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TORONTO — Wendel Clark and Doug Gilmour will soon take their place among the Toronto Maple Leafs' all-time greats.
The popular former Leafs captains will have banners raised at the Air Canada Centre in separate pre-game ceremonies this season to honour their achievements with the NHL club.
Clark's No. 17 banner will go up on Nov. 22 before a game against the Chicago Blackhawks while Gilmour's No. 93 will be raised Jan. 31 when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit.
The Leafs have only two retired jersey numbers — Ace Bailey's No. 6 and Bill Barilko's No. 5.
Clark and Gilmour's will be added to 12 others whose numbers are "honoured" with banners, but still available for current players to wear. The others are Syl Apps, Ted Kennedy, Turk Broda, Johnny Bower, Tim Horton, George Armstrong, Charlie Conacher, Frank Mahovlich, Darryl Sittler, Hap Day, Red Kelly and Borje Salming.
Clark, 41, was drafted first overall by Toronto in 1985 and quickly established himself a gritty left-winger equally able to lift fans from their seats by scoring a goal or taking on an opponent with his fists. He scored 260 goals and had 1,535 penalty minutes in three stints with Toronto before he retired in 2000. Clark holds the team record for playoff goals with 34.
Gilmour, 45, was acquired from Calgary on Jan. 2, 1992 in a 10-player blockbuster. In 1992-93, he set club records with 95 assists and 127 points and won the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward. He had 452 points in 392 games for the Leafs from 1992 to 1997 and set team playoff records with 60 assists and 77 points in only 52 games.
Both players still work for the Leafs — Gilmour as player development adviser and Clark as a community relations ambassador.
