general manager of the Calgary Flames, who offered him a contract to play for the Moncton Golden Flames, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. Otto agreed, scored 63 points in 56 games for the Golden Flames in the 1984–85 AHL season and appeared in 17 games with Calgary. He made his NHL debut on November 23, 1984, against the St. Louis Blues. On March 1, 1985, he recorded his first point, an assist, against the Montreal Canadiens. He scored his first goal two nights later against goaltender Darren Eliot of the Los Angeles Kings. Otto established himself as a top defensive forward for the Flames in 1985–86. Coach Bob Johnson discovered his niche when he had Otto shut down Marcel Dionne, the top player of the Los Angeles Kings. Afterward, Otto was consistently used against the opposition's top line where he used his size and faceoff ability to his advantage. He was most famous for shadowing Mark Messier of the Edmonton Oilers when the Battle of Alberta reached its peak in the late 1980s. Otto later remarked that Messier was the reason he was in the NHL, as the Flames needed a big center who could match Messier physically, especially in the faceoff circle. Johnson also used Otto in front of the opposition net to screen the goaltender. He struggled offensively early in the 1985–86 season, scoring only two goals in the first third of the year, but as he grew in confidence and saw increasing ice time, his offense improved. Otto finished the season with 25 goals and 59 points. He added 5 goals and 15 points in the playoffs as the Flames reached the Stanley Cup final. The Flames lost the series in five games to the Montreal Canadiens. Continuing to chip in on offense in the following seasons, Otto scored at least 50 points in each of his first four full seasons. He reached the 20-goal mark for the second time in 1988–89, a season he ended on an 11-game point scoring streak. The Flames entered the 1989 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the top team in the NHL, and a prohibitive favorite against their first round opponent, the Vancouver Canucks. Nonetheless, the Canucks forced the Flames into overtime of the seventh and deciding game of the series. Late in the first overtime period, Otto rushed toward the net as Jim Peplinski carried the puck up the right