Barn Burner: Boomer & Pinder with Rhett Warrener - Calgary Flames Legend Lanny McDonald (FULL INTERVIEW) | FN Barn Burner

Episode Date: August 17, 2023

Pinder & Rhett sit down with Calgary Flames legend Lanny McDonald! Shoutout to this episode’s sponsors:The Hearing Loss Clinic: https://hearingloss.caMcleod Law: https://www.mcleod-law.comBK Bowfort LiquorOutdoor Dental: https://www.outdoor.dentalBon Ton Meat Market: https://bonton.caTower Chrysler: https://www.towerchrysler.comBetway: https://betway.com/en-ca/ Mad Rose Pub: https://www.madrose.pubVillage Honda: https://www.villagehonda.com/enVena Nova: https://venanova.com________________________________________________Visit  www.nationgear.ca for merch and more.Follow us on Instagram @flamesnationdotca Follow us on Twitter @flamesnation @barnburnerfnFollow us on Facebook @FlamesNationReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey guys, it's Pinder, another special edition of Barnburner. This summer, we're unloading a lot of our favorite chats we've recorded with Flames legends, alumni, and, well, just some of the best people we know. Not many better than Lanny McDonald, the captain of the cup winning 1989 Stanley Cup. Flames sat down with Rhett Warner and myself. A lot of laughs, a lot of history, and for a small town guy growing up on a farm outside Hannah, It seems like he climbed to the peak of the hockey world, summoning Mount Everest, winning that cup,

retiring a champion. A great chat with Lanny MacDonald. It was done right here in our Tower Studios. Reminder, Tower Chrysler, your Consumer Choice Award winners, Calgary's favorite Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep, dealer, find them at 10901 McLeod Trail South and at Towercrisler.com. Also, if you're out in about this summer,

you see the nation Jeep, you see the nation truck, snap a pitcher, throw it on social, social media with the hashtag. See what Boom and I are up to. Enjoy the sit down with the world's most famous hockey mustache, Lanny McDonald. Well, just a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2022, a player and a manager for our country internationally. Also, two-time All-Star, the single-season goal record holder for the Calgary Flames.

and of course co-captain to the 1989 Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames. Hall of Famer Lanny McDonald's. Wow. Now wait, the order of Canada, like you order that on Amazon? I do actually. It arrived at the house out of nowhere. I thought, wow, anybody can do this. These packages are awesome.

I don't think that's what it is. That's not the same. But there's so there's the order of Canada and then there's the order of hockey in Canada, which is new. Tell us just we're on it. We may as well. Well, it was pretty cool. and to especially be honored with Guy Lefleur and Kim St. Pierre, it was so special. Sadly, the Lefleur family who was represented by his son because Guy sadly passed away. But it was such a cool event.

And to be honored for what you have done in the game was like, you. you never think of these things you never think of the hockey all of fame you never think of uh well you always think of winning the stanley cup but that's about it you want to find a way to first of all play and you're fighting for ice time at the start then you're fighting for ice time at the end and then it's over and i have been the luckiest guy to be able to uh stay in the game at a distance uh being chairman of the hockey all of fame and if you love the game and love the history of the game. Oh my gosh. It's so cool. I was lucky enough to work at the hall one summer and it was like to watch grown men come in and cry daily looking at the Stanley Cup

finding an uncle's name where the team they cheered for as a boy. It's a special place in your work with the hall in the hall. It's that's pretty amazing. It all started on a farm outside of Hannah. How in the world could dream so big get nurtured there? You know what my dad, my brother, older brother, which was probably the best thing that happened to me, he would let me play with his friends on two conditions. And we'd play on the outdoor rink at school. We went to the country school. It only went to grade eight. And then you went to the big metropolis of Hannah. There's a nickel backstory there. But to be able to play with my older brother's friends, and he had two things. if there's any whining, you're out of the game, and if you can't keep up, you're out of the game.

So it was probably the best thing that happened to me because you had to work harder and play harder just to be with his friends, and he was four years older. So, but growing up on the farm was so special. And my dad, he took over the family farm when he was 15 years old. His dad died of a heart attack. And he was the oldest boy, so that's what he did. He had a grade eight education, but that old guy was brilliant. And he did everything in the community, whatever happened.

He was right in the middle of it. And that taught us so much about life and about helping other people. And it was such a great way to grow up. And at the end of every day, regardless of how hard you work dead, would say grab your baseball gloves or grab your stick and we'll shoot pucks against the garage door which had to be replaced about four times but dad didn't care he was he was out there having fun with the boys and it was pretty cool and the beauty of it is my father grew up in the same sort of situation outhouse no running water he said he used to set a glass of water beside his

bed at night and in the morning there'd be a crust of ice on it there's no heat in the house or anything But those guys, they did it all. It fixed the garage and then they'd fix the tractor and then they'd fix the, like there was nothing they couldn't take on on their own. My dad was known as the guy that could, if anything broke down, if he had a pair of pliers and some wire or binder twine, he could fix anything or get anything to run mechanically or to build the things. If someone's grudge burnt down or that,

He was right in the middle of it and making sure that as a community they built it back up and what a great understanding and way to grow up and and figure out kind of where you fit in. What were the expectations? I'm guessing you grew up in a small town. There's always that small town upbringing. I grew up in a small town. I didn't choose. I always say to people, I couldn't choose friends.

