Theo Fleury: Why Johnny Gaudreau has it easier

[Street Pharmacist]

Meh. Theo is correct, Johnny would have had it tougher back then.

[Arya Stark]

I don't understand the "Theo is correct" crowd. Nobody was asking Theo how he thought Gaudreau would do in that era. Theo took it upon himself once again to talk about himself and how great he was. He even mentions he thinks he didn't get enough credit for being so great.

There are so many things one can say about Theo that would be "truth" but usually one needs a filter and needs to understand some things are better left unsaid.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Yeah, that one really made me wince.



from: http://www.matchsticksandgasoline.co...s-craig-conroy

Manages to insult the NHL, Conroy, and the Flames at the same time. I bet every time he says something like this, the Flames add another 5 years to the waiting list for him to get honored in some way.

My favourite part of that at the time was "historic shootout goal"

... in a preseason game.

[Hackey]

Theo just loves any little bit of attention he can get.

[Hackey]

Your mom might be fat and ugly but it doesn't make it okay to say it. Your kid might be the worst player on the team and the dumbest in the class but you probably wouldn't want to hear that it either. There may be some truth to what he says but what a douchy thing to say. Give Johnny his props and leave it at that.

[theoforever]

Originally Posted by Arya Stark

I don't understand the "Theo is correct" crowd. Nobody was asking Theo how he thought Gaudreau would do in that era. Theo took it upon himself once again to talk about himself and how great he was. He even mentions he thinks he didn't get enough credit for being so great.

There are so many things one can say about Theo that would be "truth" but usually one needs a filter and needs to understand some things are better left unsaid.

On previous page there is a link to all the nice things Theo said about Johnny.
He can say what he wants. If you don't want to hear someone's opinion don't ask. Is Theo an egomaniac, sure, but so what.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by theoforever

On previous page there is a link to all the nice things Theo said about Johnny.
He can say what he wants. If you don't want to hear someone's opinion don't ask. Is Theo an egomaniac, sure, but so what.

He can say what he wants
And people can then respond as they want
My response is that he's a big mouth braggart who is jealous of the fact the Flames have a new "little big man" and his massive ego needs to make sure we don't forget about Theo

[Arya Stark]

Originally Posted by theoforever

On previous page there is a link to all the nice things Theo said about Johnny.
He can say what he wants. If you don't want to hear someone's opinion don't ask. Is Theo an egomaniac, sure, but so what.

I actually never asked for his opinion. Theo was a drunk drug abusing fat over weight player in a lot of his NHL days yet you won't see Gaudreau talking to a newspaper saying how much Fleury would struggle in today's NHL because of those problems.

All he had to do was give Gaudreau his credit but Theo took another opportunity to talk about himself and his new book coming out. Guess he didn't make an NHL comeback attempt to sell books this time so I guess he is improving.

It's called class.

[GioforPM]

I was a huge Fleury fan, and I think that he was one of the most talented players in his era. He has a few problems in his view however.

First, when he debuted, it was not the clutch and grab era. It was the end of the wide open era. So, comparing rookie seasons, Johnny is not facing a tougher game style.

Second, goalies are better now, big men are faster and coaching systems, while not clutch and grab, are pretty effective.

BTW, Fleury was tough when he broke in, and stood up for himself. However, later he would mouth off and, while not exactly running away, would not go further than being in a scrum. He lost class - I remember him blowing kisses at the opposing bench after scoring (then the other team came roaring back - thanks Theo).

[driveway]

I love this. I love Fleury's arrogance. The guy earned it. He's got a ring, he's got Junior and Olympic gold, he played on the 1991 Canada Cup team. He's got 8 30-goal seasons under his belt and a PPG average for his career. He's the 10th highest-scoring player of the 1990's, better than Lindros, Lemieux, Messier, Gilmour, and Robitaille. He overcame serious personal demons to be one of the best hockey players of his generation.

He can talk all the trash he wants about anyone he wants, and frankly hockey needs more retired players willing to do so.

[corporatejay]

Never liked him. Still don't. Shut up and go away.

[GGG]

The other thing is he is probably sick of getting asked about Gaudreau. I like raw unfiltered opinions.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Never liked him. Still don't. Shut up and go away.

Too bad you don't like hockey. It's a great sport, you should give it a chance.

[Vinny01]

I don't know how he can't talk about himself in this instance. Surely the reporter is asking him directly about the comparison between him and Gaudreau. Both guys are players who are extremely undersized players that play(ed) for Calgary. Theo put up great numbers and was a superstar in the league and Johnny appears to have that potential.

[Tyler]

One step forward regaining respect, two steps backward losing it. Every. Single. Time Theo.

This is why your jersey is not hanging up anywhere except probably your bedroom

[Jiggy_12]

Theo will always be Theo.

No surprises here. Humility and modesty have never been traits of his. Some love it, some hate it. Put me in the hate it camp.

[AcGold]

A lot of you guys are so ridiculously quick to judge. I've known Theo since I was about 7 years old (I know his son and his family had a cabin across the street from my families cabin) and Theo's only ever been nice when he's been around, that including his drug addled depressive years. I'll always stick up for Theo, maybe he puts his foot in his mouth from time to time but deep down he's a good guy.

Also, he wasn't wrong about what he said.

[Arya Stark]

Originally Posted by AcGold

Also, he wasn't wrong about what he said.

And neither were we.

[Yrebmi]

Originally Posted by Arya Stark

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/t...small-players/

Be warned this is one of those annoying links that automatically start a video.

“There’s only one Theo Fleury,” says the one Theo Fleury, when asked about the Flames’ new diminutive talent. “He has less challenges now than I ever did. I was carrying 250-pound defencemen on my back night after night because of the hooking and holding.”

“I love the era I played in. I think I played in the greatest era of talent in the history of the game,” says Fleury, a point-a-game player through 1,084 games. “I was considered one of those guys who had incredible talent, incredible ability. But a guy like Johnny Gaudreau can play in the NHL right now. He couldn’t play in the era that I played in, unless he changed his style of game.”


Sometimes Fleury needs a filter and needs to realize how arrogant he sounds when he talks even if what he says is true.

Thank you.

[driveway]

Arya, Why are you seeking to get offended by this? The interview was scheduled so that he could talk about the book.

I sat down with Fleury on Wednesday to talk about his second book, Conversations with a Rattlesnake

Naturally the conversation is going to go over Fleury's career and his accomplishments, the article mentions that there are NHL highlights playing on a screen nearby so the conversation turns to the Flames... of course Gaudreau is going to be brought up, and - in the context of talking about himself - it's only natural Fleury would compare his era to Gaudreau's.

I love Johnny Gaudreau, I am happy he's a Flame and thoroughly excited to watch him every game, but so far, he has done nothing at the professional level and Fleury has done everything. Fleury can say whatever the hell he wants about Johnny and hockey is better for it.

Asking retired players to just offer lame platitudes about current players is dumb. It makes the conversations that happen around the sport boring and pointless. Retired players, particularly Champions like Fleury should call out younger players. They should challenge them to be better, to improve and to advance the game.

I am certain that Fleury would be thrilled to death to see Johnny Gaudreau succeed. Every retired athlete I've ever heard talks about how they want younger guys to get to their level, they want to let them into the club. But they aren't just going to let anyone in, they want to know that they're at the right level and I am glad that Fleury, the obvious comparison for Johnny Hockey, is holding him to that high standard.

And frankly, I think everyone who's 'upset' by this is a freaking crybaby.