Quote:
Originally Posted by killer_carlson
Dan Quinn was a decent prospect for us when he came in. He quickly became good buddies with a Mike Vernon. Vernon took the team by storm in the 86 playoffs and was the go to guy in 86/87. Note this was only 2 years after Lemelin had been a Vezina finalist for the Flames.
Quinn and Vernon hit Calgary hard and there were all sorts of stories coming out. This was before the internet (obviously) so word travelled slowly in most instances. Not with these two. Their partying ways moved quick through social circles, and there were some pretty scandalous items there as well.
Management saw this and moved Quinn out before Christmas in the 86/87 season, and removed that influence from their franchise goalie. Quinn's partying reputation got him in trouble in Pittsburgh where he was accused of raping a 19 year old at a hotel or a party, where Mario Lemieux and other Pittsburgh teammates were.
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And keep in mind that Quinn had just led the Flames in scoring as a 20-year-old, with 72 points in 78 games. So this wasn't just any young prospect. He was already the number once centre on the team and expected to be so for a long time going forward. Think Monahan.
It took a lot of guts for Fletcher to trade him, especially at a time when the newspapers wouldn't have covered any of Quinn's issues, so most fans had no idea why he was moved.