Gary Leeman

Lore & Background

Leeman was traded to the Calgary Flames on January 2, 1992, as part of a ten-player deal that brought Doug Gilmour to Toronto. He played for the Flames in the early 1990s before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens on January 28, 1993.

In Their Own Story

The arena lights hummed their low amber glow over the ice, and the smell of rubber skates on cold boards filled the air. Somewhere in the tunnel, a player pulled on his skates for the first time in a new city, the concrete cold through the soles of his socks. He didn't know yet whether his name would be remembered in the stands or simply filed in a box in a league office. The puck dropped, the crowd roared, and for one shift he was part of something bigger than himself—a Flames jersey, a stick against the ice, the sharp crack of a slap shot echoing off the glass. That was enough. That was the whole story, and the whole world.

Reader's Guide

Leeman converted from defenceman to winger in the NHL. He was known as a speedy, gritty scoring machine and had a 50-goal season with the Maple Leafs. He formed the 'Hound Line' with Wendel Clark and Russ Courtnall. He won the Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1993.

Did You Know?

• Leeman was drafted 24th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1982 NHL entry draft as a defenceman.
• He played in the 1977 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Wexford, Toronto.
• He represented Canada at the World Junior Championships twice, in Leningrad and in Sweden.
• He finished his career in Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga for the Hannover Scorpions.