Al MacInnis Allan " Al " MacInnis ( born July 11 , 1963 ) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman who played 23 seasons in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) for the Calgary Flames and St . Louis Blues . A first round selection of the Flames in 1981 , the 15 - time All - Star was most famous for having the hardest shot in the NHL . He was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff most valuable player in 1989 as he helped lead the Flames to a Stanley Cup championship and won the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 1999 as the top defenceman in the league while a member of the Blues . MacInnis won two Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) championships as a junior with the Kitchener Rangers , as well as the Memorial Cup national championship in 1982 . Internationally , he was an all - star on defence as Canada won the 1991 Canada Cup , twice participated in the Winter Olympics . He was a member of the 2002 team that won Canada ' s first gold medal in 50 years . He is known for his powerful slapshot and scoring skills . Early life . He was born in Port Hood , Nova Scotia , Canada . MacInnis grew up in a fishing village on the west coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia . He spent his teen years in Kitchener , Ontario , playing junior hockey and attending Kitchener - Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School . When he was nine , MacInnis ' s father was one of only two men entrusted with looking after the local arena , allowing the younger MacInnis to collect pucks that sailed over the boards . As spring came around , MacInnis had gathered between 75 - 100 pucks to practice his soon - to - be signature shot , which he did by hitting pucks into old carpet he hung on the side of a barn . Playing career . MacInnis was drafted 15th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft . He started playing for Calgary in 1981 , winning the Stanley Cup with the Flames in 1989 . In that year he also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs . During that postseason he racked up 7 goals and 24 assists in 22 games . He recorded 26 of those 31 points during a 17 - game scoring streak . It was the second - longest such run in the playoffs and MacInnis ' streak was the longest by a rearguard . MacInnis was the first blueliner to lead all players in points in the playoffs . On July 4 , 1994 , the Flames traded MacInnis ( an upcoming free - agent ) and a 4th round selection ( Didier Tremblay ) in 1997 to the St . Louis Blues for Phil Housley , a 2nd round selection ( Steve Bégin ) in 1996 and a 2nd round selection ( John Tripp ) in 1997 . He re - signed as an unrestricted free agent with St . Louis for the start of the 1994 – 95 season . One of the few defencemen to record over 1000 career points , MacInnis retired from the NHL on September 9 , 2005 , after missing nearly two seasons due to a combination of injuries and the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout which canceled the entire season , but the factor that was most responsible was his eye injury . His last game was in October 2003 , just three games into the season , facing off against the Predators in Nashville when he realized he was having vision problems again . It turned out that he had suffered a detached retina to the same eye that was injured by a wayward stick in January 2001 . The previous injury had left him with a permanent blind spot and a need to wear a special contact lens . His jersey # 2 was retired by the St . Louis Blues during a pre - game ceremony on Sunday , April 9 , 2006 , before the Blues faced off against the Edmonton Oilers . Throughout his career , MacInnis was known most for his powerful slapshot . In the 1999 – 00 NHL Skills Competition he captured " Hardest Shot " honors for the fourth consecutive year and , overall , has seven such honors to his credit . MacInnis , one of the few NHLers to resist the new composite fiber sticks that came out during 2002 – 03 , fired a shot during All - Star Week that season at 98 . 9 - miles per hour with a Sher - Wood brand wooden stick . MacInnis has the distinction of playing in two of the three games featuring the largest third - period comeback in NHL history . On January 26 , 1987 , the Calgary Flames came back from a 5 – 0 deficit in the third period to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6 – 5 in overtime . MacInnis scored a hat trick in the third period . Nearly 14 years later , on November 29 , 2000 , the St . Louis Blues came back from a 5 – 0 deficit to defeat the Leafs 6 – 5 in overtime again ; MacInnis played another key role by recording a power - play goal in the third period . Played in 15 NHL All - Star Games - 1985 , 1987 , 1988 , 1989 , 1990 , 1991 , 1992 , 1994 , 1996 , 1997 , 1998 , 1999 , 2000 , 2001 , 2003 . His jersey number 2 was retired by the St . Louis Blues on April 9 , 2006 On November 12 , 2007 , MacInnis was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year eligible . International play . Played for Canada in :