RAISE 14

38 YEARS. ONE PLAYER. ONE NUMBER. #14.

Since Theoren Fleury first pulled on #14 for the Calgary Flames in 1988, the number has never been issued to another Flames player.

Thirty-eight years later, the number is still unmistakably his.

But it still isn't hanging in the rafters.

Drafted in the eighth round, 166th overall, in 1987, Fleury arrived in Calgary during the 1988-89 season and immediately made an impact, recording 34 points in just 36 regular-season games before helping the Flames capture the 1989 Stanley Cup.

What followed was one of the most productive careers in franchise history.

In 791 regular-season games as a Flame, Fleury scored 364 goals and 466 assists for 830 points - averaging 1.05 points per game. He produced two 100+ point seasons, made six NHL All-Star Game appearances, and remains second in franchise history in goals and points, and third in assists.

His remarkable 1990-91 season produced 51 goals and 104 points, while his league-leading +48 rating earned him the NHL Plus-Minus Award, shared with Marty McSorley.

That same season, Fleury scored three shorthanded goals in a single game - an NHL record that still stands.

Fleury eventually became the 13th captain in Calgary Flames history, wearing the C for two seasons. In his first season as captain, he scored 46 goals and recorded 96 points.

And none of it was supposed to happen.

At just 5-foot-6, Fleury wasn't expected to become one of the most recognizable players of his generation.

He played with a combination of speed, skill, toughness and fearlessness that made him impossible to ignore. He could score, create, kill penalties and compete with players who towered over him. He didn't simply overcome his size - it became part of what made him unforgettable.

And he gave Flames fans moments they still remember decades later.

During the 1991 Battle of Alberta, with the Flames facing elimination in Game 6 against Edmonton, Fleury scored the overtime winner to force Game 7, followed by a celebration that became one of the most iconic images of his era - a moment still instantly recognizable to hockey fans more than three decades later.

He wasn't just productive. He was unmistakable.

The yellow laces. The tinted visor. The edge. The celebrations. The #14.

His influence reached far beyond Calgary. When the two met in Calgary in 2019, Fleury said Alex Ovechkin told him his own yellow laces and tinted visor were inspired by Fleury - a remarkable connection between two of hockey's most recognizable goal scorers.

For a generation of Flames fans, #14 wasn't simply another jersey number. It was Theo Fleury.

AND NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THERE IS A DEADLINE.

The Saddledome is entering its final NHL season. Soon, the building that witnessed Fleury's rise from an eighth-round draft pick to a Stanley Cup champion, NHL star and Flames captain will close its doors.

The building is temporary. The history isn't.

There is still time to finish one piece of that history before we say goodbye to an unforgettable era under the Dome.

This isn't about changing the past. It's about honouring what made it great.

It's about the player who wore #14. The moments he created. The generation of fans who grew up watching him. And a number the Flames have entrusted to no other player for 38 years.

ONE LAST SEASON. ONE MISSING NUMBER.

We call on the Calgary Flames organization to formally retire Theoren Fleury's #14 and raise it to the Saddledome rafters during the final season at the Dome.

Let the last generation of fans who walk into the Saddledome look up and see #14 where it belongs.

And when the Flames move into their new home, let #14 move with them - officially and permanently part of Calgary Flames history.

RAISE #14. MAKE IT OFFICIAL.