After a long and fantastic NHL career, Doug Gilmour signed for the Montreal Canadiens ahead of the 2001-02 season. Gilmour was most known for his years in Toronto, but now signed for another Canadian team, and he had a great year. First, Gilmour led his team to playoffs, and they beast Boston, who had finished first in their division.
In the Eastern Conference semifinal, Carolina Hurricanes were a number too big. The Canadiens were down two goals with just minutes to go of game 6 in the series. Doug Gilmour hadn’t signed a new contract, and some thought his career would be over after that game.
With his team down two goals and the season coming to an end, Gilmour took a penalty. And he wasn’t happy. So when going into the penalty box, he slammed the door behind him, and the glass collapsed.
”That could’ve been my last game,” Gilmour said on The Sign Off: A Frameworth Podcast.
”So I took a penalty, I slammed the door, and the glass never breaks. As soon as it happened, I put my head down and go, ’Oh boy, I’m in here for a while.’
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Gilmour was assessed a 10-minute misconduct.
”The worst part is I had to get out of there for them to clean all the glass. I’ll go sit in the other penalty box.”
Gilmour remembers a meeting with owner George Gillett after the game and after the season.
”We had a banquet at the end of the year, and I didn’t know if I was going to sign again or no, but George said, ’You know what? Thank you so much for playing with the Canadiens.’ And he brings out a wheelbarrow, all full of the glass. So I grabbed a couple of pieces and signed them, and then put them in his pocket. So at the end of the day, he went to pick up his jacket and it was about seven pounds.”
”He looked at me and said, ’I’m gonna sell these.’ I guess I was known for breaking the glass, and I did it really well.”
Doug Gilmour eventually signed a new one-year contract with the Canadiens, and before ending his career, he returned for one final game in Toronto with the Maple Leafs.
