Doug Gilmour didn’t want to see Mitch Marner leave the Maple Leafs. But the Hockey Hall of Famer understands.
“It’s hard to see him go,†Gilmour said. “He’s one of my favourite players. I’ve followed him since junior and watched his elevation to becoming a phenomenal player, a 100-point guy. (The Leafs) have to try to fill the void. I wish him all the best.
“Sometimes it sucks when you have to make changes.â€
The longer time passed without Marner re-signing with the Maple Leafs, the more GM Treliving had
Hockey is a business and change is part of it. Sometimes change is dictated by team, sometimes the player, sometimes both.
“I know first-hand,†said Gilmour, who talked to the Star to promote a charitable 3-on-3 road hockey event. “I played with six other teams. Sometimes you’re a fit, sometimes you’re not.â€
Gilmour started his 20-year, 1,474-game, 1,414-point career in St. Louis before a trade sent him to Calgary, where he won the Stanley Cup in 1989. He landed in ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ in 1992, part of a 10-player trade, and led the Leafs to the Western Conference final twice, including a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings in 1993.
Gilmour is the Leafs’ all-time leading scorer in the playoffs, with 77 points in 52 games in four trips to the post-season. Marner is fifth, with 63 points in 70 playoff games over nine seasons.
Mitch Marner, left, wore Doug Gilmour’s No. 93 in junior hockey in part because Gilmour was the favourite player of Marner’s father. He will again do so with the Vegas Golden Knights.Â
TwitterGilmour was the favourite player of Marner’s father, Paul. He had his son watch videos of Gilmour as part of his training. And Marner’s best comparable in Leafs history is Gilmour. Marner wore 93 in junior with the London Knights, and will again in Vegas.
Monday saw the Core Four era that began with unprecedented hope end in a debacle of managerial
Marner was assigned 16 by Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello in 2015 when many believed he would get Gilmour’s 93, which hung in the rafters as an “honoured†number, not retired.
“They asked me and I said, ‘100 per cent, give it to him,’ †Gilmour said.
By the time Marner made the team in 2016-17, the decision had been made to retire 93 and all the other “honoured†numbers.
Gilmour’s Leafs and their playoff runs of 1993 and 1994 remain the gold standard for generations of Leafs fans who are not old enough to have witnessed them win a Stanley Cup. The last time was 1967.
This current group, led by captain Auston Matthews and until this week aided by Marner, has the talent but hasn’t shown the grit to get past the second round.
“It’s gotta be frustrating for everybody,†Gilmour said. “When things don’t go your way, then changes have to be made. (The Marner era) is over. Whatever they do, and whatever they add, they’ve got to keep piecing it together.â€
Gilmour’s era coincided in ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ with that of another colourful character with the team, trainer Scott McKay, a cancer survivor who has started his own foundation to help others.
McKay was a jack-of-all-trades, working as a trainer for the Blue Jays as well. He was the Leafs’ practice goalie when Ed Belfour wasn’t available. He even dressed for one game in an era before the “emergency backup goalie.â€
Gilmour and other Leafs, like Curtis Joseph, are helping the Canadian Cancer Society, the Scott McKay Foundation and St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation launch a two-day 3-on-3 outdoor road hockey festival.
Street Hockey for the Cure will take place Sept. 13-14 on Princes’ Blvd. behind Hotel X in ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½.
“I know this is gonna be fun,†Gilmour said. “Even at 62, I can still get down there a little bit. It’s gonna be good. (McKay) knows what the fight is all about firsthand. So for him to put his own foundation together like this, we’re gonna support him.â€
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