McDonald was one of the NHL's best and most beloved players during his 18-year career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies and Flames. The clock was winding down on his career and head coach Terry Crisp knew it, using McDonald in only 14 of the Flames' 22 playoff games that spring.

McDonald had a burning desire to win the Cup and took advantage when he got back in the lineup, scoring second goal in Calgary's 4-2 victory over Montreal in the sixth and last game of the Stanley Cup Finals.

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The key moment of the game came with the score tied, 1-1. McDonald came out of the penalty box to snare a pass from Joe Nieuwendyk and burst in on Patrick Roy in the Montreal net. McDonald's wrist shot found the top corner, giving the Flames a lead they never relinquished. Doug Gilmour added two third-period goals to seal the win.

"I always wished we could have won that Stanley Cup on home ice for the Calgary fans, but winning it in Montreal was the next best thing," McDonald said. "Three years earlier, the Canadiens beat us in five games in the Stanley Cup Finals. The last game was in Calgary and we had to watch them celebrate on our ice. So it was certainly fitting to go back there and do it to them. Plus, we were the only visiting team to ever capture the Stanley Cup at the Montreal Forum. Now that the Forum is closed, it will stay that way."

"That might be the most memorable Stanley Cup," said former Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Darren Pang, now an ESPN hockey announcer. "He's such a good person, fun to be around, and what a competitor. He had a great shot, a wicked snapshot and he always seemed to be in the right place."

Every year grizzled veterans warn giddy youngsters to give their all and not assume they'll have another opportunity to play for the Cup. McDonald waited 15 years for his first chance.

"A lot of people in 1986, including many of our own players, believed we would automatically return to the Finals but it took three more years and there was quite a turnover in players," McDonald said. "There's a lot of guys still playing from that team but only a handful ever won another Cup. In the end, all you want to do is win the Stanley Cup."

Few thought it would take McDonald so long to win a championship. The Toronto Maple Leafs selected McDonald with their first pick, fourth overall, in the 1973 NHL Entry Draft. The tall redhead was coming off two magnificent seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Canada Junior Hockey League in which he scored 114 and 139 (62 goals) points.

Lanny McDonald played in the 2001 Heroes of Hockey game during the All-Star festivities.

Hall of Famer Red Kelly coached the Maple Leafs in Lanny's rookie season. He remembers him as a "big, unsophisticated kid from Western Canada. He probably could have used a season in the minors, but they rushed him right up and he wasn't ready.

"He was a team guy and a coach's player who tried really hard," Kelly remembered. "Too hard sometimes, and he had a tendency to skate with his head down. He had a great shot. Once he settled down and began hitting targets he scored a lot of goals."

Kelly felt the expectations of the fans and team management were unrealistic and he developed a great sympathy for the earnest young man.

"As a high draft pick he was expected to be a star and run right through teams even though there were things he had to learn," Kelly said. "He had great-sized hands, like Gordie Howe. I knew he would be a great player if we gave him time."

McDonald had 14 goals and 16 assists his rookie season and 17 goals and 27 assists the next season. He then put up four straight years of 85 or more points before slipping to 30 points in 1979-80. Toronto traded him to the Rockies with Joel Quenneville for Pat Hickey and Wilf Paiement on Dec. 29, 1979.

McDonald had given the Maple Leafs some big moments -- he led the team with 10 goals during the 1977 playoffs - but none bigger than his overtime goal in the seventh game of the 1978 Quarterfinals that eliminated the up-and-coming New York Islanders. McDonald was playing with a broken nose and wrist.

"We thought we were pretty good, but his goal knocked us out of the playoffs," recalled Islanders coach Al Arbour. "We learned a lot in defeat and two years later began a run of four straight Stanley Cups. I saw Lanny play in juniors and thought he'd be a great player and he certainly proved to be one. He is a class person, a real character, and he has represented hockey very well."

Lanny McDonald hit the magical 500-goal mark ... exactly.

McDonald became the Rockies captain in 1980 but didn't stay long in Denver. He was traded to Calgary on Nov. 25, 1981. Nevertheless, he made his mark, being named Colorado Athlete of the Year.

Those were difficult years with the lowly Rockies but McDonald hated leaving because he wanted to be part of a team improvement that never came, said defenseman Rob Ramage, who followed McDonald to Calgary in 1988 and played on the Stanley Cup winner the next year.

"I roomed with Lanny in Colorado. He's about six years older than me and he was a tremendous role model," Ramage said. "He hated to leave Colorado because he said we had unfinished business there, turning that team around. But he had a tremendous influence on the Calgary team, too. He got his 500th goal and his 1,000th point with the Flames and we all shared in it. Nobody was happier than Lanny when he was with his teammates."

Following his retirement, McDonald joined the Flames' front office as Vice President of Community Relations. He remained with team management until last fall and is still on the board of the Flames Charitable Foundation. His work with charities, especially the Special Olympics, has benefited many and provided him with wonderful experiences.

McDonald was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992; the first Flame so honored. He played in four All-Star games and on Team NHL at the 1979 Challenge Cup. He was a member of the winning Canadian team in the first Canada Cup Championship in 1976, and represented Canada at the 1981 World Championships.

He was the first winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 1988, awarded for dedication and service to hockey and previously won the 1983 Bill Masterton Trophy for his qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

"I had a blast," McDonald said of his career. "I lived a dream, trying to make the NHL, and my dream came true."