#34 Jersey retirement

[bc-chris]

a no brainer - of course #34 should be retired... along with #12 when iggy hangs 'em up

[Dr. Pepper]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

a no brainer - of course #34 should be retired... along with #12 when iggy hangs 'em up

No debate. Needs to be done - full jersey in rafters treatment for both.

[SebC]

Not before #12 IMO.

[the_only_turek_fan]

Originally Posted by SebC

Not before #12 IMO.

And I am glad you brought this up.

Let the debate begin. Who was better and who made more of an impact. Iginla or Kiprusoff?

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by SebC

Not before #12 IMO.

That is a good point. If Iggy plays 5 more years then Kipper would have to wait 6-7 years.

To me it's not a big deal if Kipper's jersey goes up first. I don't think ownerhsip would agree.

[Puppet Guy]

RETIRE the number, don't "honour" it.

[Badgers Nose]

There should statues in the new stadium of Kipper and Iggy.

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

And I am glad you brought this up.

Let the debate begin. Who was better and who made more of an impact. Iginla or Kiprusoff?

Iginla was the face of the team. He took on tons of pressure so that his teammate's didn't have to shoulder it. I'm always surprised when people put Kiprusoff above Iginla in terms of importance. Of course, I also would put Fleury up there with Iginla so what do I know.

I should add that Kiprusoff was huge for this team and this city and I definitely think they should retire the number at some point.

[edn88]

I don't like retiring numbers - I think that a player needs to be truly exceptional to have his number retired. Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemiuex, Rocket Richard - all should have their number retired. I think Iggy falls into the exceptional category as he relates to Calgary - he has meant more to the franchise than Lanny McDonald.

For Kipper - pretty close to this criteria and I can be easily swayed either way. At the very least needs to have his number honoured (this is where I think MacInnis, Fleury etc belong as well).

[Resolute 14]

Honestly, if I were doing it, I'd honour Kipper's number, and retire Iginla's. And that is no knock on Kipper. Iginla is a legendary, Hall of Fame player. That's the type of guy who should get the full retirement. Kipper was a franchise best player who was very good overall. Lower bar.

Unless the team adjusts its policy (again), both are going to get the Forever a Flame treatment, but the difference is that anyone who asks for #12 is going to get a slap upside the head and told to pick something else, while anyone asking for #34 is going to get a "you're sure? Okaaay, if you say so". Though it is a goalie number, and I doubt anyone coming in any time soon is likely to want that comparison.

[drPepper1]

#2 #12 #14 and #34 should be up in the rafters retired. none of this forever the flame crap.

I still hope Kipper resigns or stays in Calgary. I just don't think he wants to play in any other city.

[Kaine]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

And I am glad you brought this up.

Let the debate begin. Who was better and who made more of an impact. Iginla or Kiprusoff?

Better is largely opinion based for sure but I don't think many can argue the impact Kipper made. Don't get me wrong both made enough of an impact on this team and city to have their numbers retired but as good as Iggy was, we likely don't make the playoffs since he joined the team without Kipper. The only real success this team had in the past 20 years, going to the cup finals, would not have happened without Kipper coming in and carrying this team on his back all the way to the finals.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Kaine

Better is largely opinion based for sure but I don't think many can argue the impact Kipper made. Don't get me wrong both made enough of an impact on this team and city to have their numbers retired but as good as Iggy was, we likely don't make the playoffs since he joined the team without Kipper. The only real success this team had in the past 20 years, going to the cup finals, would not have happened without Kipper coming in and carrying this team on his back all the way to the finals.

Kipper doesn't make the finals without Iginla either. We needed both. Kipper was a big piece of the puzzle, but simply coming into place after Iginla doesn't make him more important.

[Sakari]

It should be retired league wide.

[CaptainYooh]

I really hope he doesn't retire this summer and plays another 2-3 seasons. He can still play at or close to his prime, as demonstrated.

No matter when he retires, he is a "forever Flame" on my books, so, yes, #34 to the rafters.

[DeluxeMoustache]

It seems like just yesterday that you saw this guy come up from San Jose and thought, 'Miikka who? What has this kid done to deserve Jamie Macoun's number?' Needless to say, he won me over.

I would like to see him return. He has been very good when given some good team D.

[Sakari]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Honestly, if I were doing it, I'd honour Kipper's number, and retire Iginla's. And that is no knock on Kipper. Iginla is a legendary, Hall of Fame player. That's the type of guy who should get the full retirement. Kipper was a franchise best player who was very good overall. Lower bar.

Unless the team adjusts its policy (again), both are going to get the Forever a Flame treatment, but the difference is that anyone who asks for #12 is going to get a slap upside the head and told to pick something else, while anyone asking for #34 is going to get a "you're sure? Okaaay, if you say so". Though it is a goalie number, and I doubt anyone coming in any time soon is likely to want that comparison.

Are you suggesting that Kipper isn't a hall of fame player? He's 23rd in all time wins playing for what has been nothing better than a mediocre hockey club since his Vezina winning season.Which was his 2nd season as a flame. He's been worked the most out of any goaltender in the past 10 years, and he's got a .912 save percentage to go with it. This is ALL keeping in mind that he wasn't a starting goaltender until he started playing with the Flames, when he was what, maybe 28, 29? If he had been afforded the opportunity to play with teams like the Penguins or the Red Wings or the Devils for 20 years, he'd be going in the hall of fame before Iginla. But he didn't, so it doesn't really count. But my point remains. No goalie has carried a team quite like Kipper did, and he's got a couple shiny trophies to show just how good a job he did.

[SebC]

I gotta say that looking at the Flames all-time stats, I wonder if McDonald would make the cut for retirement if the Flames were to decide today. Particular if the non-retirement of #2 is considered set in stone.

Or perhaps I'm just showing that I'm too young to remember much of the 80s.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Sakari

Are you suggesting that Kipper isn't a hall of fame player? He's 23rd in all time wins playing for what has been nothing better than a mediocre hockey club since his Vezina winning season.Which was his 2nd season as a flame. He's been worked the most out of any goaltender in the past 10 years, and he's got a .912 save percentage to go with it. This is ALL keeping in mind that he wasn't a starting goaltender until he started playing with the Flames, when he was what, maybe 28, 29? If he had been afforded the opportunity to play with teams like the Penguins or the Red Wings or the Devils for 20 years, he'd be going in the hall of fame before Iginla. But he didn't, so it doesn't really count. But my point remains. No goalie has carried a team quite like Kipper did, and he's got a couple shiny trophies to show just how good a job he did.

Kipper is not a Hall of Fame goaltender. No more than Sean Burke or Andy Moog are. He'll be remembered league wide as a pretty damn good goalie, and he'll be remembered locally as the best goalie in franchise history, but he's only getting into the Hall with a paid ticket.

[moon]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

And I am glad you brought this up.

Let the debate begin. Who was better and who made more of an impact. Iginla or Kiprusoff?

Iginla was the better player and made more of an impact. That is no slight to Kipper but Iginla is the best player this team has seen and a gold level standard of what a player should be for a team on and off the ice.

Kipper and Iginla should both have their jersey retired (agree that the Forever a Flame thing is stupid.)

Slightly OT but since retiring/forever a flames etc. is done in large part for the the fans and it seems nobody likes the program and many think it is a bad/stupid idea why do they have the Forever a Flame program? Has King or anyone addressed it other than the PR BS when it was started?