There was two other boys in my school. that's who you got to hang out with, right? There was, you didn't choose your clique or your friends. You made friends with who was there. What other values did you take that were kind of probably ingrained in you, but were maybe pushed on you from your old man and your family? Well, I think it was probably more than anything, work ethic and attitude and what you bring to the table.

And I speak about attitude and enthusiasm a lot to young people. Like when you walk into a room, like have this big shit-ass smile on your face because the people on the other side are just like you, they're wondering, okay, who's coming through? And when you smile, you usually get a smile back in return, and that opens up a whole new conversation. And mom and dad, mom was a schoolteacher. Oh, she abused me something awful and I'd complain to dad. and he'd say you're badly abused and that was the end of it. He was having no part of it. I will tell you a fun story growing up as we all do.

We go out and party with our friends and I think I was 14 or 15 at the time, always hanging out with older kids because that's who I played hockey with. And we're at a party and they dropped me off at the house. It's about a quarter of a mile in and I said, let me off right at the intersection. I'll walk in at like 2 o'clock in the morning. And so they, nope, they drive right into the yard. They're doing donuts in the yard. Like, thanks a lot, guys.

I get out. Mums at the door. Just lamb base me. And my brother, who Lynn was always the good guy, he's just. We slept in the same room. He's looking at me like, you dumbass. And the next day I'm out working with my dad, and he said, here's the deal. And maybe you can help me out with this.

He said, when mom gets mad at you, she takes it out on me. So if you can kind of pick your spots a little bit better, you and I'll have a great relationship. And that was like, wow, that was a good life lesson right there. there that's boy that resonates for a lot of people i'm guessing um so you're hanging out with people way older then you're playing sports with them you're obviously good at what point it's like well of course you're good for your age in this tiny little hamlet but can you allow yourself to think about the big city like what would it even have been like driving past calgary at that age can you dream about the n hl at that point well you always dream about it because dad and

and lynn and i always listened to the radio we didn't have a tv we actually had a t-vdh when I turned 10 years old, but we were only allowed to watch two shows and Hockey Night in Canada wasn't one of them. One was Ed Sullivan and the other one was Bonanza because dad loved Bonanza and so we would listen to Foster Hewitt and Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night in the kitchen and like it was so cool growing up that way and you you my dad was this huge Toronto Maple Leaf fan and even though I got drafted to Cleveland the Crusaders and and could have made way more money there I don't know if my dad would ever talk to me again if I actually went there and so to to grow up

listening to it and dreaming of maybe playing it was so great and I got one of the luckiest breaks the guy that I played hockey with George McCray he was he was as good if not better than I was we played on the same team growing up we had a great coach Ron Howery for seven years every time we would move up he would move up and he got invited to go to the Leithbridge Sugar Kings on a out and his dad said well he doesn't want to go alone he asked myself my dad why don't we take Lanny with you and so we went together and that was kind of the break I needed and I got there we both made the team I picked up the phone called

the mum and said mom good news I made the team I'm not coming home and And mom went to the field and got dad, they were in Lesbridge in three and a half hours. Oh my goodness. Mom was a teacher. No, you're coming home. You're going to school. I said, Mom, I'm not coming home. This is what I want to do.

And she said, Lauren, what do you think? And dad, and I can't even imagine that ride home, dad said, well, if you're not coming home, I'm turning, the calves back out on the milk cows because i'm not going to milk the five cows you milk every day and that was dad's way of saying yep you can stay well mom blew a gasket and thank goodness they left and i was like oh my gosh how how old were you then 15 15 wow that's young yeah and two years there two years in medicine hat and they came to most of the games uh and never stay they're would turn around and drive home because dad thought the farm would fall apart if he was gone for 12 hours pretty cool so the sugar kings were junior at that point medicine hat was western league uh you're

established as a very high end prospect as you alluded to it's a really unique window in pro hockey where there's the w h a and the n hl competing for players into your point the way the w h a got the w h a got guys was to be able to pay more and the n hl was this old boys club but didn't want to pay well. So there you are a top prospect with two leagues drafting you. There was sort of a thought that you were going to go WHA, but then the least draft you. And it couldn't have worked out better. I was actually at the draft. I think there was maybe five players at the draft and they were only at the draft because at that time the draft was always in Montreal and we played in the Memorial Cup sadly lost the Memorial Cup at that time there was only three teams and it was

goals for and against and we lost to we beat the Marleys who won the Memorial Cup three two lost to go back seven four we never talked badly about the referees but they did not want the West in the final and we played the 15th 15 minutes of the first period short-handed. Come on. Yep. We are down 5-1. We could lose by two goals, but not by three.

And we lost by 7-4 fighting to get back into it. And then the Memorial Cup gets played between Quebec and Toronto Marleys. And the Marley's beat them 10-0. And it was like one of those sad things. But we were in Montreal, so we stayed for for the draft and I'll never forget because Quebec, no sorry, Vancouver drafted third that year. So Denny Potfin goes first.

He was there, Tommy Eliasiac, my center iceman, went second to Atlanta. Vancouver, I'm thinking, oh my God, they're gonna take a Westerner and they take Dennis Ververgert. And I'm all excited, oh my God, my gosh this dream could come true for dad and I and they draft me and King Clancy comes over to the wall and takes me over to the table and introduces me to

everyone at the table and it was so cool and this room was jammed were you nervous or like or was it just pure excitement so like is it just pure excitement yeah I was nervous walking over to the table because these were people you you saw on television and we're talking about all the time. But it was just so good and to have that dream come true for six and a half years, even though I got traded. You know what? I love Toronto and to be able to go back now with the Hockey All of Fame. I know so many people and it's fun hanging out and We try and I try and make sure that when we have meetings,

especially through the winter, I'll look at the Maple Leaf schedule so that I can double up at night and go see a hockey game. And no, it's cool. Was there anyone from that day at the draft that you, that you had really idolized and that kind of took you under their wing and made you feel comfortable? Or was it a different world?

