The Calgary Flames have made a massive surprise mid-July announcement in that there will be a must-watch game in 2023–24. Well technically it will be the ceremonies that occur prior to the game.
On March 2, 2024, the Flames will be raising Miikka Kiprusoff’s #34 to the Saddledome rafters to officially retire his jersey.
Congratulations Kipper
Earlier this year, another Flames goaltending legend earned a nod into the Hockey Hall of Fame as Mike Vernon was a 2023 inductee. Vernon already has his #30 hanging in the rafters as well. Now, the Flames are adding a second goalie to the roof and it’s one of the most deserved retirements for Kiprusoff.
Kiprusoff will become the fourth player to see their number retired by the Calgary Flames, following Lanny McDonald, Vernon, and teammate Jarome Iginla. McDonald was the first to be retired back in March 17, 1990, and Vernon was a distant second in February 6, 2007.
Iginla was the most recent, seeing his number raised on March 2, 2019. Now, exactly five years after Iginla, Kiprusoff’s #34 will hang right beside Iginla’s #12.
A Flames franchise great
Kiprusoff’s career with the Flames saw him notching 305 wins, 41 shutouts across 576 games played. His stats and accolades with the Flames may transcend time and end up as unbeatable franchise records, particularly his 42-win, 10-shutout campaign in 74 starts back in 2005–06, where he won both the Vezina and Jennings Trophies. Not to mention of course the famed 2003–04 run to the Stanley Cup Final.
As a goaltender, there wasn’t much left for him to achieve with the Calgary Flames. We all know it was in in ’04 and Kiprusoff really has done it all for the franchise.
