[Dion]

The impact Lanny had on his teammates

Respect is what makes him the best captain

“The guys, who respected him so much, knew this could be Lanny’s last kick at the cat,” said head coach Terry Crisp of the most obvious motivator working in the Flames’ favour that spring.

“I don’t know, but I have to believe in my heart that played a big part in the guys’ makeup and structure that night in Montreal for that game. And when he scored that goal, if you saw our bench, you’d know it did. If you think Lanny was the happiest guy in the Forum, take a look at our bench. He had a lot of competition.”

"One of the cool things I remember about that is how many people were still in the building. Maybe it was because they’d never experienced losing the Cup in their building. But I always thought that was one of the classiest moves by the fans. You sometimes forget it’s just a game and you applaud great play and sportsmanship.”

No, says several of McDonald’s teammates, they were there largely to cheer McDonald — one of the greatest ambassadors the game has ever had.

After all, everyone on the ice for that photo and celebration had played with an eye on winning one for No. 9.

“They make a bigger deal of it now, like Ray Bourque — ‘You gotta win one for Ray or you gotta win one for Iggy or whoever,’ ” said teammate Jamie Macoun.

“But we were trying to win one for Lanny, without anybody ever saying it.”

http://www.calgarysun.com/2014/05/23...-at-centre-ice