Former NHL GM Cliff Fletcher passed away at 90

The hockey world lost one if its most respected and venerated figures on Friday, as former NHL general manager Cliff Fletcher passed away at the age of 90.

Fletcher put together a long and successful career as a talent evaluator and team builder in the NHL, starting out as a scout for the Montreal Canadiens in 1956 before ultimately serving as a high-ranking executive for four different NHL franchises.

The Montreal native’s first GM job came with the expansion Atlanta Flames in 1972. He stayed with the franchise through its move to Calgary in 1980, finding great success and overseeing the Flames’ Stanley Cup championship in 1989.

Fletcher is best known for his next NHL chapter, as he became the president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1991. He took over a Leafs team that had not won a playoff series in four years, and quickly brought them to back-to-back conference final appearances in 1993 and 1994, thanks in large part to his blockbuster trade for Doug Gilmour from the Flames and his hiring of Pat Burns as head coach.

In a statement released on Friday, the Leafs organization paid tribute to Fletcher and his contributions to the franchise.

“As president, Cliff Fletcher inherited a club that had finished last in the NHL’s Norris Division in 1991, transforming them seemingly overnight,” the statement reads. “Those beloved Maple Leafs teams would come within one win of the Cup final in 1993 and return to the Conference Final a year later.”

Fletcher made one more great contribution to the Leafs before leaving the organization in 1997, as he acquired future captain Mats Sundin from the Quebec Nordiques in June of 1994.

He would go on to serve as a senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Lightning and general manager and executive vice-president for the Phoenix Coyotes before returning to the Leafs in 2008 to be their interim GM for six months.

Fletcher was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.