Kipper a Loyalist/Where would Toronto be with him Today? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

calgarywinning · 01-22-2014, 01:37 AM

I just got to thinking about Kiprusoff's decision to retire.

If he had kept playing it would have been a waste of time, regardless of his ability at this point. Toronto wanted him at some point.

Then I think of how great he would have been in Toronto, capable, willing and able. Even in the number 2 position. He could be playing and making a real difference today. Not cheering for Toronto by any means.

So the only difference I can see is that he was either truly ready to retire, or a Calgary Flames loyalist and wanted to retire with the jersey because he still had the skill set to compete as a top goaltender or backup in the league.

His entire tenure, stats be damned, has has thrilled me with his athletic competitiveness but the point of this post is maybe Kipper was really loyal to the team.

getoverit · 01-22-2014, 01:41 AM

well thinking back, think TO would have made it past Boston and into the Stanley cup finals, would never have heard the end of it if TO went all the way

btimbit · 01-22-2014, 01:45 AM

Always wondered what made him retire. There must have been pressure for him to move to another team and he didn't want too. He probably would have taken the Leafs at east one round further into the playoffs. Even though it could have meant a good draft pick or prospect, I'm glad he stayed a flame 'til the end. He would have been competitive for at least 2-3 more years. Really don't realize what you had until you don't have it anymore.

I was at his last home game and his amazing play + all the love from the crowd and realizing it was the end of an era had me smelling onions. Lost my voice from chanting his name for the final 10 minutes of that one.

Erick Estrada · 01-22-2014, 07:24 AM

I think he's a family man above all else and wasn't comfortable moving his family. He to me seems like a man that really only feels at home in Finland but was comfortable in Calgary where his kids are established in school and wanted to make it his last stop in North America.

BigTuna · 01-22-2014, 07:27 AM

The Leafs just didn't need him. Even before they got Bernier. Bernier/Reimer are a fantastic duo.

$ven27 · 01-22-2014, 07:29 AM

He seemed to very much go to the beat of his own drum, nothing but respect for him.

Poe969 · 01-22-2014, 07:35 AM

As much as I hate the leafs and wouldn't want Kipper to have to play for them, it would have been nice to have gotten a pick or prospect or something from them in a deal

Jacks · 01-22-2014, 07:36 AM

If I remember correctly they had literally just had a new baby and he didn't want to uproot his family. He was pretty much done anyway at that point. Glad he retired a Flame.

FlatLandFlamesFan · 01-22-2014, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTuna

The Leafs just didn't need him. Even before they got Bernier. Bernier/Reimer are a fantastic duo.

JayP · 01-22-2014, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTuna

The Leafs just didn't need him. Even before they got Bernier. Bernier/Reimer are a fantastic duo.

This.

Bernier has a .927 save%. Reimer has a .919 save%. Their goaltending is the only reason they are still in the playoff hunt. Adding a 37 year old goalie coming off an injured plagued, .882 save% season would only make them worse.

BigTuna · 01-22-2014, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayP

This.

Bernier has a .927 save%. Reimer has a .919 save%. Their goaltending is the only reason they are still in the playoff hunt. Adding a 37 year old goalie coming off an injured plagued, .882 save% season would only make them worse.

Yup. The Leafs have had some of the top goaltending all season. For Bernier to be 3rd in save % in the NHL while facing as many shots as he does is very impressive.

Reimer could be a starter himself in a lot of cities.

Daradon · 01-23-2014, 08:57 AM

I don't think it was cause he was overly loyal to the team, I think he just wanted to finish his career. He was a bit of a weird guy, and a lot of things that drove 'normal people' didn't really drive him.

I would say that I do think the competition and the drive to be the best was what made him such a good goaltender. I do think he wanted to be great, and he was. But he was never concerned with the rewards of greatness. Or even people seeing him as great. It seemed to be a genuine personal challenge only. He didn't seem to care about accolades, didn't seem to care about maximizing his contracts, or money coming in. In some ways he seemed very centered. He wanted to do the best for himself, and for his team, but really didn't care much about what others thought. And he was able to leave what was at the rink, at the rink. He loved his free time. Be it for his fishing, or his family, or other pursuits, he liked to balance his life.

At that point in his life, he didn't want to start over again, even for more money, or a shot at the cup. He had done his time, he was proud of it, and that was enough for him. Time for other things.

As for Toronto doing better or worse, I think it would have been about the same.

N-E-B · 01-23-2014, 09:55 AM

I truly think he just didn't want to play anymore. I look at his last few years and I see a guy who had lost his motivation. I still think he was one of the top 3 goalies in the NHL when he retired. He just didn't want it anymore. I don't think he ever lost his talent. Just the desire.

