In every franchise in the National Hockey League, there’s probably an individual who was key to a lot of important things happening, but a lot of fans don’t know a lot about. The “man behind the curtain,” so to speak.
For the Calgary Flames, the proverbial “man behind the curtain” was Al Coates, #34 on our countdown.
Director of Public Relations, 1980-82; Assistant to the President, 1982-89; Director of Hockey Administration, 1989-91; Assistant General Manager, 1991-95; General Manager, 1995-2000 Originally from Ontario, Coates broke into pro hockey with the Flames in 1980 after their relocation from Atlanta, taking helm of the club’s public relations department.