Special Announcement Coming for March 2 Game vs. Wild UPDATE** Flames retire #12

[TheScorpion]

Seems pretty official to me. That's the typeset on the Vernon and McDonald banners. He's getting retired.

Good call.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

You mean that Boston trade that would have got us Khochlechev or whatever the busts name was, Batrkowski (who did play and suck here) and a later 1st than we got from the Pens?

5+ years later that deal did not hurt the Flames at all as it was equally as garbage as the deal they got from the Pens.

Sure, but the point is he reneged on a verbal agreement and put himself before the organization. Which, of course, was his right. Retrospect isn't really a viable factor here, though. The Flames felt they had a better deal from Boston, and they negotiated with Iginla and the Bruins in good faith...which bit them in the ass.

Originally Posted by Bleeding Red

Didn't Iggy get a call from Crosby before the trade? "Come here and play my wing."


People are people. Sometimes things are said in the heat of the moment. At some point one has to give others the benefit of the doubt and allow for a little forgiveness.

Grand scheme of things it's at the bottom of the worst things a player could do given everything the player gave to the city and organization...but it deserves an asterisk to me.

[Jiri Hrdina]

The Conroy comments were but one incident where Fleury has felt the need to stroke his on ego by criticizing or minimizing the accomplishments of current players.

Here's another one:

“But I see how he plays. And I see times when he does have to be physical, it’s difficult for him. I see Johnny Gaudreau as Cliff Ronning. Cliff played that same style of game, and Cliff almost had 1,000 points in the NHL,” Fleury says. Ronning left the NHL with 869 points in 1,137 games.

“So if Johnny goes on to have a career like that, the Flames would be more than happy. There’s a lot more opportunity in the game for smaller players than there has been at any point. I’ve always said: A big player has to prove he can’t play, and a little player has to prove he can play.”

Fleury says he would be thrilled to see the game open up even further. Goaltenders notwithstanding, who wouldn’t want to watch 10-9 horseraces? To see Gaudreau rack up 212 points? When Fleury is critical of the modern NHL or its players, it’s because he wants the sport he loves to flourish.

“When I talk like this, people think, Oh, Theo’s bitter. No. I played the game at the highest level you can play at. I think I know a little about what I’m talking about,” he explains. “I’ll be honest with you: I don’t think I get enough credit for how great a player I really was. There’s this cloud hanging over my head because of the behaviour at the end of my career. But when I put my jersey on every night, no matter what was going on off the ice, I gave absolutely everything I had to give. Sometime I feel that gets lost because of the other stuff.”
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...small-players/

I give credit that its been a while since he's said something incredibly dumb or arrogant. But this is the stuff that answers why his number isn't up there. Compare his behavior to Iginla's and it is crystal clear.

And no he shouldn't have made the team in his try out. He was too slow. Way too slow.

[dustygoon]

Didn’t someone guess this at beginning of year when they saw which games had the vintage jerseys? Wild fame was the one that didn’t make sense. Rest were against Canadian teams or something.

[SuperMatt18]

In retrospect neither trade would have been good for the Flames and the real issue was only having two viable trade partners to start with since they waited too long.

Sadly in the end that deal worked out worse for Iginla than it did for anyone else. He never fit in on that Pittsburgh team and I think if he had went to Boston that season he might actually win the cup that year.

That series with Chicago was that tight. 2-2 after 4 games and both Chicago wins were in OT. And clearly based on his performance the next season he fit in well on that Boston team.

[Jiri Hrdina]

I'm also guessing that what could be in the way for Fleury is that the organization is willing to give him Forever a Flame honors but not retire the number, but Fleury wants the number retired.
I hate the Forever a Flame thing. It feels like a half measure. But if Chopper gets that - so does Fleury
I hope they make an exception with Iginla.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by keenan87

Theo, Kipper, and Regehr also deserve to have their jerseys retired.

Regehr? I'm a big fan of his and feel he was an amazing Flame. But retiring a jersey (whether Forever a Flame exists or not) should be held for very very special players, and for me Regehr doesn't meet that criteria. He was a very good Flame, but far from an exceptional NHLer.