Cheese · 01-23-2014, 09:59 AM

Kipper is a Flame PERIOD. Would have hated to see him in any other uni.

edn88 · 01-23-2014, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

Where would Toronto be with Him today?

Fishing in Finland?

CSharp · 01-23-2014, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

I just got to thinking about Kiprusoff's decision to retire.

If he had kept playing it would have been a waste of time, regardless of his ability at this point. Toronto wanted him at some point.

Then I think of how great he would have been in Toronto, capable, willing and able. Even in the number 2 position. He could be playing and making a real difference today. Not cheering for Toronto by any means.

So the only difference I can see is that he was either truly ready to retire, or a Calgary Flames loyalist and wanted to retire with the jersey because he still had the skill set to compete as a top goaltender or backup in the league.

His entire tenure, stats be damned, has has thrilled me with his athletic competitiveness but the point of this post is maybe Kipper was really loyal to the team.

It doesn't matter where Kipper could've been great. He is the best goalie in the league for the past 10 years the league has seen aside from Brodeur out east. I'm just happy that he is a Flames forever. Sad that he retired and not have a Cup ring to go along with the glorious years as a Flames. I still believe he made the right decision to not go to Toronto or anywhere else, whether he is a loyalist or whether he really wants to retire. I think his skills are good enough that he can go another 3 years.

Thing is with Calgary this year and the next few years is that the team is gonna be really bad. If he continues to play, he'll be criticized for being too old to play or he let's in too many soft goals or whatever. On the other hand, if Kipper does play well and the team is within a few positions below the playoff bound teams, the draft picks would suck. Then people would complain about that and suggest Kipper to be traded. So, it's a no win situation either way, even with a first or second round pick in return for him.

CSharp · 01-23-2014, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTuna

Yup. The Leafs have had some of the top goaltending all season. For Bernier to be 3rd in save % in the NHL while facing as many shots as he does is very impressive.

Reimer could be a starter himself in a lot of cities.

Who cares about save percentage. Kipper can win you games when the team in front of him totally sucks. You look at the number of games the Flames have been outshot and manhandled in their own zone for the past 5 years and yet the Flames were either in the playoffs or just barely out. Also the number of games he plays every year is astounding. Kipper and Iggy are the makeup of the team basically.

BigTuna · 01-23-2014, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSharp

Who cares about save percentage. Kipper can win you games when the team in front of him totally sucks. You look at the number of games the Flames have been outshot and manhandled in their own zone for the past 5 years and yet the Flames were either in the playoffs or just barely out. Also the number of games he plays every year is astounding. Kipper and Iggy are the makeup of the team basically.

Of course save % matters. That's silly.

Bernier is facing the most avg shots per game and has a .927 save% and his team is in the playoffs. In fact, if he didn't split games with Reimer earlier, he'd likely bfreak the NHl record for shots against in a season.

kirant · 01-23-2014, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSharp

Who cares about save percentage. Kipper can win you games when the team in front of him totally sucks.

I'm probably one of the biggest fans of Kiprusoff and he wasn't the same man when he retired that we remembered him as. The last year was full of soft goals and bad reads.

Kiprusoff's biggest losses as he aged were his reaction. He never had flawless technique, but always fast enough to prevent them from becoming massive issues. Unless you ask SebC. Either way though, that and being impossible to rattle was what let him make the miracle saves.

The last couple years, Kiprusoff's ability to do that got worse and worse. I think it was 2 years out from retirement, he gave up a tonne of sharp angle goals. He still made the highlight reel saves we all love and cherish, but the odder goals kept piling up. Reaction is one of the first things to go from a goalie it seems and Kiprusoff's reactions aged poorly the last couple years.

True, his last year shouldn't be indicative of his play. After he returned from his injury, things seemed to get better. Especially the last couple home games, which were classic Kiprusoff. But I don't think there is room in the Toronto system, as it is today, for an aging veteran. Reimer probably would do a better job on most nights at this point.

At this point, saying winning games while the team in front sucks is pretty much a given with the Leafs. They had some of the worst shots against stats to start the year. The only reason they won games was because the tandem had .940 save percent.

Temporary_User · 01-23-2014, 08:12 PM

Sitting next to a goalie coaches wife last year she told me and Kipper and Hartley did not see eye-to-eye on a few things. Even as far as saying at the morning skate he was standing at the gate because he wouldn't go on the ice even a minute early. He really hated Hartley.

I look at it as Kipper didn't want to uproot his family for what he knew would just be a year or two. So it was play Hartley or retire--He choose to retire.