Like I'm trying to envision like Brian Scruedland, He was from Saskatoon. When I got drafted, he was with Florida. He phoned me immediately. He's like, Hi, Rhett and Brian. I'm sure stuff like that happened. I'm not even sure we had either cell phones, certainly didn't have cell phones and didn't have anyone's numbers. And John McClellan, who at that time was the coach, and I think he might even have been the GM,

Jim Gregory was there and so he would call every so often to make sure you're well prepared for training camp. But it was just the coolest time when I finally got to training camp. The guy that took me under his wing was Ronnie Ellis. And he kept saying, like, this is what you got to do. he said, I know you can take care of yourself. You probably have to fight six to eight times that first year, just so people understand you're willing to jump in the fray. And I never forget we went to Philadelphia.

I fight Schultz in the very first game. Just got hammered by Schultz. I go to the penalty box. I'm feeling pretty good about myself. I did what Ronnie Ellis told me to. I get back to the bench and Ronnie's looking at me like, what were you thinking? And he, he like was exasperated and I said, Ronnie, you told me to fight. Not Schultz, you dumbass.

Like, pick your spots better. Oh, now I get it. Go for the top dog. Yeah, no. You should never do that. Village Honda is a proud supporter of Barnburner. You can find them in the Northwest Auto. mall or check them out online at village honda.com. Village Honda's got new hondas arriving daily.

Drive away in your new Honda from Village Honda, your dealership for life in the Northwest Auto Mall and at village honda.com. The hearing loss clinic has been helping change people's lives for the better since 1993. At the Hearing Loss Clinic, it's never been about hearing impairment. It's been about empowering you to be socially active, more connected with those around you, and confident in every aspect of your life. People of any age can suffer from hearing loss and studies have shown that serious health risks have been linked to untreated hearing loss. They have nine locations to serve you, four in the city of Calgary. Make a healthy choice and book an evaluation today at hearing loss.com. Okay, so was Toronto just to blow your mind or had you been traveling

enough with junior hockey that going to a city of that size wasn't a big deal? You know, Montreal for the draft you'd alluded to no it was a big deal yeah like when you come from the farm and hannah which is probably i think it at that time it was probably 2,500 people it went to about 3,500 and now i think it's back to 2,500 and now you go to Toronto and and at that time i think 3 million plus in the Toronto downtown and a little bit of the surrounding area. Now my God, if you take in all of it, Miss Saga, and it goes all the way to Hamilton, I'm sure it's probably 8 to 10 million. It was so big and I was like a, not a kid in the candy store, I was lost.

I, I, uh, Ian Turnbull. And I both got drafted together. We ended up having apartments in the same complex, straight up Young Street at St. Clair, because it was so easy to get back and forth to the rink. No turns. Just go down Youngstead. No turns. Just go to Maple Leaf Gardens, and there you were.

And like, you didn't stray that far off of that whole area because, my God, it was so big. at that time for a kid from Hannah or Craig Mile, which was the official address for the farm. I want to go back to Junior. I hate going backwards, but I got to imagine that there's some stories in Junior and playing junior hockey at that time was wild, wild West,

or call it whatever you want, but who were the characters that you played Junior with that maybe people might not recognize as much or but stand out to you that were big junior hockey players that maybe never moved on well this guy did move on i played uh in lethbridge with john davidson uh and john davidson was our goalie he was also our best fighter and and john was this big fun-loving guy the parties were always at his place where he boarded and we laugh about it today because John just retired as chairman of the selection committee and he was on the selection committee himself before that he spent 24 years

with us at the Hockey Hall of Fame and we got in the taxi heading for the airport this is probably two years ago after the election for the newest members. And we look at each other and we both start laughing. Like, can you imagine here's two kids from the Lestbridge Sugar Kings, Chairman of the Hall and Chairman of the Selection Committee. And we still chat all the time. He's been a great influence on me. You go to Medicine Hat and you've got the gas off gang.

And what a great way to play junior hockey because it could get tough when you played against Swift Current or you played against Regina with Clark Gillies. There's a story, fought him four times. They were not good. Oh for four? Yeah. There's a common theme here. But no, it was, everywhere you played, you had these characters. The gas off boys, we had Jim McCriman, who I believe was the last cut from the Edmonton Eskimos.

He played football as well. And so you put gas off on one side and McCriman on the other side, and that was our penalty killing. And guys didn't want to go down the boards. They'd get whacked, hacked, two-handed. and Lysiac and I killed all the penalties, but we never shot the puck down. Like we're on the offense, start to finish. We always ended up in different situations.

And Jim McCriman, and he was a mountain of a man, to me at that time, because he was probably 6, 3, about 2.30. And when we played the Edmonton Oil Kings, that was the junior team, they always liked to kind of ease over onto our side and warm up. And Jim and Bob would always say, guys, like, get your ass back over on that side, your side of the ice, and they wouldn't listen. So Jim told us before we went out for a warm-up. If this happens again, get ready, boys, because I'm going to shoot on their goalie. And sure enough, they wouldn't listen. Jim takes, he tells us, all right, here we go.

