Leafs Honor Clark and Gilmour

Two of the most beloved players in the last 25 years will finally be honored during the '08 - '09 season. The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that their banners will be saluted during a pre-game ceremony on November 22nd when they host the Chicago Blackhawks at the Air Canada Centre.

The two players were loved by the fans for a reason, you never heard anything bad about them, and they stacked up a lot of points while playing for the team and they played to Toronto during some of their best recent years. Since being selected first in the 1985 entry draft by Toronto, Clark racked up a club all-time high in playoff goals with 34. The left winger with his amazing shot power and accuracy during the regular season ended up with a career total of 441 points, 260 of those being goals, and 181 of those being assists.

I could probably go on and on about Wendal Clark and all the amazing games that he had with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but that wouldn't leave much room for Doug Gilmour who was quite possibly one of the best if not the best Captain in Leafs history. Doug joined the Leafs in a trade with the Calgary Flames, which was dubbed the largest trade in NHL history. He ended up being a candidate the Hart Trophy which is the most valuable player award, and won the Frank J. Selki Trophy which is the top defensive forward award for the Leafs in 1993. He also set the club record for points with an incredible 127, and a impressive 95 assists which was also a club record all in the same year of the 1992 - 93 season. Also, Gilmour set another record, in one game, the Maple Leafs forward collected a total of six assists in just one regular seasoned game.

In my opinion with the showed stats above, if you study them carefully their is no way that you could say that both players don't deserve this. If you look at both point totals, and what Gilmour did in just one season with the Leafs when he first arrived you could sit and wonder just how the Toronto Maple Leafs didn't win a cup with two of the best players in their time playing for them. I am excited for the ceremony on November 22nd and will salute both players what they have achieved in their career in the NHL and with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Pictures from: http://images.google.ca/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi

The Hockey Fanatic - Tyler Bowler