Lanny McDonald - Legacy

Legacy

The Flames arrived in Calgary after relocating from Atlanta for the 1980–81 NHL season. The organization entered a transitional phase, as many players used to the warm weather and relaxed atmosphere of Atlanta were unable or unwilling to adapt to the higher expectations fans in Calgary placed on them. David Poile, then Flames assistant general manager, stated that the team had an identity crisis as a result. It was in this atmosphere that General Manager Cliff Fletcher made the trade for McDonald on November 25, 1981, claiming that McDonald added two characteristics the Flames lacked: character and leadership.

McDonald's arrival in Calgary was considered a turning point for the organization, one where his personality, demeanor and on-ice play came to define the Flames in the 1980s. Poile argued that it signaled the true beginning of the team in its new market: "The trade for Lanny McDonald was the start of the Calgary Flames franchise. It gave us that Calgary identity, that Western Canadian flavor." Columnist and co-author of McDonald's autobiography, Steve Simmons, agreed. He added that the personal and professional disappointments McDonald endured in Toronto and Colorado resulted in his gaining a greater appreciation of both the game and himself. McDonald was extremely popular with his teammates and the fans wherever he played, as well as with the media – he was named Colorado's athlete of the year in 1980 by the state's sportswriters.

Renowned for his leadership ability, McDonald cultivated the respect of the team's younger players. He came into the NHL at a time when the battle with the rival WHA for talent led to rookies signing for far more money than the previous generation of players commanded. Consequently, McDonald faced the resentment of several of Toronto's veteran players and resolved to show greater respect to those that followed him. His efforts left a lasting impression on his teammates; among them was Tiger Williams who called McDonald "a great ambassador" for the NHL.

The Flames made McDonald the first player in franchise history to have his jersey retired when they raised his number 9 to the rafters of the Olympic Saddledome in a ceremony on March 17, 1990. As part of its 1992 class, McDonald became the first former Flame to gain induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. One year later he was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. His image endured well into retirement; in 2008, he was the only athlete named in a list of Alberta's ten greatest citizens compiled by the Calgary Herald.