By Matthew Sekeres, Calgary Herald

Theoren Fleury should consider retirement -- it may even save his life -- says the NHL player's childhood friend and former teammate, Sheldon Kennedy.

On Friday, Fleury was suspended for at least six months without pay for violating terms of the National Hockey League's substance abuse policy. The Chicago Blackhawks forward was placed in Stage 3 of the Substance Abuse and Behavioural Health Program for unspecified reasons.

Since the Blackhawks' season is over, Fleury is not getting paid, anyway, but the minimum length of the ban will take him to the start of next season. He will have to apply for reinstatement.

However, Fleury should think about hanging up his skates, said Kennedy, who became a household name in 1997, when he publicly admitted being sexually abused by disgraced former junior coach Graham James.

"Beyond his career or anything, it's Theoren's life," Kennedy said Saturday, when he was in Ottawa as the keynote speaker to an Ottawa District Hockey Association seminar on preventing abuse and harassment. "Obviously, there is something that is troubling Theoren and I hope that he can face it and get it straightened out.

"Whether it is retiring from the game, instead of having the pressures of going back to try and play and running into walls, maybe it is something he needs to look at. Maybe he needs to step back and step away. He has had a great career.

"I hope Theoren gets his life back on track. I know where he has been. I've been exactly in the places he has been, and it is not fun. It doesn't make somebody a bad person, but I guess the way I look at it, people who are in that situation, if they don't figure it out or understand it, usually the ultimate destination is death."

In 1984, James was head scout for the Western Hockey League's Moose Jaw Warriors when he recruited Fleury, from Oxbow, Sask., and Kennedy, from Elkhorn, Man.

Two years later, James became head coach of the WHL's Swift Current Broncos and he made a trade to acquire Kennedy. Kennedy, who later turned to alcohol and drugs while dealing with personal demons, suffered years of abuse under James, who molested him and another unnamed Broncos player.

During a trip to Anaheim, Calif., that year, Kennedy said, James forced him to perform a sexual act while Fleury slept in the back seat of the car. Fleury at first denied the incident, then relented, saying it could have occurred while he dozed.

"All I am saying is I didn't see anything," Fleury said at the time.

James, who led the Broncos to a Memorial Cup title in 1989, pleaded guilty to sexual assault in January 1997. He served almost three years in prison and had a lifetime ban imposed upon him by the Canadian Hockey League. He now lives and coaches minor hockey in Spain.

Kennedy, 33, said he doubted Fleury would play beyond next season, the final year of an $8.5-million contract he signed last summer. Rumours have circulated that the Blackhawks may attempt to buy out Fleury, who missed 28 games and recorded a career-low 33 points during an incident-plagued 2002-2003 season.

Fleury, 34, began the season with a 25-game suspension for violating terms of his aftercare program. Soon after returning, he missed a practice, claiming he had overslept. In January, he was involved in a physical confrontation at a strip club in Columbus, Ohio.

"When I grew up with Theoren, he wasn't much of a drinker at all," Kennedy said. "He was very dedicated to the game. I never thought that all this stuff would be happening.

"It has just been in the last few years that Theoren has been running from something, and it's a matter of him figuring out what he is running from. I'm not sure (what it is) and I don't really want to comment."

Kennedy played eight NHL seasons before retiring in 1998. He lives on a ranch near Calgary and works as a consultant to the Canadian Hockey League, travelling the country in support of the "Speak Out" program that aims to eliminate abuse and harassment in minor hockey.

A teammate of Fleury with the Calgary Flames in 1994 and '95, Kennedy had been expected to testify in the trial of a civil lawsuit filed by a former Swift Current teammate, another victim of James' abuse.

However, an out-of-court settlement was reached earlier this week between the former player, the Broncos, the WHL, the Canadian Hockey Association and other defendants, not including James.

In court documents, the former Broncos player, now in his 20s, alleged the defendants knew James was abusing players, but did not prevent him from coaching and managing in the WHL. 

