Future Flames Jersey Retirements

[Cole436]

I was recently going through the list of numbers retired league wide and was a bit surprised to learn the Flames have one of smallest pools of retired jerseys in the league, with 3 numbers officially out of circulation.

As the team was established in 1972, it’s one of oldest teams in the league outside the Penguins that have so few retired numbers. The only teams that have less retired numbers than the Calgary Flames are:

1967 Expansion:
Pittsburgh 2x

1991 Expansion:
San Jose 1x

1992-93 Expansion:
Tampa Bay 2x
Florida Panthers 1x
Ottawa Senators 2x

1998 Expansion:
Nashville 1x

2000 Expansion:
Minnesota 1x
Columbus 1x

Seattle and Vegas have no officially retired players yet, and Arizona/Winnipeg is confusing as they share a bunch of numbers.

It feels like we’re behind the 8 ball here on retiring the numbers of past great players and rectifying the failure that was “Forever a Flame”.

Here’s a list of potential numbers that could be retired


#2 Al MacInnis

This seems like a no brainer. If he had for some reason called it a career in 94 his resume would have been first ballot HHOF. I know the Flames have a strained relationship with their 80’s/90’s stars but #2 needs to be hanging from the rafters and removed from the “Forever a Flame” program. His relationship with St. Louis is a touchy subject with a lot of Flames fans, but Chopper deserves the same treatment here as he gets there.

Flames Highlights

2x First Team All-Star
3x Second Team All-Star
1x Stanley Cup
1x Conn Smythe
1x Canada Cup
3x Norris Finalist
2x Norris Runner Up
218 Goals and 822 Points in 803 Games
25 Goals and 103 Points in 92 Playoff Games
Franchise Leader in GP (end of his tenure in '94)
Franchise Leader in Points (end of his tenure in '94)
Franchise Leader in Assists
Franchise Leader in Playoff Points
Franchise Leader in Playoff Assists


#34 Miikka Kiprusoff

If Vernon is up there then Kipper needs to be as well. He has the only Vezina in Flames history, took us to Game 7 of the SCF, was our starter for nearly a decade, and is the greatest goaltender to ever wear the C. Never winning a cup is a knock on him, but I don’t think that should stop him from getting in the rafters.

Flames Highlights

Career .913 SV%
Career 2.46 GAA
1x Vezina Winner
1x Vezina Runner Up
3x Vezina Finalist
1x Hart Finalist
1x NHL First Team All-Star
305 wins in 576 games
Franchise Leader in GP by Goaltender
Franchise Leader in Wins
Franchise Leader in SO


#14 Theo Fleury

I personally hate this. As a hockey player and survivor, Fleury should be remembered as one of the greats. Unfortunately he’s revealed himself to be such human trash the past few years that it’s overshadowed so much of the positive impact he made during his career. I think at this point the Flames should keep the number out of circulation but Theo lost his opportunity to be celebrated as a Flames great.

Flames Highlights

1x Stanley Cup
1x Second Team All-Star
2x 100 point seasons
1x 50 goal season
364 goals and 830 Points in 791 Regular Season Games
29 goals and 62 Points in 59 Playoff Games
Franchise Leader in Points (end of his tenure in ‘99)
Franchise Leader in Goals (end of his tenure in ‘99)
3rd All Time in PO Points
Team Captain 1995-1997


#25 Joe Nieuwendyk

Joe’s a harder one to justify. Huge part of the team but only stayed for 9 years and had a messy ending to his tenure. However he is part of the “Forever a Flame” and at this point it doesn’t make sense not to transition it over to a full retirement if it’s done for MacInnis.

Flames Highlights

1x Stanley Cup
1x Calder Trophy
2x 50 Goal Season
314 Goals and 616 Points in 577 Regular Season Games
32 Goals and 60 Points in 66 Playoff Games
Team Captain 1991-1995


#10 Gary Roberts

If you retire Nieuwy then I think you need to retire Roberts as well. 10 seasons, cup winner, fan favourite, and a 50 goal scorer. Didn’t have the tumultuous end that many of the 90’s stars did, but left the team for health reasons.

Flames Highlights

1x Stanley Cup
1x Masterson Trophy
1x 50 Goal Season
257 Goals and 505 Points in 586 Regular Season Games
13 Goals and 43 Points in 58 Playoff Games


#5 Mark Giordano

13 seasons, undrafted, worked his way up from a 7th defenseman to be the Captain for 8 years and won a Norris. Was a guiding light during one of the most challenging eras of Flames hockey and is second only to Iginla in GP as a Flame. No playoff success but a pillar in the community. I think he’s in the same boat as Kiprusoff, and needs to be up there.

Flames Highlights

1x Norris
1x First Team All-Star
1x Messier Award
143 Goals and 509 Points in 949 Regular Season Games
1 Goal and 7 points in 23 Playoff Games
2nd All-Time in GP
Team Captain 2013-2021


#28 Robyn Regher

The tunnel of death. Ask any Flames fan who watched hockey between 1999-2011 and they'll know exactly what that means. Reggie was as tough as they came and an incredible defensive defenseman. Not a lick of offence in his game, but he could control a shift using only his body. Teams around the league have retired their "Robyn Regher", but his career accomplishments likely don't come close to making the cut for the extremely high bar the Flames have set for jersey retirements.

