Flames Cut Fleury Loose

I have to admit that I was very confused and a little sad that the feel good story of Theoren Fleury’s attempted NHL comeback with the Calgary Flames has come to an abrupt end. When this 41 year-old announced in late summer that he wanted to come back to the NHL I along with probably 99..9 percent of hockey fans thought it would never happen. First of all this 15 year veteran was still suspended indefinitely for violating his aftercare program and he’s been out of the NHL since 2003 when he was last seen skating for the Chicago Blackhawks. After Commissioner Gary Bettman lifted Fleury’s suspension in early September and when he was invited on a tryout basis right afterwards with his former team in Calgary I became more intrigued and began thinking wow maybe he can in fact do the impossible and make a comeback. Right away when news broke of Fleury being invited to the camp there was a definite buzz in Calgary where people still have a soft heart for Fleury who back in 1989 as a rookie played a pivotal role by scoring 11 post season points in helping the Flames win the franchise first Stanley Cup. During his stint with the Flames, which lasted until March of 1999 Fleury was always playing every shift like it was his last. Even though he was only 5-6 and 182 pounds he won over the fans by always competing with bigger players and coming out on top. Even though he drew countless ovations and averaged a point per game in four exhibition contests, Calgary GM Darryl Sutter still cut the seven time All Star who in his career played over 1,000 games and accumulated 1,088 career points. In typical fashion Fleury reacted very classy towards both Darryl and coach Brent Sutter in praising them for giving him an opportunity in camp. “I am very thankful to Darryl and the Flames organization for following through on the commitment to provide me with this opportunity,” Fleury who was cut on Friday said. “I said in the beginning that no matter what the outcome, this would be a success story. I intend to take the next few days to review this experience and make decisions with my family regarding next steps in my life.” After producing in those four games I was excited for Fleury especially after overcoming his on ice problems that interfered with his career. Upon being invited to camp the veteran announced that he wants to end his NHL career with a different taste then when he was virtually forced out years ago by the league. Even though his birth certificate says he is 41 years old I believed that Fleury was good enough to log minutes on the third or fourth line while most importantly adding that veteran leadership. In the past few seasons Calgary has greatly underachieved. Picked by some to be serious contenders for the Stanley Cup the Flames instead have been eliminated in the first round in the past couple of post seasons. Fleury has played on not only a Stanley Cup team in ’89 but also the Canadian Olympic team in 2002 that won gold. The point is that this little guy with a heart of a lion could have been a valuable asset in teaching the Flames what it takes mentally to win the Stanley Cup. Still GM Darryl Sutter saw it a different way. “There was a decision made here this morning that, for Theo to play here, he was going to have to fit into our top six wingers,” Sutter said. “He didn’t have the capabilities to do so. It had nothing to do with Theo’s heart or his mind for the game because I learned a lot here the last two weeks just being around him. It’s unfortunate that when you haven’t played the game for six years, and at the age he’s at, that the legs just aren’t where they need to be.”  Despite this setback Flames veteran forward Craig Conroy believes that this little warrior can still compete and be an effective player in the NHL. He is convinced that Fleury will catch on somewhere if that’s what he wants. “If he really wants to (keep playing), there are probably opportunities,” Conroy said. “Claude Lemieux, in that situation, went to the minors and he got called up. Theo could easily do that if he wants to. Obviously he wanted to make this team now but I think there are opportunities for him out there and someone will give him a chance.” Fleury wants to take a few days to mull over what he wants to do before making a decision regarding his hockey future on Monday.