1972–73 Atlanta Flames season

1972–73 Atlanta Flames
Division	7th West
1972–73 record	25–38–15
Goals for	191
Goals against	239
Team information
General manager	Cliff Fletcher
Coach	Bernie Geoffrion
Captain	Keith McCreary
Team leaders
Goals	Bob Leiter (26)
Assists	Bob Leiter (34)
Points	Bob Leiter (60)
Penalty minutes	Pat Quinn (113)
Wins	Phil Myre (16)
Goals against average	Phil Myre (3.03)

The 1972–73 Atlanta Flames season was the inaugural season for the Flames' franchise. The Flames finished 7th in the West Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Off-season

NHL Amateur Draft

See also: 1972 NHL Amateur Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	2.	Jacques Richard	Canada	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
2	18.	Dwight Bialowas	Canada	Regina Pats (WCJHL)
3	34.	Jean Lemieux	Canada	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
4	50.	Don Martineau	Canada	New Westminster Royals (WCJHL)
5	78.	John Martin	Canada	Shawinigan Bruins (QMJHL)
6	82.	Frank Blum	Canada
7	98.	Scott Smith	Canada	Regina Pats (WCJHL)
8	114.	Dave Murphy	Canada	Hamilton Red Wings (OHA)
9	130.	Pierre Roy	Canada	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)

NHL Expansion Draft

Pick	Player	Position	Drafted From
1.	Phil Myre	G	Montreal Canadiens
3.	Dan Bouchard	G	Boston Bruins
6.	Kerry Ketter	D	Montreal Canadiens
8.	Norm Gratton	LW	New York Rangers
10.	Ron Harris	D	Detroit Red Wings
12.	Larry Romanchych	RW	Chicago Black Hawks
14.	Bill MacMillan	LW	Toronto Maple Leafs
16.	Randy Manery	D	Detroit Red Wings
18.	Keith McCreary	RW	Pittsburgh Penguins
20.	Ernie Hicke	C	California Golden Seals
22.	Lew Morrison	RW	Philadelphia Flyers
24.	Lucien Grenier	LW	Los Angeles Kings
26.	Bill Plager	D	St. Louis Blues
28.	Morris Stefaniw	C	New York Rangers
30.	John Stewart	LW	Pittsburgh Penguins
32.	Bob Leiter	C	Pittsburgh Penguins
34.	Pat Quinn	D	Vancouver Canucks
36.	Larry Hale	D	Philadelphia Flyers
38.	Bill Heindl	LW	Minnesota North Stars
40.	Frank Hughes	LW	California Golden Seals
42.	Rod Zaine	C	Buffalo Sabres

Regular Season

When it was first announced that Atlanta would have an NHL franchise many hockey observers thought that a team based in the southern United States was a ludicrous and foolish move, especially since the talent pool had been diluted by repeated expansion and the upstart WHA. Nevertheless, the team quickly began front office operations, naming young Blues assistant general manager Cliff Fletcher as general manager. Soon after, Fletcher had found the team its first coach: former Canadiens star forward Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion.

The team was a pleasant surprise in its first season on the ice, its success built on new star goaltenders Dan Bouchard and Phil Myre, solid defensemen such as Randy Manery and Pat Quinn, and forwards Rey Comeau, (captain) Keith McCreary, Larry Romanchych and Bob Leiter. Despite its inexperience as a team, the Flames were quite successful in the beginning of their rookie season, posting a 20–19–8 record by January 19, 1973, off the success of their young goaltending tandem. Unfortunately, they lost 19 of their last 31 games, finishing out of the playoffs. Part of the problem as that in defiance of all geographic reality, the Flames were placed in the West Division—saddling them with some of the longest road trips in the league—and ultimately, the team's excellent defense and goaltending were sabotaged by its lack of goalscoring, finishing second worst in the NHL in that category. However, their 65 points were 35 better than the Islanders, who toiled at the bottom of the East Division.

