Farewell, God's Flower Child

Theoren Fleury officially retired from the Calgary Flames and the NHL this morning.  To be honest, I wasn't actually aware that he was officially not retired in the first place.  If you told me that he retired 4 years ago, then I would have asked if you were sure it wasn't even longer ago.

Anyway, as a young bastard, Theo was one of my favorite non-Bruins in the entire game.  Mostly because he was only 5'6 and gave me hope that even those of us who reside closer to the earth could still make it into the show.  But it wasn't just Theo's inseam that made him so attractive as a player.  He was a skilled goal scorer and play-maker, netting 455 goals over the course of his 15-year career in the NHL.  In 1084 games played, Theo logged 1088 points in total.  Meaning that he contributed in just about every game he ever played in.  His best seasons were of course played with the Flames where in 1990, the Flames took home the Stanley Cup, and the following season ('90-'91) Fleury tallied 51 goals and 53 assists, maintaining a +/- of 48(!).  And even in his twilight years as a journeyman, he still averaged well over 60 points per season.

But again, it wasn't just the numbers.  Theo was a scrapster at the highest level.  And I don't mean that in the same way that David Eckstein is scrappy.  I mean that Fleury averaged over 100 PIM per season.  He was brash, and although he would rarely drop the gloves due to his size, always had a way of getting under the skin of his opponents, one way or the other.  He was clearly unliked in most NHL circles, but to me, as young prick myself, he had swagger and allure.  And I loved it.

He also happens to be responsible for my favorite hockey clip of all-time.  Enjoy.



Happy trails, partner.