Doug Gilmour

A profile of the centre who scored the empty-netter that sealed the 1989 Cup, played 18 months as the Flames' best two-way forward, then was traded to Toronto in a deal that gutted the Calgary roster and built a Maple Leafs revival.

Doug Gilmour was a Calgary Flame for less than four full seasons. He arrived in fall 1988 in a trade with the St. Louis Blues, played the 1988-89 regular season, won the Cup that May, played two more seasons, then was traded to Toronto in January 1992 in one of the most lopsided multi-player deals of the modern era. In that short window he became the most important Flames forward of the post-McDonald era and one of the franchise's all-time best two-way centres.

For Calgary, Gilmour's tenure is remembered for two things: the empty-net Cup-clincher in Game 6, and the trade that ended his time in the city.

The empty-net goal

Game 6, Stanley Cup Final, May 25, 1989. Montreal Forum. Lanny McDonald scored the go-ahead goal earlier in the game. Calgary led 3-2 late. Then 4-2 after Gilmour added a goal. Then with 1:38 left and Patrick Roy on the bench for an extra attacker, Gilmour found a loose puck at center ice and shot it into the empty net. The Flames won the Cup. The clip is still in heavy rotation on Calgary sports TV every May. (For the full story of that Cup run, see the 1989 Stanley Cup page.)

Gilmour finished the 1989 playoffs with 11 goals and 22 points in 22 games. He was second on the team in playoff scoring behind Al MacInnis, who won the Conn Smythe.

The Killer

Gilmour's nickname, "Killer", traveled with him from St. Louis. The story goes that someone said he resembled a serial killer who was in the news. The nickname stuck. It also fit his playing style, a 5-foot-11 centre who would absolutely not be intimidated, who blocked shots like a defenceman, won faceoffs with leverage instead of strength, and put up points in volume against opposing top lines.

He had 85 points in 1988-89 (the Cup year), 91 points the following season, and 78 points in 1990-91. He was a top-10 NHL scorer in his Calgary seasons and consistently played the toughest defensive minutes against opposing first lines.

The Toronto trade, January 1992

On January 2, 1992, the Flames and Maple Leafs completed what is still called "the trade" in Calgary. Calgary sent Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Ric Nattress, Rick Wamsley, and Kent Manderville to Toronto. Toronto sent Gary Leeman, Alexander Godynyuk, Jeff Reese, Michel Petit, and Craig Berube to Calgary.

Ten players, the largest trade in NHL history at the time. Gilmour went on to score 127 points the next season for Toronto and lead the Leafs to consecutive conference finals. Calgary did not make the second round again until 2004. The trade is still cited in Calgary as a turning-point moment, the deal that ended the post-Cup window and started a long rebuild.

Gilmour was upset about his Calgary contract, the Flames had moved Lanny McDonald, Hakan Loob, and others around the same period, and the relationship had soured. The Flames general manager who made the trade, Doug Risebrough, has spent thirty years explaining it.

The Saddledome era

Gilmour's Saddledome years were the building's peak. The Cup banner went up in 1989. Concerts were sold out. The Flames made the playoffs every year of his tenure. The Saddledome bowl was the loudest building in the Pacific Division.

Gilmour himself was the player who would log 28 minutes a night, take the defensive zone faceoff, and score the late goal. He was not flashy. The 91-point season looked impossible until you watched him play it. Then it looked inevitable.

Hall of Fame, retired numbers

Doug Gilmour was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011. The Toronto Maple Leafs retired his number 93 in 2009. The Calgary Flames have not retired his number, but his Cup-year contribution is permanent at the Saddledome and will travel with the franchise to Scotia Place in 2026.

Saddledome connections

For more on the era Gilmour played in, see the 1989 Stanley Cup page, the Lanny McDonald page, the Joe Nieuwendyk page, the Al MacInnis page, and the Mike Vernon page.