In 1994, the Vancouver Canucks battled their way to the Stanley Cup final. As told in this feature story from 1994, one key factor was veteran Kirk McLean's goaltending.
Thirty years ago, the Vancouver Canucks were steamrolling their way to a Stanley Cup final appearance — and in this cover story from The Hockey News’ May 20, 1994, edition (Vol. 47, Issue 34), contributing correspondent Elliott Pap wrote about the impact of star Canucks goaltender Kirk McLean.
(Here’s our friendly reminder to you: to access The Hockey News’ exclusive Archive, go to THN.com/Free and subscribe to the magazine.)
McLean had yet to establish himself as a big-time playoff netminder until 1994, when he stymied the Calgary Flames in Game 7 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series. From then on, McLean went 15-9 in that 1994 post-season, with a .928 save percentage and a 2.29 goals-against average. And though Vancouver ultimately lost to the New York Rangers in the Cup final, Canucks coach Pat Quinn said McLean earned his trust.
“I never thought of changing netminders,” Quinn said. “I was going with Kirk all the way. He’s a stubborn guy and he felt maligned and maybe he deserved to be maligned, but he had to forget about those things.”
CONN MAN
Vol. 47, No. 34, May 20, 1994
By Elliott Pap
There comes a time in every athlete’s life when one moment can define his career, shape his place in the game and brand him forever as the one who made a difference. The moment can be good or bad, but it can never be forgotten.
Vancouver Canucks’ goalie Kirk McLean had been a man seeking such a moment. A two-time Vezina Trophy finalist, he has never been able to make the leap from quality goalie to money goalie. Regular-season excellence was one thing, doing it in the playoffs another.
Then finally it happened. On an April 30 night in Calgary’s Olympic Saddledome, McLean produced the game of his life when his team needed it most. For 51 minutes and 46 seconds, McLean slammed shut the door on the Calgary Flames in the seventh game of a bitterly contested, highly emotional Western Conference quarterfinal series.
The Canucks won it 4-3 on Pavel Bure’s goal in double overtime, but they would have had no chance without McLean’s phenomenal work.
The Flames scored their final goal of that game - and their season - at 10:34 of the second period. It wasn’t a good one as Theoren Fleury beat McLean between the legs from a sharp angle. It gave Calgary a 3-2 lead and had it held up as the series winner, Captain Kirk would have again been swamped with cries of choke artist, or worse.
With television sets around North America glued to the Saturday night drama, McLean stoned Al MacInnis, Gary Roberts, German Titov and Robert Reichel, among other wonderful Flame opportunities, to keep his team in it.
His save off Reichel was a spectacular, across-the-crease, stack-the pad miracle that should have ended the contest. Reichel, set up by Fleury on a 3-on-1, made no mistake, yet the puck stayed out and the Canucks stayed alive. No one could believe it, not even the trigger-happy goal judge who turned the red light on in error.
The stop will live forever in Canucks’ history.
“It was the best save I’ve ever seen in my life,” marvelled Canuck goaltender coach Glen Hanlon.
“It was a desperation move,” McLean admitted. “You have to read the play perfectly and the puck is going to hit you if you do it right.”
McLean’s emergence as the series hero, along with goal-scorer Bure, immediately thrust him into the early running for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. In the three consecutive overtime victories against Calgary, McLean was as perfect as it comes, stopping 25 of 25 shots in a combined 46:18. He added a fourth overtime win when the Canucks beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 in Game 4 May 8.
He performed supremely in the clutch and rewarded Canuck head coach-general manager Pat Quinn for the faith and trust bestowed upon him. When some pundits were braying for McLean’s scalp after Vancouver fell behind 3-1 in games to Calgary, Quinn never wavered. At that point, McLean had lost seven of his last nine playoff starts. The two victories were both by five goals.
“I never thought of changing netminders,” Quinn said. “I was going with Kirk all the way. He’s a stubborn guy and he felt maligned and maybe he deserved to be maligned, but he had to forget about those things.” McLean has always been Quinn’s man. He was acquired from the New Jersey Devils seven years ago in Quinn’s first trade as Canuck GM. Forward Greg Adams also came west in the trade for Patrik Sundstrom and a 1988 fourth-round pick.
He had a rocky rookie season on a dismal Canuck team, winning just 11 of 41 decisions. After two respectable campaigns and his first Vezina Trophy nomination, McLean backslid to a 10-22-3 record in ’90-91, injured a wrist and nearly lost the starting job to Troy Gamble.
He promptly won it back the next season with a spectacular 38-17-9 mark. He made second all-star, earned his second Vezina nomination and became the Canucks’ first million-dollar player. But the people wanted more come playoff time and he was failing to deliver. The Canucks were just 2-3 in playoff series when McLean was the goalie of record. McLean, a proud individual, bristled at the talk he couldn’t win when it counted.
“I’m sick and tired of hearing it,” he said during the Calgary series.
He then silenced everyone the only way he could, with the best performance of his life.
The Hockey News Archive is an exclusive treasure trove of more than 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 articles exclusively produced for subscribers, chronicling the entire history of The Hockey News from 1947 until today. Visit the archives at THN.com/archive and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com