The Conroy comments were but one incident where Fleury has felt the need to stroke his on ego by criticizing or minimizing the accomplishments of current players.
Here's another one:
“But I see how he plays. And I see times when he does have to be physical, it’s difficult for him. I see Johnny Gaudreau as Cliff Ronning. Cliff played that same style of game, and Cliff almost had 1,000 points in the NHL,” Fleury says. Ronning left the NHL with 869 points in 1,137 games.
“So if Johnny goes on to have a career like that, the Flames would be more than happy. There’s a lot more opportunity in the game for smaller players than there has been at any point. I’ve always said: A big player has to prove he can’t play, and a little player has to prove he can play.”
Fleury says he would be thrilled to see the game open up even further. Goaltenders notwithstanding, who wouldn’t want to watch 10-9 horseraces? To see Gaudreau rack up 212 points? When Fleury is critical of the modern NHL or its players, it’s because he wants the sport he loves to flourish.
“When I talk like this, people think, Oh, Theo’s bitter. No. I played the game at the highest level you can play at. I think I know a little about what I’m talking about,” he explains. “I’ll be honest with you: I don’t think I get enough credit for how great a player I really was. There’s this cloud hanging over my head because of the behaviour at the end of my career. But when I put my jersey on every night, no matter what was going on off the ice, I gave absolutely everything I had to give. Sometime I feel that gets lost because of the other stuff.”
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...small-players/
I give credit that its been a while since he's said something incredibly dumb or arrogant. But this is the stuff that answers why his number isn't up there. Compare his behavior to Iginla's and it is crystal clear.
And no he shouldn't have made the team in his try out. He was too slow. Way too slow.