And he goes straight up the middle of the ice, in between their two lines, in on their goalie, takes a slap shot. Well, we're all, the refs had to come out with running shoes on. A whole bunch of people got suspended. Oh, my God. That was junior hockey at its finest. What about your first NHL game? I remember mine.

You're nervous as hell and you got the jitters. Can you give us some? Well, it was good and bad there as well. I'm playing with Davy Keon and Dennis Dupéry. And Davey was one of my heroes growing up as, as a kid and this is so cool. I assist on both, we're playing Buffalo. I assist on both of Davies' goals.

I'm thinking, oh my God, like, I'm going to be one of the stars. Like I'm sitting there in the third period and Red Kelly taps me on the shoulder and says, you're out on the power play. I had no idea why I was on the power play, but I already got two assists in the game. Like, let's go with it. I get out there and I grabbed the puck back in our end. I'm steaming up the left wing and I think it was, I'm not even sure. It was either Jerry Corab or Richard Martin, one or the other,

stepped out of the penalty box, go to throw. Rick Martin. Hip check at me. Rick Martin? Is that right? Yeah. Yeah. Sorry.

I read this last night. So I thought they'd help you with the name. And I think. shit, I got two assists in the game. I'll just jump up over the top of them. Wasn't wearing a helmet in my very first game. And I go ass over tea kettle, land on my head. I got eight stitches here, another six in the back of my head.

And I remember laying there in a pool of blood and Joe Scrow, the trainer gets to me. And he said, like, you know where you are? Oh, yeah, yeah, I already got two assists in the game. I'm fine. And he knew right then, like totally cuckaloo. They take me into the training room. And they have a look at me. Obviously, I got a concussion, and they sent me to the Wellesley Hospital.

And I couldn't believe how incompetent the nurses and doctors were. Obviously, they weren't watching the game. They wiki up every half hour. What's your name? What do you do for a living? Come on, guys. I already got two assists in the game. And that was my very first game.

So here you're thinking you're going to be a start and you end up in the hospital, didn't play for the next three games. And put my helmet back on and the rest was history. 1,110 more games with a helmet on. And thank God it happened in the first one. What was the dynamic in Toronto? Because we talked about it, you come in and you're actually making pretty good money as a rookie, which wouldn't have happened to a lot of your teammates because the WHA wasn't there.

It's a huge market. I'm sure there's some big egos amongst the stars. Did you have to win them over? Because it was sort of a slow build to you becoming a 40-goal guy. Well, it really was. And Normie Allman and Ronnie Ellis were always really good. to me but people like Davy Keion and and some of the older defensemen didn't take kindly to it and you had to earn your stripes and that first year when I was

struggling to find my way and here they pay you a lot of money and and you're supposed to score 25 30 goals in that first year and I got 12 and so that that was kind of a real setback but even the next year I only got 14 but added way more assists and then year three and it really when you think about everyone's career the kids today are so much different because they've had world juniors under 17 under 18 world-class training world-class training and they just step in Our world-class training was have fun the whole summer and get in shape or a week before training camp. And that's obviously not the way it is today, but that's the way it was back then.

There's even a letter that I got way back whenever to make sure when you come to training camp, you bring your golf clubs and hopefully you've had a good summer. Bring your golf clubs. I didn't even own golf clubs at that. time take up a new sport yeah did you ever you say you got 12 goals your first year it's you're in Toronto it's it's big time did you ever question yourself uh all the time uh like you you knew you had it but you just couldn't bring it out and one of the keys was after at the end of the first year i went back to medicine hat we ran a hockey school there um and luke lachinsky the old

for the Medicine Hat Tigers said, let me see your skates. You're falling down way too often. I'd get knocked off my feet and he said, oh my gosh, you're a river skater and these have massive rockers in your skates. He said, when you go back, tell the trainers, do not put any rocker in your skate because you're not a turn and dipsy-doodle guy. You're a straight forward kind of guy and it was like a game changer and even though only scored the 14 the next year i could feel the confidence coming and probably the best thing was red kelly the coach and uh jim gregory the general manager and jim would take me aside to have a cup of coffee and he would say if it ever gets too much for you he said we will trade you

to where you want to go but he said we're not going to trade you and it was like oh my gosh like that is you wouldn't be told that today and red kelly and andandra kelly uh we didn't live that far from them and uh they would invite me over for dinner as a as a rookie i didn't know you weren't supposed to go to the coaches uh place and like he he made me feel so comfortable comfortable that it became easy to play the game after that. And so I had all kinds of help and then in year three got married to Ardell and when you have someone to share it with you have that person that can kick you in the butt or pat you on the back and say it's okay and away we went.

37 goals a year after that, it all clicked, and all of a sudden it's like this high pick for the Leafs has arrived. It would have been amazing. Just you would have become a star, not that you wouldn't have been recognizable, but now it's a guy that's flirting with 40 in his third year. Well, and from there, at the end of that year in the middle of the summer, I got called to go to Team Canada. and you go to Team Canada and I think that that team ended up of the 23 guys

19 were Hall of Famers and I'm like a you talk about a kid in the candy store I'm looking around and there's Esposito Bobby Hall Bobby Clark Reggie Leach like the list just went on and on

and the defense like the big three out of out of Montreal Denny Potvin Bobby Orr and to make that team and then play in it and then be able to be lucky enough to assist on Daryl's winning goal, that gave you so much confidence from there. And then the next year, I think it went three years in a row, 40 plus goals. And then all of a sudden got traded to Colorado.

