If you are thinking that headline might mean a comeback to the Belfast Giants then I am sorry to disappoint. No Theo is thinking of going one step further … to make a comeback to the NHL. It may seem ridiculous and Theo has said this once or twice before but all media reports seem to suggest that this time it could indeed be for real. Theo has said he has been working out a lot and feels he is at NHL level and has already wrote to the NHL to apply for reinstatement. Currently he is suspended indefinitely because of his substance abuse problems in the past, which he is now well and truly over — Theo has been sober for four years and has found God. But at 41-years of age a comeback to any elite level sport is hard … it’s hard enough maintaining elite level play at 41 never mind coming back after so many years away. So why do it, and can he do it?

As to can he do it? Well I dam well hope so. I don’t think the reinstatement will be such a big problem now but it will all come down to whatever team he decides to go to camp for and whether they think there is room for a player like him at the base salary. Age shouldn’t come into it however, if he can get himself fit enough to sustain for a season then it shouldn’t matter what age he is … I mean until this season Chris Chelios at 47 was still playing in the NHL and went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final with Detroit. He hasn’t been re-signed by them but hasn’t officially retired either. Then again Chelios is a man who has looked after his body his entire career. Fleury, while clean now, has punished his body in his best years before leaving the NHL game under a cloud. But, I wish him well in getting back, it would be great to see. He certainly has the talent level and the skills and given that he thrived in the 90′s NHL at 5’6 when it was much more physical with the holding, clutching and grabbing, he certainly would benefit from the zero-tolerance rules applied today which suits sub six-foot players much more.

Leaving the game under a cloud might be one of the reasons to come back at all. Theo cannot be happy at how he went out and getting the chance to retire under his own terms would be a great way to settle things. Other people are suggesting that it is financial reasons that are in someway forcing his hand to give it one more kick at the can. This article points out his financial position as revealed by Fleury in a recent court case in which he was reworking the terms of his child support payments.

Annual income (as per tax returns)
2004 – $12,367
2005 – $10,398
2006 – $44,506

Value of his liquid capital
January 2004 – $3,074,943
January 2005 – $2,653,618
January 2006 – $2,407,717
January 2007 – $1,402,138
January 2008 – $261,450

The court documents hint at the reason for the steep decline, noting that: “…the continuation of his expensive lifestyle gave no indication that he would be seeking to recover child support payments made to the mother.”

— Fromtherink.com, 8 August 2009

He would be far from the first sports star to comeback because of financial constraints … it is all to easy as a sports star to continue spending like you were when you were earning and Fleury, having played more than 400 regular-season games in the NHL is eligible to the full pension from the NHL but that doesn’t kick in until the age of 50.

It would be unfair though to suggest that he is being forced back to the NHL for money only. Theo is clearly a man who loves the game and has been playing it at a semi-pro level back in Canada ever since leaving the Giants and well let’s face it, if you still have the legs and clearly still have the ability why would you not go back to the big time if you really wanted to and pick up a nice pay pack while at it. I know I would.

He may or may not make it, but he should be praised for having a go. If it doesn’t work out he will at least know he gave it his best shot and it wasn’t to be and that would beat sitting for the rest of your life wondering “what if?” … “Could I really have done it had I gave it a shot?”

Since leaving the Giants in 2006 Fleury has started a family concrete business and has finished writing a tell-all autobiography ‘Playing with Fire’ about his life away from the demons battling drink, drugs and gambling addictions. It appears the book will be as much about that side of his life and what got him there, what brought him back, as much as it will be about his play on the ice. It’ll be a book I will be sure to read and report back on. When Theo arrived in Belfast in October 2005 and scored three goals, four assists and had a fight on his debut a cult hero in Belfast was born. He was still in the early stages of beating his addictions and has claimed since that his spell in Belfast away from the North American media spotlight helped him get over them. He was the best player in the league that year and while the fans hoped there would be an encore, Theo flew out at the end of the season and fulfilled his claim that the season in Belfast was indeed a one year gig. But he returned to North America a better man and clearly one that now feels ready to tackle one last big challenge … the NHL.

They say big things happen in three’s in all walks of life and this sporting comeback thing certainly wouldn’t be an exception if Fleury was to indeed stick with a team in pre-season and suit up back in the NHL just four years after leaving the Giants. First there was Lance Armstrong, soon there will be Michael Schumacher and so waiting for the third of these, hopefully we will have Theoren Fleury.

On the subject: Theoren Fleury | ALL SUBJECTS |

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