James has ignored the court action since it was filed in early 1999.

"I wish that I had the chance to confront Graham and that people had a chance to see the whole picture unfold, whether it be ugly or not," Kennedy said. "With the horrible way that he was, I think he got off this whole thing pretty easy. There are a lot of people who suffered due to him.

"Somewhere down the road, something will happen. He'll get his eventually, whatever it may be," he added. "I can't have hate, but I truly believe in karma and what goes around comes around."

By Len Ziehm, Chicago Sun-Times

Theo Fleury's future in the NHL took another negative turn Friday when the league and its players association put the Chicago Blackhawks winger in Stage 3 of its substance-abuse aftercare program.

The move means Fleury is suspended a minimum of six months without pay before he's eligible to apply for reinstatement. His playing future in the NHL is up to the supervising doctors in the program--Dave Lewis of the NHL and Brian Shaw of the NHL Players Association.

Fleury couldn't be reached for comment, but his agent, Don Baizley, said he talked with Fleury Thursday night--shortly after he learned of the suspension.

"The whole development is a disappointing situation," Baizley said. "But the program is the program, and the doctors have got to do what they think is best."

If the suspension lasts six months, Fleury will be eligible to apply for reinstatement on Oct. 11, which likely will be shortly after the 2003-04 season opener. The schedule hasn't been announced, but this season opened on Oct. 10 after about five weeks of training camp and eight exhibition games.

Until then, according to general manager Mike Smith, "Theo is basically suspended from anything we do."

Fleury, 35, just completed his 15th NHL season. He entered the substance-abuse program while a member of the New York Rangers in 2001 and missed the last 20 games of that season.

The Rangers wouldn't re-sign him after his contract expired, but Smith negotiated a two-year, $8.4 million deal with the troubled star, who helped Canada to the gold medal in last year's Winter Olympics. At Fleury's request, the Hawks also hired Jim Jenkins as a companion to help in his treatment for alcoholism.

Fleury reported to training camp, but the first signs of trouble quickly emerged when he skipped a practice Oct. 4. He later explained that he was tending to his ill father, but Lewis and Shaw suspended him two days before the start of the regular season for violation of the substance-abuse aftercare program, and he missed the first 25 games.

A goal in his first game back, a 4-3 loss to Anaheim, suggested Fleury could regain the sharpness he had demonstrated for most of his career. But his season quickly went downhill. On Jan. 19, he was beaten up by a bouncer at a Columbus, Ohio, strip club. Though a police report said he was intoxicated at the time, Fleury wasn't arrested and Lewis, Shaw and the Hawks let him play.

Coach Brian Sutter made Fleury a healthy scratch for two games in February, the first time he had been benched since his rookie NHL season. Smith fired Jenkins and put Fleury on waivers, but no team claimed him. Fleury's play improved the final three weeks, and he finished his first season with the Hawks with 12 goals, 21 assists, 77 penalty minutes and a minus-7 rating in 54 games.

Fleury missed the last game after suffering three fractures of his right cheekbone when he was hit by a puck on April 4 against St. Louis. The injury came a day after his most productive game--three assists in a road game against the Blues.

Despite speculation that Smith might buy out the second year of his contract, Fleury said he wanted to remain with the Hawks and "make amends" for his performance and has repeatedly apologized for his off-ice behavior.

He said he would remain in Chicago during the offseason and planned to hire a personal trainer. He also doubted the Hawks would offer him a buyout. If they did, he had at least one team that wanted him.

EHC Basel, recently promoted to Switzerland's A-League with a new arena to fill, has contacted Baizley to inquire about Fleury's availability. Going there would require a big pay cut, as the highest-paid player in the Swiss league earns about $500,000. Fleury was to be paid $4.5 million for a second season with the Hawks.

