoff game with the Montreal Canadiens in 1961-62 and nine regular season games with the Habs in 1964-65. He went on to play 532 regular season games in the NHL, scoring 131 and assisting on 112 for 243 points. McCreary played an additional 16 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, four with Atlanta, adding four points.

Pat Quinn

Pat Quinn was team captain in Atlanta for the 1975-76 and 1976-77 season, also his final two in the NHL. Quinn was with the Flames right from the start, taken 34^th overall in the 1972 Expansion Draft. Pat also was part of another expansion draft, taken eighth overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 1970.

Quinn, more noted for his work behind the bench and in the front office, played 606 regular season games in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver and Atlanta. The defenseman scored 18 goals and totalled 131 points. Pat played in just 11 playoff games, adding one assist. The year after retiring as a player, Pat immediately jumped behind the bench as assistant coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Tom Lysiak

At the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, Lysiak was taken second overall by the Flames behind Denis Potvin who went to the Islanders. He was a promising offensive threat that had led the WHL in scoring the previous two seasons.

Tom played with the Flames from 1973-74 to 1978-79 and was captain in his final two years with the club until an eight player trade sent him to the Chicago Blackhawks on March 13, 1979. Lysiak continued on with Chicago until retiring after the 1985-86 season.

Over 919 regular season National Hockey League games, Tom scored 292 and assisted 551 for 843 points. In 76 Stanley Cup playoff games, mostly with Chicago, he added another 63 points. As a Flame, Lysiak played for Canada at the 1978 IIHF World Championships held in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Canada finished third behind the Soviets and Czechs.

Jean Pronovost

Jean Pronovost played two years with Atlanta and was captain in his final season with the club, 1979-80. Like the other three, he would not play for the Flames in Calgary. Jean was with the Washington Capitals when the team moved to Canada.

His NHL career started in 1968-69 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and ended after the 1981-82 season. Pronovost was unfortunate to play for just the Penguins, Flames and Capitals in an era when those teams just weren’t very good. He appeared in 998 NHL regular season games, scoring 391 goals and assisting on 383 for 774 points. Jean played in just 35 playoff games, adding 20 points.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Darryl Sittler

Darryl Sittler is one of the greatest legends in the history of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Sittler is a Hockey Hall of Fame member that has certainly left his mark on the game. His record of ten points in a single game that was set in 1976 against the Boston Bruins still stands today. Test and expand your hockey knowledge with the following four hockey trivia questions and answers.

Q. When Darryl Sittler was traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Detroit Red Wings for the start of the 1984-85 season, what player, who would play over 1,000 career NHL games, went in the other direction?

A. Sittler was traded to Detroit for an unproven youngster named Murray Craven. Philadelphia got the best of the deal with Sittler playing just 61 games with Detroit before retiring. Craven played 1,071 regular season NHL games with the Red Wings, Flyers, Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks.

Joe Paterson also went to the Flyers in the deal. Joe played just six games for Philadelphia in 1984-85 and five more with the club in 1985-86 before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings. Paterson, who played his junior hockey for the same OHL team as Sittler, appeared in 291 NHL regular season games between 1980-81 and 1988-89 with the Red Wings, Flyers, Kings and New York Rangers.

Q. In 1977-78, Darryl Sittler finished third in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 117 points. Who finished first in the NHL that season?

A. Guy Lafleur of the Montreal Canadiens won the Art Ross Trophy with 132 points. Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders took second spot with 123 points. The three were the only ones to surpass the 100 point plateau that season.

It was the second and last time Darryl would reach the 100 point plateau. He totalled exactly 100 in 1975-76 over 79 games with the Maple Leafs. The 100 points placed him ninth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.

Q. With what OHA team did Darryl Sittler record 99 points for in 1968-69?

A. Darryl was a member of the London Knights for three years from 1967-68 to 1969-70. 99 points was his highest single season total in the junior league and was accomplished over 53 games on 34 goals and 65 assists. He finished third in the OHA that season behind only Rejean Houle of the Montreal Junior Canadiens and Marcel Dionne of the St. Catherines Black Hawks.

