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Saturday, September 4, 1999
Show stopper!
LANDING LEGENDARY FUHR WOULD BOOST FLAMES
Yes, Grant Fuhr has always been news here.
Bad news.
And now ...?
"Well, this is all news to me," said a bewildered Fuhr yesterday, from his home in St. Louis.
"Me? A Flame?" He chuckled at the irony. "Wow, the way the teams in Calgary and Edmonton felt about each other 10 years ago, that would've been impossible."
Ah, but that was before the Flames pitched woo at the retired Kevin Lowe a few seasons back; or coaxed Steve Smith here from Chicago to man the bench, then the blueline.
Old Oilers are old hat 'round here these days.
Besides, self-preservation supercedes old grudges anyway.
One thing's sure: Brian Sutter sleeps far easier with a veteran goalie to count on. The way he rambled on last winter, you could've mistaken Ken Wregget for Ken Dryden. And while Wregget's been a solid, often underrated pro during his career, nobody has ever mistaken him for Grant Fuhr.
Fuhr, of course, is a lock Hall of Famer.
As Smith, eyewitness to the brilliance of Grant Fuhr at his peak, says: "He is, without doubt, the most spectacular goalie I've ever played with; the best pressure goalie I've ever seen. Three Cups in Edmonton make that obvious. The man has ice in his veins.
"He's an eccentric person. As superb an athlete as I've come in contact with. A quiet guy in the room; a caring person. And from the people I've talked to in St. Louis, he's changed in the way he stays in shape now. In the old days, he got by on sheer talent. But as we all get older, you've got to take better care of yourself."
Fuhr may now be surplus in St. Louis -- Jamie McLennan (on a one-way deal) and Roman Turek having supplanted him -- but he's keen to show he isn't ready for the scrap heap. Not yet.
When asked about possibly winding up in Calgary colours, Fuhr replied: "You never close a door. As long as I'm healthy and my desire doesn't drop, I want to play.
"I like playing in Canada. Canada ... it's hockey, isn't it?"
So all that gibberish about this being the final year, the farewell tour, was, in retrospect, a trifle premature?
"Ah, I said that before I had the knee cleaned out," he replied dismissively. "If the body feels good -- and it does right now -- then the mind feels good. I'm excited about playing again. Depending on the situation I'm in and my health, I'd like to stick around a while longer.
"From a financial point, I probably don't fit into (the Blues') plans. They signed Roman (Turek) and expect him to play. If that's the case, I have no hard feelings. It's the business of the game."
The pros to bringing Fuhr in are obvious. The negatives are his age (37 on Sept. 28), a third knee operation last year and a no-trade clause in his contract.
"As I get older, my business sense gets better. Everything's negotiable," he says, alluding to a possible buyout of the no-trade clause.
"But I also want to keep my career going."
How much of the $3 million the Blues are willing to digest in order to avoid a three-netminder headache will either keep the door open to a deal or slam it shut. Calgary GM Al Coates has often said that in a tight economic market, the only person he'd lavish a fat contract on is the guy between the pipes.
Fuhr certainly makes far more sense than the other pensioner being discussed -- Ron Hextall, late of the Flyers. Hextall has played poorly on a splendid team in Philadelphia recently. Fuhr, when healthy, has been extraordinary on a blue-collar bunch of Blues.
Fuhr, for his part, figures he wouldn't be a bad fit on a young team like this one.
So, for the moment, he sits at home awaiting the opening of camp, unsure of his future. But getting tied up in knots has never been easygoing Grant Fuhr's style.
"I have no idea what's going to happen. Until they tell me differently, I'm a St. Louis Blue. But, that said, nobody has to explain the situation to me, either."
Yeah, but Grant Fuhr thrilling, instead of killing, the Flames? Goodness, you'd still have to see it to believe it.
"I never in my wildest dreams ever figured I'd wear that sweater, either," he agreed. "But, hey, strange things happen."
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