Flames Mount Rushmore Round Three

[Bingo]

Jarome Iginla graduated for face #1.
Lanny McDonald graduated for face #2.

Who is face #3?

[Bingo]

Looks like this one might finally be interersting!

[Leeman4Gilmour]

Initially I hadn't considered Giordano in my top 4, but then someone summarized his time here in Calgary and what really stood out was that he was the only Flame in the history of the franchise to win a Norris which is remarkable. He is also the only NHL player to ever win the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award. These two things bumped him from not in my top 4 to #3 for me.

[GranteedEV]

MacInnis had 31 pts in 22 games (leading all players) en route to the Stanley Cup - and overall 102 points in 95 playoff games for us.

While you can't compare numbers across eras - for some comparision, Paul Coffey had a 103 pts in 94 playoff games for Edmonton and that was playing with Gretzky, Messier, etc in roughly the same era.

[Strange Brew]

Controversy time. It really should be Macinnis for so many reasons, but I can’t get past how he became more of a Blue than a Flame. I’m probably just being a baby about it.

So I’m voting for the guy everybody hates, who was face of the franchise for an extended period. The reaction to his shootout goal in preseason tells you all you need to know about his connection with casual fans.

[CroFlames]

Al MacInnes is the best d-man to ever play for this team, and he played for a really long time, 803 games.

You might vote for others for other reasons, but objectively, he is the best. He is probably a top-5 defenseman of all time to be honest.

[Flames1217]

Kipper, McInnis followed by Fleury.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Controversy time. It really should be Macinnis for so many reasons, but I can’t get past how he became more of a Blue than a Flame. I’m probably just being a baby about it.

So I’m voting for the guy everybody hates, who was face of the franchise for an extended period. The reaction to his shootout goal in preseason tells you all you need to know about his connection with casual fans.

The odd Flame is that #2 played more games as a Flame than 14 did.

[PepsiFree]

Kiprusoff for me. Best goalie to ever wear a Flames’ jersey and for a time was the best goalie in the world. Very few players that have played for the Flames can say they were the best in the world at their position, it’s a special thing, and to do it on the Flames deserves recognition.

He spent nearly his entire career here and retired a Flame. He was as professional as they come and remains that way to this day, and is one of two players (the other having secured the first spot) that brought this team out of the basement of the NHL, out of danger for relocation, and gave fans something to cheer for again. Iginla and Kiprusoff carried this team on their back and took us to the finals, something few other players can even argue for.

[calgaryred]

If this poll was beyond CP Fleury would win he was the only reason to watch Flames hockey. He is a nut bar now but this is about on ice play. Yet people instead are ok voting for a guy who doesn't want his number retired cause he doesn't see himself as a Flame, or voting for a guy who had two great seasons as a Flame 04 and 06 and no cups.

[Monahammer]

This was the first hard one. I chose MacInnis because of the cup, and IMO he is the greatest defenseman the flames have ever iced. Kipper is likely the greatest goalie we've ever iced, but he ultimately didn't win the cup and so loses out IMO. Great players, both.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Kiprusoff for me. Best goalie to ever wear a Flames’ jersey and for a time was the best goalie in the world. Very few players that have played for the Flames can say they were the best in the world at their position, it’s a special thing, and to do it on the Flames deserves recognition.

He spent nearly his entire career here and retired a Flame. He was as professional as they come and remains that way to this day, and is one of two players (the other having secured the first spot) that brought this team out of the basement of the NHL, out of danger for relocation, and gave fans something to cheer for again. Iginla and Kiprusoff carried this team on their back and took us to the finals, something few other players can even argue for.

This is it for me as well.

Iginla
Kiprusoff
McDonald
McInnis

The first two are the reason we even have a team to argue about today. They both carried us to game 7 of the finals, and in 05/06 if not for one of the best goaltending seasons we would have picked in the lottery that was a truly ugly roster.

Lanny and Al took us to the promise land, and both did some amazing things, 100 point defenceman and 66 goal scorer. Amazing accomplishment and topping it off with that Cup. Even with no cup it would be those two but that's the cherry on top.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

It has to be Cliff Fletcher. He built those teams in the 80s. Even with Gretzky on the Oilers, he built a team better than those Oilers. The Flames would have had a dynasty perhaps even greater than Edmonton but they ran out of time due to salary escalation.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by calgaryred

If this poll was beyond CP Fleury would win he was the only reason to watch Flames hockey. He is a nut bar now but this is about on ice play. Yet people instead are ok voting for a guy who doesn't want his number retired cause he doesn't see himself as a Flame, or voting for a guy who had two great seasons as a Flame 04 and 06 and no cups.

Vote how you want.

But ease up on telling everyone else what they need to do.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by calgaryred

If this poll was beyond CP Fleury would win he was the only reason to watch Flames hockey. He is a nut bar now but this is about on ice play. Yet people instead are ok voting for a guy who doesn't want his number retired cause he doesn't see himself as a Flame, or voting for a guy who had two great seasons as a Flame 04 and 06 and no cups.

Plenty of people outside of CP feel the same way. His on ice accomplishments aren't great either. He did a great job being the guy getting us Rico Fata and Daniel Tkaczuk.

Kipper was one of the best goalies in the league when he played and led us to the playoffs consistently while playing an absurd amount of games.

[CSharp]

The next few heads on the Flames Mt Rushmore is so tough. If I had multiple choice on this round, it'll be Fleury, Vernon, and McInnis. That whole '88-89 team can be on Mt Rushmore to say the least. It's an allstar team and it'll never be matched!

I had to choose Fleury. I really don't care how bad his mouth was but his on-ice achievements is what stands the test of time.

[Zarley]

Theo! Theo! Theo!!!

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by calgaryred

If this poll was beyond CP Fleury would win he was the only reason to watch Flames hockey. He is a nut bar now but this is about on ice play. Yet people instead are ok voting for a guy who doesn't want his number retired cause he doesn't see himself as a Flame, or voting for a guy who had two great seasons as a Flame 04 and 06 and no cups.

If it's purely on-ice play, then Lanny should not be on Mt Rushmore. Sean Monahan has better stats than Lanny does.

But literally everyone agrees Lanny should be on there.

Even if it was purely about on-ice play, Al MacInnes, Joe Nieuwendyk and Mikka Kiprusoff were better hockey players than Theo.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Al MacInnes is the best d-man to ever play for this team, and he played for a really long time, 803 games.

You might vote for others for other reasons, but objectively, he is the best. He is probably a top-5 defenseman of all time to be honest.

All time in the NHL? I don’t think so, not even close IMO.

I agree he played the best at the position in a Flames uniform though and is a valid choice here.

[JohnnyB]

Gotta vote Sutter on this one. He brought the Flames back to respectability after the dark ages and shaped an identity for the Flames for many years afterwards, and he chose to return to the team after great successes elsewhere because he wanted to be a part of the organization and to take care of unfinished business. He has been a hugely important character in shaping the Flames over the last two decades and bringing dignity back to the team's reputation.