Conroy admits he had low expectations when Flames acquired Kiprusoff

Miikka Kiprusoff is widely regarded as the best goalie in Calgary Flames history, something nobody expected when he first arrived.

Kiprusoff, who will see his No. 34 get raised to the Saddledome rafters on Saturday, was acquired by the Flames during the 2003-04 season in exchange for a second-round pick. Flames general manager Craig Conroy, who was a teammate of Kiprusoff’s at the time, believed the Finnish netminder wasn’t much more than a stopgap at the time.

“I remember sitting in the locker room with Jarome at the time, and we were like, ‘Miikka Kiprusoff?’ We really didn’t know who he was,” Conroy said. “We knew Darryl [Sutter] had him in San Jose, but we didn’t really know him at all. To see him come on the first day was a bit of a surprise.

“Roman Turek and Jamie McLennan were both injured at the time, so we needed a goalie. In my mind, I thought, ‘Okay, this guy’s going to come in and help be a stopgap until Roman or Jamie gets back.'”

The doubts of Conroy and his teammates quickly changed, however, as Kiprusoff made a great impression right off the hop.

“Right from the first practice, he made some unbelievable saves coming all the way across, and you’re thinking, ‘This guy is pretty good.’ And then, right from the first game, it just took off.”

"I just remember sitting in the locker room, Jarome and I were kinda talking and we're like 'Miikka Kiprusoff?' We really didn't know who he was."#Flames GM Craig Conroy shares his memories of playing alongside Kipper! pic.twitter.com/ckW4Kcd1uZ

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) February 29, 2024

Took off it did, as Kiprusoff immediately took over as the Flames’ number-one goalie, posting a 1.70 goals against average (GAA) along with a .933 save percentage (SV%) in 38 games. As good as those numbers were, it was just the start of what was to come.

Kiprusoff led the Flames on an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final, where they wound up falling in Game 7 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the Flames’ 26 playoff outings, he recorded a spectacular 1.80 GAA and a .928 SV%.

The Flames icon continued as their starting goaltender for the next eight seasons before retiring after the 2012-13 campaign. His 576 games, 305 wins, and 41 shutouts all rank first in franchise history. Suffice it to say, having his number retired this coming Saturday is extremely well deserved.

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