I always grab my kids and stick them in front of the TV when something spectacular is about to happen in sports so that some day they can tell their kids “I watched Wayne Gretzky play his last game” or “I watched Tiger beat Jack’s major championship record”. I know that last one hasn’t happened yet, but you can bet that my entire family will be watching when it does. I’ve always thought that we live in a very exciting time for sports figures. Orr, Favre, Jordan, Tiger, Gretzky…

If you think about it, it’s really quite incredible.

As a result, I have always thought there were a handful of records in the NHL that I assumed would never be challenged. Gretzky’s 92 goal season or 215 point season, Selanne’s most goals as a rookie with 76, a little known goalie named Sam LoPresti’s record of stopping 80 shots in one game. Yes, it was only 3 periods (against the Bruins, of course) and no, he didn’t play for Toronto…it was Chicago, actually. The other big record that I never thought I would see fall is Terry Sawchuk’s 103 career shutouts, and yet Martin Brodeur is set to break it over the course of the next few weeks or months.

When I first heard how close he was, I have to admit that I was skeptical about the comparison. You know, I thought Sawchuk had played far fewer games than Brodeur…actually only 35 to date. That’s not a very big gap, so I compared the rest of the stats trying to find where Brodeur would fall short and Sawchuk would be far and away, the better goaltender. Feeling somewhat enlightened, let me share with you my findings;

Seasons Played – Brodeur 17/ Sawchuk 21
Minutes Played – Brodeur 59,448 min/ Sawchuk 57,194 min
Goals Against Average – Brodeur 2.21/ Sawchuk 2.51
Wins – Brodeur 561/ Sawchuk 447

Some other key differences are obviously, the size of the pads in today’s game. In comparison, the goalies that play today would look more like lacrosse goalies if put beside goalies of the 60’s (not to mention Sawchuk played without a mask until the 1962/63 season with just 8 seasons remaining in his career). In Brodeur’s defense, today’s players are bigger, faster and shoot harder. The game is quite different now in some aspects.

Sawchuk was taken from us too early, and there will always be a little bit of mystery surrounding his death. In the summer of 1970, an alcohol induced wrestling match with teammate Ron Stewart ended up in Sawchuk being rushed to a hospital. His gallbladder was removed and he also had a lacerated liver. Unable to recover, the nurse said “His heart just stopped”.

The HHoF’s 3 year waiting period was waived for him and he was inducted in 1971, which puts him exceptional company. The waiting period was waived for only ten players deemed exceptionally notable: Dit Clapper (1947), Maurice Richard (1961), Ted Lindsay (1966), Red Kelly (1969), Terry Sawchuk (1971), Jean Beliveau (1972), Gordie Howe (1972), Bobby Orr (1979), Mario Lemieux (1997) and Wayne Gretzky (1999).

It’s always difficult to compare players from different eras, but Brodeur is as close a comparison to Sawchuk that we will likely see in our generation.
We are indeed, very fortunate to be witness to some incredible athletes in sports history.

An emotional Gordie Howe was once quoted as saying this;

“The Uke (Sawchuk) was the best goalie I ever saw, everything that a goalie should be!”

He could say the same for Brodeur.

Posted By Pat Lynch

When you think of Theo Fleury, what comes to mind? It’s probably one of two images;

1. Theo Fleury sliding across the ice in Calgary on his knees after scoring a big playoff goal, waiving his arms…the little guy with the big heart!
2. Theo Fleury arguing emphatically with a coach or referee, in either a Rangers or Blackhawks uniform…the loose cannon, wondering what antics we will witness next (no, not Sean Avery…we’re talking about Theo Fleury).

…whichever image you just saw in your head, you can’t argue that he put up some very good numbers over what some would call a tarnished career.

So is Theoren Fleury worthy of being inducted into our sacred Hockey Hall of Fame? Let’s take a closer look at some of his numbers in comparison to some other Hall of Fame players.

Fleury played 1084 games totaling 455 (53rd all time) goals and 633 assists (64th all time) for 1088 points (56 all time). His points per game were 1.004 which puts him at 49th career all time… not exactly a slouch. If based on points per game, certainly better than some other Hall members (forwards). Cam Neely (the epitome of power forwards…respectfully), Glenn Anderson (although he has more cups), Joe Mullen, Maurice Richard, Bill Cowley, Jean Ratelle, Jaques Lemaire, Frank Mahovlich, Lanny McDonald…shall I continue? There are many more.

You could argue that many of these players brought more than simply “numbers” with their game, but you could also argue that Fleury played with one of the biggest hearts we ever witnessed.

Continuing with some other facts about his career;
• He played in 7 all-star games
• Was a 50 goal scorer in 90-91 (51)
• Was a 40 goal scorer 4 times in his career
• 39th all time in game winning goals (67)
• Had 35 career short handed goals (9th all time)

Oh yeah, and he was only 5 foot 6, 182 pounds!

Now we come to the issue of how he left the NHL after his brief stint in Chicago. Yes, he was unstable. Some might even call him a detriment to the league, an embarrassment or a liability. I can’t argue with some of those viewpoints, but knowing what we do now about his past, about the anguish he went through, can’t we call it a wash for his behavior we were witness to? I think it’s the least we could do!

Fleury hasn’t been the only player with substance abuse issues over his career (Fuhr…Hall of Fame member) and he made amends with the NHL and retired on good terms. He may not have been the greatest ambassador for the game toward the end, but should we let that ruin a stellar career? A career that gives hope to the little guy, especially in today’s NHL, where you can thrive even if you’re small in stature?

In my opinion, let the numbers speak for themselves. Fleury was a spirited hockey player. A blue collar, hard working player that came to work with his metal lunch box and left filthy from his efforts. Nobody questioned his work ethic and he succeeded in spite of everyone telling him that he was too small for the big game.

…I will always see image number 1

Posted By Pat Lynch