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Doug Gilmour

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Doug Gilmour
Born (1963-06-25) June 25, 1963 (age 61)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Forward
Shot Left
Played for St. Louis Blues
Calgary Flames
Toronto Maple Leafs
New Jersey Devils
Chicago Blackhawks
Buffalo Sabres
Montreal Canadiens.
NHL draft 134th overall, 1982
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 1983–2003

Douglas Robert Gilmour (born June 25, 1963 in Kingston, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey player. During his NHL career, he played for the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens. Gilmour won a Stanley Cup with the Flames, and the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward while with the Maple Leafs.

Playing career

Junior hockey

Gilmour started playing junior hockey for the Cornwall Royals of the OHL in the 1980-81 hockey season. He spent three seasons with the team, helping the team to consecutive Memorial Cup championships. He was injured during the 1981 championship run, but in the 1981-82 season, he returned to score 46 goals and 199 points. Gilmour was not drafted in his first year of NHL eligibility, but in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft, the St. Louis Blues drafted him in the 7th round, 134th overall. He did not make the Blues for the 1982-83 hockey season, and was returned to Cornwall. He won the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the leading scorer in the OHL with 70 goals and 177 points. He was also named OHL MVP. During the season he set a league record with a 55 game scoring streak.[1]

Professional career

Gilmour had difficulty reaching a contract with the Blues, who were still concerned that he was undersized for the NHL game. He almost resorted to playing professional hockey in Germany. Two weeks before the 1983-84 NHL season started, Gilmour and the Blues agreed on a contract and he joined the team. Injuries allowed him to play in the fourth line center slot, and he became a defensive specialist. Teammate Brian Sutter nicknamed him "Killer" because of his intensity on the ice.[1] The nickname is also reported to stem from his resemblance to Charles Manson.[2]

During his first three seasons with the Blues, Gilmour was a consistent defensive presence who averaged 50 points. In the 1986 playoffs, he broke out and scored 21 points in 19 games, as the Blues lost in the Conference finals.[1] Just prior to the 1988-89 season, Gilmour was traded to the Calgary Flames along with Mark Hunter, Steve Bozek, and Michael Dark for Mike Bullard, Craig Coxe and Tim Cokery. The Blues traded Gilmour after he was named in a civil suit alleging sexual improprieties with a teenaged babysitter. Although he was never charged in the incident the Blues felt the need to remove Gilmour from the public scrutiny he was facing, and to allow the team to proceed more normally.[3][2]

Calgary

Gilmour was hastily traded to the Calgary Flames from St. Louis after the 1987-88 season. 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 netted the championship-winning goal against the Montreal Canadiens.

Trade to Toronto

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 his name was similar to convicted killer Gary Gilmore) along with Jamie Macoun, Ric Nattress, Kent Manderville, and Rick Wamsley in exchange for Gary Leeman, Alexander Godynyuk, Jeff Reese, Michel Petit and Craig Berube. The 10 player deal was the largest in NHL history, and statistically speaking, one of the most lopsided.

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[4]. 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, behind only 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 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, drawing blood, 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 Western Conference Finals (formerly Clarence Campbell 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. Over the course of the 1992-1993 season and the 1993-1994 season only Adam Oates scored more points than Gilmour.

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. However when Clark returned in a subsequent trade, Gilmour refused to return the coveted captain's "C", which hurt his popularity somewhat.

New Jersey

Fletcher traded Gilmour to the New Jersey Devils in 1997 for Steve Sullivan, Alyn McCauley and Jason Smith. 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 only played in five playoff games. 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.

Final seasons

Gilmour, a well-traveled 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. 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 a sixth round selection) so that he could finish his career in Toronto. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury in the second period of 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 John Ferguson Jr. declined to re-sign him.

Gilmour had 450 goals and 964 assists in 1474 games in his NHL career. He remains eligible for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.

On September 15, 2006 the Maple leafs announced that Doug Gilmour would become their player development advisor.[5]

Awards and achievements

Records

  • 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

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1980-81 Cornwall Royals QMJHL 51 12 23 35 35 19 8 13 21 6
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 81 144 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 Rapperswil-Jona Lakers Swiss-A 9 2 13 15 16 -- -- -- -- --
1994-95 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 44 10 23 33 26 7 0 6 6 6
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 -- -- -- -- --
QMJHL/OHL Totals 186 128 203 331 139 32 22 32 54 24
NHL Totals 1474 450 964 1414 1301 182 60 128 188 235

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Doug Robert Gilmour". Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  2. ^ a b Scher, Jon (1993-05-31). "The Rink Rat". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  3. ^ Luecking, Dave (2001-02-21). "Say It Ain't So: St. Louis Blues". CNNSI. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  4. ^ ESPN - Toronto Maple Leafs News, Schedule, Players, Scores, Stats, Photos, Rumors - NHL Hockey
  5. ^ http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article.jsp?content=20060915_122746_5108
Preceded by Toronto Maple Leafs captains
1994–97 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chicago Blackhawks captains
1999–2000 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy
1993 		Succeeded by
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