Smith met with Fleury on Monday, as part of his usual postseason meetings with players, but didn't announce any plans regarding the player's future. Smith traditionally holds a postseason state-of-the-Hawks media gathering shortly after a season ends to deal with such matters, but this year's has been delayed.

While taking a "no comment" stance on most issues involving Fleury on Friday, Smith labeled the buyout possibilities "totally speculation."

"We've never had an internal talk about buying him out," Smith said. Baizley confirmed he and Smith haven't discussed a buyout.

"We'll have to see what goes on from here," Baizley said.

Canadian Press

Theo Fleury's NHL career took another turn for the worse Friday.

The NHL and NHL Players' Association announced the Chicago Blackhawks winger has been placed in Stage 3 of the league's substance abuse and behavioural health program.

Fleury, 34, was suspended without pay for at least six months. Since the Hawks' season is over, Fleury is not getting paid anyway but the minimum length of the ban will take him to the start of next season.

He will also have to apply to the league for reinstatement.

A spokesman for the league declined to say what had triggered this latest development.

Stage 4, the final step, of the NHL and NHLPA program involves suspension for at least one season and having to apply for reinstatement.

Fleury, born in Oxbow, Sask., first entered the substance abuse program towards the end of the 2000-01 season while a member of the New York Rangers. He missed 20 games. Then he was suspended for the first 25 games this season for violating the terms of the aftercare portion of the program.

As part of the program, Fleury is tested randomly for drugs and alcohol three times a week.

Fleury is a seven-time NHL all-star. He was a member of Canada's team that won Olympic gold last February in Salt Lake City.

He signed a two-year, $8.5-million US contract with Chicago last Aug. 15 as a free agent. The Hawks placed Fleury on waivers earlier this season, but no one picked him up.

The fiery 5-foot-6 180-pounder finished the season with 12 goals and 21 assists in 54 games.

Basel GM trying to sign troubled NHLer

By Ivo Riesco, Faceoff.com 

EHC Basel, recently promoted to the A-league in Switzerland, is trying to sign Theo Fleury, 35. Basel GM Paul-Andre Cadieux, a native Canadian, is currently negotiating with Fleury's agent. Fleury is expected to be bought out by the Chicago Blackhawks as soon as the NHL season is over.

"I am doing my best to conclude the deal," Cadieux says. "It is a dream to hire Fleury, but I know that it will be very difficult."

The question remains if Basel will be able to pay Fleury. The team will have about $5 million US for the entire next season. Christian Dubé is considered to be the highest-paid player in Switzerland so far. The Berne center earns an estimated $500,000 US per season.

Basel will join the A-league for the first time in 40 years. The team's growth is warmly welcomed by league officials and other members of the league. Basel represents the second largest city of the country.

The city's soccer team is extremely popular and also very successfull in the European champions' league. Ice hockey has been starving in Basel for a long period of time, but now the team is expected to attract a lot of people to the newly-built Saint Jacob Arena. GM Cadieux wants to present the people "something special," something like Theo Fleury.

Theo Fleury, the Chicago Blackhawks' troubled right wing who has battled alcohol abuse, was put on waivers Saturday, according to several reports. 

TSN, Rogers Sportsnet and CBC all reported the transaction on their Web sites. 

 Fleury said he'd read about the move Saturday, but had not been told by the Blackhawks. 

 "I've been around the block and this could be true or it could not be true. I have no idea how these things works, I have never been put on waivers," Fleury said Saturday night as he attended a Chicago Bulls' game. 

 Fleury signed a two-year, $8.5-million contract with the Blackhawks on Aug. 15 as a free agent, but was suspended two days before the regular season started after reporting his own aftercare violation. The right wing sat out two months before returning Dec. 6. 

 In January, Ohio police said he was intoxicated following an altercation at a Columbus strip club. Since that incident, the Blackhawks have collapsed. Entering Sunday's game against Boston, Chicago had lost nine straight and 12 of 13. 

