Why didn't Theo make the '09/10 Flames?

[illpucks]

PPG in preseason including


I thought he looked great and posted good stats . How is it he couldn't be slotted into the 3rd line? Flames weren't a particularly strong team this season and didn't make the playoffs.

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[Jets4Life]

IIRC, Theo definitely impressed in the preseason, but he only wanted to come back as a top 6 forward, IIRC or maybe it was top 9. Either way, I think the Flames offered him a roster spot, but it may have been on the 4th line, so Theo chose to retire again.

 

[seventieslord]

IIRC, Theo definitely impressed in the preseason, but he only wanted to come back as a top 6 forward, IIRC or maybe it was top 9. Either way, I think the Flames offered him a roster spot, but it may have been on the 4th line, so Theo chose to retire again.

You're absolutely right; I remember it exactly like this.

 

[illpucks]

IIRC, Theo definitely impressed in the preseason, but he only wanted to come back as a top 6 forward, IIRC or maybe it was top 9. Either way, I think the Flames offered him a roster spot, but it may have been on the 4th line, so Theo chose to retire again.

Doesn't make sense imo. Because, why not accept a 4th line spot and work his way up. He would be the most popular player of the roster so he wouldn't be on the 4th line for long.

 

[hypereconomist]

There were serious concerns about his speed and conditioning. He still had the hockey sense and skill to play in the NHL, but he looked like he was skating in quicksand a lot of the time during those four games.

 

[quoipourquoi]

IIRC, Theo definitely impressed in the preseason, but he only wanted to come back as a top 6 forward, IIRC or maybe it was top 9. Either way, I think the Flames offered him a roster spot, but it may have been on the 4th line, so Theo chose to retire again.

The opposite actually.

And so Friday morning, he was called into general manager Darryl Sutter's office and reminded of the terms of their agreement: Fleury had to be one of the team's top-six wingers; if he wasn't, there would be no assignment to Calgary's AHL affiliate, he would be released. And he was.

Calgary mandated that Fleury be that high on the depth chart.

 

[The Panther]

I always wondered if that "top six" agreement thing wasn't really a convenient way for The Flames to avoid having to sign him. That is, they possibly decided, behind closed doors, that Theo deserved a comeback for the home fans but also that they didn't necessarily want to sign him and have to deal with his issues. I may be wrong, but I've wondered that.

 

[Jets4Life]

The opposite actually.

Calgary mandated that Fleury be that high on the depth chart.

That would make sense, considering that Fleury seemed to be bitter about the release.

 

[wetcoast]

The opposite actually.



Calgary mandated that Fleury be that high on the depth chart.

That's pretty sad considering the Flames lineup that year but truth be told would Fleury have been any better at his age?

2009-10 Calgary Flames Roster and Statistics | Hockey-Reference.com

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

guy dies in my pool. boys will be boys

i kill a woman drunk driving. he told her family he was really really sorry, a heroic redemption

names names after years of systematic horrific abuse that institutions and the men who run them either turned a blind eye to or in some cases actively covered up. how dare he? no wonder no one likes him

 

[JackSlater]

guy dies in my pool. boys will be boys

i kill a woman drunk driving. he told her family he was really really sorry, a heroic redemption

names names after years of systematic horrific abuse that institutions and the men who run them either turned a blind eye to or in some cases actively covered up. how dare he? no wonder no one likes him

That's quite a leap, in a number of ways. I do buy that Calgary didn't really want any part of Fleury actually making the team though.

 

[illpucks]

I wonder if Fleury has the longest suspension in NHL history. Because he was suspended in '03 when he retired and then he went to Bettman in '09 to lift his suspension. WTF?

 

[Peter Tosh]

Another related question regarding this topic: Why did Fleury wait until 09/10 to try to make a comeback? Why didn't he try in, say, 05/06?

 

[illpucks]

Another related question regarding this topic: Why did Fleury wait until 09/10 to try to make a comeback? Why didn't he try in, say, 05/06?

He was suspended. He was still suspended in '09/10. I think it was the longest suspension in NHL history. But no one talks about it, they say Bertuzzi, McSorley etc. Fleury had 6 year + suspension just see below from Wiki

"Following the season, in April 2003, he was suspended again by the league for violations of its substance abuse program. The suspension ended his NHL career.
Unhappy with how his NHL career ended, Fleury hired a personal trainer in February 2009 and began an attempt to return to the NHL. By August 2009, he petitioned Commissioner Gary Bettman to lift his suspension."

