In a parallel universe, the Toronto Maple Leafs got past the Los Angeles Kings in the 1993 Campbell Conference Final.
After a first-round upset of the Detroit Red Wings, the Maple Leafs won a thrilling series against the St. Louis Blues. It was a great time to be a Maple Leafs fan. The run marked a sort of golden age for Toronto-area sports.
The Blue Jays had just come off their first World Series championship and were on the path to repeat. Meanwhile, the Leafs were in the thick of the playoff race, unlike years before.
The Leafs had missed the playoffs the two previous seasons. In particular, the 1990-91 season was especially tough. Toronto’s 23-46-11 record was about as bad as it got after the black hole that had been the 1980s.
But the January 1992 trade involving Doug Gilmour brought a glimmer of hope to Toronto. Gilmour was one of the best centers in the NHL at the time. But it wasn’t until he hit Toronto that he became a superstar.
Gilmour was the perfect complement to Wendel Clark’s rough-and-tumble nature. “Killer” instantly elevated the team’s credibility and scoring prowess. In his first 40 games, Gilmour notched 15 goals and 49 points. That set the table for a remarkable 127 points in the 1992-93 season.
It would be the precursor for what was to come in the postseason. Gilmour scored that unbelievable goal in Game 1 of the Blues series in double overtime. I didn’t see the goal. I vividly recall listening to it on the radio. I could finally go to sleep knowing the Leafs had won that game.
Those heroics marked what was an unforgettable playoff run. It was one that ended in numerous what-ifs. A lucky bounce here or there could have swayed the outcome in a different direction.
Most importantly, we fans in ’93 lamented the loss of a Leafs-Canadiens Stanley Cup Final. A blown call robbed NHL fans of a historic fight for the Cup.
Doug Gilmour amid most controversial moment in Maple Leafs’ history
In Game 6 of the Campbell Conference Final, Wayne Gretzky clipped Doug Gilmour with a high stick in overtime. The call would have been a five-minute major, and by the standards of those days, Gretzky could have gotten a game misconduct.
Instead, the officials turned a blind eye, as they were afraid to toss Gretzky at such a pivotal time. A few moments later, Gretzky ended the game and sent the series back to Toronto for Game 7.
We all know how it goes for the Maple Leafs in Game 7s. Gretzky torched the Leafs and ended the run. The incident has been well documented and the subject of ongoing scrutiny 30 years later. Had it occurred in today’s NHL, Gretzky would have gotten a double-minor and the Kings would have been shorthanded in overtime.
Be that as it may, the play encapsulates just how much Gilmour was in the middle of the Maple Leafs' 1993 playoff run. The high stick had to be on him. It couldn’t have been on a fourth-liner. It had to be Doug Gilmour.
When the dust settled, Killer ended the postseason with 10 goals and 25 assists for 35 points in 21 games. He scored one of the Maple Leafs’ most iconic goals. That’s something none of the current players can boast about.
Until someone, anyone, can put up numbers like the ones Doug Gilmour put up, Gilmour’s playoff performance in 1993 will go down as the best one in Leafs history.
Gilmour followed up 1993’s performance with an equally impressive one in 1994. But that will be a subject for another day. In the meantime, I’m part of a fortunate generation that lived the hope of a Stanley Cup in Toronto. 32 years later, we’re still waiting.