Flames Top-10 individual seasons: Number 5 - Miikka Kiprusoff

[StrykerSteve]

http://flames.nhl.com/club/m_news.htm?id=883345

Best use of a 2nd round pick, ever.

[Kswiss]

Greatest goalie the Flames ever had.

[Machiavelli]

I miss Kipper so much

[codynw]

Hiller better.

[zyzz]

I remember reading about this trade in the Sun while having lunch with my dad. It was a tiny little mention. One of my favourite Flames hands down

[Sylvanfan]

His stint in 03-04 was better. Add in playoffs and he nearly took the Flames all the way with some help from Iginla and its 65 games . I still think game 5 and 6 against Detroit that year is the best stretch of goaltending I've ever seen.

[Hatter]

Half the time it looked like Kipper was using cheat codes or something. He was an unbelievable goalie.

[Max Cow Disease]

It's been mentioned before but it's cosmically amusing that we now sit here in dire need of a quality goaltender and a top line right winger.

I brought up many months ago that the stat line on Kipper season over season is insane in terms of the workload. The stretch of 70+game seasons he had there bottles the mind. It bottles it like a pirate's treasure map, and lets it out to sea. What a goalie.

[Thor]

He will always be one of the most beloved flames, because outside of his insane skill, he is such a humble and lovable guy.

[Corral]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

His stint in 03-04 was better. ... I still think game 5 and 6 against Detroit that year is the best stretch of goaltending I've ever seen.

Agreed. I bought a ticket to what i recall was the last regular season home game that April just to watch the guy that carried the Flames on his shoulders to get them back into the playoffs after so many years of futility.

[expatflame]

I miss Kipper too, him and Vernon were my favourite goalies of all time.

[Vulcan]

So in summer of 04 would you have given Kipper $4M? I think you can still vote.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...iprusoff+trade

[Blaster86]

Suddenly this all makes so much more sense now.

[nieuwy-89]

A great goalie and great athlete. He probably had a few more years to cash in but chose to retire while still on top of his game. I heard he burned all his goalie equipment after his last game to prove he would NEVER play goal again. I think he was so competitive he would rather retire than make millions losing. Don't expect to see him in the alumni game.

[btimbit]

I miss that guy

[DeluxeMoustache]

Best goalie I have had the good fortune to see live ever, and appreciated more so, for so many years

Long live the over the shoulder hacky sack save and the scorpion (not the poster, but best wishes to him/her too)

We are pretty sure he didn't like Hartley, both with the notion to prove himself and the end of bench note taking, and I wish he stuck around for a few more years.

Whoever put this list together I hope they didn't ignore the 04 cup run by virtue of not being a full season (like the Vezina voting committee) because that was unreal

[killer_carlson]

I know we are biased here, but is Kipper a Hall of Famer?

Undoubtedly the 2nd best goalie to ever come out of Europe (Hasek at #1).

[CSharp]

I'm just so relieved when Kipper retired as a Flames and didn't go to the Leaves. The Leaves would have totally destroyed any greatness in name for him. Like Hakan Loob, both were true to their words. These are Legends of the Flames!

If Sutter didn't move to the GM position, the Flames could've had their second Stanley Cup championship team with Iggy and Kipper on it in that 8-10 year stretch.

[Regulator75]

Leaves? Leafs.

[Huntingwhale]

The void in net has never been more apparent then it is right now with Kipper gone. I tried to savor every single moment with him in net because I knew all good things must come to and end and it might be a decade before we find another franchise goalie like him.

As for his '06 season, I said it then and I'll say it now. He should have won the Hart. I know the offensive seasons of Jagr and Thorton were pretty impressive. But Kipper took a team that was 28th last in GF and got them home ice in the playoffs. I know the team overall played pretty good that season. But we don't even get a sniff of the playoffs, let alone home ice without him in net.

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

I know we are biased here, but is Kipper a Hall of Famer?

Undoubtedly the 2nd best goalie to ever come out of Europe (Hasek at #1).

-Hart Voting finishes: 3, 4, 20
- Vezina winner and Vezina finalist 3 times including finishes of: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 8
-Jennings trophy
-All star finishes: 1, 4, 4 5, 6, 6
-A dominant playoff run where he would have won the Conn Smyth if Calgary won

I know it's incredibly hard for goalies to get in the hall. But those numbers show an incredibly consistent player. Is it enough to get him in the hall? Probably not. But he was one of the best goaltenders in the league for a good 10+ years.