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Sunday, September 5, 1999
Oldie's a goodie
FUHR'S ARRIVAL PUMPS HOPE INTO NEW SEASON
"I can't remember the year," said the Flames' general manager, around 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon, after pulling the trigger on a trade that had to be made. "Or, maybe it's just that I don't want to remember the year.
"But, anyway, it was a playoff loss in Edmonton. Tie game. Al MacInnis, with one of the hardest shots in history, 20 feet directly in front of the Oiler net. And I mean he leans into this. Perfect shot. A rocket. Just under the bar.
"Our entire bench was up, the guys on the ice had their arms in the air in celebration.
"Only problem was, the puck was in his glove."
Coates shook his head, chuckled to himself. "But then, he did that sort of thing to us a lot in those days ..."
Suddenly, there is reason to hope. Suddenly, there is reason to believe. Suddenly, those close games they'll work their fannies off to stay in are winnable. Suddenly, there is a honest-to-gosh, authentic star back in town.
Yeah, he's 37.
Sure, he's past his prime.
But the save-ior has been delivered to you. Grant Fuhr.
In surrendering only a third-round pick for a future Hall of Famer (the Blues retaining the third-rounder they relinquished to acquire Roman Turek from Dallas), it's almost certain Calgary had to eat the vast majority of the $3 million on the final year of Fuhr's deal.
Which should be nothing to be ashamed of. One of the constant complaints here over the past few years is that ownership won't shell out enough money to win.
"It's going to be fun," says Fuhr, who waived a no-trade clause in his contract to get this done.
"It's a way for me to extend my career, to prove to people that I'm not washed up.
"It's going to be different. It's going to take a while to get used to ... being a Calgary Flame. After all the wars. I mean, we used to be the best two teams in hockey. Our playoff series were the real Stanley Cup finals.
"Those emotions don't just disappear." He laughs. "But I think I'll be able to put them behind me now."
And Flames' fan should be able to file all old grievances against him, too.
"I watched Buffalo in the playoffs last year," says coach Brian Sutter. "They don't have any better a team than we do. But ... they've got the goalie. Now we've got Grant. When you talk top goalies, Hasek's on the list, Roy, Eddie Belfour, and Grant.
"He might let in one goal that you question, but when the game's in the balance, he'll make the save to win. It's a mentality, being a No. 1 guy, having been in those pressure cookers of Stanley Cup finals, Canada Cups.
"This should send a message to everyone. If I'm a player on our team, and Grant Fuhr's playing goal behind me, I've got to feel pretty good about things."
The Fuhr naysayers in St. Louis are obsessed with the fact the Blues last year gave up on average the fewest shots in the league, yet filtered down into the middle of the pack in goals-against-average and wound up dead last -- yup, 27th, even trailing the Lightning Dolts -- in team save percentage. But the truth of the matter is, at the beginning of the season and the end,
after his ailing knee had been cleaned out, Fuhr's save percentage was well over .900. It was just when he was fighting the injury that he struggled, and it plummeted.
He's also better with a heavier workload. And here, on an apple-cheeked Flames' outfit, he's apt to be inundated with more rubber than the Goodyear tire company.
Fuhr's going to stay in St. Louis for daughter Kendall's sixth birthday party today, they fly in to join the team he used to bedevil. But he's not leaving the Show-Me State on jovial terms.
"They told me I'd waive the no-trade clause or they'd waive me," he says of the Blues. "I didn't appreciate that ultimatum. I like to think I'm an accomodating person. A fair guy.
"Don't put things in that way. It's unnecessary."
This trade was necessary for this team. "I hate to start trotting out Pierre Page-type analogies," says Coates, "but why are the Toronto Blue Jays struggling? Because their starting pitching is faltering. That's what a goalie is to a hockey team. Like the ace of a staff. Grant Fuhr is like a Roger Clemens."
When Sutter calls this "a big, big-time move for this organization" he isn't just prattling propaganda. Season tickets are down to 9,000, interest is flagging, the very future of the franchise in this city is in danger.
They need to win, to make the playoffs, to re-spark enthusiasm.
At least now, people have someone to hang their hopes on.
"What it tells them," says Coates, "is that for us, the future is now."
Yes. But lordie, they sure did cut it close!
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