 

[Peter Tosh]

By August 2009, he petitioned Commissioner Gary Bettman to lift his suspension."

This could have been done in 2005, after the lockout, given that the substance abuse problems where dealt with by then. But now, I guess I answered my own question...

 

[ShelbyZ]

I remember at the time there was some speculation that the motivation behind the try out was more to drum up publicity for his book that was released shortly after training camp, than to get back in the NHL.

 

[vikash1987]

I always thought that the Flames were not actually serious about having him on that season’s roster, and that the preseason thing was, more than anything, a gesture of goodwill, so that one of their all-time great players could “retire” with dignity as a Flame. But I could be wrong.

 

[Gambitman]

I also think the Flames were quite surprised how good he was in the preseason. I had heard they assumed he would be bad and an easy cut, then he played well enough to make the team and they didn’t want him because of the sideshow he is but obviously couldn’t publicly announce that.

 

[Star Ocean]

The bigger question is why he left avalanche. He and Forsberg had some chemistry.

 

[JackSlater]

The bigger question is why he left avalanche. He and Forsberg had some chemistry.

Colorado didn't seem very interested in signing Fleury. Also, the same reason that so many other late or post-prime stars went to New York before the salary cap.

 

[Big Phil]

guy dies in my pool. boys will be boys

i kill a woman drunk driving. he told her family he was really really sorry, a heroic redemption

names names after years of systematic horrific abuse that institutions and the men who run them either turned a blind eye to or in some cases actively covered up. how dare he? no wonder no one likes him

Maybe I shouldn't be, but I am lost with this post. Care to explain?

 

[Big Phil]

I remember Fleury's attempted comeback. Look, I love Theo, I defend the guy on here and if it were up to me he's in the HHOF just good enough to pass the barometer.

But it just didn't feel right. I'm sorry, but it never does. I literally forgot about this until the thread came up and then was reminded, "Oh yeah, he did try out."

It is just too long of a layoff and he was 41 by then. Does anyone else remember Claude Lemieux's comeback around the same time? I'll bet you forgot. He's 43 years old and he comes back to play 18 games? Why?

Rick Vaive flirted with the idea of making a comeback in the early 2000s. I just don't get it.

Cam Neely's might have made the most sense in 1998 because he was so young at 31 when he retired and wasn't old yet. But even he couldn't do it.

Gordie Howe skating on the ice for a shift in 1997 at 69 years old in the minors. Yeah, it just wasn't right.

I guess for me I just don't like seeing the old players do this. Joe DiMaggio had it figured out the best. He never took part in old timers games because he didn't want people to remember him differently. Remember how people were stunned at how poorly Gretzky played in that old timers game (not 2003) in recent years outdoors? Messier looked quick still, but Gretzky didn't. Well duh, he retired two decades earlier and his back was killing him them, what do people expect when he's in his 50s?

I don't know, just my two cents.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

I also think the Flames were quite surprised how good he was in the preseason. I had heard they assumed he would be bad and an easy cut, then he played well enough to make the team and they didn’t want him because of the sideshow he is but obviously couldn’t publicly announce that.

I played a few pick up games with him in 09, there were only rumors at the time he was training for a come back. I think he even surprised himself cause he wasn’t in great shape in those games but you could easily see the skill and he was actually a lot of fun to play with, was pulling for him to make it. Remember he went off on Conroy for making it over him which wasn’t cool

 

[Jets4Life]

That's quite a leap, in a number of ways. I do buy that Calgary didn't really want any part of Fleury actually making the team though.

I had read once that Fleury was quite hard on Iginla early in his career, and was somewhat of a bully to him. Not sure if this is true, but it could presents problems in the dressing room, as Iginla was now the undisputed leader of the team. He also took shots at Conroy, after not making the lineup, IIRC.

 

[Jets4Life]

I
I guess for me I just don't like seeing the old players do this. Joe DiMaggio had it figured out the best. He never took part in old timers games because he didn't want people to remember him differently. Remember how people were stunned at how poorly Gretzky played in that old timers game (not 2003) in recent years outdoors? Messier looked quick still, but Gretzky didn't. Well duh, he retired two decades earlier and his back was killing him them, what do people expect when he's in his 50s?

I don't know, just my two cents.

Many of us know the real reason Gretzky has not aged well. I would elaborate, but it may be against forum rules.