and Ric Nattress to form one of the top defences in the NHL. He scored 42 points for the Flames, won the NHL Plus-Minus Award with a league-leading +48 and was named a second team All-Star. Additionally, he played in the 1988 All-Star Game. McCrimmon recorded only 22 points in 1988–89 – his lowest in seven seasons – but led all NHL defencemen with a +43 rating. He appeared in all 22 playoff games for the Flames as the team defeated the Montreal Canadiens to win the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. McCrimmon was named the 10th captain in Flames history on November 3, 1989, succeeding Lanny McDonald and Jim Peplinski, who both retired following the Stanley Cup win. He scored 4 goals and 19 points during the 1989–90 season, but fell out of favour with head coach Terry Crisp as the two disagreed over how the team's defencemen were used. The Flames chose to trade him following the season, sending him to the Detroit Red Wings on June 15, 1990, in exchange for a second-round draft pick. In 1991–92, McCrimmon was paired with a young Nicklas Lidström. Though he focused on defence, allowing Lidström to be more creative offensively, McCrimmon's 29 points were a significant improvement on the 13 he scored the season before. He played one more season in Detroit before again being traded, this time to the Hartford Whalers on June 1, 1993, in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick. In Hartford, the 34-year-old McCrimmon served as a mentor for 18-year-old Chris Pronger. Offensively, he scored 16 points total in three seasons with the Whalers between 1993 and 1996. Leaving the team as a free agent, McCrimmon signed with the Phoenix Coyotes for the 1996–97 season. He appeared in 37 games that season, scoring one goal and adding five assists. Following the season, he announced his retirement. McCrimmon was paired with some of the best defencemen of his generation. In addition to Lidstrom and Pronger, he played with Hockey Hall of Famers Ray Bourque, Mark Howe and Paul Coffey. He was known as a stay at home defenceman who focused on limiting the opposition's chances. He played a physical game, often in the "dirty" areas of the ice – battling opponents in the corners and in front of the net. McCrimmon's career plus-minus was +444, a total surpassed by only nine players as of 2012.