Top 50 Flames of the Last 25 Years - #3

[Lunatik]

No love for Loob?

nope. ineligible.

 

[Master Bill]

MacInnis has to be in the top 5. Best defenseman to ever wear the Flames jersey.

After Fleury, MacInnis - Nieuwendyk - Suter - Vernon. Some in that list are obscure players unfortunately.

 

[Gritty]

Al Mac.

 

[Wayne Primeau]

Odd cut-off date - I was actually going from the Cup win, which was 88-89, but in any case MacInnis put up 103 points in 90-91, Norris nomination. He had another 3 years of PPG+ after that. My point still stands.

Since the cup? Not really all that odd, especially in that it's a multiple of 5.

 

[ESH]

This summarizes Kipper's entire reputation among Flames fans. Deified based on one amazing year.

Kipper might get overrated sometimes but you're definitely underrating him. He won the Vezina in 2006 and besides that he has finishes of 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 8. And All-Star voting finishes of 1, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6. Compared to Theo Fleury who has All-Star finishes of 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 14 with the Flames. That seems pretty even. When you throw in the fact that Kiprusoff had an amazing playoff run to the finals, it tips the scales for me.

 

[Wayne Primeau]

Kipper might get overrated sometimes but you're definitely underrating him. He won the Vezina in 2006 and besides that he has finishes of 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 8. And All-Star voting finishes of 1, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6. Compared to Theo Fleury who has All-Star finishes of 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 14 with the Flames. That seems pretty even. When you throw in the fact that Kiprusoff had an amazing playoff run to the finals, it tips the scales for me.

But Theo won a cup.

 

[Anglesmith]

But Theo won a cup.

Not in this timeframe he didn't.

 

[Wayne Primeau]

Not in this timeframe he didn't.

 

[Mobiandi]

Is the only criteria for this poll just how good X player's stats were over Y number years with the team?

Because my argument in favour of Kipper would be as follows:

Yes, I agree that based on the number of years Kipper spent with us, he is a bit overrated. However, the truth is he was the best player we could've hoped for in 2003-04. In a fashion much like Dubnyk, he was very largely responsible for our playoff berth, and subsequent Cup run. While it is true that he peaked in that season, 2004 still marked a turning point for this franchise and the fact that he was the most valuable contributor to that season will always be special.

What would've happened if we went another year without the playoffs, especially with the possibility of a lockout the following season? Where would be now? Kipper has rightfully earned the status of a legend in Calgary and will always be that #2 guy for me, right before Iggy. Call it 2004 syndrome, but no other player besides Jarome has had as much impact on the franchise. And the fact that the didn't he didn't regress very much in the following seasons(a la Steve Mason at the CBJ, for example) also helps his case.

 

[Volica]

Theo running away with it. Really wish they'd hang that #14. It's more or less already retired, no one's used the number since 1999; and I doubt we see anyone else in it anytime soon.

It's weird how strict the Flames are with their number retirements, for the amount of really, really good players they had on their teams over the years; only having two plus two for the 'Forever a Flame' thing.