Doug Gilmour
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Douglas Robert Gilmour (born June 25, 1963 in Kingston, Ontario) is a retired ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League.
Playing career
After a stellar junior career with the Cornwall Royals, Gilmour began his professional career with the St. Louis Blues in 1983. He was drafted in the seventh round, 134th overall by St. Louis in 1982. During the 1986 playoffs, he led the league in postseason scoring even though his team did not make the finals, one of the three times that a player did so (the others were Phil Esposito in 1969 and Peter Forsberg in 1999).Gilmour was hastily traded to the Calgary Flames from St. Louis after the 1987-88 season, amidst allegations of impropriety with his children's 14 year old baby sitter, with the trade allegedly being part of an out-of-court settlement and with Gilmour's wife agreeing to lift the no trade clause. With Calgary, Gilmour went on to win a Stanley Cup with the Flames in 1989. Before the decisive game six of the series, he kissed and shook hands with Hockey Night in Canada commentator Don Cherry for good luck; Cherry affectionately called his favourite player "Dougie". Gilmour led the Flames in playoff scoring and netted the championship-winning goal against the Montreal Canadiens.
Several months after the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Cliff Fletcher to be their new general manager, Fletcher made a blockbuster trade with Calgary (where he had previously been general manager) in February 1992. He acquired "Killer" (a nickname given to Gilmour by Brian Sutter, then a St. Louis teammate, because of the fierce look in his eyes and a resemblance to Charles Manson when Gilmour sported a mullet) as well as a number of other players that would help revive the moribund Leafs franchise.
Toronto fans did not need to wait long for the Gilmour acquisition to pay off, as the feisty forward scored a franchise-record 127 points during the 1992-1993 regular season. In the playoffs, he played a key role as the Leafs took out the powerhouse Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues, both in seven games. Gilmour finished the postseason with 35 points, only behind Wayne Gretzky. Gilmour was the runner-up for the Hart Trophy as regular-season MVP and won the Selke Trophy as best defensive forward, the first major NHL award that a Leaf player had won since 1967.
One of Gilmour's most memorable goals was scored during the 1993 second round playoffs series against the St. Louis Blues, in the second sudden death overtime period. Many fans remember him skating back and forth behind the St. Louis net multiple times before finally sliding the puck behind a sprawling Curtis Joseph. The Maple Leafs would go on to win the series, but would eventually be eliminated in the next round by Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings. Toronto was leading the Prince of Wales Conference series against Los Angeles 3-2 and many fans, including CBC's Don Cherry, were hoping for an all-Canadian final as the Montreal Canadiens already advanced. However, during overtime of game six, Gretzky high-sticked Gilmour without being assessed a penalty by the referee, Kerry Fraser, and then scored the winning goal moments later to stave off elimination. During game seven back at Maple Leaf Gardens, the Leafs were trailing 5-3 after Gretzky completed his hat-trick. Gilmour's team would score one goal but couldn't find the equalizer, which sent the Kings to the finals.
Gilmour finished the 1993-1994 season fourth overall in regular season scoring with 111 points, just one behind third place finisher Adam Oates. Gilmour made his second consecutive trip to the NHL All-Star game and finished as runner-up for the Selke Trophy. In the playoffs, he led his Leafs to the Eastern Conference Finals (formerly Prince of Wales Conference), although they fell to the Vancouver Canucks in five games. The Leafs were the only team in the NHL to reach back-to-back conference finals over the 1992-1993 and 1993-1994 seasons.
When the Leafs traded captain and fan favourite Wendel Clark to the Quebec Nordiques in 1994-1995, Gilmour was named team captain. Throughout his six years as a Leaf, he was one of the most popular players on the team and in the league. He was a fan and media darling, as the spokesman for the NHLPA in community and charity events, and he also appeared in a series of memorable "Got Milk?" TV commercials, one which also featured his wife.
Fletcher traded Gilmour to the New Jersey Devils in 1997. In the summer of 1998 Gilmour signed as a free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago was Toronto's opposition on the night of the last game in historic Maple Leaf Gardens. Gilmour ended up scoring in that game and in the closing ceremonies, he was given a standing ovation by the Toronto fans.
In spring of 2000, Gilmour was traded to the Buffalo Sabres. He made an immediate impact with the struggling team, which had been Stanley Cup finalists the past season, helping them to make the playoffs. However, he was felled by stomach flu and did not take part in the postseason. In 2000-2001, injuries limited Gilmour's regular season stats but he had a strong playoff performance as the rejuvenated Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round, although they were upset by the Pittsburgh Penguins in a tough second-round series.
