[Yamer]

Originally Posted by New Era

Vernon grew up. He was a ###### when he first played for the Flames, but he never ran the team down when he left. He grew up to become a good citizen in the other cities he played in, and returned to Calgary to continue this new legacy. Wasn't a mouth piece and wasn't a malcontent.

Fleury, OTOH, was the antithesis of Vernon. Never grew up and continued to slag the Flames every opportunity he got. With Fleury it was never about the team or the city, it was about him, him, and him. Fleury was a great player for a short period of time, but he was a mouth piece and malcontent his entire career. Sadly, Fleury never got past himself and looked at things from the larger perspective. Fleury was a great talent, but he was - still is - a horrible human being.

It actually pains me to say all of this because Mike Vernon is my least favorite Flame of all time, yes, even ahead of Fleury in that regard. I have to give Vernon credit as he did become a better person as he matured, which Fleury did not. Like it or not, there is a big community action component to a number retirement for many teams, and Fleury so miserably fails in this regard that a retirement is probably never going to happen. Not until the team is sold anyways.

Pump the breaks on that level of hyperbole. He has been a champion of healing for addiction and abuse victims, among other causes.