| Lanny McDonald |
| Lanny King McDonald Right Wing Right-Handed Shot Height: 6' 0", Weight: 185 pounds Born: 2.16.53 Hanna, Alberta |
| How he arrived: Traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs with Joel Quenneville for Wilf Paiement and Pat Hickey, 12.29.79 How he left: Traded to the Calgary Flames with the Rockies' 4th Round pick in the 1983 E.D. for Bob MacMillan and Don Lever, 11.25.81 |
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| Regular Season Statistics with the Franchise Stats in blue are those with the Rockies. Stats in bold signifies team leader. |
If you want proof that the Rockies was becoming a star player's purgatory, I offer you the situation McDonald was in.
As a Maple Leaf, McDonald was flying high, having a great run with one of the great Leafs of all time, Darryl Sittler, as his
center. He had 3 straight 40-goal seasons, which was almost 4, but fell short in 75-76 by 3. And the team was on the brink of
getting to the Stanley Cup finals, only to be turned back by the Montreal Canadiens.
But when Punch Imlach, who helped build the Leafs to prominence in the 60s, became GM in 1979, a feud between him and
Sittler escalated. He got even by trading away every player that was friendly with the star, including McDonald to the Rockies.
It was a shitty situation for the Rockies' new star. He didn't want to move to Denver, but he was a true professional. Thus, he
spent as much time as he could at home in Toronto with his family, only going with the Rockies for game days. If there was any
wear on the man, it wasn't evident in his stats.
Things would get better for him personally, as he would be traded to basically his hometown team, the Calgary Flames, where
he would have his best years of his career and the only Stanley Cup he would win in his last year in the League.
As a Maple Leaf, McDonald was flying high, having a great run with one of the great Leafs of all time, Darryl Sittler, as his
center. He had 3 straight 40-goal seasons, which was almost 4, but fell short in 75-76 by 3. And the team was on the brink of
getting to the Stanley Cup finals, only to be turned back by the Montreal Canadiens.
But when Punch Imlach, who helped build the Leafs to prominence in the 60s, became GM in 1979, a feud between him and
Sittler escalated. He got even by trading away every player that was friendly with the star, including McDonald to the Rockies.
It was a shitty situation for the Rockies' new star. He didn't want to move to Denver, but he was a true professional. Thus, he
spent as much time as he could at home in Toronto with his family, only going with the Rockies for game days. If there was any
wear on the man, it wasn't evident in his stats.
Things would get better for him personally, as he would be traded to basically his hometown team, the Calgary Flames, where
he would have his best years of his career and the only Stanley Cup he would win in his last year in the League.
| Entry Draft: 1973 First Round Pick (4th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs |
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