Heals and Flats takes over CBC Sports

Heals and Flats is coming to CBCSports.ca, and it may never be the same again.

The show, hosted by Hockey Night in Canada personality Glenn Healy and Patrick Flatley, was a huge hit when it aired in the New York area in the late 1980s and early '90's, when the pair were Islanders teammates.

"There wasn't a lot entertaining going on at that time for the Islanders — does this sound familiar? — and it was a way to spruce things up, so to speak," Healy said.

"Of course, when you have someone who has the skill set that Pat Flatley does — it's an easy target."

Off-the-wall and irreverent, nobody was safe from ridicule on the show.

"From teammates to the commissioner, the gloves were off," Healy said. It developed a cult following that still lingers on Islanders blogs and message boards.

"The ironic part is that we'd get more fan mail about the show than we'd get about our team and our play," Healy said.

"So I don't know if that's an indication of the quality of the show or the quality of our play. [But] when the team started to get successful they decided to spend some money on some real content, instead of our corny act.

"It was a lot of fun, it really was.… Pat and I have been friends for a long time … [he's] a great teammate, great leader, understands the game."

After almost two decades off the air, Heals and Flats will release new segments on CBCSports.ca, starting with Wednesday's on-demand episode discussing the Toronto Maple Leafs' "revolutionary" stretching techniques.

"I think it'll be informative, with an edge," Healy said. "That's the way both of our personalities are. "[And] any time you can take advantage of somebody for two minutes on television — is there nothing better than that?"