This season represented the start of a new era for the Flames, as Cliff Fletcher, the only general manager the franchise had ever known, left the team to take up the same position with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Fletcher quickly took advantage of his former team, orchestrating one of the largest trades in NHL history, a ten-player mega deal that saw disgruntled forward Doug Gilmour go to the Leafs, along with Ric Nattress, Jamie Macoun, Rick Wamsley and Kent Manderville for former 50–goal scorer Gary Leeman, Michel Petit, Jeff Reese, Alexander Godynyuk and Craig Berube.
[2] The deal is often regarded as one of the most lopsided in NHL history,[2][3] and helped transform both clubs, as the formerly inept Leafs quickly rose to contention, making two trips to the conference finals in 1993 and 1994.
[4] Prior to the season, the Flames lost defenceman Rick Lessard to the San Jose Sharks in the 1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts.
Individually, three Flames represented the Campbell Conference at the 1992 All-Star Game: Forwards Gary Roberts and Theoren Fleury, and defenceman Al MacInnis.
[14] Following an 11–0 blowout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on March 1, GM Doug Risebrough resigned as head coach and elevated assistant Guy Charron to the role on an interim basis.