Lanny McDonald was born on Feb. 16, 1953, in Hanna, AB, a small town with a population under three thousand located a little over two hours northeast of Calgary.
The eventual Hall of Famer was the Toronto Maple Leafs’ fourth overall pick in the 1973 Amateur Draft. During his time with the Maple Leafs, he became a three-time 40-goal scorer and exceeded 90 points twice.
In late 1979, Toronto dealt him to the Colorado Rockies, where he would play parts of three seasons before he was traded to the Calgary Flames on Nov. 25, 1982 for Don Lever and Bob MacMillan.
Interestingly, McDonald’s last game with the Rockies was against the Flames on Nov. 24, 1981. He made his Calgary two nights later on Nov. 26, 1981, and didn’t score any points, but was plus-3 in a 7-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
Although he was pointless in his first two games in red, he scored 34 goals and 33 assists for 67 points in 55 games. McDonald became the Flames’ leading goal scorer while tied for fourth in points with Jim Peplinksi.
In 1982-83, McDonald had his best season in the NHL and one of the best goal-scoring campaigns in league history, with 66 goals. However, he missed the 100-point milestone by two points, finishing with 98 points.
At the time of his achievement, he was the eighth player to score 66 goals in a single season. Today, McDonald ranks 23rd with his performance from 1982-83.
Moreover, he remains the only player in Flames history to surpass 60 goals, a mark that may remain unbreakable.
Following that outstanding performance, McDonald scored 33 goals and 66 points in 65 games in 1982-83, the last time he scored 30 goals. He missed a significant amount of time in 1983-84, skating in only 43 games, scoring 19 goals and 37 points.
Fully healthy for the 1984-85 campaign, McDonald played 80 games; the last time he’d skate an almost entire season of games. He finished the year with 28 goals and 71 points, which would be more than he’d scored (67) in his career’s final three seasons.
From 1986 to 1989, McDonald played in 169 games and scored 35 goals with 32 assists for 67 points. However, he achieved the following milestones:
During his illustrious career, McDonald played in the 1986 Stanley Cup Final, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in six games. As fate would have it, the two Canadiens teams met again in the 1989 Final, and the Flames became the only visiting team to skate with the Stanley Cup at the Montreal Forum.
In pivotal Game 6, McDonald scored a second-period goal, his first of the playoffs, to give the Flames a 2-1 lead, which they wouldn’t relinquish en route to a 4-2 victory. In the end, McDonald became the only Calgary captain to hoist the Stanley Cup on May 25, 1989.
McDonald retired immediately at the age of 35 after winning a championship. With the Flames, he won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy (1987-88) and Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (1982-83) and represented the Flames at the 1983 and 1984 All-Star Games while doing the same with the Maple Leafs at the 1977 and 1978 events.
Regarding his place in Flames history, McDonald had the second most goals (215), tenth most assists (191), and ninth most points (406). In 2025, he ranks sixth in goals, 28th in assists, and 19th in points. Calgary retired his No. 9 on Mar. 17, 1990, the first honor given to any former player.
Three years after his retirement, McDonald entered the Hockey Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, he’s been a community ambassador for the Flames for over thirty years. He’s been inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and the Canada Sports Hall of Fame and awarded the Order of Sport and Order of Hockey in Canada.
Despite a heart attack in early 2024, McDonald continues to attend and participate in community events representing the Flames while continuing his years of service to the Special Olympics.
Widely recognized for this iconic bushy mustache, McDonald came to Calgary over 40 years ago and became one of the community’s most respected and generous people, building an unmatched legacy on and off the ice.
