Hello fans and welcome to another post for
Jersey Sunday. I know it's been a while, but time and cash don't go well together. On deck is a vintage
Toronto Maple Leafs Doug Gilmour jersey by
Starter. I know he had an extensive career with numerous hockey clubs, but I decided to focus on his career achievements and his playing days in Toronto.
I bought this jersey off the internet and improved it a little bit. The letters on the back were individually stitched on. So I removed them and sent it out for cresting job with a name plate and a "C" on the chest. Just as it was worn by the centerman in those primal years.
So much thanks again to
Pro Image Pickering for the stellar job.
Always need a matching lid and this
Reebok cap goes perfectly with the sweater. Peep the custom made classic in the archives as well.
Born on 25 June 1963 in Kingston, Ontario,
Douglas Gilmour [wearing #9 in the image above] played junior hockey for the
Cornwall Royals of the
QMJHL/OHL from 1980-83 winning back-to-back
Memorial Cups [1980, 1981]. He would also win the
Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the league's leading scorer with
177 points [70 G, 107 A] as well as being named the
Most Valuable Player in his final year.
Selected
134th overall in the
1982 NHL Entry Draft by the
St. Louis Blues,
Doug Gilmour made his professional debut for the 1983-84 season. After 5 seasons with the club,
"Killer" tallied
354 points [149 G, 205 A] in 310 games played and making it to the playoffs every year.
After the 1987-88 season,
Doug Gilmour was traded to the
Calgary Flames. In four seasons, he scored 81 goals and assisted 214 times. He also set a league record during the 1988-89 season for the two fastest short-handed goals [4 second difference] and helped the
Flames reach the
Stanley Cup Finals. In game 6, leading the series 3-2 against the
Montreal Canadiens,
"Dougie" scored the game winning goal bringing
Hockey's Holy Grail to
Calgary for the first, and so far, only time.
In January 1992, the
Toronto Maple Leafs conducted a trade bringing
Doug Gilmour to his home province of Ontario and help them become top contenders of the
Campbell Conference. He earned
49 points in Toronto for a total of
87 points [26 G, 61 A] that year.
His next full season with the
Maple Leafs would be his most achieving one. Skating alongside team captain
Wendel Clark, he helped Toronto make it to a memorable and controversial appearance in the
Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Toronto defeated the heavily favourited
Detroit Red Wings in the first round and met the
St. Louis Blues in the semi-finals. In a second overtime period of the first bout at
Maple Leaf Gardens,
Dougie scored what looked to be an impossible wraparound goal sealing the game and later, the series. Many fans consider it the best goal of his career.
The
Campbell Conference Finals would match the
Toronto Maple Leafs against the
Los Angeles Kings. Taking a commanding 3-2 series lead over the
Kings, Game 6 became one of the most talked about matches in hockey's history books.
Doug Gilmour would succumb to a high stick courtesy of
Wayne Gretzky in the overtime period. However, the penalty was never called. With the assistant captain out of the game for medical attention,
The Great One would score the game winning goal a few moments later and even the series at 3-3.
Game 7 would be played at
Maple Leaf Gardens, but much to the dismay of all Torontonians, the
LA Kings would take out the home crowd with a score of 5-4 behind
Wayne Gretzky's hat trick. It would be the closest Toronto would ever come to the finals since 1967.
At the end of the season, he set a team record for
most points in a season with
127 [32 G, 95 A]. In the playoffs, he scored 10 G with 25 A for a total of
35 points.
Prior to the start of the 1993-94 season,
Doug Gilmour was appointed as the new team captain. He would lead the
Maple Leafs into the playoffs for the next 3 seasons, but not as close as he was in 1993. Unable to make it to the playoffs in 1997, he was traded away leaving a much loved legacy with "Canada's team."
Doug Gilmour bounced around to different cities for the next 8 seasons in the
NHL. He'd have two year stints each with the
New Jersey Devils,
Chicago Blackhawks,
Buffalo Sabres, and
Montreal Canadiens before playing one final game with the
Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2002-03 season. In 1474/182 regular season/playoff games played, he scored 450/60 goals with 964/128 assists for a total of 1414/188 points.
Doug Gilmour played for
Team Canada twice in his professional hockey days. The first was the
gold medal winning club in the
1987 Canada Cup and the second at the
1990 World Championships where the red and white would come up short in the bronze medal contest.
Career Highlights and Achievements:
Stanley Cup Champion [1989], 2x NHL All-Star [1993, 1994], Frank J. Selke Award [1993], Hockey Hall of Fame inductee [2011], #93 honoured by
Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Doug Gimour Tribute Video.
Doug Gilmour Night at the
Air Canada Centre on
31 January 2009 where his
#93 was raised to the rafters celebrating his career with the
Toronto Maple Leafs.
