Welcome to LWOS’ Summer Hockey Series, Best of the Rest. Plenty of sites do a version of a 30 greats in 30 days series, but this year we are doing something a little bit different. We want to look at the best player from each team who is not in the Hockey Hall Of Fame. In order to do this there are some rules. First the player must have been a significant part of this franchise (franchises include their time in a previous city… see Winnipeg/Atlanta) and must be retired for at least 3 years, making them Hall of Fame eligible. To see all the articles in the series, check out the homepage here.
Though the Calgary Flames don’t quite have the same Hall of Fame credentials as their provincial brethren in Edmonton, the strong Flames teams of the 80’s, which won the franchise’s only Stanley Cup in 1989, produced some Hall-worthy players.
Among those are former captain Lanny McDonald, the defenseman with the blistering slap shot Al MacInnis, high-scoring center Joe Nieuwendyk, American sniper Joe Mullen, and fan-favorite Doug Gilmour. All were integral parts of a squad that eventually dethroned the Oilers (if only for one year) as Stanley Cup champions, and all had lengthy, productive careers that would propel them to the Hall of Fame.
Since then, the Flames have produced one sure-fire Hall of Famer in franchise icon Jarome Iginla, but he’s still a few years away from hanging up the skates. Instead, we’ll look at a precocious little winger playing his rookie season in 1989 named Theoren Fleury.
Calgary Flames – Theoren Fleury
To call Fleury a long-shot to make the NHL would be phrasing the situation kindly. He was an 8th round selection (166th overall) in 1987 by the Flames, though he didn’t fall that far based on his talent level. In his last two WHL seasons, Fleury combined for 129 goals and 289 points in only 131 games. No, his skill wasn’t in question, but his size certainly was.
In an NHL era that still valued punishing hits and fighting, many doubted whether Fleury’s tiny 5-foot-6 stature would translate to the NHL. However, Fleury wasn’t all about skill, as his 235 PIM in 1987-88 with Moose Jaw could attest. Fleury always knew he would have to battle against the pre-conceived notions about his size, and played a pesky, aggressive game with a brash attitude to compensate.
Fleury finally made his debut with the Flames on January 3rd, 1989, and would record his first NHL point two nights later against the Los Angeles Kings when he had 3 assists. It was a productive beginning to his NHL career, a season in which he played only 36 games but recorded 14 goals and 34 points. He would record 11 points in 22 playoff games that spring, helping Calgary to the Stanley Cup. Sadly, it would be the only one Fleury would ever win.
His production increased during his sophomore campaign, but it was the 1990-91 season when Fleury finally hit the big time, potting 51 goals and 104 points in a season in which he played in the NHL all-star game, and also set an NHL record by scoring 3 short-handed goals in one game. Additionally, he led the league with an amazing +48.
Fleury was quickly proving that size was no issue, and in fact could be one of his greatest assets. Often defenders would be fooled by this tiny skater coming down the wing, only to be surprised when he either made a great play, or ran right into them. Never being afraid to back down from a fight or to head into high-traffic areas was the only way Fleury could survive in the NHL. He didn’t just survive, he thrived.
Over the next few seasons, Fleury would continue to be the offensive catalyst for the Flames, as well as one of the top wingers in the NHL. He posted another 100 point season in 1992-93, and would have had six consecutive seasons of at least 30 goals, if not for the 1994 NHL lockout (a season in which he still managed 29 goals in only 47 games).
However, this time period was not without some difficulty for Fleury. Prior to the 1995-96 season, Fleury missed most of training camp holding out for a new contract. Ultimately, he signed a new deal with the Flames, but again had to miss playing in the pre-season because of a mysterious, painful stomach ailment. It would turn out to be Crohn’s Disease, and doctor’s were eventually able to provide Fleury with the proper medication. Despite all this, Fleury still led the team in scoring with 96 points and played in his third NHL all-star game.
Fleury’s final three seasons (from 1996-1999) with the Flames would be productive ones filled with many accolades, though he never reached those lofty point totals again. In November 1997, Fleury scored his 325th career goal, passing Nieuwendyk on the team’s all-time list, and he would pass MacInnis as the top scorer in team history when he netted his 823rd point in 1999. He would play three more all-star games as a representative of the Flames, and lead the team in scoring multiple times, despite his point totals not being what they once were.
However, the end for Fleury in Calgary came just two short weeks after his record-setting point. With the team worried about losing Fleury to unrestricted free agency and mired in the middle of a 3-year playoff drought, they traded him to the Colorado Avalanche for Rene Corbet, Wade Belak and Robyn Regehr (who would become a staple on the Calgary blueline for years). Fleury left the team as the all-time leader in goals (364), points (830), game-winning goals (53), and short-handed goals (28). Eventually the former three would be surpassed by Iginla, though his record for short-handed goals still stands. Fleury also finished 5th in franchise history with 1139 penalty minutes.
Fleury would play five more NHL seasons split between the Avalanche, the New York Rangers and the Chicago Blackhawks but, despite a 30 goal campaign in 2000-01 in which he made his 7th and final all-star game appearance, he was a shadow of his former self. By this time, it became apparent that off-ice issues, including alcoholism (which forced him into the league’s substance abuse program multiple times) and confirmed allegations of sexual abuse by his former coach in junior, had become too much of a distraction, and he was eventually forced out of the NHL. Ultimately it was a sad ending for a player who started his career with a bang by winning the Stanley Cup and ended it with a failed comeback attempt with the Flames in 2009 after three years away from professional hockey.
So, where does Fleury’s career stack up against other players vying for the Hall of Fame? His career average of more than a point per game (1084 games, 1088 points in the regular season, 77 games, 79 points in the playoffs) is very good, and his 455 career goals are just outside of the magic 500 number. His seven all-star game appearances certainly help the cause as well, as will his 35 career short-handed goals, tied for 9th all-time.
Also, Fleury is one of only seven players to have scored 1000 points and recorded 1800 penalty minutes in his career. For Hall voters who value toughness combined with skill, there is no question about Fleury.
However, a major and perhaps unforgivable factor working against Fleury is the fact that he never led the league in any major offensive category during his career, nor did he ever win an individual award.
The Stanley Cup championship also helps his campaign, as does his record internationally. Fleury would win gold at the IIHF World Juniors in 1988, as well as gold in the Canada Cup in 1991, and gold in the 2002 Olympics. Collectively, he scored 38 points in 44 senior-level international matches.
While all those qualifications leave Fleury just on the cusp of Hall eligibility, well all know the Hall of Fame voters love a good story, and Fleury’s is one of the best. Despite being one of the smallest players of his generation, Fleury overcame that potential difficulty to be one of the top scoring wingers of the 1990’s. Throw in his perseverence in the face of sexual abuse, alcoholism, and Chron’s Disease, and you have a heart-warming story of a man who had to struggle for every accolade thrown his way. It’s just the type of thing that may sway Hall voters to Fleury’s side.
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