#34 Jersey retirement

[Cole436]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Stanley does not agree

Insane.
Brad Park, Gilbert Perrault, Borje Salming, Peter Stasney, Darryl Sittler, Dale Hawerchuk, Mike Gartner, Pat Lafontaine, Mats Sundin and Marcell Dione also never won Stanely Cups, and they're living legends to this day. You know who else hasn't? Jarome Iginla. Kipper did more for this franchise then winning a Stanley Cup can bring.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Cole436

Kipper did more for this franchise then winning a Stanley Cup can bring.

That, my friend, is insane.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Lanny McDonald meant more to the Calgary community than Kiprusoff ever could, he was an ambassador on and off of the ice and the first real hockey hero that this city had. His contributions to the team can't be measured in hockey alone, particularly with regards to the off ice contributions. Kiprusoff may have been a better player, but Lanny is a better Calgarian.

I really think that the decision to have a number retired should be 75% playing career achievements and 25% community involvement/personal factors.

[Cole436]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

That, my friend, is insane.

He almost single handidly made the Flames relevant and respectable. We would never have had '04, not an exaggeration, which saved this franchise. We would have never won the division title in '06, hell we probably wouldn't have even made the playoffs in '07 or '08, where the team finished 8th and 7th in the conference, respectively. People forget how bad those teams were defensively. We could score, but once the puck went past our blue line, all bets were off. The only reason this team looked close to being a competitive team in the last four years was due largely to his performance. Without him, we would have had a top 10 pick a lot sooner.

Jarome gets credit for being the face of the franchise, but it wasn't going anywhere without Kiprusoff

Would a Stanley Cup have been nice? Of course. But him and Jarome are responsible for hockey being relevant in Calgary again, after nearly a decade of the Flames being viewed as farm team.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Cole436

Jarome gets credit for being the face of the franchise, but it wasn't going anywhere without Kiprusoff

Absolutely agree.
But it didn't go anywhere. In the end, nothing to show for it.
Jarome only gets the pass (in my books) because he was iconic on and off the ice. Great leader. Great Calgarian. Gold medals. Etc.
If you are going to the retire a jersey from a player in an era where nothing was won, #12 certainly works for me.
#34 is a big stretch after that. For me. FAF - absolutely. Without any question. Hang his scruffy face on the wall. He was outstanding as a Flame. Honour him for that.

[Cole436]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Absolutely agree.
But it didn't go anywhere. In the end, nothing to show for it.
Jarome only gets the pass (in my books) because he was iconic on and off the ice. Great leader. Great Calgarian. Gold medals. Etc.
If you are going to the retire a jersey from a player in an era where nothing was won, #12 certainly works for me.
#34 is a big stretch after that. For me. FOF - absolutely. Without any question. Hang his scruffy face on the wall. He was outstanding as a Flame. Honour him for that.

He was just as big a part of this team as Iginla was, and in my books just as iconic. He was one goal away in a double OT from winning the cup. That shouldn't be the difference. Vezina winner, 3 time finalist, Hart finalist, Olympic bronze, First Team All-Star, 1st all time in Flames wins, 2nd in games played for the Flames by a goalie, 23rd all time in NHL wins. That's more of a resume then most who's numbers hang from the rafters in the NHL.

[calgaryred]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Absolutely agree.
But it didn't go anywhere. In the end, nothing to show for it.
Jarome only gets the pass (in my books) because he was iconic on and off the ice. Great leader. Great Calgarian. Gold medals. Etc.
If you are going to the retire a jersey from a player in an era where nothing was won, #12 certainly works for me.
#34 is a big stretch after that. For me. FAF - absolutely. Without any question. Hang his scruffy face on the wall. He was outstanding as a Flame. Honour him for that.

Vernon won a cup with an all-star caliber team, he was a good goalie, but not retirement worthy in my eyes, but he's up there. Al Maciness was a bigger factor to the Flames every season he played, and the Stanley Cup win in the 1989 playoffs, more than Vernon, and he was honored. I liked Vernon, but Kipper IS the Flames, just as much as Iggy was. Miikka deserves his number retired as a Calgary Flame.

[Sainters7]

The bias even some educated hockey fans have against goalies is insane. If a goalie can't get retired because he never won a Cup, then lets just make it so no-one at any position can without winning a Cup. It's that ridiculous.

Dude was the only Vezina winner in franchise history, keeping in mind we already have a goalie number retired. Was a 3 time finalist as well (I believe), and even a finalist for the Hart one year. In '07 & '08 he was pretty much the reason we even made the playoffs. He also spent a decade as our starter.

The bar's already been set with Vernon. If he could get his jersey retired here, then Kipper absolutely deserves to. Best goalie in franchise history.