Paul MacLean
remembers the moment he discovered how difficult it is to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
That's why he called the
Game 1 of the 1982 Norris Division Semifinals
between his Winnipeg Jets and the St. Louis Blues his favorite playoff game. The Blues won 4-3 at Winnipeg Arena on April 7, 1982.
"I had just been traded the year before from St. Louis to Winnipeg so I knew their team," said MacLean, who was 23 when he was traded. "So going back to play them in a playoff series, that was a memorable time for me because now I had to face off against (Blues captain) Brian Sutter and he was very serious about it.
"You understood how playoff hockey was different than regular-season hockey, because in the regular season he was always, 'Hey Mac, buddy.' And in the playoffs he's slashing me and breaking my stick on the first face-off."
MacLean, who had soft hands and an edge to his game, was traded from the Blues to the Jets, along with Bryan Maxwell and Ed Staniowski, for Scott Campbell and John Markell on July 3, 1981. He had 673 points (324 goals, 349 assists) and 968 penalty minutes in 719 NHL regular-season games during 11 seasons for the Blues, Jets and Detroit Red Wings before retiring in 1991. He scored 35 points (21 goals, 14 assists) in 53 Stanley Cup Playoff games, qualifying 10 straight seasons between 1981-90.
He scored 40 or more goals three times, and at least 30 eight times.
MacLean was chosen by the Blues in the seventh round (No. 109) in the 1978 NHL Draft. He played one regular-season game in 1980-81, and one game against the New York Rangers during the 1981 playoffs.
He quickly became an important player for the Jets after the trade, and said until that first postseason game against the Blues, he had not really experienced playoff intensity.
"You're told and told, but until you actually get into the playoffs and play some of those guys like Brian and Bernie Federko, Wayne Babych, Joey Mullen, everything was different," MacLean said. "They played for keeps and nobody took prisoners. You had to demand your share of the ice and you tried not to let the other guy have any. That learning process in that first (playoff) game that season for me was something that was another of those real eye-opening events in my career, just like your first NHL game or your (first) goal or first hat trick in the League.
"Those are grooming moments as a player, but your first taste of playoff hockey against a veteran team and veteran player, that opens your eyes. That was memorable for me."
The 62-year-old is an assistant with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was coach of the Ottawa Senators from 2011-15 and has worked as an assistant with the Red Wings (2005-11), Anaheim Ducks (2002-04, 2015-17) and Phoenix Coyotes (1996-97).
