Douglas Robert Gilmour (born
June 25, 1963) is a Canadian
retired
professional ice hockey player who is the
current head coach of the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
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 in
1989, and the
Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL's best
defensive forward while with the Maple Leafs in
1993.
Playing career
Junior hockey
Gilmour started playing junior hockey for the
Cornwall Royals of the
OHL in the
1980–81 season. He spent three
seasons with the team, helping the team two 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 119 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 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.
Professional career
St. Louis
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, and name similarity to
convicted killer Gary Gilmore. The nickname is also reported to
stem from his resemblance to
Charles
Manson.
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. This made Gilmour one of the
only players in history to lead in postseason scoring without
making it to the
Stanley
Cup Finals;
Peter Forsberg would
also achieve that feat in 1999 with the
Colorado Avalanche.
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.
Gilmour denied that the incident occurred, and a grand jury did not
find enough evidence to indict him. The Blues didn't admit publicly
that the pending lawsuit against Gilmour was a reason for the
trade, but Gilmour was convinced it was the reason: "I didn't want
to leave St. Louis but from what has happened the past week, on our
part and on the St. Louis Blues' part, it was our best
solution."
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, who also hails from Kingston, affectionately called his
favourite player "Dougie". Gilmour netted the championship-winning
goal against the
Montreal
Canadiens.
Toronto
Several months after the
Toronto
Maple Leafs hired
Cliff Fletcher
to be their new general manager, he made a blockbuster trade with
Calgary in February 1992. Fletcher had previously served as
Calgary's general manager before coming to Toronto, and he was
responsible for putting together their 1989 championship team. The
Leafs acquired Gilmour 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 produced well for the remainder
of the
1991–92 season. He
then went on to have a breakout year, scoring a franchise-record
127 points during the
1992–93
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, 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 latter who would also
become famous with the Leafs years later.
In the Conference Finals, Gilmour's team met
Wayne Gretzky and the
Los Angeles Kings. During Game One,
Gilmour was levelled by a hard hit from the Kings'
Marty McSorley, and Leafs captain
Wendel Clark pummeled McSorley with several
blows. 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
[29843], without being assessed a penalty by
the referee,
Kerry Fraser, and then
scored the winning goal moments later to stave off elimination
which ignited the '100th Stanley Cup Controversy'
[29844].
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
1993–94
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 1992–93 and 1993–94
seasons. Over the course of the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons, only
Oates scored more points than Gilmour.
When the Leafs traded captain and fan favourite
Wendel Clark to the
Quebec Nordiques in the off-season of 1994,
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.
Later career
Fletcher traded Gilmour to the
New
Jersey Devils in 1997 for
Steve
Sullivan,
Alyn McCauley and
Jason Smith. Gilmour was
their best postseason performer but the Devils suffered early exits
in the playoffs.
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
2000–01, 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-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 2003
NHL trade deadline brought good
news: the Canadiens traded Gilmour to the Maple Leafs for a sixth
round draft pick so that he could finish his career in Toronto.
However, in his first game back with the Leafs, Gilmour and
Flame Dave
Lowry accidentally collided on Gilmour's second shift,
resulting in Gilmour breaking his leg. He missed the remainder of
the season and 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 Gilmour would
become their player development advisor.On August 7, 2008 the Maple
Leafs announced that Gilmour would become an assistant coach for
the Leafs
American Hockey
League farm team, the
Toronto
Marlies.
On November 17, 2008 Gilmour left the Marlies to take over the head
coaching position with the
Kingston
Frontenacs of the
OHL.
On January 31, 2009 Gilmour's number 93 was honored by the Toronto
Maple Leafs. Gilmour became the seventeenth player to be honored by
the Maple Leafs.
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
Coaching record
See also
References
- 1988–89 Calgary Flames at Hockey Reference
- NHL.com - Frank J. Selke Trophy
- ESPN - Toronto Maple Leafs News, Schedule, Players,
Scores, Stats, Photos, Rumors - NHL Hockey
-
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article.jsp?content=20060915_122746_5108
- Gilmour joins Marlies coaching staff -
Sportsnet.ca
- http://sportsnet.ca/hockey/2008/11/17/gilmour_ohl
- Leafs retire Gilmour's No. 93. Retrieved on
2009-02-01.
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