The entire fairy-tale only grew in lore as the team kept winning. First Vancouver, then Detroit (somehow), then SJ, and finally Tampa. Every Flames fan old enough to remember ’04 will have their own memories ranging from the Red Mile, the local bar, at home with friends, or even at the game. (This was the glorious time when fans could score ticket on Ticketmaster and promptly sell them fast on Kijiji.) I remember the 2004 Cup run, camping out after games to get player signatures, everyone is pretty approachable. But the one dude who was an enigma, the guy you barely even saw through the driver’s side window as he sped away from onlookers post-game, was Kipper. Typical Kipper, quietly going about his business on the ice, and quietly escaping the limelight off of it.
That storied run only happened for two reasons: Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kirusoff. The former already in the rafters, his number 12 jersey retired in 2019 (seems like only yesterday?) The latter, jersey raised in 2023. It was cool to watch and listen most notably to the stories. Since Kiprusoff is elusive, hearing all of the inside jokes was a delight to any fan from the era. Anyways, here are some videos for posterity sake. Enjoy, and thanks Kipper for the memories.
Full ceremony.
After Hours which had some bangers.
Cool stat from NHLEurope.
