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Thursday, September 9, 1999
Flaming 'C' fits
Fuhr looks great in a Calgary sweater at first day of practice
What about Mess? Kevin? Lummer? Semenko?
In the name of humanity, shouldn't someone have gotten in touch with them, just to cushion the blow?
"I saw a bunch of the guys at the (Oilers' 20th anniversary) reunion a little while ago. I can't imagine what they'll think now," mused Grant Fuhr.
Yes, he put it on yesterday.
Didn't break out in a rash, either. Managed to haul it over his head without accidentally choking himself with a sleeve.
Not all that long ago, these togs would've been considered the height of faux pas fashion, the last thing Grant Fuhr would've permitted in his wardrobe. Geez, talk about slumming it.
Yet slipping on the Flaming C, customary No. 31 stitched on, Fuhr looked relaxed, confident and -- believe it or not, City of Champions -- happy.
"So far," he said, beaming, "so good.
'The hinges are good and I'm in the best shape in the last five or six years. But, man, I forgot how thin the air is here. Considering I've basically taken a week off. I didn't feel that bad. Got a little tired towards the end of the practice, though."
Fuhr's arrival sparked the most intense media interest -- outside of the Theoren Fleury trade -- in years. The idea is for the three-time Cup winner to help on the ice, and off -- witness all those official Flames' envelopes, affixed to the unsold seats in the building.
"It was kinda neat to see the kids, staring at him, all googly-eyed," said coach Brian Sutter. "There was a buzz around the room, just having him here. The best thing I can say about Grant Fuhr is that when I was coaching against him, I'd tell my players 'Never quit. Not until you see the puck is in the back of the net. 'Cause if you quit, no matter what the situation, he'll beat you."
The competitiveness, assured Fuhr, rages, unabated.
"I still have the fire. When that diminishes, it's time to quit. A person gets wiser as he get older. Or at least, he's supposed to. I don't know if you'd call it 'teaching' so much, but what I'll try to tell the younger guys here is to enjoy the game -- good, bad or otherwise. And to stay on an even keel.
"When I turned pro, I thought 10 years would be a good career, 15 years a great career. Well, here I am, still playing, still enjoying it."
With Steve Smith already in the fold, the Flames now possess two-thirds of the most famous goal in franchise history, the so-called 'dynasty-killer' of '86. The third, investment broker Perry Berezan, can be reached by a local phone call.
"Smitty and I have never talked about it," said Fuhr, smiling thinly.
When informed that a former teammate, now back with the Oil, had joked about the Flames never letting Smith circle the net behind him, Fuhr grinned. "Gotta be Tik," he laughed.
Smith, while ecstatic to have Fuhr in the fold, was quick to play down the old Oilers-join-the-enemy angle.
"There's a lot of water under the bridge," he explained. "The same ties with Edmonton just don't exist anymore. The first time I went back there to play with Chicago, honest to God, I went in the dressing room afterwards and cried. It was that emotional.
"If we'd both been traded directly from Edmonton to Calgary, it'd be different."
Instead, he concentrated on what Fuhr will bring to this young team, in desperate need of a playoff spot next spring.
"The only goalie," said Smith, "that I've played with who had the same attitude was Dom (Hasek): That every puck that went into the net was his fault.
"That's a great attitude, taking responsibility on yourself. There's nothing worse for a young defenceman than to skate back and get the goalie glare."
Right now, it's Fuhr caught in the glare -- of the media and fans in this city. The last time he played hockey in Alberta, the Saddledome was full, the team was strong, the interest high. Times, though, they change. Now he is being looked at as a focal point in resurrecting interest around here.
"Saviour?" Fuhr, tugging his pads off, shook his head. "That's a big word. But I don't mind pressure. Never have.
"You have to get respectability before you get a Stanley Cup. The last few years it seems I've always been on an older team. Getting the chance to play with a young team should be fun. Going into Edmonton in a Flames' jersey should be fun, too.
"The key is to win. That cures whatever's wrong. Doesn't matter if the hot dogs are cold and the milkshakes are hot, if you win you'll put people in the building and generate excitement.
"Nobody plays this game to be close; to finish second."
He stopped, the eye-contact never shifting for an instant.
"I know for sure," he added, "that I don't."
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