The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the Calgary Tigers (1921–27) and Calgary Cowboys (1975–77). The Flames are one of two NHL franchises in Alberta, the other being the Edmonton Oilers. The cities' proximity has led to a famous rivalry known as the Battle of Alberta. Games between the teams are often heated events.

The team was founded in 1972 in Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Flames until relocating to Calgary in 1980. The Flames played their first three seasons in Calgary at the Stampede Corral before moving into their current home arena, the Scotiabank Saddledome (originally known as the Olympic Saddledome), in 1983. In 1985–86, the Flames became the first Calgary team since the 1923–24 Tigers to compete for the Stanley Cup. In 1988–89, the Flames won their first and only championship. The Flames' unexpected run to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals gave rise to the Red Mile, and in 2011 the team hosted and won the second Heritage Classic outdoor game.

Calgary  /ˈkælɡᵊri/ is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately 80 km (50 mi) east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. The city is located in the grassland and parkland natural regions of Alberta.

As of 2011, the City of Calgary had a population of 1,096,833 and a metropolitan population of 1,214,839, making it the largest city in Alberta, and the third-largest municipality and fifth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.

Located 294 km (183 mi) south of Edmonton, Statistics Canada defines the narrowly populated area between these cities as the "Calgary–Edmonton Corridor."

Economic activity in Calgary is mostly centred on the petroleum industry and agriculture. In 1988, Calgary became the first Canadian city to host the Olympic Winter Games.

Before the Calgary area was settled by Europeans, it was inhabited by pre-Clovis people whose presence has been traced back at least 11,000 years. In 1787, cartographer David Thompson spent the winter with a band of Peigan encamped along the Bow River. He was the first recorded European to visit the area, and John Glenn was the first documented European settler in the Calgary area, in 1873.

Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla (pronounced /dʒəˈroʊm ɨˈɡɪnlə/; born July 1, 1977) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). A six-time NHL All-Star, he is the Flames' all-time leader in goals, points, and games played, and is second in assists to Al MacInnis. Named the Flames captain at the start of the 2003–04 season, Iginla was the first black captain in NHL history. He has represented Canada internationally on numerous occasions, helping Team Canada to its first Olympic gold medal in 50 years at the 2002 Winter Olympics and another gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

As a junior, Iginla was a member of two Memorial Cup-winning teams with the Kamloops Blazers, and was named the Western Hockey League's Player of the Year in 1996. He was selected 11th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, but was later traded to Calgary and has played his entire professional career with the Flames. He led the NHL in goals and points in 2001–02, and won the Lester B. Pearson Award as its most valuable player as voted by the players. In 2003–04, Iginla led the league in goals for the second time and captained the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals, leading the league in playoff scoring. Iginla scored 50 goals in a season for a second time in 2007–08, has scored 500 goals and 1,000 points in his career and is one of seven players in NHL history to score 30 goals in 11 consecutive seasons. Known for his polite and generous nature, Iginla participates in numerous community events and donates $2,000 to charity for each goal he scores.

Miikka Sakari Kiprusoff (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈmiːkːɑ ˈsɑkɑri ˈkiprusofː]; born October 26, 1976) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fifth round, 116th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He has also played for TPS of the Finnish SM-liiga as well as AIK and Timrå IK of the Swedish Elitserien. He has represented Finland several times on the international stage, earning silver medals at the World Ice Hockey Championships in 1999 and 2001, as well as leading the Finns to a surprise second place finish at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He also helped the Finnish national hockey team win the bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Kiprusoff began his professional career with TPS in 1994, and was named the best goaltender and best player of the playoffs in 1999 as he led them to the SM-liiga championship. He moved to North America in 1999, and after two all-star seasons in the American Hockey League, made his NHL debut with the Sharks where he served primarily as a backup. A trade to Calgary in 2003–04 brought Kiprusoff into a starting role and he set a modern NHL record for lowest goals against average at 1.69 as he helped the Flames reach the 2004 Stanley Cup Final. He won the Vezina Trophy as the best goaltender in the NHL in 2006 along with the William M. Jennings Trophy for giving up the fewest goals in the league. He played in his first NHL All-Star Game in 2007 and is the Flames franchise record holder in shutouts.