A look back at the 1989 Cup champs: 36 years ago, today

May 25, 1989, is a date cemented into Calgary sports history. It was 36 years ago today that the Calgary Flames won their first, and as of now, only Stanley Cup in franchise history. It’s become a “where were you when?” type of moment for Flames fans of a certain age.

The younger generation of Flames fans has their own memories, like the run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2004, watching guys like Jarome Iginla, Mikka Kiprusoff, and later even Johnny Gaudreau put their stamp on Flames history.

In case you need a reminder, let’s go back to 1989 to remember how good the Flames’ only championship team really was.

The 1988–89 Flames had some insane top-end talent. The roster featured six future Hall of Famers: Al MacInnis, Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour, Joe Mullen, Lanny McDonald, and Mike Vernon.

The Flames’ top talent was unbelievable, but their depth made them stand out. They had Hakan Loob, who was the first Swedish-born player ever to score 50 goals in the NHL. On the blue line, they had Gary Suter, who scored 91 points in the 1987–88 season. Also, a 20-year-old Theo Fleury.

“Our top two lines could’ve been our first line, and our bottom two lines could’ve been the second line on most other teams in the league,” said Flames Forward Colin Patterson.

Pure domination

The Flames finished with a record of 54–17–9, and they didn’t lose more than two games in a row at any point throughout the season, according to StatMuse. The Flames dominated the Clarence Campbell Conference, finishing with 117 points. For reference on how dominant they were, they played the Chicago Blackhawks in the Conference Final, who finished with 66 points. The Flames finished second in the NHL in goals for and goals against. The only team ahead of them in those categories was the Montreal Canadiens.

The only teams to win the season series versus the Flames were the Buffalo Sabres and the Montreal Canadiens, who both went 2–1–0 against Calgary. Every other team in the NHL had a losing record against the Flames, according to Hockey Reference.

“We were so deep, we had the type of team that could beat you in any way. Whether it be finesse, dump and chase, grinding, or with physicality. We were a very versatile team,” said Patterson.

A big part of any team’s success is special teams. The Flames had 25 percent effectiveness on the power play, which was second in the NHL, behind only the Philadelphia Flyers. Their penalty kill was tied for best in the league with the Edmonton Oilers at 82.8 percent.

The Flames finished the season as the Presidents’ Trophy winner for having the most points in the regular season. They narrowly beat the Canadiens by two points.

“When you have the type of year we did, you realize you have a legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup,” said Flames Assistant General Manager Al Coates.

As the number one seed in the Smythe Division, the Flames’ reward was a first round matchup with the Vancouver Canucks. This series had a 43-point difference between the two teams in the regular season standings. However, when you’re the top dog, that will put a target on your back.

A close call in Round 1

The Canucks gave the Flames all they could handle in that series, taking them to the brink of elimination in Game seven at the Saddledome. “We dodged a bullet in Game 7,” said Flames Head Coach Terry Crisp.

He’s not wrong. Game 7 came down to overtime, and if it weren’t for Mike Vernon making some massive saves throughout overtime, who knows? Vernon had a .905 save percentage in the playoffs and made some crazy saves. None bigger than the save he made on Stan Smyl on a breakaway in overtime.

You could write a whole separate article on Vernon’s performance throughout the playoffs. Some fans argue that he was equally deserving of the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. Al Macinnis won the Conn Smythe; he had 31 points in 22 games. Leading the league despite being a defenceman.

Had Smyl’s shot gone in, the ‘89 Flames would’ve become a “what if” team similar to the 2004 Flames. Nonetheless, Vernon made the save, and Joel Otto scored the series winner in overtime.

That shows how much trust the coaching staff had in the bottom-six forwards. You’d think it’d be Mullen or Gilmour to score a goal like that, but no. Jim Piplenski and Otto, two third liners, were the heroes in Game 7.

“It wasn’t the C of Red back then, but you could feel the weight come off the shoulders of the fans when Otto scored,” said Flames Radio Broadcaster Peter Maher.

Didn’t let it happen again

In the second round, the Flames took on Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings after the Kings defeated the Oilers in their first-round series. “I think there was a sense of relief after we found out we didn’t have to play Edmonton,” said Maher

In the 1980s, the Oilers played the Flames in the Stanley Cup playoffs four times, with the Flames only winning one of those series en route to the Stanley Cup final in 1986. The Kings defeated the Oilers in seven games to set up the second-round matchup.

The Flames swept the Kings and did the best they could to contain Gretzky. Holding him to just two goals in the series. “Most teams would double-team him, but we only sent one guy after Gretzky to take away his passing option,” said Crisp.

“After we swept Gretzky, you had a feeling this was the year,” said Maher.

In the Clarence Campbell Conference Final, the Flames faced the Chicago Blackhawks. In this series, there was a point differential of 51. This shows that the Flames were a cut above in the regular season.

The Flames defeated the Blackhawks in five games to advance to the Stanley Cup final, their second in four years. It was a rematch of the 1986 finals against the Canadiens, the two best teams in the NHL in the regular season.

Cup Final versus a familiar foe

“It was different in ‘89. We won the conference finals in five; we’d lost one game since round one. We weren’t as exhausted and injured as we were in ‘86,” said Coates.

Author’s Note: Just like every championship team, the Flames had players playing through injuries. The Flames lost defenceman Gary Suter in Game 7 of the first round to a broken jaw. He missed the remainder of the playoffs.

After the first three games of the finals, the Flames trailed the series two games to one. The Flames won Game 4 on the road and Game 5 at the dome to take a 3–2 series lead. Setting up Game 6, back at the Montreal Forum on May 25, 1989.

The Flames won Game 6, 4–2, with two goals from future Hall of Famer Doug Gilmour, one from Patterson, and a goal from captain Lanny McDonald, which is still featured in highlights to this day. The 1989 Flames are the only road team to clinch a Stanley Cup victory in the Montreal Forum.

Since the 1989 Calgary Flames, six other teams have won the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same season.

“We won the Cup in ‘89 and probably could’ve won another one, but it didn’t work out that way,” said Crisp.

For those of you who have a better memory of the 2004 team than the 1989 team, I asked Peter Maher who would win in a best-of-seven between the ‘89 Flames and the ‘04 Flames. Maher responded, “‘89 in four.”

The 1988–89 Flames: Presidents’ Trophy champions and Stanley Cup champions. The most memorable season in franchise history.