| abstract | - The 2002–03 Calgary Flames season was the 23rd National Hockey League season in Calgary. A relatively successful start to the season quickly gave way to disaster as the Flames lost 11 of 12 games in a November stretch dropping the Flames out of contention, ultimately failing to qualify for the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. The season began as the last had ended: with forward Marc Savard and head coach Greg Gilbert in bitter, public feud. After arguing in the media for nearly a year, the Flames finally granted the disgruntled players request, trading Savard to the Atlanta Thrashers. Gilbert himself would not last much longer with the Flames, as he would be fired by the club barely two weeks after Savard was dealt. The Flames would quickly find a replacement for Gilbert, announcing they had hired Darryl Sutter shortly before the new year. Sutter immediately began shaping the Flames to his own style, and the Flames finished 19–16–8–1 under their new bench boss. Following the season, the Flames announced that they would not renew General Manager Craig Button's contract. Sutter took over as GM, carrying the dual roles until the end of the 2005–06 season. Flames mascot, Harvey the Hound, gained widespread publicity in January 2003 following an incident with Edmonton Oilers head coach, Craig MacTavish. With the Flames leading 4–0, Harvey was taunting the Oilers behind their bench. The frustrated coach reached up and ripped Harvey's signature red tongue out of his mouth, tossing it into the crowd. The incident would seem to spark the Oilers, who scored three goals shortly after. The Flames would hold on to win 4–3, however. The incident made headlines throughout North America, and led to many jokes, including having many other NHL team mascots arrive at the 2003 All-Star Game with their tongues hanging out. __TOC__
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