The night the Gretzky-less Oilers crushed the Flames

The retired police officer, on the phone from his home near Ann Arbor, Mich., expresses his sincere appreciation.

“Hey, thanks for thinking of me.” It’s a no-brainer. Because for Calgary Flames’ followers of a certain vintage, it is impossible not to think of Pat Hughes, especially these days.

With the Edmonton Oilers’ home soon to be closed, it makes sense to reflect on the one player who personified the Flames’ misery up the highway.

For young fans, this might elicit a shrug. They’ve probably never heard of Hughes. But ask your friendly neighbourhood 50-yearold about that name, that night. It’s vivid.

Go back to Feb. 3, 1984. The Flames had not won at Northlands Coliseum in eight straight visits. But optimism reigns. Why? Wayne Gretzky is hurt. The Oilers superstar is destined for 205 points, including 87 goals, but for one instalment of the Battle of Alberta, he is drydocked.

Meaning the Flames, led by Lanny McDonald and Kent Nilsson, should be able to slap aside their bitter rival. Doesn’t happen. Not even close. Hughes, a frill-free forward, steps up to scald the travellers. Badly. Mind-bogglingly. Dishearteningly.

Skating on a line with Kevin McClelland and Dave Hunter, he scores five times as the hosts guffaw their way to another triumph. This one 10-5. Calgary — the city, not the team — groans.

Now, 32 years later, people can laugh. Well, at least Hughes does.

“You’d think, ‘Well, the greatest player is not in the game and we still get hammered,’” he said, chuckling. “That would be a little bit demoralizing, I’m sure. Sometimes you’re playing teams and their top guy is out of the lineup and you think, ‘OK, this is good. We’ve got a better shot.’ I guess for them it went the other way.”

Reggie Lemelin’s outing is as woeful as Hughes is wonderful. The Calgary goalie, before being yanked at the 14-minute mark, allows four goals and takes three minor penalties.

It goes no better with Don Edwards in net. After 23 minutes, it is 8-0. Hughes puts 10 pucks on target and also hits two posts.

“Totally out of the blue,” says Hughes. “It was a lucky night — let’s just call it that. Quite an evening. We really didn’t make a big deal out of Wayne not being there. It was just one of those things — for me, anyway.”

Not surprisingly, he is remembered for that uncharacteristic outburst. Only 44 players in NHL history have done it.

“Every once in a while, some fan might say, ‘You scored five goals?’ – and they ask the question incredulously,” says Hughes, who after the 1986-87 season retired as a player and who only last week retired after 20 years as a detective. “I was Wayne Gretzky for a day.”

That season the Oilers claimed their first Stanley Cup. The Flames, meanwhile, would watch their winless streak at Northlands reach 18 games, four years’ worth of dejection in one arena.

“Any time we could beat the Flames, we liked it,” says Hughes, who was born in Calgary.

Saturday, the Flames make their final appearance at Northlands/ Rexall Place and an era ends.

“When I started, it was a new building,” says Hughes, 61, who plans to be in Edmonton next week for the official farewell. “It hadn’t even been finished off with (luxury) boxes and all the amenities that they have in it now. More than anything, it was home to some pretty darn good teams.”