Should Theo Fleury be in the HOF?

[beowulf]

I think so. with all the crap he had to endure, his small stature, etc. He still managed to end his career at a PPG rate with 1088 in 1084 games including 455 goals. Even better he had 79 points in 77 playoff games. He was also as close to the triple gold club as you can get without reaching it...Stanley Cup, OG, Worlds...silver!

 

[NickyFotiu]

Putting Theo Fleury's existence aside and judging solely on his play still doesn't get him in the HHOF. Better players haven't been inducted. Sympathy points ain't going to put him over the edge.

Are all the 289 players in the HOF better? Look at the stats I posted.

There are guys in there based on winning cups who were not better. Clarke Gilles? Billy Smith? They were not better.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

dots to connect:

what is gary’s preferred method of dealing with the chicago situation?

what will be the biggest talking point if fleury ever makes the hall of fame?

 

[Paper]

dots to connect:

what is gary’s preferred method of dealing with the chicago situation?

what will be the biggest talking point if fleury ever makes the hall of fame?

He's been eligible for the HHOF before Aldrich even worked for the Hawks. It's such an insane conspiracy you've proposed that Fleury's about to tweet it as we speak.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

He's been eligible for the HHOF before Aldrich even worked for the Hawks. It's such an insane conspiracy you've proposed that Fleury's about to tweet it as we speak.

no, i mean the league has always wanted to minimize the james/swift current/whl/chl story.

this last week just reminds us of those priorities.

ppl are right that theo not being in is because ppl don’t like him. the reason for that is he names names. i have been saying for more than a decade that fleury is never going to make the hall until certain ppl die.

 

[Paper]

Who are these certain people? Surely Theo named them as he does.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Lol. Huge f***ing difference between being worried about the long-term effects of the vaccines and peddling the dangerous hogwash that Fleury is. He's advocating for ivermectin, retweeting the vaccines are about mass sterilization to cull humanity, crying that Christianity is under attack, calling for Bill Gates immediate arrest, claiming some racist nonsense about "Chyna" and any other absurd tweet that crosses his path.

I do not know about that drug but other treatments (Hydro something) were bashed and recently a medical paper came out saying that it did actually help many people. Don't know why Bill Gates should be arrested but that is his opinion. Some people say all sorts of big names should be arrested. Not sure that really should be a factor in the hockey hall of fame. Some people would say that many organized religions are under attack. Not just Christianity. Depends on context and perspective whether a person agrees. I do not personally believe in religion. I can not stand racism nor bigotry but you would have to be more specific about his racism towards China. Is saying you believe China lied about the origins of Covid racist?

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

Are all the 289 players in the HOF better? Look at the stats I posted.

There are guys in there based on winning cups who were not better. Clarke Gilles? Billy Smith? They were not better.

Just because the bar is lowered, it doesn't mean it has to keep lowering.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Just because the bar is lowered, it doesn't mean it has to keep lowering.

Interesting you say keep lowering it because for decades it used to be said if you scored 400 goals or a 1000 points you were in.

 

[jcs0218]

Shit personality. Burned bridges everywhere he went. Weirdo conspiracy theorist. No thanks.

None of that has anything to do with how he was as a player.

He was a star and a better player than a lot of players already in the Hall of Fame.

 

[Paper]

I can not stand racism nor bigotry but you would have to be more specific about his racism towards China. Is saying you believe China lied about the origins of Covid racist?

The guy is a nutcase, he believes "Chyna" is blackmailing world leaders into submission. And he uses "Chyna" repeatedly as some weird insult for China. For someone hell bent on defending his crazy stuff, why not go read it yourself?

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

Interesting you say keep lowering it because for decades it used to be said if you scored 400 goals or a 1000 points you were in.

Where? Even then, times change.

 

[Rapsfan]

Is he related to the goalie Marc Fluery?

 

[SML2]

Theo belongs in the Hall of Very Good. Stat watching means half the players from the 80s should be in. This is why you can't compare eras and have to compare players against their own era. Fleury was an impactful player but he was never even a top 3 at his own position while he played.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Are all the 289 players in the HOF better? Look at the stats I posted.

There are guys in there based on winning cups who were not better. Clarke Gilles? Billy Smith? They were not better.

Billy Smith is absolutely a better goalie than Theo Fleury.

 

[Choralone]

This Kings fan says yes. I didn't know anything about recent conspiracy theory talk, but upon seeing it summarized in this thread, he's either insane or an idiot. But he still belongs in the Hall for his play. For better or worse, he's the player that I most identify with the Calgary franchise - maybe because he was the face of that franchise when I became a fan of the sport.

 

[Paper]

Interesting you say keep lowering it because for decades it used to be said if you scored 400 goals or a 1000 points you were in.

Then where is Ogrodnick?

