You have to feel good for Theo Fleury, who has been cleared by the NHL to return to league play, even if his chances of actually sticking with a club at this point in his life would seem to be pretty remote.He's 41 years old and hasn't played in the NHL since 2002-03 with the Chicago Blackhawks.
A terrific player in his prime -- he scored 30 or more goals eight times -- hockey's little big man at 5-feet-6 and 180 pounds was troubled by substance abuse, a problem that wrecked an otherwise tremendous career.
I was covering the Colorado Avalanche for the Rocky Mountain News when then-general manager Pierre Lacroix made another of his blockbuster trades by acquiring Fleury from the Calgary Flames in February 1999 for the playoff stretch.
(Continue to Through the 5 Hole)