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John MacLean was the first clutch goal scorer for the New Jersey Devils. Source: https://icehockey.fandom.com/ (May be subject to copyright) |
When I wrote it down, I smiled to myself and thought, “This is not the first John McLean I have encountered in my life”. In fact, he was the third, and it is a name I kept encountering the summer of 1988, first as a clutch goal scorer, then battling international terrorists.
The Devils you say
The New Jersey Devils franchise was terrible. They had started out in 1974 as the Kansas City Scouts, who were a bad expansion team. They moved to Denver two years later and were not much better as the hapless Colorado Rockies, making the playoffs just once, even with Don Cherry coaching them and Lanny McDonald playing for them. In 1979 they moved again, this time to New Jersey and became the Devils
The New Jersey Devils franchise was terrible. They had started out in 1974 as the Kansas City Scouts, who were a bad expansion team. They moved to Denver two years later and were not much better as the hapless Colorado Rockies, making the playoffs just once, even with Don Cherry coaching them and Lanny McDonald playing for them. In 1979 they moved again, this time to New Jersey and became the Devils
Again, they were just terrible. They were so bad, Wayne Gretzky called them Mickey Mouse. Of course the reaction was awesome. The next time the Oilers played in New Jersey, the stands were full of Mickey Mouse ears, Pluto, Goofy and the gang.
The truth was, they were Mickey Mouse. They were brutal.
That all changed in the 1987-1988 season.
Going into the last game of the season, a win would send them to the playoffs for the first time in New Jersey.
Mr. Clutch
All eyes were on the Devils playing the Blackhawks in Chicago. New Jersey trailed 3-2 midway through the third period.
All eyes were on the Devils playing the Blackhawks in Chicago. New Jersey trailed 3-2 midway through the third period.
Cue John MacLean.
He scored the tying goal, sending the game into overtime, and keeping the Devils’ chances alive. Then with two minutes left in the extra frame, MacLean scored again.
The Devils were heading to the playoffs for the first time in New Jersey, and just the second time in franchise history.
Yet, John MacLean was not done.
After the Devils defeated the New York Islanders in six games in the first round of the playoffs the Patrick Division semi-final, they found themselves taking the Washington Capitals to Game 7 of the Patrick Division final in the second round.
There, John MacLean again scored to give Washington the victory and sending them, improbably, to the Wales Conference final against my beloved Boston Bruins.
The Devils trailed the series 3-2, and needed a win to force another Game 7.
With the teams tied 3-3 late in the second period, MacLean scored at 17:12 to give the Devils a 4-3 lead after two periods. New Jersey added two more goals in the third period to win 6-3.
The Devils would lose Game 7 to the Bruins, but it was just a magical run fuelled by a special player.
John MacLean had scored the three most important goals in franchise history to that point – the goals to get them into the playoffs, win their second round series, and prolong their third round series.
That would trigger a streak of three-straight 40-goal seasons as MacLean played with the Devils until December of 1997 when he was traded to the San Jose Sharks. Ultimately, MacLean was the all-time leading scorer for the Devils until Patrick Elias passed him in 2009.
MacLean retired after the 2001-2002 season with 413 goals and 429 assists for 842 points in 1,194 games.
John MacLean was deadly on the ice, but not as deadly as another John McClane.
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Bruce Willis played John McClane in "Die Hard". Source: https://diehard.fandom.com/ (May be subject to copyright) |
Die Hard
Part way through the summer of 1988, in July after the Stanley Cup playoffs had ended, I was hanging out with my friend and neighbour Bill. A new movie theatre complex had opened in Lethbridge, in the brand new Park Place Mall, providing so many more opportunities to see movies.
Part way through the summer of 1988, in July after the Stanley Cup playoffs had ended, I was hanging out with my friend and neighbour Bill. A new movie theatre complex had opened in Lethbridge, in the brand new Park Place Mall, providing so many more opportunities to see movies.
One of the ones we went to see, because the commercials looked good. It starred this actor, who at the time was still known as “The guy from ‘Moonlighting’.”
His name was Bruce Willis and the movie was called “Die Hard”. It not only thrilled crowds, but it catapulted Willis into movie stardom.
He played a police detective suffering marital problems on Christmas Eve who gets trapped in a New York office tower. Unbeknownst to him, the building has been taken over by a group of thugs who initially appear to be kidnapping some corporate executives and their staff. He soon discovers, it is actually all a front for a big theft they are engineering.
What makes the movie so amazing is how Willis single-handedly defeats crook after crook, taunting the mastermind behind it all, and eventually winning in the end.
Willis’ character was named John McClane.
He would go on to play John McClane in “Die Hard 2” in 1990; “Die Hard With Vengeance” in 1995; “Live Free or Die Hard” in 2007; and “A Good Day to Die Hard” in 2013.
The franchise has gro
ssed more than $1.4 billion worldwide.
ssed more than $1.4 billion worldwide.
Parting thoughts
Three different John Macleans, three different spellings, three different contexts. I still find it funny the name kept popping back in 1988, and continues to do so to this day.
Three different John Macleans, three different spellings, three different contexts. I still find it funny the name kept popping back in 1988, and continues to do so to this day.
Except now, I actually know the latest John Maclean, and he is better than anything I’ve ever seen on the screen.
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