Theoren Fleury
Theoren Wallace Fleury (born June 29, 1968 in Oxbow, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a professional ice hockey player in the British Elite Ice Hockey League who had a very successful but troubled career in the National Hockey League. He plays right wing.
Playing career
Fleury is the story of a stellar career dogged by alcoholism and off-ice issues.
Acknowledged as one of the stars of the game, he was drafted by the Calgary Flames 166th overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft and won the Stanley Cup with the Flames in 1989. By the time he left the Flames in 1999 for the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Rene Corbet, Wade Belak and Robyn Regehr he was the last remaining Flame on the roster of their 1989 Stanley Cup winning team.
He scored 2 goals in the 1998-99 NHL season before signing with the New York Rangers as a free agent on July 5, 1999. He won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics, and signed as a free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2002-03 NHL season.
However, by this time, wrestling with off-ice worries, including his father's cancer operation, his substance abuse problems had began to surface. In 1996, he was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. Although seemingly under control for half a year by the time he won Olympic gold, he suffered a relapse and in October 2002 he was suspended for six months and placed in the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program for violating his aftercare program. His drug problems have been a source of great taunting from opposing fans, primarily those of the New York Islanders.
He began the 2002-03 NHL season serving out the 25-game suspension. Soon after his return, however, he missed a practice, claiming he had overslept, and in January, he was involved in an incident at a strip club in Columbus, Ohio. He was suspended in 2003 for again violating the substance abuse program. Regardless, his place in hockey history is secure and he will be recognised as one of the best players of the game.
In an attempt to restore his career, Fleury attempted to join the North Peace Hockey League's Horse Lake Thunder, which is based on the Horse Lake First Nations, Alberta. His first game was to be on January 6, 2005, but he was ruled ineligible because he was under an NHL contract during the previous season. After two appeals, Fleury and the Thunder were able to overturn the decision. In Fleury's first game with the Thunder, on January 22, 2005, he scored one goal and two assists. Fleury's cousin, as well as former NHLer, Gino Odjick also plays for the Thunder. The team competes for the Allan Cup.
Fleury signed for the 2005-06 season with the Belfast Giants of the British Elite Ice Hockey League, and made a stellar debut on October 15, 2005 scoring a hat-trick and gaining 4 assists which led to him being named man of the match. The other side of his game has hardly mellowed either, as he recently attempted to climb out of the penalty box in order to reach a Coventry Blaze fan who had been taunting him the entire game. At the end of the season, he stated his intent to leave the league however, stating the quality of referees as one reason.
In Junior hockey, he played for Graham James who was convicted of sexual assault on some of his players, but no mention was made of Fleury and no comment has been made by Fleury.
Awards
- Alka-Seltzer Plus Award - 1991 (shared)
- Played in 7 NHL All-Star Games - 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001
Records
- Calgary Flames franchise record for points scored (830)
- NHL record 3 short-handed goals in one game
- 50th in goals on NHL all-time rankings
- 57th in assists on NHL all-time rankings
- 52nd in points on NHL all-time rankings
- NHL record highest plus/minus rating in one game, plus-9
Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1984-85 | Moose Jaw | WHL | 71 | 29 | 46 | 75 | 82 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1985-86 | Moose Jaw | WHL | 72 | 43 | 65 | 108 | 124 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 16 | ||
| 1986-87 | Moose Jaw | WHL | 66 | 61 | 68 | 129 | 110 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 34 | ||
| 1987-88 | Moose Jaw | WHL | 65 | 68 | 92 | 160 | 235 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1987-88 | Salt Lake | IHL | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 16 | ||
| 1988-89 | Salt Lake | IHL | 40 | 37 | 37 | 74 | 81 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1988-89 | Calgary | NHL | 36 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 46 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 24 | ||
| 1989-90 | Calgary | NHL | 80 | 31 | 35 | 66 | 157 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 1990-91 | Calgary | NHL | 79 | 51 | 53 | 104 | 136 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 1991-92 | Calgary | NHL | 80 | 33 | 40 | 73 | 133 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992-93 | Calgary | NHL | 83 | 34 | 66 | 100 | 88 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 27 | ||
| 1993-94 | Calgary | NHL | 83 | 40 | 45 | 85 | 186 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 5 | ||
| 1994-95 | Calgary | NHL | 47 | 29 | 29 | 58 | 112 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 2 | ||
| 1994-95 | Tampere | SM-liiga | 10 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1995-96 | Calgary | NHL | 80 | 46 | 50 | 96 | 112 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 14 | ||
| 1996-97 | Calgary | NHL | 81 | 29 | 38 | 67 | 104 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1997-98 | Calgary | NHL | 82 | 27 | 51 | 78 | 197 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998-99 | Calgary | NHL | 60 | 30 | 39 | 69 | 68 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998-99 | Colorado | NHL | 15 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 18 | 18 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 20 | ||
| 1999-00 | NY Rangers | NHL | 80 | 15 | 49 | 64 | 68 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000-01 | NY Rangers | NHL | 62 | 30 | 44 | 74 | 122 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2001-02 | NY Rangers | NHL | 82 | 24 | 39 | 63 | 216 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002-03 | Chicago | NHL | 54 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 77 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2004-05 | Horse Lake | NPHL | 7 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 28 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005-06 | Belfast | EIHL | ||||||||||||
| NHL Totals | 1084 | 455 | 633 | 1088 | 1840 | 77 | 34 | 45 | 79 | 116 | ||||
International play
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Ice Hockey | ||
 |
2002 Salt Lake City | Ice Hockey |
Played for Canada in:
- 1988 World Junior Hockey Championships - Team Captain (gold medal)
- 1991 World Championships (silver medal)
- 1991 Canada Cup (gold medal)
- 1996 World Cup of Hockey
- 1998 Winter Olympics
- 2002 Winter Olympics (gold medal)
See also
External links
- 1968 births
- Living people
- Canadian ice hockey players
- Calgary Flames players
- Chicago Blackhawks players
- Colorado Avalanche players
- New York Rangers players
- Olympic competitors for Canada
- Canadian Olympic Gold Medalists
- Stanley Cup Champions
- Moose Jaw Warriors alumni
- Saskatchewan sportspeople
- NHL 100-point seasons