It has been a long journey in the Scotiabank Saddledome for the Calgary Flames and the NHL. One of the league’s most iconic buildings will play out one more season before the Flames head to their new rink, ScotiaPlace, for the beginning of the 2027–28 NHL season.
While I am sure that the players, fans and everyone across the league are excited to step into a new building, it will be sad to see the Flames’ time at the Saddledome come to an end.
With this being the last season that the Flames will play at the Dome, let’s take a walk down memory lane. Here’s a look back at some of the most iconic goals scored in the Saddledome.
Lanny McDonald scores the first Flames goal in Saddledome history
On October 15, 1983, it was the arena’s inaugural NHL game against the Edmonton Oilers. Lanny McDonald scored a power play goal at 12:18 of the first period. The goal was assisted by Eddy Beers and Paul Reinhart. The Oilers went on to win the game 4–3. It would be just the first of many goals that McDonald would score on Saddledome ice. McDonald also went on to score the franchise-leading 66th goal in a season on Saddledome ice. It is pretty fitting that in his last NHL season, he would also bring the one Stanley Cup in franchise history back to Calgary.
Although McDonald scored the first Flames goal in the building, the first goal ever scored in the Saddledome was by the Oilers’ Jari Kurri at 1:51 of the first period.
Martin Gelinas: The Eliminator
The 2004 playoffs created a legacy for a man in Calgary, and that was none other than Martin Gelinas, who would become “The Eliminator in those playoffs. He scored two massive goals on home ice during that run that would send the Flames to the next round. We cannot forget about him eliminating the Canucks in game seven overtime in the first round of those playoffs. However, that was in Vancouver.
The first goal came in the second round against the Detroit Red Wings. It was Game 6 of the second round. The Flames were up 3–2 in the series against the heavily favoured Red Wings. The game was in overtime; Jarome Iginla would throw a shot on net, and a rebound would come free to Gelinas, who whacked it home to send the Red Wings packing and to send the Flames to the Western Conference Finals.
The second one came against the San Jose Sharks in the very next round. Also, in Game 6, this goal would come in the second period when Craig Conroy carried the puck into the Sharks’ zone. He threaded a perfect pass across the slot to Gelinas. Gelinas beat Evgeni Nabokov five-hole to give the Flames a 2–0 lead. The Flames would go on to win that game 3–1, and Gelinas’ goal would stand as the game-winner, the third series-clinching goal of the run for him. The Flames would go on to the Stanley Cup Final.
We all know what happened in the next round against Tampa Bay, but ‘The Eliminator’ almost did it again. The goal that never happened, “It was in,” still echoes throughout Calgary in that Game 6 that everyone remembers so vividly. Even without that counting, it was a playoff run for the ages. Gelinas became a legend in Calgary, and that will live on forever.
Jarome Iginla’s 500th career goal
On January 7, 2012, the Scotiabank Saddledome became the backdrop for another unforgettable chapter in Calgary Flames history. Jarome Iginla scored the 500th goal of his NHL career in a 3–1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. He became just the 42nd player in league history to reach the milestone. It was certainly not one of the prettiest goals of his career, but they all count the same.
Iginla had led the rush up ice and created a 3-on-2. Iginla tried to throw a pass out front to Curtis Glencross, who was driving the net. The puck would deflect off a Minnesota defender and trickle behind Nick Backstrom and into the net for the milestone tally. It would stand as the game-winner as the Flames would take the game by a score of 3–1.
As the crowd erupted in chants of “Iggy! Iggy!” and rose for a lengthy standing ovation, Calgary celebrated not just a historic goal, but the legacy of the captain who had become the face of the franchise. Iginla’s face and reaction said it all as they grabbed the puck for him in that moment. The greatest player to ever dawn the Calgary Flames’ jersey, a truly special night. It remains one of the most cherished regular season moments ever witnessed at the Saddledome.
Matt Stajan’s series-clinching goal in 2015
It had been a long time since the Flames had made the playoffs, since they clinched a berth in 2015. A team that wasn’t meant to get there, a team that should have been a lottery team, made the dance and made some noise while they were at it.
