June 25--Doug Gilmour

Doug Gilmour

Selected in seventh round by St. Louis Blues, number 134 overall in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft.

CAREER NHL STATISTICS Years Teams GP G A TP PIM 1983-2003 STL, CGY, TOR, NJ, CHI, BUF, MTL 1,474 450 964 1,414 1,301

CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS Years Teams GP G A TP PIM 1984-2002 STL, Calg., Toronto, N.J., Buff., Montreal 182 60 128 188 235

Gilmour's size worried management in St. Louis and he almost began his pro career in Germany when he couldn't reach a deal with the Blues. St. Louis finally signed him and he joined the team two weeks before the 1983-84 season. Gilmour found himself near the bottom of the team's depth chart at center, but a depleted roster allowed him to play on the fourth line as a defensive specialist and he returned to his checking ways. The Blues' captain at the time, Brian Sutter, nicknamed Gilmour "Killer" for his intensity.
After three full seasons hovering around 50 points, Gilmour began to play a more open game. In the 1986-87season, he finished the regular schedule with a career-high 42 goals and 105 points and was selected to represent Team Canada at the 1987 Canada Cup. After another solid season in St. Louis, Gilmour was traded to the Calgary Flames at the beginning of the 1988-89 campaign.  Halfway through the 1991-92 season, Gilmour became increasingly disenchanted with his pay from the Flames and an arbitrator's decision that saw his salary increase less than he expected. He decided to leave the team, but only a few hours later he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a blockbuster deal involving 10 players, the largest trade in league history.

When the Leafs went into rebuilding mode midway through the 1996-97 season, Gilmour was sent to the New Jersey Devils. He spent one full season with the defense oriented Devils and was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks in the summer of 1998. In the spring of 2000, he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres. Gilmour then signed on as a free agent with the Montreal Canadiens in October 2001, and went on to play parts of two seasons with the Habs before he was dealt back to Toronto at the trading deadline in 2003.

Received these blue sharpie signed cards IP. When I was living in Burlington during the 90's, Don Koharski had a facility that housed a mini rink and a card store. Doug was at one of the free signings held there. I remember standing in line and Doug asked the kid in front of me (around 10 years old), how to spell Doug. I guess the kid was shy and didn't say anything, so Doug said "Dug" . I thought it was amusing but the kid just got an autograph.

The official website of Doug Gilmour.

http://www.douggilmour.ca/