The Moncton Golden Flames were a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team based in

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, playing home games at the Moncton Coliseum. The team operated in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

between

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

and

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

. The new franchise was purchased by a group of 6 local business men after the previous franchise known as the Moncton Alpines moved to Halifax to become the Nova Scotia Oilers (The Alpines were a minor league affiliate of the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

). The Golden Flames were the minor league affiliate of the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

, and for their final two seasons, had an additional affiliation with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

. The team boasted a number of future NHL stars including Brett Hull,

Joel Otto Joel Stuart Otto (born October 29, 1961) is an American former professional ice hockey center in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers. An undrafted player, Otto signed with the Flames as a free agent in ...

, Mike Vernon, Bill Ranford, Bob Sweeney, Gary Roberts,

Lyndon Byers Lyndon Svi Byers (born February 29, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Byers played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for parts of ten seasons with the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks, earning a reputation as one of the ...

, Dave Reid, Brian Bradley and others. In 1987, team marketing executive Larry Haley was awarded the

Ken McKenzie Award The Ken McKenzie Award is presented annually to an individual who accomplished the most during the season in promoting his or her American Hockey League team, by marketing and public relations. The award is named for Ken McKenzie, the co-founder an ...

for outstanding work.

History

The New Brunswick Hawks of the

(AHL) had been established in Moncton in 1978, and were jointly owned and operated by the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

and

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

as their farm team. In the summer of 1982, with Chicago having already pulled out of New Brunswick in favour of affiliating with the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existen ...

on their own, the Maple Leafs announced that they would not operate the team in Moncton the following year after they couldn't come to terms with the city on a new arena lease, even though the team had the fifth-highest attendance in the league. At the same AHL Board of Governors meeting that the franchise's relocation to become the

St. Catharines Saints The St. Catharines Saints was a minor league ice hockey team in St. Catharines, Ontario. It played in the American Hockey League from 1982 to 1986 as the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs. History The Moncton-based New Brunswick Hawks had bee ...

was approved, the Edmonton Oilers received approval to purchase a new AHL franchise to replace the departed Hawks in Moncton, leading to establishment of the Moncton Alpines as their affiliate that fall. The team played for two seasons until

, coached by

Doug Messier Douglas Herbert Messier (born September 5, 1936) is a Canadian former ice hockey player and coach. He played 487 games in the Western Hockey League, playing with the Seattle Totems, Edmonton Flyers, and Portland Buckaroos. He also played briefly ...

both seasons. Following 1984, the team was bought by the

and renamed the Moncton Golden Flames. The franchise folded in 1987, and replaced by the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

' affiliate, the Moncton Hawks.

Coaches

* 1984–85 –

Pierre Page Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

* 1985–86 – Terry Crisp * 1986–87 – Terry Crisp

Training staff

* 1984–87 - Brian Patafie, Mike Baiani, David Lorette, Jamie Druet, Andrew Trites

Players

During the 1986–87 season, Brett Hull won the

Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award The Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award is given each year to the player in the American Hockey League determined to be the most outstanding rookie. The award is based on voting by the media and the players. It was named after Dudley "Red" Garrett ...

as the AHL's rookie of the year. Sixty-three

Moncton Golden Flames players Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

including Hull, have gone on to play in the NHL. Five players from the Golden Flames also went on to win the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

with the 1988–89 Calgary Flames. They are, Joel Otto, Dave Reierson, Gary Roberts,

Ken Sabourin Ken R. Sabourin (born April 28, 1966) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played 74 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames and Washington Capitals between 1989 and 1992. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1 ...

and goaltender Mike Vernon.

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

AHL stats
{{Defunct AHL Ice hockey clubs established in 1984 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1987 Sport in Moncton Boston Bruins minor league affiliates Calgary Flames minor league affiliates Edmonton Oilers minor league affiliates