In 1999 when Joe Nieuwendyk returned to the Saddledome for the first time as a member of the Dallas Stars he was lustily booed by the crowd all evening.

   Nieuwendyk was one of the Flames top scorers, two-time 50-goal scorer, member of the ’89 Cup champs.  During the radio post-game show that night, then on 66CFR, I was critical of the fans for booing the former Flame captain.

   Then my pal, the late Ed Chynoweth, set me straight “He quit on the team.” Eddie, a Hockey Hall-of-Fame, always had a way of putting things in the proper light by merely saying “He walked out on the team!”  Nieuwendyk had left the Flames during training camp that season over a further contract-extension dispute but was under contract for the ’98-99 campaign. That justified the booing.

   As it all turned out, perhaps Nieuwendyk should get a standing ovation if he ever comes back to the Saddledome.  While the centrenman sat through the first 2-and-a-half months for the season, the club attempted to trade him.  Finally on Dec. 20, then GM Al Coates dealt him to Dallas. In exchange the Flames got Jarome Iginla, who was then playing with Kamloops in Chynoweth’s WHL.

   Without having had Iginla for the past 12 years you wonder where the team would be.

   On Tuesday he again dominated a game with 2 goals and 2 assists in a 4-1 victory over Columbus. The 4 points leave him just 2 behind Theoran Fleury for the club’s all-time leading points crown and 2 goals shy of 400.

   As he should have been Iginla was loudly cheer but also during the game former Flame Kristen Huseluis, the Bluejackets best player on the night, heard boos all night.  It didn’t seem to bother the man whose nickname is “Juice” since if Miikka Kiprusoff hadn’t been so good against him the winger may have had a couple of goals.

    But why the boos?  Huselius played here for 2-and-a-half years in that time was the teams #2 scorer behind Iginla.  He didn’t walkout on a bonafide contract, didn’t ask to be traded, liked Calgary and landed with another team as a free agent after the Flames chose not to re-sign him.  Sure, at times, Huselius was a very frustrating player to watch.  He had such great skill but many times kept in in disguise.  If that was his onlyu sin here, he didn’t deserve Tuesday’s boos.

   Although my pal Ed is no longer with us for debate, I’m sure he’d agreed with this assessment.

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