Carolina Hurricanes: Ghosts of Goaltenders Past
By Jeb Bohn
Kirk McLean
Right off the bat, let me say that Kirk McLean is an institution in Vancouver. Two decades after he last played for the Canucks, fans still fondly remember him for his part in leading them to Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. McLean won 211 regular-season games in Vancouver and another 34 in the postseason.
On this day in 1994, the @Canucks won their first Stanley Cup Final game in franchise history. Kirk McLean made 52 saves, as Vancouver defeated New York 3-2 in overtime in Game 1 #Hockey365 #Canucks pic.twitter.com/bLQGjwLwFK
— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) May 31, 2019
Shortly following that spectacular run, McLean’s play began to drop off. New Vancouver GM Mike Keenan shipped McLean and future playoff hero Martin Gelinas to the Hurricanes in exchange for Sean Burke, Geoff Sanderson, and Enrico Ciccone on January 3rd, 1998.
I remember sitting in the Greensboro Coliseum that night before a game against the Dallas Stars and hearing McLean and Gelinas announced as scratches and wondering what I had missed. Bear in mind that this was before the age of the smartphone.
Like his counterparts on this list, McLean’s time with the Hurricanes was short-lived, appearing in only 8 games before he was sent to the Florida Panthers for Ray Sheppard.
McLean stayed with the Panthers through the 1998-99 season before signing with the New York Rangers for two years. After retiring, McLean spent one season as the goaltending coach for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and later spent time as a goaltending consultant for the Colorado Avalanche. He’s currently a member of the Canuck’s Alumni Squad.
Reflections: McLean has always struck me as a good guy and his part in helping the Canuck’s 1994 playoff run is the stuff of legend. I hoped he’d stick around longer, especially with the goaltending circus that the Hurricanes were staging, though Ray Sheppard did have a pretty good season for Carolina in 1998-99.