Kev’s Mail Bag

Dear Theoren Fleury

It was recently reported that Theo Fleury said he doesn’t care if he plays in the NHL again. He added that if he were to come back, he would only consider the Calgary Flames as a team he would join. It was also reported that Fleury is disgusted with the state of the league.

Hmmm, here is what I am thinking: How many people out there really care if Fleury does ever play in the NHL again? I don’t believe the league needs to adopt a policy, as so many other sport leagues do, of continually giving substance abuse offenders chance after chance. That would put the league in a sorry state.

Fleury, listed at 5’ 6” and 182 pounds at 35 years of age, has made claims that people don’t want to watch 1-0 games and that is the way teams are trying to win. It would be ludicrous to think that teams are trying to win by a 1-0 score. If that were their playing philosophy one lucky goal would cost them the win. Playing a defensive style may be the goal of many teams, but I really don’t see how the true hockey fan would find that boring. These sound more like the words of a one-dimensional player.

Fleury has achieved marks of 455 goals and 633 assists to total 1088 points in 1084 games. Respectable numbers to say the least, but I do hope that the league recognizes the need to protect its reputation and not allow the league’s rules to become a joke. The NHL does not need the likes of a Darryl Strawberry situation as in Major League Baseball.