Doug Gilmour
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Gilmour.jpg
Doug Gilmour (born June 25, 1963 in Kingston, Ontario) was a player in the National Hockey League.
He started his career with the St. Louis Blues in 1983. After being traded from St. Louis in disgrace, having had sex with his children's baby sitter and facing criminal charges, Gilmour went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs made Cliff Fletcher their new general manager, Fletcher made a blockbuster trade with Calgary, where he had previously been general manager. He acquired "Killer" (a nickname given to Gilmour by a St. Louis teammate because of the fierce look in his eyes) as well as many other players that would help the Leafs and their Stanley Cup dreams.
Toronto fans did not need to wait long for the Gilmour acquisition to pay off, as the feisty forward was a key player on the team in the 1993 playoffs. The Leafs took down powerhouse Detroit Red Wings in the first best-of-seven series and went on to play his former team the Blues in the second round. 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.
Everyone who saw the game remembers Doug's wraparound goal on Curtis Joseph where he kept going back and forth behind the net and finally slid it into the net behind a sprawling Joseph. That series was also a win for the Leafs as they headed on to the third round and eventually lost to Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings. In game six, during overtime, Gretzky had high-sticked Gilmour but no penalty was called. Some people feel the outcome of the third round series was a result of biased officiating, owing to the fact that the NHL would lose money if two Canadian teams were in the finals, since very few Americans would watch such a series.
When the Leafs traded captain and fan favourite Wendel Clark to the Quebec Nordiques in 1994, Gilmour was named as the Leafs' newest captain. After six as a Leaf during which he built up a large fan base, Gilmour was traded by Fletcher to the New Jersey Devils in 1997. In the summer of 1998 Gilmour signed as a free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks. As luck would have it, Chicago was Toronto's opposition on the night of the last game in the historic Maple Leaf Gardens. Gilmour ended up scoring that game and in the closing ceremonies, Gilmour was given a standing ovation by the Toronto fans, showing that even though he had been traded, he was forever a Toronto Maple Leaf.
In spring, 2000 Gilmour was again traded to the Buffalo Sabres where he spent a couple of seasons. Then Gilmour, a well travelled player by this time, signed as a free agent with the Montreal Canadiens, the Maple Leafs' rivals. Gilmour had a good playoff run with the Canadiens but it was cut short by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.
Rumors floated around the hockey world that Gilmour wanted to finish his NHL career and he might be retiring. To the delight of Maple Leaf fans the NHL trade deadline of 2003 brought good news: the Canadiens traded Gilmour to the Maple Leafs so that he could finish his career in Toronto. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury in his first game back on March 13, and he never played again. He officially announced his retirement on September 8, 2003.
Gilmour had 450 goals and 964 assists in 1474 games in his NHL career.
| Preceded by: Wendel Clark |
Toronto Maple Leafs Captains | Succeeded by: Mats Sundin |
Honors
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Accomplishments
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External links
- Doug Gilmour .com (http://www.douggilmour.com)