 

[Fig]

None of that has anything to do with how he was as a player.

He was a star and a better player than a lot of players already in the Hall of Fame.

Yeah, but he's also openly made comments about NHL owners/management/teams, NHL players and the league officials that are likely the cause of him being blackballed. He's been making such comments long before social media. Not all of it is openly on the internet, but there's definitely many snippets in old news paper articles, excerpts in his book etc.

I don't know if the league really wants a guy in the HHOF that makes unverified claims that he failed like 13 drug tests but that the league didn't want to suspend him because he was a top scorer. That or that the league/owners etc. turned their back on him for a variety of reasons that are unsubstantiated.

The current twitter stuff isn't a direct reason, but perhaps insight into the level of opinion and commentary that certain people hold against him. He's also the type of guy who will excitedly jump on any soap box he can get on and start sharing his opinions. Fleury is also the type of guy that if he loves you, he really loves you. But if he scorns you, he will do everything in his power to ensure that opinion is known.


I think Fleury's play is of the calibre to get into the HHOF. It has nothing relating to me, but with the people he's attacked, the bridges he's burned, I can see why many former NHL community members want nothing to do with him.

 

[NickyFotiu]

The guy is a nutcase, he believes "Chyna" is blackmailing world leaders into submission. And he uses "Chyna" repeatedly as some weird insult for China. For someone hell bent on defending his crazy stuff, why not go read it yourself?

I do not know about world leaders. I have seen many people say they feel the WHO lied for China. As far as the spelling I do not know why he would do that. I'm not defending anything other than his NHL career being HOF capable. I really do not know much about all the other stuff. I do think the HOF should be about his playing career not tweets. Let me ask you a question. If a great HOF player who has been in for decades said they think Bill Gates should be arrested or spelled China as Chyna would you call for them to be thrown out of the HOF?

 

[NickyFotiu]

Then where is Ogrodnick?

I would be happy to see John in there but that would point to the bar having been raised not lowered. It was just a saying not an absolute. I think Theo had 200 more points than Johnny O but I really liked John as well.

 

[Fig]

Is he related to the goalie Marc Fluery?

I'm pretty sure he has no relation to any of the Fleury (MAF, Haydn etc.) that are playing in the NHL or other hockey leagues.

 

[Just Linda]

Paul Henderson is not a hall of famer.

He absolutely should be imo

 

[Paper]

I do not know about world leaders. I have seen many people say they feel the WHO lied for China. As far as the spelling I do not know why he would do that. I'm not defending anything other than his NHL career being HOF capable. I really do not know much about all the other stuff. I do think the HOF should be about his playing career not tweets. Let me ask you a question. If a great HOF player who has been in for decades said they think Bill Gates should be arrested or spelled China as Chyna would you call for them to be thrown out of the HOF?

Huge difference between getting into the hall and being removed. And Hull and Gilmour are still in the hall so I don't really give a shit, there's obviously worse people in it (plus probably most of the builders). Fleury was borderline HHOF worthy. His career finishes match someone like Wheeler as I already said with 0 seasons finishing in the top 5. But add in his conspiracy nonsense and terrible ego and I'm fine with him waiting.

 

[kaiser matias]

I do not know about world leaders. I have seen many people say they feel the WHO lied for China. As far as the spelling I do not know why he would do that. I'm not defending anything other than his NHL career being HOF capable. I really do not know much about all the other stuff. I do think the HOF should be about his playing career not tweets. Let me ask you a question. If a great HOF player who has been in for decades said they think Bill Gates should be arrested or spelled China as Chyna would you call for them to be thrown out of the HOF?

He's not being excluded because of any Twitter posts about Covid, especially as they haven't had a vote since he started posting that (I have not looked at Fleury's Twitter posts to see when he started, nor will I ever bother so, to confirm when he began that, so there may be some overlap to their vote in 2020). It's the body of Fleury's entire time associated with the NHL and hockey in general.

One incident of doing weird things is easy enough to wave off, and there's more than a fair share of HHOF inductees who have some questionable incidents in their past. But when it's a decades-long track record, and Fleury has made no apparent effort to reconcile or make amends for his actions, that is not going to curry favour with the voters. They are a conservative (in view, not political opinion) group, and as I wrote earlier have punished inductees for similar actions (obviously different voters, but the trend is there). And until either Fleury changes his act, or a vastly different crop of voters are selected (which even then isn't a guarantee; see their continued blackballing of WHA players), a borderline case is going to continue to be on the outside looking in.

 

[kaiser matias]

He absolutely should be imo

Henderson had a good three weeks in 1972, surrounded by a solid but rather unspectacular career in the NHL and WHA. Inductees should not be selected based on one goal (or three, as the case is for Henderson), regardless of how famous it is. The same can be said for Mike Eruzione, though at least Henderson reached the NHL.