Flame for Thought
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Calgary Flames: Ranking the top 5 coaches in team history

By Nathan Bannerman

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 24: Head coach Bob Hartley of the Calgary Flames poses in the press room after winning the Jack Adams Award at the 2015 NHL Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on June 24, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 24: Head coach Bob Hartley of the Calgary Flames poses in the press room after winning the Jack Adams Award at the 2015 NHL Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on June 24, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Calgary Flames, Brent Sutter
GLENDALE, AZ – MARCH 01: Head coach Brent Sutter of the Calgary Flames directs his team during the NHL game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on March 1, 2012 , in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The Calgary Flames have a rich history in the NHL. They also have some pretty legendary coaches. Flame for Thought ranks the top five.

Over their 50-year history, the Calgary Flames have had 21 coaches between Atlanta and Calgary.

Throughout this span of time the team has seen names like Al MacNeal, Mike Keenan, Doug Risebrough, Brian and Brent Sutter, and Bernie Geoffrion all take a stand behind the bench.

Many of them had great NHL careers as both players and coaches like Risebrough who won four Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadians as a player, then proceeded to win the cup with Calgary, before being the first general manger in Minnesota Wild history.

Both Brian and Brent Sutter had their success as players, and Brent ranks sixth in wins as a Flames head coach despite never sending his teams to the postseason.

Despite having a few high profile names as coaches, the Flames have only lifted Lord Stanley once. It’s certainly not from a lack of talent however.

The Flames were blessed in the 1980s with names like Lanny McDonald, Mike Vernon, Brett Hull, Al MacInnis, and Tim Hunter to name a few. And even in the 1990s-2000s Jarome Iginla, Mikka Kiprusoff, Robyn Regher, Val Bure and Gary Roberts dawned the flaming ‘C’.

Of course we all know what happened in 2004, but we’ll relive that pain in a little while.

Also a Flames Fun Fact: no coach as been around more than 5 years. Darryl Sutter is poised to be the longest tenured coach in team history next season.

The top three Flames coaches are pretty much set in stone. It’s truly just a matter of personal opinion as to where you’d rank them.

We’ve come up with the top five as (in no particular order here): Darryl Sutter, Terry Crips, Bob Johnson, Bob Hartley, and Fred Creighton.

We’ll begin with the most successful coach in Atlanta Flames history, Fred Creighton.

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