The unforgettable images of a brawl at puck drop and Canucks coach John Tortorella trying to storm the Flames dressing room remain a huge part of the history between division rivals
The unforgettable images of a brawl at puck drop and Canucks coach John Tortorella trying to storm the Flames dressing room remain a huge part of the history between division rivals
The more Chris Tanev remembered, the bigger his smile grew.
Being the 10-year anniversary of the famed opening-face off brawl between the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks, the memories are worth recalling.
“I remember doing an interview between periods and seeing Torts sprint past me going down the other tunnel trying to fight ... well everyone, I think,” Tanev said.
“It was exciting. It was fun. No one got hurt, thankfully.”
In an opening that harkened back to the days of Slap Shot, then-Flames coach Bob Hartley opted for a starting forward line of Brian McGrattan, Blair Jones and Kevin Westgarth. Canucks bench boss John Tortorella countered with Tom Sestito, Dale Weise and Kellan Lain, who was making his NHL debut.
As soon as the puck dropped, the fights were on and eventually all five skaters from both teams dropped the gloves, with the current Sportsnet Flames broadcast crew of Rick Ball and Kelly Hrudey on the call for Hockey Night in Canada.
But that was only the beginning.
At the first intermission, a still-incensed Tortorella headed straight for the Flames dressing room in an attempt to get a piece of Hartley, with McGrattan actually preventing it from happening.
Tanev, who was with the Canucks at the time, says don’t rule out Tortorella going down swinging even if he faced the whole Flames lineup.
“He’s feisty and he’s strong — does those military workouts, a lot of pushups, a lot of chin-ups. I’m sure he can hold his own,” Tanev said.
From the Flames side, Mark Giordano recalls the night with plenty of amusement.
“We didn’t know what was going to happen until right before that puck drop. Then, you could tell what was going to happen, and on the bench we were saying, ‘Here we go,’ ” he recalled.
“It was a big moment in our season, to be honest. It brought us all closer together.”
Giordano and fellow current Maple Leaf T.J. Brodie were part of that game for the Flames, as was current Calgary captain Mikael Backlund.
Lost in the shuffle was the final score, a 3-2 Vancouver shootout victory.
“It was crazy, Torts storming down there,” Giordano said with a grin. “It was chaos for a little bit. Definitely a moment you’re not going to forget.”