The Calgary Flames annual charity golf tournament will be missing one thing when players step to the fore Thursday – the Calgary Flames.

Late last week, players informed team brass they’d be pulling out of the fundraiser due to a last-minute players’ association meeting in New York.

According to The Calgary Sun, organizers are now scrambling trying to find 72 replacements.

At this point, the back-up plan could include Olympians, NHL alumni, coaches and other local celebrities.

Sponsors who paid upwards of $2,500 per player are being provided the option of a refund.

The tournament has been a fixture in the city since 1981, helping to raise $340,000 last year alone.

Calgary Sun Sports Columnist and Jack FM Morning Show co-host, Eric Francis, says the move has caught many by surprise.

“The Flames front office was very excited up until late last week when the players told them they were pulling out, so some of them could go to this meeting,” he says. “Up until that point the players had pledged to be there in record numbers.”

Francis says it’s the players who will lose this public relations battle.

“When I broke this story on Twitter (Monday) the players took an absolute beating; I bet I had 600, 700 people chiming in talking about how horrific a move it was for players to abandon a charity golf tournament,” he says. “It just does not look good.”

He adds not everyone will be going to New York, which makes the move even more puzzling.

“I couldn’t get a hold of Matt Stajan yesterday, who’s the player rep, to find out the rationale for cancelling the entire team at once,” says Francis.  “It will be interesting to see what he has to say.”

The current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires Saturday at midnight.