Clint Malarchuk reveals how Miikka Kiprusoff avoided Bob Hartley

One of the greatest goaltenders in franchise history, Miikka Kiprusoff had his sweater No. 34 retired by the team thanks to his accomplishments. Upon his acquisition by the Flames in November of 2003 in what was originally a depth move, the Finnish net minder immediately rose to stardom and helped Calgary to within a victory of the Stanley Cup later that spring. 

He would play the remainder of his NHL Career with the Flames before retiring in September in 2013, just under a decade after his arrival in Calgary. Upon his hanging up the skates, he ranked as the franchise leader in wins (305), shutouts (41) and games played by a goaltender (576). 

However, according to former goaltending coach Clint Malarchuk, Kiprusoff did his best to avoid coach Bob Hartley by pretending to not speak English. During a recent appearance on the popular "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast, the former Flames goaltending coach related a humorous account of Kiprusoff's method of not having to talk to his coach: 

"He told me that Miikka pretended he couldn’t speak English for two years because he didn’t want to talk to the coach," Malarchuk revealed. 

"Miikka is a great guy, but very quiet," Malarchuk said. "You’ve got to earn his trust. Once he trusts you, he opens up. Johan Hedberg, I think, was his goalie partner in Kentucky when San Jose had their farm team there."

Malarchuk is best known for surviving a frightening on-ice incident in 1989 when his neck was slashed by St. Louis Blues player Steve Tuttle as he crashed into the net, severing his carotid artery and partially cutting his jugular vein. 

The goaltender immediately began to bleed out onto the ice, and he would have died had it not been for the quick work of  athletic trainer, Jim Pizzutelli. Thankfully, Malarchuk is alive and well to talk about the horrifying ordeal today,

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