Theo and Kipper would fit the bill, at least from a special player perspective. With Theo it's about off ice stuff (whether it should be or not, that's another question) and with Kipper I'd assume the debate would be was he "exceptional" for enough time to warrant a retirement.

[Strange Brew]

I've said this before, but during the entirety of the Flames existence in Calgary there have been exactly three players who were the absolute face of the club to it's fans.

9
14
12

Those three deserve to be in the rafters more than all others. It is well past the time to forgive past transgressions with Fleury and allow the player and the team's fans to celebrate his accomplishments appropriately.

Very happy that they are not wasting any time with Iginla. I'd like to find a way to be there for that game.

[FlamesFanStrandedInEDM]

Please have it be a jersey retirement and not a “Forever a Flame”.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

In retrospect neither trade would have been good for the Flames and the real issue was only having two viable trade partners to start with since they waited too long.

Sadly in the end that deal worked out worse for Iginla than it did for anyone else. He never fit in on that Pittsburgh team and I think if he had went to Boston that season he might actually win the cup that year.

That series with Chicago was that tight. 2-2 after 4 games and both Chicago wins were in OT. And clearly based on his performance the next season he fit in well on that Boston team.

Actually, from what I understand they only had 2 trade partners because Iginla said he would only accept a late season trade to either Boston or Pittsburgh.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by dustygoon

Didn’t someone guess this at beginning of year when they saw which games had the vintage jerseys? Wild fame was the one that didn’t make sense. Rest were against Canadian teams or something.

Wild game on the 2nd isn't a retro jersey night

[Fredrik]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Seems pretty official to me. That's the typeset on the Vernon and McDonald banners. He's getting retired.

Good call.

On Facebook, the image is under a goat... Greatest of all time!

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

The Conroy comments were but one incident where Fleury has felt the need to stroke his on ego by criticizing or minimizing the accomplishments of current players.

Here's another one:

“But I see how he plays. And I see times when he does have to be physical, it’s difficult for him. I see Johnny Gaudreau as Cliff Ronning. Cliff played that same style of game, and Cliff almost had 1,000 points in the NHL,” Fleury says. Ronning left the NHL with 869 points in 1,137 games.

“So if Johnny goes on to have a career like that, the Flames would be more than happy. There’s a lot more opportunity in the game for smaller players than there has been at any point. I’ve always said: A big player has to prove he can’t play, and a little player has to prove he can play.”

Fleury says he would be thrilled to see the game open up even further. Goaltenders notwithstanding, who wouldn’t want to watch 10-9 horseraces? To see Gaudreau rack up 212 points? When Fleury is critical of the modern NHL or its players, it’s because he wants the sport he loves to flourish.

“When I talk like this, people think, Oh, Theo’s bitter. No. I played the game at the highest level you can play at. I think I know a little about what I’m talking about,” he explains. “I’ll be honest with you: I don’t think I get enough credit for how great a player I really was. There’s this cloud hanging over my head because of the behaviour at the end of my career. But when I put my jersey on every night, no matter what was going on off the ice, I gave absolutely everything I had to give. Sometime I feel that gets lost because of the other stuff.”
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...small-players/

I give credit that its been a while since he's said something incredibly dumb or arrogant. But this is the stuff that answers why his number isn't up there. Compare his behavior to Iginla's and it is crystal clear.

And no he shouldn't have made the team in his try out. He was too slow. Way too slow.

I don't really see anything here that speaks to why Flames haven't retired his number. Look up arrogance in the dictionary and you will see pictures of hundreds of HOF athletes across every sport.

For whatever reason, it is personal between Fleury and the team's ownership. It's rather obvious what the fans want.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by Hes

I actually pulled them off the Ticketmaster Exchange. Will go to that one. Wild games are typically automatic sells

Between buyers snatching up tickets and sellers pulling their listings, the resale tickets on ticketmaster were going very quickly. I was lucky to snag a pair on fansfirst.ca -- prices on that site jumped by 50% or more shortly after I purchased.

[Rando]

Iginla starts career wearing #24, then obviously #12.