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you can take comfort in knowing that the product is the very best. Quality and the customer is number one to Greg Keller and his staff at Bonton. Once again voted Calgary Consumer Choice Award winner for the best deli meat market. Summer is here. It's time for Bonton. Bonton Meat Market, 28 Crowfoot Circle Northwest. coaches you mentioned red Kelly any other guys that we got to imagine there were some characters coaching in junior hockey to how much influence did they have on you was the interactions would you be the same as they are in today's world or I feel like there's a defined line where coaches are here players are here there's not an

intermingling you're going to the coach's house for for suppers which is I think great it should be more like that but again there had to be junior coaches that were characters. There had to be coaches in the NHL that were characters. And how much coaching did they do? Well, going all the way back to Lesbridge, John Chapman probably taught me more. And he's been a scout for 30 plus years after he finished coaching. And he taught me what it would take to be a good player. And you got to play tough. You got to answer the bell. You've got to be a good. good leader you got to stick up for your teammates and all of that helped me along the way then you go to medicine Manhattan Jack Shoup who was more of uh he had about 20 ways to say

Jesus Christ guys and it was Jesus oh golly and like total character and then you go and then you go and you have Red Kelly who was more like a father figure and took me under his wing and then Roger Nielsen comes along and Roger was so much ahead of his time and you talk about a cat and mouse game when Scottie Bowman coached against Roger and and Darrell would get so frustrated because Roger was always trying to match lines and Darrell would finally turn around and say, Roger, just let us play, come on. But that's how those coaches were. And they were a step ahead of all the other coaches.

And then I go to, well, let me finish off in Toronto, Floyd Smith and Punch Emlack, that was not the way to actually play in the NHL. So enough of that, you go to Colorado and you have Don Cherry and and Don was awesome. He was, he was never an X and O or a great coach. He was a great motivator and guys would go through the wall for him. And then you get traded to Calgary and you have L. McNeil who I love to this day and the knowledge and the understanding of the game that he had.

and yet then a second Roger Nielsen comes along in Bob Johnson. So I've had some of the greatest coaches, and even when we end up winning the cup and I always felt badly for Bob when we didn't win the cup with him here because he was such a large part of it, and Terry Chris comes in and finishes it off. So I've been really lucky

and you talk about a mix across the board. It was so much fun. Well, there's some Hallfamers in there, too. That's wild, like big, big name coaches. Coming back southern Alberta would have felt like a homecoming of sorts because you play junior in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. You grew up in Hannah, you become this hockey star, and then somehow, some way, you end up in Calgary, Alberta.

And I was worried. I thought, oh, my gosh, it's so close to home. And will they actually accept it? Because I got traded for two very popular guys, both in the city, but also in the dressing room. When you get traded for Donnie Lever and Bobby McMillan, that's tough. But coming back, people always made you feel like,

oh my gosh, he's this long long. lost son has come home. And they made me feel great, like right out off the bat. I'll never forget. I had a separated shoulder when I got here. I came back early because I think we'd lost nine games in a row or something. And I'm sitting in the whirlpool and Poplinski comes in and he said, oh my gosh, we got damaged goods. Like, what a bad trade. And then I reminded him, oh, there was fourth round draft pick that came with it. That's not just me. His name was Bill Klavader.

I'll never forget it. Who never ever played a game, but at least he was a part of the trade. Routed it out. Apparently you were greeted with an incredible reception and all those concerns were probably quelled pretty early? They were. And even in the dressing room,

knowing that you were, playing injured and I don't think I scored till the seventh game that year but ended up with 35 in that last half of that year and it all those kind of worries kind of went away but it was it was it was tough when you know you can't play at the best of your ability because of the shoulder injury but slowly but surely I turned it around and Cliff Fletcher I love the guy I'll never forget the trade and it's interesting when when the team got transferred from Atlanta to Calgary and I knew Cliff just enough to say hello and I was playing in Colorado at that time

I called Cliff and I said, Cliff, I know you're under the gun. You know that I'm from Alberta. Is there any possible way I could buy six season tickets in the old Karel? Because my father and mom would come in, my mother-in-law, and they would come up from Medicine, Ann, they had great friends that would come all the time. And Cliff got me six tickets. That was a year and three months before I ever got traded here. So I don't know if he was foreshadowing all the way back then,

but man, it couldn't have turned out better. Apparently tried to add you in Atlanta as well before they moved. Well, he did. And that was part of the reason why Jim Gregory came to me on numerous occasions because Cliff was trying to put me back with Tommy Eliassiak, my Senator Iceman from Jr. And I just wanted to do it on my own and to be able to gut it out and then have such a great friendship and career with Daryl Sittler. And we still chat probably two times, if not three times a week.

We talk about kids and grandkids now instead of goals and assess. And that's so much fun. We do lots of different charity events together, and it's like every time you get together, it's like you never left. And, yeah, still best friends today. I've got one last hockey one because there's so much of your life that is incredible that happened after you stop playing, which, you know, I don't want to say it's uncommon, but I almost feel like you've got notoriety amongst people that never even saw you play

because of how significant your, you know, things outside of hockey have been in your life. You score 66 goals that next year in Calgary. We talked about you were hurt. You wanted to show how good you were. The next year was that your best year? And where was that team as you guys sort of ran up against that Oilers dynasty and finally the crescendo of winning in 89? You know, that was such a special year.

