Fleury beat all the odds with the career he had, and as stated above, the same things that drove him to be great also drove him to do self-destructive things.
In Sobey's a couple years back, Fleury was there with what I presume was his young son, and the buzz in the store was palpable. Everyone left him alone but all the staff were talking that Fleury was there...customers were gawking but trying not to look like they were... the clerks were talking about whose till he might use... he's a living legend both for what he's done and what he's been through, most of which was public before he wrote his book.
Fleury not being honored is most of his fault; the Flames and the owners and even media bent over through the 90's to protect the team from his demons, as well as himself (look what happened as soon as he went unsupervised in NY). And he rewarded the Flames by holding the team to unrealistic salary expectations when push came to shove. That's fine, it was time for the Flames to move on as well.
His on ice skill and intensity was a bright light in some of the dreary mid to late 90's, and no questioning his ability on the ice.
His demons are unfortunate, something he'll always battle as he has to this stage...as mentioned above, all of what he's gone through has likely made him the hockey player he was, as an escape or an outlet.
However, I've heard numerous times that over the years he's asked the Flames outright when they were going to honor or retire his number....that's something that's not owed to anyone, it's an honor.
The Flames caved in, and give him further opportunity to come back and have one last goodbye. He made the most of it sure, but created unrealistic expectations. Instead of being honestly grateful, he publicly craps on the team and on Conroy months later, who he argued he would've been a better regular season roster choice based on those preseason stats.
Another display of how ungrateful he was for the opportunity, that no-one owed him, but the Flames gave him anyway, and it wasn't good enough, so it was once again he figured it was someone else trying to hold him down, someone else to blame, and, may as well, toss in tearing someone else down to build him up, for good measure.
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Since Nilsson got a video, it's only fair that Fleury does.
Showboating or not, this is still one of my favorite moments in Flames' history. Also assisted by the greatest #34 ever, Jamie Macoun.
That celebration would only be cool if they actually won the series.
Should have saved it for game 7 Theo.
I hate that celebration because it ended up being entirely meaningless.
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Had to go with Kenta, even though he would float, but the skill level was over the top. They both very good players, kind of hard to compare over two eras and have seen both play live on multiple occasions.
There wasn't much difference between the Joe Mullen trade and the Kent Nilsson trade but it's interesting to see the different reactions surrounding the two. Nilsson and Mullen were both in and around age 30 when they were moved. Nilsson was moved (with a third) for two second rounders and Mullen was moved straight up for a second.
Obviously, the reason for the different reactions is that the Nilsson trade netted Nieuwendyk and Stephane Matteau with the two picks. Mullen netted Nicolas Perreault.
On top of that, Mullen had some productive years after leaving the Flames. Nilsson never even scored 20 goals again in a season. Knowing that info, you can see why Fletcher decided to take a gamble on moving Mullen (not that I agreed with it at the time, or even today agree with that move).
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There wasn't much difference between the Joe Mullen trade and the Kent Nilsson trade but it's interesting to see the different reactions surrounding the two. Nilsson and Mullen were both in and around age 30 when they were moved. Nilsson was moved (with a third) for two second rounders and Mullen was moved straight up for a second.
Obviously, the reason for the different reactions is that the Nilsson trade netted Nieuwendyk and Stephane Matteau with the two picks. Mullen netted Nicolas Perreault.
On top of that, Mullen had some productive years after leaving the Flames. Nilsson never even scored 20 goals again in a season. Knowing that info, you can see why Fletcher decided to take a gamble on moving Mullen (not that I agreed with it at the time, or even today agree with that move).
The Mullen trade was a simple overreaction by owners, egged on by the media, red faced that they lost in the 1st round in 1990 after winning the Cup the year before.
Crisp suffered immediately, and Mullen did soon after. Stupid, stupid moves that summer, plain and simple. Mullen was the best Flame forward from 1986 to 1990 and tossed away for a garbage return, just to give the rest of the roster some wakeup call and change for the sake of change. He went onto play parts of 7 more seasons and won 2 more Cups. Should've been a Flame for another 4 or 5 years and would've then had his number honored by now.
I wouldn't be surprised if Fletcher was told he was to trade Mullen and probably others by the enraged owners. I don't doubt he resisted as much as possible that offseason to trade Mullen and make irrational moves. And, the proof is in the pudding; Fletcher saw quickly that summer of 1990 where the blame was suddenly and unfairly being directed by those above him. So, he stuck around one more year, looking for his exit, and jumped out of the boiling cauldron as soon as he possibly could...and then bent over his successor, and, (not coincidentally) his former bosses/owners, in short order.
Last edited by browna; 08-07-2014 at 08:28 PM.
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They missed Peplinski. He was the glue guy. Once he retired, the team broke into cliques. The Gilmour deal was Risebrough trying to deal with the issue by moving out an entire clique.
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If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