Final Standings

West Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Chicago Black Hawks	78	42	27	9	284	225	93
Philadelphia Flyers	78	37	30	11	296	256	85
Minnesota North Stars	78	37	30	11	254	230	85
St. Louis Blues	78	32	34	12	233	251	76
Pittsburgh Penguins	78	32	37	9	257	265	73
Los Angeles Kings	78	31	36	11	232	245	73
Atlanta Flames	78	25	38	15	191	239	65
California Golden Seals	78	16	46	16	213	323	48

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

Regular Season Results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 7, 1972	3–2	@ New York Islanders (1972–73)	1–0–0
2	L	October 8, 1972	3–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	1–1–0
3	L	October 11, 1972	1–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	1–2–0
4	L	October 12, 1972	0–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	1–3–0
5	T	October 14, 1972	1–1	Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	1–3–1
6	L	October 18, 1972	0–6	Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	1–4–1
7	W	October 21, 1972	3–2	@ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	2–4–1
8	L	October 22, 1972	2–7	@ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	2–5–1
9	W	October 25, 1972	4–3	@ California Golden Seals (1972–73)	3–5–1
10	L	October 26, 1972	1–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	3–6–1
11	W	October 28, 1972	2–1	@ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	4–6–1
12	W	November 1, 1972	4–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	5–6–1
13	L	November 2, 1972	1–6	Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	5–7–1
14	T	November 5, 1972	2–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	5–7–2
15	T	November 8, 1972	3–3	Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	5–7–3
16	W	November 10, 1972	5–1	Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	6–7–3
17	W	November 12, 1972	3–1	Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	7–7–3
18	L	November 15, 1972	1–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	7–8–3
19	W	November 16, 1972	4–0	New York Islanders (1972–73)	8–8–3
20	L	November 18, 1972	1–6	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	8–9–3
21	W	November 19, 1972	3–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	9–9–3
22	L	November 21, 1972	1–3	New York Rangers (1972–73)	9–10–3
23	L	November 24, 1972	0–4	Boston Bruins (1972–73)	9–11–3
24	W	November 26, 1972	6–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	10–11–3
25	L	November 29, 1972	0–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	10–12–3
26	T	November 30, 1972	5–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	10–12–4
27	T	December 2, 1972	4–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	10–12–5
28	L	December 3, 1972	2–3	@ New York Rangers (1972–73)	10–13–5
29	W	December 7, 1972	5–2	Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	11–13–5
30	L	December 9, 1972	1–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	11–14–5
31	L	December 10, 1972	4–5	St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	11–15–5
32	W	December 13, 1972	2–0	@ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	12–15–5
33	L	December 16, 1972	3–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	12–16–5
34	W	December 17, 1972	4–0	New York Islanders (1972–73)	13–16–5
35	W	December 20, 1972	5–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	14–16–5
36	W	December 21, 1972	5–2	@ New York Rangers (1972–73)	15–16–5
37	L	December 23, 1972	1–3	@ Boston Bruins (1972–73)	15–17–5
38	L	December 27, 1972	1–3	Boston Bruins (1972–73)	15–18–5
39	T	December 30, 1972	1–1	@ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	15–18–6
40	W	January 2, 1973	6–1	@ New York Islanders (1972–73)	16–18–6
41	L	January 3, 1973	1–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	16–19–6
42	T	January 6, 1973	2–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	16–19–7
43	W	January 7, 1973	5–2	Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	17–19–7
44	W	January 10, 1973	5–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	18–19–7
45	W	January 12, 1973	1–0	Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	19–19–7
46	W	January 14, 1973	4–1	Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	20–19–7
47	T	January 17, 1973	3–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	20–19–8
48	L	January 19, 1973	1–2	St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	20–20–8
49	L	January 21, 1973	2–3	Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	20–21–8
50	L	January 24, 1973	2–5	California Golden Seals (1972–73)	20–22–8
51	T	January 26, 1973	3–3	Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	20–22–9
52	W	January 28, 1973	8–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	21–22–9
53	W	February 1, 1973	3–1	Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	22–22–9
54	L	February 3, 1973	0–1	@ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	22–23–9
55	L	February 4, 1973	0–6	@ New York Rangers (1972–73)	22–24–9
56	L	February 7, 1973	3–5	Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	22–25–9
57	L	February 9, 1973	3–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	22–26–9
58	W	February 11, 1973	3–1	California Golden Seals (1972–73)	23–26–9
59	T	February 14, 1973	3–3	@ California Golden Seals (1972–73)	23–26–10
60	L	February 16, 1973	0–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	23–27–10
61	T	February 17, 1973	3–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	23–27–11
62	T	February 21, 1973	2–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	23–27–12
63	L	February 25, 1973	2–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	23–28–12
64	T	March 1, 1973	4–4	Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	23–28–13
65	L	March 3, 1973	0–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	23–29–13
66	W	March 4, 1973	3–2	California Golden Seals (1972–73)	24–29–13
67	L	March 7, 1973	2–5	Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	24–30–13
68	L	March 9, 1973	2–3	Boston Bruins (1972–73)	24–31–13
69	L	March 10, 1973	1–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	24–32–13
70	T	March 14, 1973	1–1	St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	24–32–14
71	W	March 17, 1973	3–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	25–32–14
72	L	March 18, 1973	1–7	@ Boston Bruins (1972–73)	25–33–14
73	L	March 22, 1973	1–4	New York Rangers (1972–73)	25–34–14
74	L	March 24, 1973	0–7	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	25–35–14
75	L	March 25, 1973	2–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	25–36–14
76	L	March 28, 1973	3–6	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	25–37–14
77	L	March 29, 1973	2–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	25–38–14
78	T	April 1, 1973	4–4	New York Islanders (1972–73)	25–38–15

Playoffs

• The Flames did not qualify for the post season.