In his third and final year with London, Sittler scored 42 and assisted on 48 for 90 points over 54 regular season games. He was the team’s leader by far with 24 more points than Dan Maloney. He tied Bobby Lalonde of the Montreal Junior Canadiens for sixth in goal scoring. Darryl was also tied for seventh in assists and held the sixth spot for total points.

Q. In what year was Darryl Sittler inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame?

A. Sittler entered the Hall of Fame in 1989. The only other two players to be inducted that season were Herbie Lewis, a member of the Detroit Cougars / Falcons / Red Wings in the late 1920’s and 1930’s and Vladislav Tretiak, the great Russian goaltender.

Portland Pirates Of The AHL By The Numbers

The Portland Pirates have been a franchise in the American Hockey League since the 1993-94 season and are currently affiliated with the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL. The Pirates have roots in the Erie Blades, an AHL team that began play in 1975-76. In between Erie and Portland, the franchise made a stop in Maryland and were known as the Baltimore Skipjacks from 1982-83 to 1992-93. In this article, when referring to team records and championships, it is just for the Portland Pirates from 1993-94 forward.

1. The Pirates have been crowned Calder Cup champions on just one occasion. It happened to be their first year in Portland, 1993-94. The team finished third overall during the regular season and took out the Albany River Rats and Adirondack Red Wings in the first two rounds. Portland received a bye through the semi-finals before meeting up with the Moncton Hawks in the finals. The Pirates came away with the championship in six games.

17. The most career shutouts by a goaltender in a Portland Pirates jersey is 17 by Maxime Ouellet. Ouellet played for the Pirates from 2001-02 to 2004-05 but the 17 shutouts all occurred in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons with seven the first year and 10 the next.

2003-04 was a really unique year for a goalie to record ten shutouts. Maxime played 52 of Portland’s games. The Pirates won just 15 games, meaning 67% of the games they won were when they did not allow a single goal.

Ouellet was a first round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, 22^nd overall. On March 19, 2002, he was traded to Washington from Philadelphia for Hockey Hall of Fame member Adam Oates. Maxime played in the National Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2005-06 with the Flyers, Washington Capitals and Vancouver Canucks.

37. Olaf Kolzig wore the number 37 for the Pirates between 1993-94 and 1995-96. Each of those three years were split between Portland and the Washington Capitals. In the two previous seasons, Olaf played for the Baltimore Skipjacks.

In 1993-94, Kolzig was honoured with the Harry Holmes Trophy for the AHL’s best goaltending duo. He was also awarded the Jack Butterfield Trophy as the AHL’s Calder Cup playoff MVP. Olaf went on to win the Vezina Trophy in 1999-00. He played for the Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning between 1989-90 and 2008-09. His time in Tampa was limited to just eight games in his final NHL season. Olaf Kolzig is an honoured member of the ECHL Hall of Fame.

41. The most goals scored in a single season for the Pirates is 41 by Michel Picard over just 61 games in 1993-94. Picard played 166 regular season games in the NHL between 1990-91 and 2000-01 with the Hartford Whalers, San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers. In 1990-91, he led the AHL in goal scoring with 56 as a member of the Springfield Indians.

48. In 1998-99, the Portland Pirates lost 48 games, the most in any single season for the franchise. Portland finished last in the Eastern Conference with 55 points, 16 points behind the next team, the Saint John Flames. Overall, the Pirates were 17^th in the 19 team league.

53. In 2005-06, the Pirates set a team record for most wins in a season with 53. Their 114 points placed them first in the Eastern Conference and second overall in the AHL behind the Grand Rapids Griffins. Portland then fell in the Eastern Conference finals to the Hershey Bears. The series went the full seven games with three decided in overtime, including game seven.

355. Mark Major set the club’s record for most penalty minutes in a single season in 1997-98 with 355 over 79 games. He then sat 52 minutes over ten playoff games that year. Over 364 career AHL regular season games, Major sat 1,238 PIM playing for the Providence Bruins, Adirondack Red Wings, Portland and the Hershey Bears. As a junior in the Ontario Hockey League, he sat 691 PIM over 183 games with the North Bay Centennials and Kingston Frontenacs. In the IHL, it was 927 minutes over 320 games with the Muskegon Lumberjacks, Detroit Vipers and Houston Aeros. Mark played two games in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings in 1996-97.