[browna]

The local press, a lot more vocal and entitled back then, demanded blood after the Denis Morel screw job in game 6 in LA.

The overreaction by the owners placating that press unhappiness, and firing Crisp right away and forcing Fletcher to trade Mullen (who played 7 more seasons, became the all time leading goal,scorer a ongst US players and won 2 Cups) a few weeks later, set the stage for the spiral of the franchise.

The overreaction at the top caused Fletcher to start to ponder and be planning his exit, which he did the next offseason.

That took the owners by surprise and rushed Risebrough into the role. Add a bad Canadian dollar (and Bettman years away from providing a salary cap), the first publishing of players salaries also in 1992 and the economics were going against small market Flames, and then you had the Nieuwendyk holdout. Unexpected R1 losses to Vancouver in 1994 and San Jose in 1995 with better talent than their opponents was the last straw and the window shut, and the Young Gun era came to light.

But if some sanity and calmness were exercised after the 1990 loss, or if they held onto the 1991 Game 7 3-0 first period lead and beat the Oilers in R1, and the stabilizing Fletcher was not chased out of town after the 91 season, that team may win those 94 and 95 rounds and maybe the late 90s didn’t end as dark as they did overall.

But of course then they maybe they didn’t get Iginla in 1995, and/or he doesn’t develop the same as he did being on a sad sack team the first 6 years of his career etc etc and 2004 never happens, because things didn’t get as bad between 1997 and 2003? Too many variables.

But back to Gilmour, he had some rumoured off ice situations as well which didn’t endear him to the executive in the Flames on top of the contract squabbles. I was at his last game a few days prior, NYe vs Mtl where I think he was first star. Verbeek would’ve been a better option in a 1 for a trade scenario.