Gilmour, a well travelled player by this time, then signed as a free agent in 2001 with the Montreal Canadiens, where he would fill a much needed role as a veteran leader. Gilmour had a good playoff run with the Canadiens but it was cut short by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. Notably before a playoff game, Gilmour also taped a message to Habs fans not to boo the US national anthem.
Rumours floated around the hockey world that Gilmour was considering retirement. To the delight of Maple Leaf fans, the NHL trade deadline of 2003 brought good news: the Canadiens traded Gilmour to the Maple Leafs (for future considerations) so that he could finish his career in Toronto. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury in his first game back on March 13 against the Calgary Flames, and never played again. He officially announced his retirement on September 8, 2003 after the Maple Leafs declined to re-sign him.
On June 28th 2006, 4 new candidates had been elected to be inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Doug Gilmour was not amongst the 4 to be elected, it was Gilmours first year of eligibility.
Gilmour had 450 goals and 964 assists in 1474 games in his NHL career.
Statistics
--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1980-81 Cornwall Royals QMJHL 51 12 23 35 35 1981-82 Cornwall Royals OHL 67 46 73 119 42 5 6 9 15 2 1982-83 Cornwall Royals OHL 68 70 107 177 62 8 8 10 18 16 1983-84 St. Louis Blues NHL 80 25 28 53 57 11 2 9 11 10 1984-85 St. Louis Blues NHL 78 21 36 57 49 3 1 1 2 2 1985-86 St. Louis Blues NHL 74 25 28 53 41 19 9 12 21 25 1986-87 St. Louis Blues NHL 80 42 63 105 58 6 2 2 4 16 1987-88 St. Louis Blues NHL 72 36 50 86 59 10 3 14 17 18 1988-89 Calgary Flames NHL 72 26 59 85 44 22 11 11 22 20 1989-90 Calgary Flames NHL 78 24 67 91 54 6 3 1 4 8 1990-91 Calgary Flames NHL 78 20 61 81 142 7 1 1 2 0 1991-92 Calgary Flames NHL 38 11 27 38 46 -- -- -- -- -- 1991-92 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 40 15 34 49 32 -- -- -- -- -- 1992-93 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 83 32 95 127 100 21 10 25 35 30 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 83 27 84 111 105 18 6 22 28 42 1994-95 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 44 10 23 33 26 7 0 6 6 6 1994-95 Rapperswil-Jona Swiss 9 2 13 15 16 -- -- -- -- -- 1995-96 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 81 32 40 72 77 6 1 7 8 12 1996-97 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 61 15 45 60 46 -- -- -- -- -- 1996-97 New Jersey Devils NHL 20 7 15 22 22 10 0 4 4 14 1997-98 New Jersey Devils NHL 63 13 40 53 68 6 5 2 7 4 1998-99 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 72 16 40 56 56 -- -- -- -- -- 1999-00 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 63 22 34 56 51 -- -- -- -- -- 1999-00 Buffalo Sabres NHL 11 3 14 17 12 5 0 1 1 0 2000-01 Buffalo Sabres NHL 71 7 31 38 70 13 2 4 6 12 2001-02 Montreal Canadiens NHL 70 10 31 41 48 12 4 6 10 16 2002-03 Montreal Canadiens NHL 61 11 19 30 36 -- -- -- -- -- 2002-03 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 1 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- --
NHL Totals 1474 450 964 1414 1299 182 60 128 188 235
Honours
- 1993-94: NHL - Played in All-Star Game
- 1992-93: NHL - Frank J. Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward)
- 1992-93: NHL - Played in All-Star Game
- 1988-89: NHL - Won Stanley Cup championship with the Calgary Flames
- 1982-83: OHL - Red Tilson Trophy (Most Oustanding Player)
- 1982-83: OHL - Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy (Leading Scorer)
- 1982-83: OHL - First All-Star Team
Accomplishments
- 1992-93: NHL - Nominated for Hart Trophy in 1993 (League MVP)
- 1992-93: NHL - Most points in one season (127), Toronto club record
- 1992-93: NHL - Most assists in one season (95), Toronto club record
- 1992-93: NHL - Most assists in one game (6), Toronto club record
- 1988-89: NHL - Two fastest shorthanded goals (scored 4 seconds apart) NHL record
See also
- Captain (ice hockey)
- List of NHL statistical leaders
- List of NHL players
- List of NHL seasons
- List of NHL players with 1000 points
External links
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