For me, McCrimmon is next after Reinhart. A lot of people believed Mark Howe carried him in Philly, and thought Cliff Fletcher was nuts because he traded for the wrong member of that defence pair. Turned out Cliff was right and the critics were wrong.
When Sarge arrived in Calgary, Jamie Macoun was out for the year after major nerve surgery, and it was uncertain whether he would ever come back. McCrimmon not only filled Macoun's skates, he made the Flames' defence look better than it ever had before. The team won their first Presidents' Trophy that year. The following year, with both McCrimmon and Macoun in the lineup, they were the best defensive team in hockey after Patrick Roy's Canadiens.
Some other defencemen were flashier, some stayed longer with the team. But without Brad McCrimmon, they would not have won the Stanley Cup. Of that I'm certain.
(But Macoun is next after McCrimmon. I was overjoyed when Jamie made his comeback and we got to have them both.)
__________________
WARNING: The preceding message may not have been processed in a sarcasm-free facility.
|