 Fleury has nine goals and 13 assists in 41 games. If he does clear waivers, the Blackhawks might have to pay his salary next season, unless a buyout is negotiated. 

 "I know things haven't worked out the way everybody wanted them to work out," Fleury said. "I can honestly tell you I feel better every game. It's just unfortunate we are in this situation." 

 Fleury said he believes the Blackhawks have handled it unprofessionally, adding that he's pretty easy to talk to. 

 "Obviously, they are trying to get me to react, and that's not going to happen," he said. "They want to use me as a scapegoat. That's fine. I will live to play another day." 

By Adam Kempenaar, chicagoblackhawks.com

Goaltender Jocelyn Thibault showed why he's making his first trip to the NHL All-Star Game this weekend, stopping 44 Bruins shots Thursday night to lead Chicago to a 3-1 road win. Theo Fleury scored twice for his first multi-goal game as a Blackhawk.

After giving up just one goal in his first two starts since being acquired from Montreal, former Hawk Jeff Hackett allowed three goals for his first loss as a Bruin. The Chicago victory snapped a six game winless streak for the Hawks and handed the Bruins their first lost in five. 

"We just wanted it badly. It was an important game for our team," coach Brian Sutter said. "We knew we had to suck it up in the third period and we did."

For the fourth game in a row, the Blackhawks got on the board first when Fleury tallied his first goal in eight games on the power play at 8:15 of the opening frame. Hackett stopped consecutive shots by Phil Housley and Kyle Calder but Fleury was there to flip in the rebound for his eighth goal of the season.

Hawks winger Steve Sullivan left the game early in the first period after getting slashed in the back of the left knee by Nick Boynton. Fortunately for the Hawks, who were already without Eric Daze, Sergei Berezin and defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev, Sullivan came back later in the period and finished the rest of the game without showing any signs of injury.

"When he went down, I said, "get up!", Sutter explained. "He got up and he had several chances with Theo. It just shows you what Sullivan is made of."

Thibault kept the Hawks in the game for the last half of the first period and beginning of the second as the Bruins reeled off 15 consecutive shots on goal before Tyler Arnason put the Hawks up 2-0 with a cross net snap shot that went between Hackett's legs. The goal was Arnason's 14th of the season with assists from Kyle Calder and Mark Bell. Tonight's game was the first since early in the season that Arnason, Bell and Calder played together on the same line.

Mike Knuble (14) got the Bruins back into the game at 15:45 of the period when he deflected Brian Rolston's slap shot past Thibault for a power-play goal. Boston outshot the Hawks an astonishing 21 to 5 in the second period but Knuble's score was all they could produce.

Fleury added an insurance goal for the Hawks at 6:57 of the third when captain Alex Zhamnov forced a turnover in the Bruins' zone and got the puck to Fleury who put a knuckler through the five hole on Hackett for his second of the game and 9th of the year. Fleury had two solid opportunities for the hat trick later in the third but hit the top post on an open net and then got robbed on a beautiful close-range save by Hackett.

Boston was penalized nine times to Chicago's six, including captain Joe Thornton's 2:00 unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at 3:53 of the third that led to a 10:00 minute misconduct penalty for the Bruins' top point scorer. Thornton was held without a point for the first time in 10 games.

The Hawks were 1-of-7 on the power play and killed 4-of-5 Bruins efforts with the man advantage. Chicago was outshot 45 to 20 for the game, but was able to find the back of the net when they needed to for the win.

"Our penalty killing is one of the best in the league and he's (Thibault) the reason why," Fleury said after the game. "Obviously, our best player all year was our best player tonight."

After the All-Star break, the Blackhawks will play back-to-back road contests against Minnesota and Calgary next Wednesday and Thursday.

By George Johnson, Calgary Herald

A strip club. At 4:30 a.m. Booze on the police report. And Theo Fleury back on implode, in the back of a taxi, eye cut, the left side of his face looking like a chunk of raw hamburger.

Everyone was saddened. No one seemed genuinely surprised.

