They really hate Dion Phaneuf in San Jose right now, but George Johnson of the Calgary Herald wanted to provide some historic perspective. So he tracked down the most loathed opponent in Sharks' history: Former Calgary Flame and burgeoning reality television star Theo Fleury, a player who was booed at "Bettman awarding the Stanley Cup" levels in the arena. It's a fantastic story filled with vivid nostalgic bile, but it was Fleury's comments about two infamous urban legends that stand out. Like, for example, the "midget hooker" story:

The folks down San Jose way used to try outlandish tactics to attempt to get under Fleury's skin; put him off his game. Shock DJs phoned to disturb his slumber. And one morning someone sent a surprise package. "The midget hooker story? Oh, yeah, absolutely true. Definitely. It was about 8 a.m., I think, and hotel security called up mine and Kidder (Trevor Kidd)'s room and the guy said 'There's a couple of midget hookers down here. Do you want us to send them up?'"

Curiously, that's where the story ends ... but Fleury then discussed another San Jose-related tale, denying that he ever, in fact, assaulted the beloved mascot SJ Sharkie:

"What happened was this: I was playing in New York at the time. I got a five-minute major for kneeing Mark Smith. As I was walking out down the tunnel, the Shark happened to be standing there. I nudged him. Nudged him.

That's all. "You guys get wind of it and it's like I attacked Putin in Russia."

The subtle difference, of course, being that SJ Sharkie can't send you to the gulag. So, if you're scoring at home: Midget hookers = true, mascot punching = false, Theo Fleury = still awesome. H/t to Battle of Alberta on this one.

Related: Goons and Pugilism