“Candidates for election as Honoured Members in the player category shall be chosen on the basis of their playing ability, sportsmanship, character and their contribution to their team or teams and to the game of hockey in general”
After taking a break from this for a couple of weeks, this week’s candidate to go over for nomination to the Hockey Hall of Fame is former Calgary Flames great, Theo Fleury. Theo’s story could easily be a Hollywood movie. The elements that this story have are being an underdog, overcoming the odds, a tragic upbringing, temptation, and redemption.
Theoren Wallace Fleury’s road to the NHL was an unlikely story. Standing only 5’6, Fleury’s size would forever be a stigma that he would have to overcome in order to be successful in the sport. He did just that, by turning heads with his skill, speed, and toughness with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL. He currently sits 10th all-time in scoring (472 points) in the WHL while still holding the records for goals (201), assists (271), and points (472) for the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Despite all of this, Fleury was not selected in 1986, his first year eligible for the NHL Entry Draft. However, the next year the Calgary Flames would take a low risk/high reward pick by drafting him in the 8th round, 166th overall. The idea was that Fleury could be an entertaining player for their minor league affiliate at the time, the Salt Lake City Golden Eagles. However Theo was having none of that when Fleury exploded with 37 goals and 74 points in only 40 games of the 1988-89 season.
When the Flames were having trouble scoring, they took a chance and brought up Theo during the 1988-89 season. Fleury did well scoring 34 points in 36 games, carrying the Flames into the playoffs in his rookie year. In the playoffs, Fleury would go on and add 11 points, helping the Calgary Flames beat the Montreal Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup. This was the first and only time the Flames won the Stanley Cup. The 1989-90 season was Theo’s first full season in the NHL. He proved that he was not just a flash in the pan by scoring 33 goals that season, establishing himself as an everyday NHL player.
The 1991 season was Fleury’s coming out party as a superstar NHL thus finally silencing his detractors. He scored 51 goals and 104 points to lead the Flames and get his first all-star appearance. As well in this season, he set an NHL record by scoring 3 shorthanded goals in one game against the St. Louis Blues. Despite the fact that the Calgary Flames ended up losing to the Edmonton Oilers in 7 games of the first round, Theo had his most iconic moment in game 6 of that series with this goal.
Theo would be a main stay for the Calgary Flames all the way up to the trade deadline of the 1999 season. During his time he would set franchise records in goals (364) and points (830), which were later broken by Jarome Iginla. He also places 3rd in team history in assists with 460 and 5th all-time in penalty minutes with 1,339. He would be setting these team records with a floundering team around him which had many issues making the playoffs. After making many concessions for the Flames’ financial troubles and the growing disconnect between management and himself, the Flames ended up trading Fleury to the Colorado Avalanche for Wade Belak, Robyn Regehr and Rene Corbet. This was seen as another Canadian team not being able to compete with the bigger markets because the Flames were only two points out of a playoff spot at the time, yet they would not risk losing their asset for nothing.
Theo Fleury near the end of his tenure with the Calgary Flames
Fleury only lasted the remainder of the 1999 season with the Avalanche. Upon the trade he declared that any team looking to sign him would have to pay him $7 million a year. The problem with that was in his first game after he was traded he got hurt and only played 15 regular season games. In those games, however, he notched ten goals and 14 assists. The Avalanche were eventually defeated by the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals during which Theo added 5 goals and 12 assists in 18 playoff games with the Avs.
When Colorado elected not to retain Fleury the New York Rangers scooped him up for three years at $21 million with an option of a 4th year. In that 2000 season, however, Fleury disappointed the crowds at Madison Square Garden when he was only was able to put up 15 goals and in the off season voluntarily entered the league operated substance abuse program. Upon returning in the next season Fleury seemed closer to his former self scoring 30 goals although the campaign was cut shot again for him as he had a relapse with substance abuse and had to re-enter the program. He did this while sitting 4th in the NHL with 74 points in 62 games.
While Fleury was able to play all 82 games In his last season with the Rangers, he continued to hav many off the ice problems. Among those were attacking the San José Sharks mascot, leaving the arena upon taking a penalty (instead of going to the box), making an obscene gesture to the fans, and calling out the NHL’s officials. He ended up with 24 goals and 63 points that season, but with a toxic attitude in the locker room the Rangers elected not to pick up his option and he ended up signing a two year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. He missed the first two months of the 2003 season before he was reinstated by the NHL, however off ice issues began to hinder his career again. In January 2003, when at a strip club with some teammates, Fleury got involved in a drunken brawl which left him bloodied and having no recollection of that night. By March that year, the Blackhawks put him on waivers from which no other team claimed him. Following the year the NHL suspended him for substance abuse again which effectively ended his NHL career.
You may notice I did not talk about the abuse that Fleury had taken throughout his childhood and his young professional life. For those who don’t know, Theo Fleury was sexually abused by former major junior coach, Graham James. The abuse helped lead Fleury to those off the ice problems throughout his career. In Fleury’s case, it was a combination of absent parents with a predator for a coach. Theo’s father was a known alcoholic and his mother had problems with drugs. For a child this made him a prime target of a predator, especially one that was hidden in the ranks of something that Canadians trusted without question, hockey.
In regards to the Hall of Fame case, there are two schools of thought. First one would be the one of forgiveness. Theo Fleury has done his absolute best to get his life back on track. What happened off the ice is understandable considering the things he went through in his life without asking for any help. He’s lucky to be alive at this point never mind in any consideration for the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Theo Fleury’s tell-all book “Playing With Fire
The second school of thought, however, is not as forgiving. At the beginning of every case I quote directly from the Hockey Hall of Fame’s bylaws, what they are looking for in a candidate. When looking at Fleury’s case there are three aspects that I question. They are “sportsmanship”, “character”, and “contribution to the game in general”. Fleury’s playing ability is up there in regards to getting into the Hall of Fame as there are other players in the Hall who do match up with what Fleury has done. He has more points with 1,088 than the likes of Joe Mullen (1,063) and Pat LaFontaine (1,013) and he’s just behind Glenn Anderson who has 1,099 for example. The thing is, when you’re talking about character and sportsmanship in this regard, you’re looking at it from when he was an active player. It is all well and good now that he cleaned up his life and has gained some of those attributes, however when he was an active player he was being a rôle model to kids who saw the worst side of him. Coaches didn’t want him in the locker room and general managers felt he was a cancer to the team. So my question is, how do you judge it?
No one knew what happened to Theo until he revealed his story in a book published in 2009 called “Playing With Fire”. Even if he had, it was still on him to get the help he needed and to not use those events as a crutch. When looking at the Hockey Hall of Fame, you try not to ask “What if?” because if you do, you’d be debating yourself for hours. Should this be any different? Regardless of whether he is honoured by the Selection Committee or not, Theo should be proud of getting his life back in order. Anything after that should just be the icing on the cake.
Let me know what you think either by commenting here, emailing me at
[email protected] or following me on Twitter @Kirshenblatt
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HHOF Making the Case:
Steve Larmer
Reggie Leach
Alexander Mogilny
Pat Quinn
Kerry Fraser
Paul Henderson
Chris Osgood
Marguerite Norris
Eric Lindros
Pat Burns
Curtis Joseph
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