Miikka Kiprusoff is looking to become the Flames’ all-time number one winner this afternoon (Update: It’ll be another day. Henrik Karlsson gets the start today). Kiprusoff gets the start against St. Louis today and enters the game tied with Mike Vernon atop the franchise wins list with 262 wins.
Provided that nothing catastrophic happens to Kiprusoff, he’s going to become the team’s all-time greatest winner, but in passing the goalie that has the team’s only Stanley Cup it’s a bittersweet reminder that wins aren’t everything. Kiprusoff can’t quite be blamed for the team’s inability to win the Stanley Cup under his reign in goal, often it would be Kiprusoff and Jarome Iginla leading the way as the only guys really trying hard to win.
Kiprusoff got the closest to winning the Cup in 2004 going to seven games with Tampa Bay before losing to current Edmonton Oiler Nikolai Khabibulin’s team. The Flames getting Kiprusoff away from the San Jose Sharks back in 2003 turned out to be one of the team’s best moves in the past 10 years. Even in spite of not winning the Stanley Cup with Calgary, he’s been a great goalie and one whom the Flames would’ve been dead in the water without.