Flames Highlights

30 Goals and 168 Points in 827 Regular Season Games
3 Goals and 15 Points in 40 Playoff Games
1x World Cup of Hockey Gold
1x Olympic Team Selection
2nd All Time in GP (end of his tenure in '11)


#13 Johnny Gaudreau

This is a little too raw for everyone right now, but there will likely be some debates about this in the future. Johnny was the face of the franchise for 8 years and arguably one of the most electric players in the league. He played clutch in the regular season, and had some big moments in the post season as well. When you put it into perspective, Fleury only played around 2.3 more seasons of games than Johnny did.

Flames Highlights

1x First Team All-Star
1x Lady Byng
2x 100 point season (99 is close enough)
1x Top 3 Finish in Points
210 Goals and 609 Points in 602 Regular Season Games
11 Goals and 33 Points in 48 Playoff Games


If it was up to me, #2 and #34 are up tomorrow with a bit more hesitation for #25 and #10. #5 has a place waiting for him when he decides to call it a career. #28, #13, and #14 don't make the cut.

[butterfly]

Seattle retired #32 already.

[Cole436]

Originally Posted by butterfly

Seattle retired #32 already.

Yes, I’m aware. I specified “player” retirements. Vegas and Minnesota both have retired numbers as well that don’t associate with a player.

[blankall]

I'm always a bit torn on retiring players that bolted for more money almost as soon as they could.

For example, with Al MacInnis, the Flames offered him $2.5/million per season but he leaves to St. Louis for $3.5 million and then plays the second half of his career there.

I'm fine with Flames "honouring" his number but not actually retiring it.

[TheIronMaiden]

Gio will have his number retired. But likely no one else on this list will. Although Gio will never be synonymous with team success like many of these other players.

[butterfly]

Yeah, there's no Iginla on that list. Fleury should be up there based on having all the Flames records at one time but I can see why it hasn't happened.

I like that there aren't many, it sets the bar high and leaves the good numbers in circulation so we aren't the Yankees.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Flames are fine with number retirements as it is.

[Bingo]

Honestly can't believe MacInnis is still in that second category, almost embarassing to me.

I'd agree on Kiprusoff and probably Giordano but at least they're more recent and maybe not a rush.

25 is tough with his exit, 10 less so.

Fleury has made a mess of things so probably out.

[manwiches]

13 Johnny Gaudreau

I'll see myself out

[Dx54]

Originally Posted by manwiches

13 Johnny Gaudreau

I'll see myself out

Not a bad discussion IMO. I don't think a number retirement will happen, but I can see that no one wears it for a long time.

[ComixZone]

10 will get retired for Jonathan Huberdeau.

I think 34 and 5 are the ones worth discussing, but none of the other ones. Iginla and Lanny are icons in the city and earned it on the ice. Vernon is a bit debatable in my eyes, but he’s up there.

Getting your jersey retired should be a very, very rare event.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Honestly can't believe MacInnis is still in that second category, almost embarassing to me.

I'd agree on Kiprusoff and probably Giordano but at least they're more recent and maybe not a rush.

25 is tough with his exit, 10 less so.

Fleury has made a mess of things so probably out.

Unfortunately Macinnis is now a St. Louis Blue and will probably always be remembered that way given his involvement in the organization post-retirement.

I'd retire 34 and that's it.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

10 will get retired for Jonathan Huberdeau.

I think 34 and 5 are the ones worth discussing, but none of the other ones. Iginla and Lanny are icons in the city and earned it on the ice. Vernon is a bit debatable in my eyes, but he’s up there.

Getting your jersey retired should be a very, very rare event.

The only real justification for Vernon in my eyes is that he played Royals, Canucks, Wranglers and Flames. He's entirely a product of the Calgary hockey system and he won a cup here. That's worth honouring.

[boogerz]

Yes to #5 and #34, but no to the rest.


Maybe yes to #2 because he has the most hardware of any Flames player while donning the flaming C. However, does MacInnis even suit up for the Flames alumni team when they travel? If he cut all ties to the organization since leaving, then "forever a flame" is enough. Most current Flames fans weren't even around for his time with the Flames (I was a kid/barely remember it) and/or they associate him with the Blues

[Gord_Wappel]

I'd retire 14 but for Kent Nilsson then pop some popcorn and watch Theos Twitter blow up.

[Jordan!]

34 is the only candidate imo.

What exactly did Giordano accomplish team wise? I think team success is a big part of it

[Cole436]

Originally Posted by Jordan!

34 is the only candidate imo.

What exactly did Giordano accomplish team wise? I think team success is a big part of it

The bulk of Gio's career came during one of the worst eras in Flames history, as his breakout coincided with the team imploding. He was injured during the '09 playoffs and the next 5 years were a failed retool into a rebuild (2009-2014).

He could have asked for a trade at any time or walked after his contract ended in 2011, but he chose to commit to the club, took on the captaincy and grew into one of the best and most respected players in the league. His dedication to the Flames shouldn't be undersold, as his leadership was a reason we didn’t turn into the rebuilding Oilers.

His charity and community work defined a lot of his tenure as well.

Purely from a hockey perspective, winning a Norris is a big deal and he would have likely have a second if he didn’t get injured in 2015.

[powderjunkie]

12
5 9 30 34
2* 10 13 14 25

MacInnis absolutely belongs in the rafters if he wants to be, but I've heard he was personally reluctant?

[activeStick]

Yeah I think how the player feels about the Flames and his time with the Flames is an important consideration. Without going into who should be blamed for it, MacInnis is more associated to the Blues than the Flames. I think in his case, the desire might be there from the Flames but probably not reciprocated.

Would love to see Kiprusoff retired.

[Madrox]

Yeah, Gio and Kipper are the only discussions to have here IMO. You don't retire the number of a guy who forced his way out in his prime.