[News] Thank you #34! - Miikka Kiprusoff officially retires -

[Caged Great]

Would anyone be disappointed if they retired his jersey this year?

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Would anyone be disappointed if they retired his jersey this year?

Probably Theoren Fleury.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by kirant

http://ingoalmag.com/news/miikka-kip...an-of-mystery/

OH man! you deserve another 9997 thanks!!!!

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by $ven27

I really hope he releases a book, I have a feeling he has some hidden gems for stories.

That would go against everything Kipper though.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Originally Posted by getbak

Probably Theoren Fleury.

Did Theo ever put the whole team on his back like Kipper did?

[SuperMatt18]

Love all these Kipper stories.

Need Noodles to convince him to write a book "International Man of Mystery: Miikka Kiprusoff".

[AC]

"They gave me more money I ever could dream of, let alone ever spend it, so I'm really not in a position to demand anything. I can only do my share and do it as well as I ever can."

Kipper is world class for sure. What a guy!

[flambers]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

Did Theo ever put the whole team on his back like Kipper did?

He was a key member of the Flames organization for a long time.....

That is a different topic...

[CsInMyBlood]

Since we are telling stories, I'll share one of my favorites.

One of my good friends is Miikka's neighbour. Any time I've been over and see Miikka out I have waived to him and got a glove save wave in return. Always awesome. Makes me giggle like a school girl.

Anyways, my buddy hires a company to put up Christmas lights on his place every year. Years ago he came home to see his lights all up and the company was now at the Kiprusoff house doing his lights.

My friend says later that night he goes out his deck and sees Miikka standing out in his back yard looking at the Christmas lights with his hands on his hips saying something to his wife in Finnish. Every light on his house was red.

The next morning as my buddy is leaving for work he sees the light install company is in Miikka's driveway again. When he gets home that evening he realizes that there is not a single red light on the Kipprusoff house anymore.

HAHAHAHAHA.

Miikka doesn't like the red light.

[Bertuzzied]

^Off topic but Red Light Racicot is one of the best nicknames ever.

[Knut]

My Son looks like Kipper... but i Don't Care !

[ssjshmo]

Connie is telling stories on the Fan right now. Kipper would tell Connie to watch as the media came in waves around Kipper. When they asked him questions, he would do his usual stutter and say "I don't know..." while looking off to Connie and winking at him.

Gonna miss the guy on and off the ice

[CaptainCrunch]

Tough to see him go, the guy was a giant among goaltenders of his era and propelled the Flames to better finishes then they should have had over the last few years.

Lets be honest we got spoiled by the guy. Even over the last few years when people said that he wasn't playing well, he was still a top echelon guy.

His steady presence will definately be missed this year, especially with a lineup that's this young and inexperienced.

It might be a while until we see another franchise goalie

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by nik-

It's interesting that you choose that series, because I think the real display of goaltending against the Wings was the 07' series. That series would have went down as one of the most brutal beatings in playoff history if it wasn't for Kiprusoff. The Flames lost the series anyway, but the level of play by everyone other than Kipper was a disgrace and he turned that into a 6 gamer pretty much single handed.

Games of 46, 51 and 55 shots against, the lowest shot total by the Wings for a game was 30 ... god that series was an embarrassment.

The incredible thing about that series was that he still came out with a .929 save %. Any other goalie and it would have easily been a sub .800. Never have I witnessed the Flames be beaten like that and still keep the series close. I'll never forget Pierre McGuire in between the benches, saying how the Wings looked like a well oiled killing machine. The camera then panned over the Flames bench and PM said the Flames look like a bunch of scared school kids on their first day of school. Even vets like Amonte and Conroy had their heads between their legs.

During that entire playoffs, all the analysts made mention of how amazing Kipper was in round 1. Even up to round 4 they were still talking about him.

[Change of Heart]

Miikka you will always be #1 in my books!

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

^Off topic but Red Light Racicot is one of the best nicknames ever.

Thank you Kipper, jersey retirement is a given, no "Forever a Flame" treatment PLEASE!

Off Topic: On goalie nicknames, I have always been partial to Jose Threeorfour.

[redforever]

And the article in the link below is a good read, if you came across it before or not.

http://ingoalmag.com/interviews/mikk...nter-olympics/

[MissTeeks]

http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=681869

Feaster was the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team that won the Stanley Cup that year, and saw firsthand the Finnish netminder’s brilliance.
“I wasn’t here and can’t speak to the Mike Vernon days but having been a manager in the NHL, first as a manager of a team that played against him in the finals, then to have the opportunity to watch him every game, he was one of the best in the game as far as I’m concerned,” Feaster said.

“Most teams have to worry about goaltending, and get guys in and out and see who is playing well,” said Flames forward Mike Cammalleri. “Miikka was one of those rare guys in modern day where I don’t think you have to worry about him, you knew he was going to be consistent all the time.
Feaster added, “It was night after night that his brilliance gave the team a chance to win. I think he made players around him better, he gave players the opportunity to find their game, get into their game because he was backstopping us and keeping us in them.”

To those on the outside of the organization, Kiprusoff was described as a “recluse” shying away from the spotlight – an image he kept right up until the day he retired.
“I talked to Kipper a lot, and I talked to his agent a lot about the need to do this right, let’s do it at the Saddledome, let’s bring the media in, let’s give them the opportunity to talk to you,” Feaster said. “It was hard enough to get Kipper to do those things when we were paying him and in theory as his employer, we had some leverage.
“Certainly this decision doesn’t surprise me,” Feaster added with a laugh, alluding to Kiprusoff’s decision to retire quietly.
To those inside the dressing room though, Kiprusoff was “full of personality.”
“Miikka was a quiet guy, pretty reserved that way but when you got to know him, sat next to him on the plane, went out to dinner with him, he was full of personality and a real fun person to be around. I enjoyed calling him a friend,” said Cammalleri, a teammate for parts of three seasons.

[Hanna Sniper]

The greatest post in CP history honouring the greatest player in Calgary Flames history...

Only fitting it's a post by Cheese

[FlamingLonghorn]

Certainly the greatest goaltender in Flames history and hopefully a HOFer. If we had won the cup there would be no doubt.

As an aside, my daughter Sutton Miikka was born on August 24th.