Michael Whiteacre
Registered User
Both Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark were considered to be the heart and soul fan favorite leaders who gave 110% on the ice, with Wendel being able to score goals, put up points and engage in fights, while Gilmour had the 100+ points during the two magnificent peak years of his NHL career in 1992-93 and 1993-94 that enabled Toronto to reach the 1993 Western Conference Finals vs. Los Angeles, as well as the 1994 Western Conference Finals vs. Vancouver.
After 1994, Toronto management decided that Wendel's 46 goal, 30 assist=76 point season ('93-'94) was a fluke on the assumption that he'll never replicate a surprise season like that for the rest of his NHL career, and so they shipped him out of Toronto in exchange for a young Mats Sundin, and Gilmour lost his momentum after riding two epic 100+ point seasons due to injuries and a heavy workload, so Sundin eventually surpassed BOTH Gilmour and Clark as the heart and soul leader with the title of Mr. Consistency for the ability to post up points on a regular basis.
Apart from post-1994, during the time that Toronto was on the cusp of success during the mid 1990s, who had more value to the Maple Leafs between either Doug Gilmour or Wendel Clark?
Wendel Clark has had parts of 13 seasons of donning the Maple Leafs sweater. His first stint in T.O. lasted from 1985-86 to 1993-94 (first nine seasons). His second stint in T.O. lasted from 1995-96 to 1997-98 (parts of three seasons). And a fitting end to his NHL career was during his third stint with the Leafs during the second half of 1999-2000 after an atrocious short stint with the Chicago Blackhawks, while Doug Gilmour only had parts of 7 seasons in a T.O. sweater, with his first stint from the second half of 1991-92 to the second half of 1996-97, and a second but short stint in Toronto during 2002-03 (after a midseason trade from Montreal) lasted only one game, and one shift where he incurred a career-ending knee injury that led John Ferguson to refuse to keep Gilmour for 2003-04.
After 1994, Toronto management decided that Wendel's 46 goal, 30 assist=76 point season ('93-'94) was a fluke on the assumption that he'll never replicate a surprise season like that for the rest of his NHL career, and so they shipped him out of Toronto in exchange for a young Mats Sundin, and Gilmour lost his momentum after riding two epic 100+ point seasons due to injuries and a heavy workload, so Sundin eventually surpassed BOTH Gilmour and Clark as the heart and soul leader with the title of Mr. Consistency for the ability to post up points on a regular basis.
Apart from post-1994, during the time that Toronto was on the cusp of success during the mid 1990s, who had more value to the Maple Leafs between either Doug Gilmour or Wendel Clark?
Wendel Clark has had parts of 13 seasons of donning the Maple Leafs sweater. His first stint in T.O. lasted from 1985-86 to 1993-94 (first nine seasons). His second stint in T.O. lasted from 1995-96 to 1997-98 (parts of three seasons). And a fitting end to his NHL career was during his third stint with the Leafs during the second half of 1999-2000 after an atrocious short stint with the Chicago Blackhawks, while Doug Gilmour only had parts of 7 seasons in a T.O. sweater, with his first stint from the second half of 1991-92 to the second half of 1996-97, and a second but short stint in Toronto during 2002-03 (after a midseason trade from Montreal) lasted only one game, and one shift where he incurred a career-ending knee injury that led John Ferguson to refuse to keep Gilmour for 2003-04.
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