Amidst a wave of injuries, Flames GM/coach Darryl Sutter made his most impactful trade that sparked a trip to the Stanley Cup Final
The first memory I have of marvelling at Miikka Kiprusoff was at the Saddledome, but it had nothing to do with the Calgary Flames.
It was during the 1995 World Junior tournament.
Kiprusoff was in goal for Finland against Sweden and showed what was to come with an incredible performance during a thrilling 3-3 tie.
At the time, it was a round-robin event, and that draw clinched the gold medal for Canada. Whenever we would talk about it, Kiprusoff loved to point out to anybody nearby his play was the difference for Canada clinching gold on home soil.
At the time, Kiprusoff was property of the San Jose Sharks, but 20 years ago today came a turning-point trade in Flames history.
While number-one goalie Roman Turek was sidelined due to a knee injury and Jamie McLennan was playing through a fractured sternum, GM/head coach Darryl Sutter dealt a second-round pick for Kiprusoff, who was third on the depth chart of his former team.
The rest became history in Calgary. In his first game, Kiprusoff delivered what became known as a Kipper Special against the Montreal Canadiens, a 2-1 win.
He sparkled all the way to the end of the season — save for a four-week stretch when a knee injury put him on the shelf. Thanks to his play, which included a then modern day NHL record 1.69 goals-against average, the Flames made the playoffs for the first time since 1996 and went all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in a wildly thrilling run from the surprise squad led offensively by Jarome Iginla.
Over the next eight seasons, Kiprusoff was the backbone of the Flames, and became the franchise’s all-time leader in wins (305) and shutouts (41).
The Flames will retire Kiprusoff’s No. 34 in March, which has not been donned in game action since he called it a career after the 2012-13 season.