Every time you touched the puck, you believed you were going to score. And Gishuynard was probably as good as Darrell was. Darrell was more he could do it all. He could fight. He could throw big checks. He was a great leader. Guy was a quiet, confident guy that it laughed at himself all the time because he'd go to Philadelphia and he'd get like three assists.

And Guy was not the bravest guy, especially going in the corners. And they'd ask him like, gee, how'd you do it? And he'd say, oh, if you were as afraid of me as I was of them, like, you'd skate fast too. And that's, that was so much fun at that time. Played the first half the year with Eddie Beers on left wing, played the second half with Dougie Riseboro because Eddie got hurt. And it was a magical year. But Bob Johnson and Cliff were working all that.

time trying to figure out a way to play hard enough to be able to compete with the Oilers because they knew if we could beat the Oilers we had a chance win the Stanley Cup and you think all through those years Montreal Edmonton and ourselves were kind of three of the best and if you could get through the Oilers then you had a great chance and we we finally do it in 86 and and lose to Montreal in the final and boy things happen for a reason and you get a chance to do it again in 89 and by the way we thought in 86 like we're that good we're going right back in 87 right back in 88 and it takes you three years to get back there again and we knew if we didn't win it was over and

And you think of El McGinnis winning Kahn Smythe that year. Mike Vernon could have won the Kahn Smyth on the first round alone. Game seven. Game seven. In overtime, two one-timers, Tony Tanti and Patrick Screeko, and Stan Smeil on the breakaway, and he stops all three. And we find a way to win it. And then the rest is history.

you become the only team to ever win on the farm ice. And then the cup trip home because Elmerie came to Pep and I and Timmy Hunter and said, I can cut the locks off the Stanley Cup, which is in the bottom of the plane. And we said, oh, my God, go for it. And we were on an air can to flight where there was a back door and you could come up the back stairs. So we put it in the, we shielded him. He got it up the back stairs, put it in the bathroom, put out of order on the bathroom. We're up in the air 20, 25 minutes.

And the captain comes on and congratulates everyone on winning the Stanley Cup. And he said, by the way, we have a special guest on board. if you turn around and look at the back and Elmary comes out of the washroom with the Stanley Cup, well, the party was on from there. We tried to get Cliff to stop in Winnipeg for more booze because we had run out of booze by the time we got to Winnipeg. And he said, guys, Winnipeg closes up at 9 o'clock. It was like we have no chance. I think we landed at 5 o'clock in the morning or whatever.

and there was like 20,000 people at the airport it was craziness what was the room like in Montreal like was there lots of family that had traveled or was it just the guys right like you went on the road and it's a different world now i got to imagine teams fly family and friends in now back then it was it a smaller group and you just kind of shared it together it was a smaller group i think there was three wives and two uh significant others uh uh uh uh I'm not even sure if they were engaged. But as soon as we won, Cliff said, make sure, like, we're all going home together.

So you had the, everyone that was important, he had taken quite a bit of the staff to Montreal with us. So the wives, the girlfriends that were there, and all the owners, and there's a great picture of, I think, five of the six owners that were there at that time on the plane with the Stanley Cup all huddled together. And that ownership taught our alumni so much

about giving back to the community and we're still trying to do it today. What about some of the old rinks? Are there rinks that you liked going into, some that were just horrific and terrible? Like, people always ask me, what was your favorite ring to play and i loved going into the old spectrum in philly because they hated you philly fans hated you they wanted you to be hurt and injured and

and i loved beating them you didn't always do it you also came into league when you were just losing some of those great buildings like maple leaf gardens and you know boston gardens the chicago stadium is supposed to be insane i i think i was the luckiest guy i played in all six original buildings. Wow. And you talk about Chicago and probably one of the greatest fights I've ever seen in Chicago was in the stands where where in the middle of the game this fight breaks out and the whole lower bowl was chairs. Like they weren't attached to the floor and people were beating each other over the head with chairs. One whole section was in a fight and the cops

because it was a bad area, the cops came out of nowhere and they turn off all the lights in the building. That's the only way they broke up the fight. So you play in Chicago and like it was like a gladiator pit and and that organ was unbelievable. You go to Detroit and the Olympia like you could you visited with the people because there was no real boxes in behind you could share popcorn with the guy right behind you and Boston Gardens with those tiny corners and people yelling and screaming at you and like it just went on and on and to be able to like I said before win in Montreal and Maple Leaf Gardens like still today we

been back for numerous different charity events there. And thank goodness they at least found a way to keep a rink upstairs and the globe or the bowl up top. It makes you still feel a little bit like it's Maple Leaf Gardens. It was just the greatest. And then you go into New York and the circus had been there the night before. And it's like, oh my God. God. Nothing could smell worse than that. But it was it was the best of times and sadly because all the new ranks go so far out and back, you lose that intimacy. And I think that's why I love the corral. Yeah. You played junior there. You played pro there. And I know it certainly helped me end up scoring as many goals as I did that one year.

And so it was fun. So you noted that the ownership group taught you about giving back to the community. It's something that you, as you noted, a lot of that 89 team has taken to heart seriously. You're a huge part of the Flames alumni. You know the O4 group that's in there as well as some other guys trickling in along the way, people from other organizations. But tell us about some of the initiatives you're proud about or at least what's front burner right now. for you because this is the time of year where everyone does have their big charitable events.

