[Itse]

While the feelings of family obviously matter, I do think jersey retirements are mostly about the fans and their feelings.

Some people have a tendency to scoff at the supposed insignificance of fan emotion because obviously it's not the same as actual family.

However, fan emotions are still real emotions. Johnny was so much more than just another hockey player, he was a symbol of both an era and a type of a hockey player. To many kids he was basically the team mascot and a superstar player rolled into one.


To me retiring his number feels like a no-brainer, and much better than a memorial. That more than anything says to me "this player was special to us when he was here".

No matter how you make them, memorials are always primarily about how someone died, the loss and tragedy.

A number retirement is about achievement, what someone accomplished in their life and what they mean to the local hockey community.

We don't mourn Johnny because he died, we mourn because of what he meant to people and what he did for us fans when he was alive. I at least want to see a Gaudreau jersey up there with the others, while I watch the current team play. Embodiment of an era of Flames hockey that was important to me and many others, rather than a memorial for a death that came later. Yeah you can't truly separate the two here, those two things will always be linked, but I would still prefer to see more "normal" honours given to Johnny. Possibly in addition to a memorial.