Gaborik wore #12 with Wild, then #12 with Kings. When Iginla went to Kings, he couldn't wear #12 because of Gaborik.

That is why the jersey retirement game is against the Wild.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

The Conroy comments were but one incident where Fleury has felt the need to stroke his on ego by criticizing or minimizing the accomplishments of current players.

Here's another one:

“But I see how he plays. And I see times when he does have to be physical, it’s difficult for him. I see Johnny Gaudreau as Cliff Ronning. Cliff played that same style of game, and Cliff almost had 1,000 points in the NHL,” Fleury says. Ronning left the NHL with 869 points in 1,137 games.

“So if Johnny goes on to have a career like that, the Flames would be more than happy. There’s a lot more opportunity in the game for smaller players than there has been at any point. I’ve always said: A big player has to prove he can’t play, and a little player has to prove he can play.”

Fleury says he would be thrilled to see the game open up even further. Goaltenders notwithstanding, who wouldn’t want to watch 10-9 horseraces? To see Gaudreau rack up 212 points? When Fleury is critical of the modern NHL or its players, it’s because he wants the sport he loves to flourish.

“When I talk like this, people think, Oh, Theo’s bitter. No. I played the game at the highest level you can play at. I think I know a little about what I’m talking about,” he explains. “I’ll be honest with you: I don’t think I get enough credit for how great a player I really was. There’s this cloud hanging over my head because of the behaviour at the end of my career. But when I put my jersey on every night, no matter what was going on off the ice, I gave absolutely everything I had to give. Sometime I feel that gets lost because of the other stuff.”
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...small-players/

I give credit that its been a while since he's said something incredibly dumb or arrogant. But this is the stuff that answers why his number isn't up there. Compare his behavior to Iginla's and it is crystal clear.

And no he shouldn't have made the team in his try out. He was too slow. Way too slow.

Ok Jiri, seriously, what did he say here that isn't correct or stroking his ego? I don't see that at all. If anything I think this proves the point that you just don't like the player because there is nothing bashing anything there at all. Like nothing. This would be like saying Vernon should have his number ripped down because he has said it was harder to be a goalie back then with smaller equipment. You are seriously reaching here.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I'm also guessing that what could be in the way for Fleury is that the organization is willing to give him Forever a Flame honors but not retire the number, but Fleury wants the number retired.
I hate the Forever a Flame thing. It feels like a half measure. But if Chopper gets that - so does Fleury
I hope they make an exception with Iginla.

If they make an exception with Iggy they have to do the same for Theo. There is a reason nobody wears his number. Again, your obvious dislike for the player has no bearing on his accomplishments for the team. Chopper was a great player but to say he was on the same level of Fleury or Iggy is ridiculous.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

I don't really see anything here that speaks to why Flames haven't retired his number. Look up arrogance in the dictionary and you will see pictures of hundreds of HOF athletes across every sport.

For whatever reason, it is personal between Fleury and the team's ownership. It's rather obvious what the fans want.

I don't know it's obvious what all the fans want. I have no issue with Flames not retiring his jersey. Fantastic player, but he wasn't the best role model or brand ambassador given his behavior during his career. I have 0 issue with the Flames putting a layer of does this person represent what we want the Flames organization to stand for, on top of on ice performance as a factor.

I'm also cool if they bury the hatchet at some point if his name does go up, but I'd assume at this point what the Flames would need would be for him to actively become the type of ambassador they'd wanted back them to make up for the fact it wasn't there when he was playing, versus simply no longer being a negative impact on the brand and how he represents the company.

[RM14]

TM map looking pretty scarce now.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Ok Jiri, seriously, what did he say here that isn't correct or stroking his ego? I don't see that at all. If anything I think this proves the point that you just don't like the player because there is nothing bashing anything there at all. Like nothing. This would be like saying Vernon should have his number ripped down because he has said it was harder to be a goalie back then with smaller equipment. You are seriously reaching here.

Jiri hates Fleury as much as you love him. But since we know this announcement is about Iginla, this side discussion no longer seems relevant.