It's not minus 20 outside and people are excited to get out and do stuff. Well, when you think about donating as much money as we have through the alumni, the difference we've made with CP Kids, Special Olympics, Ronald McDonald House, Children's Hospital, the list just goes on and on. And to have nine guys from the Stanley Cup team live in the city, that's unheard of. I think in any city, yes, Toronto has way bigger numbers than we do. But to have made our alumni when we first started it because we didn't have very many guys, we made ours, the Calgary Flames, NHL alumni, so that a guy like my,

Roger or a guy like Lindsay Carson wouldn't get back to Philadelphia or Mike wouldn't get back to New York or Hartford they can be a part of ours and those guys have made our alumni so much stronger and yeah it has been so much fun to be a part of it Dana Mersen ran the golf tournament we we turn probably a hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year right back into the community. We do the brown bagging box lunches for for the kids and you talk about trying to make a difference. I think they're brown bagging now is involved in 320 schools 6,000 kids a day. Wow. That if we and we donate

20 to 30,000 dollars through the alumni a year back to brown bagging, If we weren't a part of it, we would never have known like there was such a need. And to be able to help change that or be a part of making sure kids are fed. And if you're hungry, chances are you're not going to learn very well or very much. And we gave them a chance. So you feel good. Vina Nova is Calgary's lab-grown diamonds specialists. They're the only store in Calgary that specializes exclusively in lab-grown diamonds.

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Because if you're hungry, you're not thinking about anything else. No. Survival or not. It's the most, I forget how they termed it, but it's like the most cost-effective way of changing people's lives and improving society. So the alumni does a lot of that stuff. You've sort of handed the reins off the 89 group to a couple of the younger guys, there's a couple of four guys for the golf tournament. That's one of your major events with the alumni.

Can you talk about, I don't want to say passing as a torch because that indicates you guys are done and you're still very involved, but just watching this next generation, that that second great team that got all the way to the final. Well, you think about guys like Curtis Glancross, Robin Rueger. Chris Kalanis, Mason Raymond, the guy sitting right across from us who started the hockey school here. Then you add in Mike Commodore and like I said, Rod McGere, who took over the golf tournament after Dana. Pep started or was a big part of it to start with, he handed over to Dana who ran up for. for about 25 years. And now Robin and Mike Commodore are doing it

and they're tweaking a few things, making it even better than it was before. And we love it to see that next generation so proud of helping make a difference. And I think we have around 50 actual Calgary, claims live in or just outside of the city and another just about a hundred that played in the NHL so we basically have 150 guys to call on at any time and it's been wonderful so that's the alumni but you're also involved in a ton of stuff outside of the alumni I remember we had

Lanning's studio like five years ago what do you've been up to line he's like well I was just in none of it with Scotia Bank and I'm like oh my god you're ever you were just in in Toronto. You're also a really active grandfather now. You've got a brewery that you own a part of in Montana. I mean, there's a lot of post-talkie Lanny that's fascinating to a lot of people. Well, I just got back. Before I went to Toronto, I got back from Nottingham, England. The Tier 1 or number one division for the IHF was going on. And they asked if I would come and speak at the gala event and so Phil Pritchard came with me. We took the cup to Nottingham, England, obviously you didn't think it was a big deal, but it was a big deal. People lined up from 9 o'clock in the

morning. We opened at 10. There was an hour and a half wait all day long until the game that night at 7. And the UK was playing against Italy, had to win the game to. make it up to the world championships for next year and won the game in a barn burner and like 8,000 people jammed in a 7,500 seat arena like chanting from start to finish. They had experienced the cup all day long. It was a fantastic, fantastic trip. I get home, go right back to Toronto we've had great meetings on Monday and Tuesday I get to hang out with the grandkids this the Hall of Fame just to all the fame yeah yeah but in the meantime probably three months ago I got asked to come back on board I was chairman

of the fundraising for the Ronald McDonald House 40 years ago my dear wife Ardell and I and they asked if I would come back and and help them out again. They're expanding from 20, no, 30 rooms to 90 rooms. And they're doing the same thing in Edmonton. So I contacted Kevin Lowe to see if he would be my counter part up there and he graciously accepted. And we're having the groundbreaking on June 14th

for the expansion of the Ronald McDonald House. I couldn't be prouder after 40 years to help make a difference a gain. And they have put, if you can imagine, 40,000 families in 40 years through the Ronald McDonald House and they're only, they're only, what's the right word? So their mission, the prerogative?

No, they're only taking care of 14% of the actual need also the so they're doing everything at Canada it's amazing how many they've put through but clearly there's so the expansion was crucial yeah and so we're trying to help make a difference Peter Allen who's on our our board alumni board has jumped in and he's helping me with the oil and gas people it's amazing how You talk about family or teammates, teammates come together and you can't do it alone, but with the good people around you and our alumni is good people, you make a difference. And that's where we're at.