Player Stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

			Regular Season						Playoffs
Player	#		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Bob Leiter	16		78	26	34	60	19		-	-	-	-	-
Larry Romanchych	21		70	18	30	48	39		-	-	-	-	-
Rey Comeau	18		77	21	21	42	19		-	-	-	-	-
Keith McCreary	9		77	20	21	41	21		-	-	-	-	-
Ernie Hicke‡	12		58	14	23	37	37		-	-	-	-	-
Curt Bennett†	5		52	18	17	35	9		-	-	-	-	-
Randy Manery	7		78	5	30	35	44		-	-	-	-	-
John Stewart	17		68	17	17	34	30		-	-	-	-	-
Jacques Richard	15		74	13	18	31	32		-	-	-	-	-
Leon Rochefort†	11		54	9	18	27	10		-	-	-	-	-
Bill MacMillan	20		78	10	15	25	52		-	-	-	-	-
Pat Quinn	3		78	2	18	20	113		-	-	-	-	-
Lew Morrison	8		77	6	9	15	19		-	-	-	-	-
Noel Price	4		54	1	13	14	38		-	-	-	-	-
Bill Plager	2		76	2	11	13	92		-	-	-	-	-
Noel Picard†	22		41	0	10	10	43		-	-	-	-	-
Norm Gratton‡	10		29	3	6	9	12		-	-	-	-	-
Bob Paradise	6		71	1	7	8	103		-	-	-	-	-
Ron Harris ‡	5		24	2	4	6	8		-	-	-	-	-
Morris Stefaniw	19		13	1	1	2	2		-	-	-	-	-
Kerry Ketter	24		41	0	2	2	58		-	-	-	-	-
Arnie Brown†	19		15	1	0	1	17		-	-	-	-	-
Butch Deadmarsh†	10		19	1	0	1	8		-	-	-	-	-
Dan Bouchard	30		34	0	1	1	12		-	-	-	-	-
Phil Myre	1		46	0	1	1	5		-	-	-	-	-
Bill Hogaboam‡	11		2	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Atlanta. Stats reflect time with the Flames only. ^‡Traded mid-season

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

			Regular Season									Playoffs
Player	#		GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA		GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Phil Myre	1		46	2736	16	23	5	138	2	3.03		-	-	-	-	-	-	-.--
Dan Bouchard	30		34	1944	9	15	10	100	2	3.09		-	-	-	-	-	-	-.--

Awards and Records

• The Flames did not win any awards this season.

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1972–73 season.

Trades

June, 1972	To Atlanta Flames Ted Tucker	To Montreal Canadiens cash
June, 1972	To Atlanta Flames Bill Hogaboam	To New York Rangers Bill Heindl
October, 1972	To Atlanta Flames Brian McKenzie	To Pittsburgh Penguins cash
November 28, 1972	To Atlanta Flames Leon Rochefort	To Detroit Red Wings Bill Hogaboam
February 13, 1973	To Atlanta Flames Arnie Brown	To New York Islanders Ernie Hicke Future Considerations (Bill MacMillan; May 29, 1973)
February 14, 1973	To Atlanta Flames Butch Deadmarsh	To Buffalo Sabres Norm Gratton

Free Agents

Player Former team D Ed Kea St. Petersburg Suns (EHL)

Player New team

Claimed Off Waivers

Player	Former team
D Noel Picard	St. Louis Blues

Roster

Atlanta Flames
Goaltenders		Defensemen		Wingers		Centers GM: Cliff Fletcher Coach: Bernie Geoffrion

Gallery

Bobby Orr scores against the Flames, March 9, 1973.

Video

Eight minutes of the second period of the Atlanta Flames first ever game on October 8, 1972 versus the Buffalo Sabres.

1972 73 Atlanta Flames vs Buffalo Sabres hi-lites of 2nd period

References

• Flames on Hockey Database
• Flames Game Tracker on Database Hockey