- Hall of Fame executive Cliff Fletcher has passed away at age 90
- Fletcher built the Flames team that won the 1989 Stanley Cup
- Read below for more on his legendary seven-decade career
Hockey lost one of its great builders on Friday. Cliff Fletcher, the Hall of Fame executive who put together Calgary’s 1989 Stanley Cup winner and revived the Toronto Maple Leafs in the early 1990s, has passed away at the age of 90.
The Maple Leafs shared a tribute shortly after the news broke:
Born in Montreal, Fletcher got his start as a Canadiens scout in 1956 under the legendary Sam Pollock. He worked his way up to assistant GM in St. Louis before Atlanta hired him in 1972 as the first general manager in Flames history.
He stayed with the franchise through its move to Calgary in 1980 and built the roster that beat Montreal in six games for the 1989 Cup. It remains the only championship the Flames have ever won.
Calgary also made history on his watch, becoming the first NHL team to sign a player out of the Soviet Union when they added Sergei Priakin late in the 1988-89 season.
Fletcher took over the Maple Leafs in 1991 and turned a struggling club around fast. He swung the 10-player blockbuster with Calgary that landed Doug Gilmour, hired Pat Burns, and watched the 1992-93 team set then-franchise records with 44 wins and 99 points before a Game 7 loss in the conference final.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman honored Fletcher in a statement released Friday:
“Few men in the history of hockey have had as profound and lasting an impact on the game as Cliff Fletcher.”
Here’s the league’s full tribute:
Bettman noted Fletcher ranks sixth all-time among NHL general managers with 953 wins. The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted him as a builder in 2004, and his son Chuck followed him into management, running both the Wild and the Flyers.
We at Gino Hard send our condolences to the Fletcher family, his friends, and everyone he touched across the hockey world.
