Message To Hollywood; You Just Witnessed Hockey's Version Of Rudy

On Sept. 17, 2009, over 10 years after Theo Fleury was traded to the Colorado Avalanche, the littlest superstar in NHL history made his comeback to the game, on the same ice that his career began 20 years ago.

With his demons and the allegations of his past, Fleury became a 1,000 points man in the NHL and won a Stanley Cup in 1989.  Most experts said that Fleury would never play a game in the NHL and he proved them all wrong.  He played for Team Canada, internationally, and became one of the biggest pests in NHL history.

What Flames Fan's will always remember the most about No. 14, was his game-winning goal in game six of the Smythe Division Semi-Final series against the Edmonton Oilers and his subsequent celebration, are now part of hockey history. 

Before the game last night, albeit, an exhibition game.  All the focus was on one man, the 41 year-old Theoren Fleury.  Before the game on the Fan960, during a segment called the NHL insider with Peter Maher, Maher commented that the best way for this night could possibly end, is for the game to end in a tie and get to a shootout.  At that point, Fleury scores the only goal in the shootout and the Flames win the game.

What did Peter Maher know before the game because that is exactly how the script was written and how the story of last night’s game ended?  Maher even uttered his signature phrase. That he says when something amazing has just happened in.  Theo Fleury received the two most famous words on Calgary Flames’ radio, “Yeah Baby.”

I don’t think anyone in their right mind thinks Fleury has a chance to crack this line-up at the start of the season but the only thing that was missing last night was Fleury sliding down the ice on his knees and being mobbed by his teammates as they carried him off the ice.

Maybe that will be the final scene in the movie about Theoren Fleury’s life.  Just like at the end of Rudy.