August 18 NHL History
1986: The New York Rangers acquire forward Walt Poddubny from the Maple Leafs in a trade for forward Mike Allison. After scoring a total of 28 goals in his three previous seasons with Toronto, Poddubny has 40 goals and finishes with 87 points in his first season with the Rangers, then scores 38 goals and has 88 points in 1987-88. The Rangers trade him to the Nordiques on Aug. 1, 1988.
1994: Doug Gilmour is named the 15th captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Gilmour is given the captaincy two months after the previous captain, Wendel Clark, is sent to the Quebec Nordiques in a trade that brings center Mats Sundin to Toronto. Gilmour is coming off seasons of 127 and 111 points, helping the Maple Leafs reach the Western Conference Final in back-to-back years. However, he never reaches those levels of offensive production again and is traded to the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 25, 1997. Gilmour later plays for the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens, then returns to the Maple Leafs for one final game before retiring after the 2002-03 season. He is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.
2000: The Minnesota Wild, preparing for their first NHL season, sign forward Pascal Dupuis, who’s undrafted despite scoring 50 goals in his final season of junior hockey. Dupuis spends parts of six seasons with the Wild, plays briefly for the Rangers and Atlanta Thrashers, then finds a home after being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 26, 2008. Dupuis becomes a reliable role player with the Penguins, often skating on a line with Sidney Crosby. He’s a regular on Pittsburgh’s 2009 Stanley Cup championship team. His career is derailed by a medical condition related to blood clots and he’s forced to give up hockey on Dec. 8, 2015.