And I love every day. Do you get some downtime or is it grandpa at the lake time or what is it? Oh, yeah, it's grandpa at the lake time. We have eight grandkids, six boys, two girls. Thank goodness the last one, Olive, Olive, who is only eight months old, is a thing of beauty and my dear wife was so happy, okay, now I can spoil two girls, because the boys are all, they're all in boys. Let me tell you, as Rhett knows all about boys. And it's so much fun. Amazing. Are you in Montana a bunch? Because that's kind of become your second home in a way, hasn't it? Well, it really has. Over the summer, I have to come back

for different events from time to time, but over the summer, we try and regroup as a family. Lots of times, we only have two grandkids here in Calgary, but the two grandkids that are here, they'll come down. They'll stay with us for a month. Wow. So we have all kinds of fun there, and they love their cousins and and we get to regroup as a family we have the family brewery down there i'm on quality control best job i've ever are you hiring i've heard about no you're like 400 400 in line sorry sorry to let you know where you're standing is that's all right that's honest but i'm not giving that job up for a while what about the kids they're involved in all kinds of stuff. The grandkids are running around. Are they focused on anything? Or are they just

playing all the different sports? Well, they are, we have anywhere from 1917, 11, 10, 9, 8, 6, 8 months. Calder, our oldest, he was heavily involved in hockey. He gave up hockey a year ago. got into skiing big time. He just tore his ACL MCL and had surgery. And so he's on eight-month rehab. Our second is into golf. There's probably three of the kids all into golf. Some play soccer.

I picked up the two grandkids from the Y yesterday, the ones that are here, six and nine, one plays basketball, the other swims. Do you treat the grandkids differently than the kids? When you're raising kids, it's a different... Oh, like the grandkids are so much fun, and at the end of the day you get to hand them back to mom and dads. And like, I'm out of here. But, yeah, you do treat. them differently. It's up to mum dead to put the discipline in. Grandpa has to jump in

and put the discipline in from time and time, but it's more just having fun with them and enjoying life. Evan, I pick him up from school yesterday and he said, oh, grandpa, I'm so glad it's you. He said, we have so much fun together. Well, that just melt your heart like talk about making your day unreal we've only had a couple minutes left uh i wonder where you're at because you seem to have this you know inexhaustible supply of energy you're on the go you just talked about you know you're you're in toronto you're back you're off in a couple hours here uh do you envision the next sort of five to ten years is taking on more huge projects or finding a way to wind things down and spend more time with family because

because, I mean, it seems like anything you set your mind on like Hall of Fame work or brewery, you know, you were in the management side of hockey, you were in the marketing side for the flames forever. Like how keen are you on taking on new projects versus that balance of family right now? You know what? With the Hockey Hall of Fame, you have two five-year terms as chairman. I'm already just about finished year seven. So really I look at it. I've got three years left there and I have loved it. I do a lot with Scotia Bank and their hockey programs across the country.

I try and do probably at least 20 events a year with the Calgary Flames, their charity events, their business trips, that sort of thing. And it's been a lot of fun. I think I would drive Ardell off the deep end if I was there all. the time sure and she knows and our kids and grandkids all understand that what I do we've had our kids when I would go to the Children's Hospital as a player I took my kids with me all the time at Christmas time to hand out gifts to the kids because that teaches them kind of what is important to us as a family

family. So that part will probably never change, but I also look forward to the day of being able to just hang out and play a little, little more golf, although my golf games going the wrong way, but that's a whole not a story. You just need more quality control before you tee off, maybe. There you go. I feel that Montana's going to solve a lot of these problems. Well, thank goodness. Speaking of Montana, the kids, uh, our oldest, uh, her Andrea and her husband Josh they run the business and they are great at it and I I get to visit with all the people and hang out and have fun so we've got a great mix right now and hopefully that never changes I got one last one for me just

in general your thoughts on the game for me the kids are so talented nowadays seems like leads don't matter anymore. And there was an era where if you were up by one or two, it kind of, they close the door on you. What are your thoughts just in general on hockey right now and the skill and the way where it's headed? Well, you look, you talked about the skill, but you look at the young players coming into the game

and the notoriety right now that's going on with the young man out of Regina Bred. and the difference a guy like him, a generational guy can make for a franchise. You look at Connor and Leon up north and the excitement in the game because of it. You look at some of the great young stars like Eichol in Vegas and the gifts that they have,

from a pure talent standpoint or Jason Robertson in Dallas. Oh my gosh, the game is in a great place other than Arizona. But the game is in such a great place right now. And who would ever guess, I don't think any person's bracket is still alive in the NHL. And who would I ever guess, these are the final four teams playing? But I love, if I'm in town, I go to the games. I'm a hockey fan. And to see the great young players today, but I still have my old favorites like Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Taves who play the game, regardless of who they play with, they make the people around them better.

And that is so cool. Bet way, bet of the daytime. We're going back to NFL futures, and I'm looking at the wide receiver position. That's a tight end too. Who's going to lead the league in receiving yards? I mean, who did it last year? It was just in bleeping Jefferson.

He was unbelievable. Led the league in receptions, yardage, catches over 20 yards. I like him to do it again, not because it's like, what a stunning hot take, but there's kind of some value there. Plus 650.

Tell me six and a half to one. Justin Jefferson, the man can't do it again. I'm not buying it. think he can let's go get it it's your bet way bad of the day lany it's been really awesome sharing this time with you have a great summer we look forward to doing this again i feel like we could we could make it a 10 hour sure if you aren't so damn busy we'd keep you here forever but i we'll free you for now but we might we might call you back to do it again thanks so much for

sharing some time with us as someone they grew up in the city i mean it's it's it's incredible to see the impact you've made on the city and even beyond you talk about the province the country with the work you've done. Thanks for sharing some time with us. It was a pleasure. I wish you guys nothing but success and look forward to whenever you make the call, I'll be back.