It was Game six against the Vancouver Canucks. A game that gave the Flames a chance to move on to round two for the first time since 2004. The game didn’t start too hot. The Flames would go down 3–0 in the first period. They found their way back to a tie game in the second period and would trail 4–3 heading into the third. The Flames would tie the game back up halfway through the third off a power play goal from Jiri Hudler, setting the stage for Matt Stajan.
Stajan was a player who was heavily criticized throughout his time in Calgary. He was one of the main pieces that came back to Calgary as part of the Dion Phaneuf trade in 2010. Many thought he was an overpaid anchor for the Flames up to that point.
Stajan and his line were a pivotal part of the series, centring veteran David Jones and a rookie psycho in Michael Ferland. They matched up against the Sedin twins, and they got the better of the legends. Late in the third, off a turnover, Jones would storm up the ice and throw a shot on net. Ferland, being the pest he was, drove right through the crease. He created the rebound that popped out to Stajan in the slot. Without wasting any time, Stajan would roof a shot over the glove hand of Ryan Miller, giving the Flames a 5–4 lead. The Saddledome went unhinged as the Flames led for the first time in the game. The Flames would go on to win 7–4 and would move on to the second round.
Stajan was always a favourite of mine, and I remember being so happy for him in that moment. The Flames went on, only for the Ducks to bury them in the next round. But when I look back on goals in the Saddledome that I got to witness, this goal is right up there with some of the very best.
Johnny Gaudreau’s overtime game seven winner in 2022
A legendary moment for a legendary player.
Flames fans look back on the 2021–22 season like it was the last time we were truly happy as a fanbase. The team had loads of talent and depth, with a good mix of high-end skill and tenacity. They were very well coached, had great structure to their game, and were an extremely likable team.
Johnny Gaudreau had a season for the ages that season. Not only the best of his career, but one of the best in Calgary Flames history. 115 points, 90 even-strength points, a league-high +64, and he finished second in league scoring that year. He should have won the Hart Trophy that season. Regardless, he was the catalyst of one of the best teams in hockey that year. Gaudreau led the Flames to a division title. Going into the playoffs and against the Dallas Stars in round one, all eyes were on him. And Gaudreau delivered.
In Game 7, the tightest battle of the series, which the Flames were dominating, was deadlocked. Gaudreau already had a point in the game when he assisted on Matthew Tkachuk’s goal that tied the game at two. Gaudreau probably already could have had a hat trick; instead, the game was in overtime with the Flames’ season hanging in the balance. It was Gaudreau’s time.
With time dwindling in overtime, the best line in hockey that season, led by Gaudreau, went to work. It was the shift we had seen a million times that season: the cycle, the creativity that often ended in the back of the net. It was happening again. Gaudreau and Tkachuk worked the puck down low before Gaudreau found Elias Lindholm alone in the slot. Lindholm’s shot didn’t get through, but Gaudreau grabbed the rebound. Then, the shot we had seen so many times since his rookie season: the short side from the goal line. He tried it again, and this time it went under the bar and in over Jake Oettinger’s shoulder, and the Saddledome went into a frenzy.
Gaudreau had sent the Flames to round two for the first time since 2015. The Dome was in party mode. He played maybe the best game of his career, and the entire city of Calgary went crazy. Gaudreau had done the thing.
The Flames would go on to lose to the Oilers in the next round. But that goal is going to live on forever as one of the best that arena has ever seen. It hits even harder now knowing that Johnny is no longer with us. It will be a goal that will never be forgotten, even when the Dome is no longer here. I just know the Flames and the city of Calgary will always remember that night.
So many more memories from the Dome will live on
I am sure I have missed so many great moments that have happened in the Saddledome over the years. It is going to be bittersweet when next season ends and the Flames move on to ScotiaPlace.
The Saddledome, for all of its flaws in 2026, has one thing that no one can take away from it: character. We have seen so many great players come and go. While 2027–28 will usher in a new beginning and a new era of the Calgary Flames, it will never be forgotten how critical a role the Saddledome played in all of it.
The iconic view of the arena in the Calgary skyline can never be replicated. As someone who has only been able to visit the Dome three times, I can confidently say that I will miss it. The Flames have one more season to create some memories. 42 home games left. Let’s hope it goes out with a bang.
Photo credits: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports
