Kirk McLean
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Kirk Alan McLean was born in Willowdale, Ontario (now part of Toronto) on June 26, 1966. He played junior hockey for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League.
The New Jersey Devils drafted McLean in 1984 with their 6th pick (107th Overall), but he only appeared in six games over two seasons for the Devils before Vancouver Canucks' general manager Pat Quinn spotted a diamond in the rough and acquired McLean, along with sniper Greg Adams, for star winger Patrik Sundström and the Canucks' 1988 fourth-round draft pick (Matt Ruchty), on September 15, 1987.
It was from there that McLean's career took off, as he set a number of franchise records for the Canucks, and appeared in National Hockey League All-Star Games in 1990 and 1992, and was named first runner-up for the Vezina Trophy (for outstanding goaltender) for the 1991-92 season.
His peak with the Canucks undoubtedly came during the 1994 playoffs, when he backstopped them to within two goals of the Stanley Cup, displaying arguably the best run of goaltending in Canucks' history. A heartbreaking seventh-game loss to the New York Rangers eventually ended the Cinderella run, but not before a series of personal highlights. These included a series-saving highlight-reel save in overtime against the Calgary Flames in the seventh game of the first round, as well as a 50-plus save performance in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Rangers. His performance during that year's Stanley Cup run earned him the nickname "Captain Kirk" amongst the Vancouver fans.
McLean's play declined steadily for the Canucks in the mid-1990s following a messy divorce and injury problems. After Quinn had been dismissed by the club, new management traded him to the new Carolina Hurricanes franchise along with Martin Gelinas for Sean Burke, Geoff Sanderson and Enrico Ciccone on January 3, 1998. His tenure in Carolina was brief, as the Hurricanes swapped him later that season to the Florida Panthers for Ray Sheppard, on March 24, 1998. He signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers on July 13, 1999, where he would end his career.
McLean now provides color commentary for the Canucks' pay-per-view broadcasts.