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Sources tell TSN Theoren Fleury is attempting a comeback and wants to play in the NHL again. After playing senior hockey last season, Fleury decided in February he was fit enough to give the NHL another try, so he hired a personal trainer and has been working diligently since. Those close to him say he didn't leave the National Hockey League the way he wanted, which is fueling his desire to return.

— Darren Dreger, TSN.ca

This could very well turn out to be the feel good story of the season, should a team take Fleury up on his comeback bid and allow him to suit up, six years later, in the NHL. But I think it's also fairly clear that the popular former star is, financially speaking, not in the best place right now.

After amassing $42-million over a 15-year career, Fleury may even be broke.

Following the 2002-03 season with the Blackhawks, his last in the NHL, Fleury filed for divorce from his wife in June. As part of the settlement, both sides took away approximately $4-million in value, and Fleury contributed an additional $350,000 in alimony and agreed to pay $60,000 in child support a year for his two children (who are now about 10 and 12).

This February, nearly six years later, he was in court again, reworking the terms of the child support given his income had all but gone away in the interim. The ruling cut his payments significantly, from the $5,000 a month he had been paying to about one-fifth that.

But that's not the troubling part.

As part of the child support case, Fleury revealed both his annual income after leaving the NHL and the contents of his "investment account," which was termed his "liquid capital."

Neither paints a pretty picture.

Annual income (as per tax returns)
2004 – $12,367
2005 – $10,398
2006 – $44,506

Value of his liquid capital
January 2004 – $3,074,943
January 2005 – $2,653,618
January 2006 – $2,407,717
January 2007 – $1,402,138
January 2008 – $261,450

The court documents hint at the reason for the steep decline, noting that: "...the continuation of his expensive lifestyle gave no indication that he would be seeking to recover child support payments made to the mother."

The concrete company Fleury had been working for and loaned more than $800,000 along the way has also apparently gone under, and there aren't any details as to how much he was able to recoup from that investment. What's also unknown is what other assets Fleury owns that wouldn't qualify as capital.

Even so, it would seem that the former Flames star has unfortunately gone down a path we see far too often in professional sports, one that should be preventable by way of player education. Fleury will be entitled to a full pension as an NHLer who played more than 400 regular-season games — something that I believe kicks in at age 50 — but between then and now, he might need to make a comeback or two.