Theoren Fleury is a grown man. He makes choices and is, as he's quick to say, ultimately responsible for his actions. No one trussed him up, stuffed him into an equipment bag and dragged him to the Pure Platinum peeler palace after the Chicago Blackhawks' charter aircraft landed in Columbus, Ohio, in the wee small hours of Sunday.

No one pinned his shoulders to the ground and poured him a good drunk.

He's to blame for the sky now clattering about his head. Without trying to sound pompous, trite, cliched, only Theo can help Theo.

But what about the mystery twosome out carousing with him? The ones in the back of the taxi who told the investigating policeman responding to a 911 call: "Can you step over here for a second? We play for the Chicago Blackhawks, this is Theo Fleury and we need to get out of here.''

Maybe they just "happened'' on the scene, were acting as guardian angels for their troubled teammate. Maybe they were totally blameless, pulled him away from the bouncers exercising their knuckles on him and into the cab in an effort to protect the rather tenuous grip he has on his career and his life.

Seems highly unlikely, though, doesn't it? The fact that neither has been identified by the 'Hawks is a pretty clear indication that they, too, were in on the party.

Fleury has avoided National Hockey League censure in the mess. Doctors could've demoted him to Phase 3 of the league and players' association aftercare program, a step that would've resulted in an automatic six-month, no-pay ban.

Instead, he was back on the ice Thursday night at the United Center, after playing Monday in Columbus. Whether or not that's in his best interests would be opening another can of worms entirely.

Fleury was suspended for the first 25 games of this season after suffering a relapse.

The Blackhawks say they are dealing with the matter "internally;'' that they will administer their own appropriate punishment to the three transgressors.

Skip that noise. Whoever these two idiot accomplices are, they should be publicly identified; their portraits hung in the, 'With friends like these who needs ...' rogues gallery.

What kind of teammates, what kind of people, would not only condone but by their very presence encourage an alcoholic, by his own admission walking a frayed tightrope between sanity and the unhappy alternative, to break all the guidelines set down for him by his doctors and employers? 

Maybe they couldn't have physically stopped Fleury from going out on the town if he'd set his mind to the deed. But why not call coach Brian Sutter on the QT and let him know what was up? It would've been a brave, trendsetting thing to do, given the archaic, closed-ranks player/management relations that exist in professional hockey. But wouldn't it make infinitely more sense to rat than tag along and possibly watch someone throw away his career, put his life in further jeopardy?

If there is shame to be heaped on Theoren Fleury, there should be nothing but scorn for his two unidentified 'Hawk 'buddies.'

While no breathalyser was administered, the on-scene police officer wrote in his report Fleury was intoxicated when he approached the Blackhawks' trio in the taxi. The former Calgary Flames captain had been given a beating by Pure Platinum bouncers that rivalled the pounding L.A. Kings bouncer Ken Baumgartner administered at the 'Dome more than a decade ago.

Yet doctors reasoned that he was not in violation of his aftercare program? Deference must be paid the professionals treating him, of course, but what Theo Fleury did Sunday morning seems to be in direct violation of just about every standard, every protocol, every rule, conceivable.

This isn't about some form of righteous justice, it's about helping a sick individual.

"I worry every second about him,'' admitted Sutter. "He's in an aftercare program that's going to continue and that's plain and simple. This is the way it's going to be the rest of his life.

"Sometimes the path, how he does it, is a little off base, but Theo isn't afraid to face the music.''

Pretty soon, if Theo Fleury doesn't wise up and choose his friends with more care, that music's going to drop an octave or two, to a dirge.

January 23: More problems for Theo

By Len Ziehm, Chicago Sun-Times

Theo Fleury was contrite and concerned about his future Wednesday after his latest brush with controversy, an incident at a strip club early Sunday morning in Columbus, Ohio.

