One Stanley Cup in Three Years Not Enough as Flames Fire Crisp

Terry Crisp, who led the Calgary Flames to their first Stanley Cup championship last year, found out Monday that the present often counts more than the past.

Crisp was fired after three seasons as coach and less than a month after the defending champions were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

“It is the feeling of our organization that to maximize the potential of our hockey club . . . it necessitates a change of coach,” General Manager Cliff Fletcher said in announcing the move, which had been speculated upon since the Flames lost to the Kings in six games.

No replacement was named.

“I have a person in mind,” said Fletcher, who has fired only two other coaches in his 18 years as Calgary’s general manager. “I’m not going to speculate or play 20 questions on who may or may not be a candidate.”

Crisp didn’t attend the news conference.

In three years as coach, Crisp guided the Flames to a 144-63-33 record, two Presidents’ trophies for finishing first overall during the regular season and last year’s Stanley Cup championship.

Crisp was twice nominated for coach of the year and has two years remaining on his contract. He played 11 seasons in the NHL with Boston, St. Louis, the New York Islanders and Philadelphia, where he played on Stanley Cup champions in 1974 and ’75.

He was an assistant to Fred Shero for two seasons with the Flyers, then won three Ontario Hockey League championships with Sault Ste. Marie.