There have been many legendary hockey players who have worn the blue and white over the last one-hundred years. The Maple Leaf represents hockey Toronto, and to some extent hockey in Canada. Sure the Leafs blue and white is different than the Team Canada jerseys but I will always feel the two go together hand-in-hands. After all, they are the only two teams I will ever fully cheer for when watching a hockey game.
Although, I fully admit I will cheer for certain teams when they are playing against a team I dislike, or one that could be battling against my beloved Leafs for a playoff spot. Sadly it’s been quite some time since there was a true battle, thankfully that’s all about to change under the new management team.
I was born in 1981 and I was watching hockey with my dad whenever the Leafs game was on the television. It was always a battle when they would try to get me to bed before the third period started. Once in a while I would convince my parents that I wasn’t tired, it wasn’t a school night and I just wanted to watch the whole game.
Looking back, I fully understand why I wasn’t allowed to watch the third periods as a kid; they were a war on ice! There were numerous fights, bench clearing brawls, and all round goon type hockey as the game wound down, especially if the game wasn’t a close one. That’s when all of the war animals would come out and the third period would take as long as the first two periods.
Don Cherry’s Coaches Corner was awesome as a kid; I always looked up to Don and listened to what he had to say about the Leafs and hockey in general. His dog Blue is part of my hockey memories as a child; I bet that dog heard a lot of great hockey stories throughout its life. How many Rock em Sock em movies were made? They were incredible. Great saves, great goals, huge hits and everything and anything else Don wanted to add, those were the times.
So who is my favorite Maple Leafs player of all time?
None other than number 93, Doug Gilmour.
My runner up’s would be Darcy Tucker and Wendel Clark.
The glory years of 1992/93 and 93/94 won my heart. Dougie was a legend, and he always will be in my books. In 92-93 Gilmour scored 32 goals and had 95 assists, totally a whopping 127 point regular season (his best ever). That’s not where it ended for Dougie G, as he continued to rack up the points in the playoffs with 10 goals, 25 assists in 21 games. There is what I like to call a playoff warrior.
Gilmour was 5’11… and weighed about 175 points, but he played with heart, seeming like he was a 6’2… 210 pound champion. Crazy to think Doug was drafted in the seventh round by St Louis back in 1982 (when there were less teams, therefore less players drafted). Douglas was the 134th overall selection.
When Gilmour was playing in Junior, he was only 5’9… and weighed 140 pounds. What’s all this talk about Marner being too small? The league was like a wild fire back in the 80’s and 90’s compared to the game today. Furthermore, when Gilmour joined the Junior A Bellville Bulls, he started as a defensemen and was eventually shifted to the left wing when the injuries piled up for the Bulls.
In the OHL days, Dougie was a phenom, he had a 55 game point streak that lasted from October 19th 1982 until February 1983. It’s still a record to this day!
Number 93 played in five different leagues throughout his career on eleven different teams, OPJHL, QMJHL, OHL, NHL and the Swiss-A. Needless to say, Dougie was a force, racking up 1414 points in 1474 NHL games, absolutely godly stats for the Maple Leafs Captain. August 18th Gilmour was named the Maple Leafs 15th Captain in franchise history, succeeded Wendel Clark who was traded to Quebec.
Doug’s playoff stats throughout his career were actually better than his regular season stats. As I mentioned earlier, Dougie was a warrior in the playoffs, giving it 110% every shift. He totalled 188 points in 182 playoff games, “what a beauty… as Don Cherry would say. He produced 77 of his playoff points with the Maple Leafs over 52 games. The crazy part of it, Doug’s two way game was one of his best assets, even with all of these points.
NHL Awards: Stanley Cup Champion (Calgary Flames – 1989) Fank J. Selke Trophy – Best defensive forward (Toronto Maple Leafs 1992/93) NHL All-Star Games – Toronto Maple Leafs (93 and 94)
Coaching: In 2006 the Leafs announced that Doug Gilmour would be their player development advisor. In 2008 the Leafs announced that Doug Gilmour would join the Toronto Marlies as an assistant coach. A few months later Dougie announced he was leaving the Leafs organization to become the head coach of the Kingston Frontenacs. In 2010/11 Gilmour left the head coaching position and decided he wanted to become the General Manager for Kingston.
Memorabilia: I have an 8.5 x 11 signed Dougie Gilmour picture that I was given as a gift for my birthday from one of my good friends. Just last Christmas my wife’s parents spoiled me and I was given a #93 jersey, 1 of 11 from his glory days in the early 90’s, I plan to frame before this season begins. I’ve also met Gilmour in person and talked to him for a brief period of time, sipping on a beer and crushing a few chicken wings, telling Dougie how glorious this is to meet him. We took a picture together and it just so happened I was wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jacket that the trainers wore during the Winter Classic when we played against Detroit.
Even Dougie thought the jacket was pretty sharp!
With all that said who is your favorite Maple Leafs player of all time?
Thanks for reading, everyone enjoy their Friday and have a great weekend.