According to a Columbus police report, Fleury was intoxicated when he told officers he had been ''hit several times by about nine bouncers'' after being told to leave the club. The 34-year-old right wing has battled alcoholism and missed the first 25 games of this season- - his first with the club -after violating the NHL's substance-abuse aftercare program during training camp. The Columbus incident could result in further action from the league.

Hawks coach Brian Sutter said he expects Fleury to play tonight against St. Louis at the United Center, but Fleury didn't sound so sure after practicing with the team in Bensenville.

''I made a bad choice, a bad decision,'' Fleury said, without providing any details of the incident. ''It's an unfortunate thing that happened, but today's a new day.''

Fleury said he had not heard from NHL officials or the doctors who have supervised his treatment.

''I expect to hear from them, but I don't know when,'' Fleury said. ''Whatever the consequences, I'll deal with it when it happens.''

NHL spokesman Frank Brown said the league would have no immediate announcement on Fleury's status.

''It's a matter for the doctors supervising the program,'' Brown said. ''I'm not at liberty to discuss it, based on the confidentiality of the program.''

The substance-abuse program is supervised by two doctors: Los Angeles-based David Lewis, who represents the league, and Toronto-based Brian Shaw, who represents the NHL Players' Association. A Web site reported they would meet with Fleury shortly.

League and union representatives developed a substance-abuse and behavioral-health program in 1996 and incorporated it into their collective-bargaining agreement. It involves four stages of monitoring. In the first stage, a player receives in-patient treatment but no penalty. Violators of that stage go into the second stage, which calls for a suspension without pay and further treatment before reinstatement. Fleury completed that stage when he was reinstated to the Hawks' lineup Dec. 5.

The third stage means suspension without pay for at least six months before being eligible for reinstatement. The fourth stage means suspension without pay for at least a year, and reinstatement isn't assured. Hawks general manager Mike Smith, who met with Fleury on Tuesday, wouldn't speculate on whether Fleury would move into the third stage.

''It's not a cut-and-dried process,'' Smith said.

Fleury said he talked to his teammates about the incident Wednesday but wouldn't divulge what he told them.

''What's said in the dressing room stays in the dressing room,'' he said. ''I needed to express to them how I felt. My teammates are the ones I'm responsible to. This is being handled the way it should be, within the team.''

According to police, two people who identified themselves as members of the Hawks were with Fleury at the Pure Platinum strip club, located on the outskirts of Columbus near the suburb of Dublin. It has a $10 admission fee, and though no liquor is served, patrons are allowed to bring in their own beverages.

Not present was Jim Jenkins, Fleury's sponsor who is being paid by the Hawks to help the player in his battle with alcoholism. Smith said Jenkins was at the team hotel.

''He knows his job description,'' Sutter said of Jenkins. ''He's got a responsibility he's got to live up to. We've talked to him.''

The other players weren't named in the police report, taken at 4:45 a.m. Few players were willing to talk with reporters Wednesday. Steve Sullivan did but wouldn't say what Fleury told them.

''If something happened to my wife and I, I don't think it's anybody's business but my family's,'' Sullivan said. ''I consider [the Hawks] my family, so we'll deal with it ourselves.''

Sullivan said the matter was magnified because of Fleury's history of substance abuse.

''It was [big news] because of one person who was there,'' Sullivan said. ''If it was me instead of Theo, it'd be whatever happened, happened.''

Though the Hawks played their worst game of the season - a 5-1 loss to the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets - after learning of the incident Monday, Sullivan said that wasn't the reason for the team's poor play.

Sutter was terse during a news conference after practice Wednesday, acknowledging only that ''something happened that we're handling internally. Do I like it? No, but it's being looked after.''

In a later meeting with a few reporters, Sutter conceded that ''team rules were broken, and they'll be disciplined.''

Sutter, like Sullivan, felt that the issue was significant only because of Fleury's involvement.

''That's 100 percent correct,'' Sutter said. ''What's interesting is that there was no problem with the police. The only problem is our players didn't want to charge other people."