Thirty-five years ago, local hockey fans were enjoying the ultimate party.
The Calgary Flames had just claimed their first Stanley Cup title, completing that quest with a 4-2 victory over the Canadiens in Game 6 at the iconic Montreal Forum.
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Monday marks the anniversary of the championship parade, with an estimated 45,000 fans, undeterred by barely-above-freezing temperatures and driving rain, bundling up to toast their hockey heroes. The skating stars — from co-captains Lanny McDonald, Tim Hunter and Jim Peplinski to homegrown goalie Mike Vernon — rode on fire engines down Ninth Ave. SW before arriving at a rally at Olympic Plaza.
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Star defenceman Al MacInnis, after piling up 31 playoff points, was saluted as the Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 1989. Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson connected with MacInnis, a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee and currently the senior advisor to the general manager for the St. Louis Blues, to reminisce about that special spring …
Q: Wow, it’s been 35 years now since you and your Flames teammates were sipping from the Stanley Cup. What do you remember about that night in Montreal?
MacInnis: “It was very special. Obviously, winning the Stanley Cup is a dream come true. And on top of that, winning it in the Montreal Forum, where I watched the Montreal Canadiens and Hockey Night in Canada for many years growing up … That place was a shrine and any time you had a chance to play in the old Montreal Forum, and especially on a Saturday night, there was just nothing like it. So to be able to win the Cup in such a special place, boy, it just lives with you forever.”
Q: What set that team apart? What made the Flames the NHL’s best bunch in 1988-89?
MacInnis: “I’ll tell you exactly what I think it was … Regardless of what type of game you wanted to play, we had the lineup that could match it. If you wanted to play a skill game, we had the skill. If you wanted to be physical, we had the physicality to match it. That was the type of lineup that (general manager) Cliff Fletcher put together and regardless of what type of team we played or what type of game they wanted to throw at us, we could match it in every which way. I think that’s what was so special about our lineup.”
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Q: For you, what was the iconic moment of that Stanley Cup run? Are you able to pick just one?
MacInnis: “I think it’s the overtime win in Game 7 of the first round against Vancouver. Just because a lot of times, that first round, for whatever reason, seems to be the hardest and you feel the most pressure on you. We had such a good team, and the expectations were so high. And once we got over that hump and once we got by the first round, I really felt a level of confidence, knowing that we had the team to get the job done. And sure enough, we did it. I think that first round against Vancouver was a huge turning point for us, just to take the pressure off us. And from there, we rolled it on pretty good.”
Q: What did it mean to you, on an individual level, to also win the Conn Smythe Trophy?
MacInnis: “Looking back at it, it’s obviously pretty special to win a Conn Smythe, I’m not gonna lie. The trophy, I look at most days when I go into my office, so it brings back some great memories of a great run. On the same token, when you win the Stanley Cup, there are always a number of guys who could win the Conn Smythe. Mike Vernon was phenomenal in the net. Doug Gilmour was great, Joey Mullen … There were a number of different guys who could have won it, but they voted me and I appreciate it very much to this day. It was a great honour.”
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Q: I think you were the first NHLer to participate in the ‘I’m going to Disneyland!’ promo … There must be a good story there?
MacInnis: “Yeah, we actually did go to Disneyland not long after. My wife and I, we got married that same summer and we made it part of a fun trip for us. It was a good time, a lot of fun.”
Q: We’ve been reminded of late in Calgary that May can bring weather that is a little on the chilly side. With that in mind, how cold was it on parade day?
MacInnis: “Oh boy, you’ll have to refresh my memory … Was it cold? I don’t remember. If it was cold, I don’t think we felt it. I think we were probably still celebrating and had enough anti-freeze in our systems that it wasn’t going to bother us too much. It could have been minus-30, and I don’t think it would have mattered, honest to God. Obviously, winning the Stanley Cup is the greatest memory a player can have and to be able to share it with the fans and the people in Calgary, it was unreal.”
Q: Thirty-five years down the road, how strong are those bonds with the guys who achieved that together in 1989?
MacInnis: “You know, those bonds never go away. They really don’t. We still keep in touch with a lot of guys with today’s technology, with text messages and group texts. And then with different events, too — like for Mike Vernon to get inducted in the Hall of Fame, and you see how many former Flames from that team were down there celebrating with him. The thing is, we could be separated for five, six, seven, eight years, whatever it is, and when we get together in a room, it’s about 30 seconds and we feel like we’re back in the old dressing room. It’s amazing. I don’t know how to explain it. Our bodies get older and we lose hair, but our minds and personalities stay the same, you know? We joke and we tell stories, the same ones we did 35 years ago. When you go through two months of playoff hockey and you’re able to win a Stanley Cup, those bonds and friendships last forever. They really do. On the teams that win, I always say, you’re as happy for your teammates to win it as you are for yourself. I think that’s what gets teams over the hump. I follow the Flames Alumni on Twitter and the group that is there in the city, it’s amazing all the work they do and the bond that they have. There’s just too many of those guys to name. But when we all get together, those 35 years rewind in about two minutes.
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”The other thing is, back then, we were together for a long time. Yeah, Cliff added some great pieces — the Rick Wamsley/Rob Ramage trade and the Joey Mullen trade. But Gary Suter and I were roommates for 10 frickin’ years. Who will ever be able to say that again? We played together for 10 or 12 years with the Gary Roberts and the Joe Nieuwendyks and the Mike Vernons and the Jamie Macouns and the Colin Pattersons and the Theoren Fleurys. I can go on and on. That core stayed together for how many years? Today, it’s a different game and you have the cap era and guys are moving around because you can’t fit everybody in. But back then, we were together for a lot of years and we became brothers. It was pretty cool. You were brothers back then, and you don’t forget those days and the ups and downs you went through to win. Those bonds last a lifetime, they really do.”
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