BY ROBERT ZUCCARO – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
It’s an age old debate. When a significant player retires in any sport, the question that always follows is whether or not that player is Hall of Fame worthy. It’s a question that will certainly be asked of former Calgary Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.
Just last week, the Finnish native retired after 12 professional seasons. While he never got his hands on Lord Stanley’s Cup, he certainly took home a lot of other hardware, and has earned his praise amongst Flames fans.
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I would like to think that Kiprusoff has also earned the right to be a potential Hall of Fame candidate. It may be a little while before he gets in, but it is not impossible.
In the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, he had the lowest goals against average (1.94) and took the Flames all the way to Stanley Cup finals against Tampa Bay, and was one game away from glory.
Then the lockout happens, and you would think he slips silently away? Nope!
In 2005-2006, he would win the Vezina Trophy, the William H. Jennings Trophy, and was named to the All-Star game. He holds all of the Calgary Flames goaltending records, which includes passing all of Mike Vernon’s. Not to mention he also won bronze medal with Finland at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Factor all of this in, and you have yourself an excellent Hall of Fame candidate one day. One thing is for sure, it will be a long while before Calgary finds another goalie to fill his skates. It may be even longer before another goaltender breaks the franchise records he has set in Calgary.