Sometimes when you’re watching a game, and it drags to a 3-2 conclusion, it’s easy to reach back into the past and glorify hockey as it used to be played.

The trouble with such nostalgia is that we only remember the very best, and the very worst.  The highs and lows.  We tend to forget the drab, everyday matters, the faceless games that ran into each other, week after week, month after month, season after season.  An uninspired mid-season Tuesday evening game is the same in any decade.

One part of life that appears to have gone by the wayside here in North America is the infusion of colour in the mainstream wardrobe.  Everyone now seems to wear the subdued shades of black and grey, as if we’re all in a collective state of mourning for something we’re not exactly sure about.

There is one aspect of the mainstream 80’s that Retro Nights get right; the parading of day-glo colours, and other wacky, over-the-top pastels that screamed at you then, and scream at you now.  Everyone did seem to dress up as an extra from the “Let’s Get Physical” video or any Culture Club offering.  There were those of us that rallied around the Johnny Cash man-in-black look, but for the most part, that approach was relegated to the shadows.

In the long history of hockey, there probably wasn’t an NHL team that better represented those overly colourful eighties than the Team of that Decade, the Edmonton Oilers.  They won four Stanley Cups in five seasons, and probably should have won five-in-a-row.  If Gretzky had remained in Northern Alberta, then that team could have taken seven Cups in-a-row, easily.

Recently on The War Room, Peter Berce and I were kicking around some great games from the past, games we would have liked to have attended.  One that leapt to mind for me was the 11-9 game between the Oilers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

January 8th, 1986.  At Maple Leaf Gardens.

The lowly Leafs really must have put up a fight that night, scoring nine goals against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Except it was the Leafs who scored the eleven goals.  They won the game 11-9.

That’s twenty goals in sixty minutes of play.  An average of a goal every three minutes.

You wouldn’t have wanted to leave your seat for popcorn in case you missed something.

I was at the Montreal Forum that same January evening, watching the Canadiens beat, ahh, someone.  Trouble is, over the years, I can’t recall who.  We were too busy keeping an eye on the Forum out-of-town scoreboard.  As the digits rose in that game, the hub-bub at the Forum rose in tandem.

To my knowledge, there had never been an NHL game where both teams scored in double digits.  Most of the crowd around me were tickled pink that the Leafs were scoring that many goals on the Oilers, a team not renowned for its defence, but a team that could easily give up five goals and still win the game.  Their offense was that explosive.

A check of the 1985-86 Oilers’s game-by-game record bears that out.

They won a total of seven games when the opposition scored at least five goals against them.  One of those barnburners was a 12-9 win at Chicago on December 11th.  At that point, the gun slinging Oilers sported a 21-5-and-4 record.

This team could play it all ways.  They could squeeze out a tight, defensive victory, such as a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on November 23rd.

They could blow a team out of the arena, such as the 13-0 pasting of Wayne Gretzky’s favourite punching bag, the Vancouver Canucks, on November 8th, or a 12-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on March 14th.

For a team that led the circuit with 426 goals that season (the second highest total in NHL history after the 446 by the 83-84 Oilers), those three games represented the only times they cracked double-digits in goals scored in a game.

Speaking of records, the 1980’s Oilers hold the top five marks for most goals scored in one NHL season.

That 12-9 win over the Blackhawks tied a Montreal Canadiens/Toronto St. Patrick’s game from 1920 for the most goals scored in one NHL game…not counting All-Star Games.

That 11-9 loss to the Leafs is tied with a 12-8 win by the Oilers over the Minnesota North Stars in January of 1984 for the second-most goals scored in one NHL game.

Image that happening today.  Last week, the Tampa Bay Lightning survived a 8-7 arm wrestling contest with the Philadelphia Flyers, and we got all excited about a mere 15 goals in a game.

Back to the 80’s.

During the 1985-86 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs managed to light the lamp a total of 311 times, which was only good enough for the 12th best total in the 21 team league.

The Oilers led the league with 119 points; the Maple Leafs were 19th with 57 points.

On that January night, it shouldn’t even have been close.

A search of the internet brings up the game summary for that contest.  Hold on, it’s gonna get busy.

Every time the Oilers made their way to Eastern Canada, it was a media circus.  Everyone wanted a piece of Wayne Gretzky.  Even back then, there were calls for the Great One to be moved to the Maple Leafs, or the New York Rangers, in the name of getting the NHL more exposure in the eastern-based U.S. media.

That night the Leaf faithful, who were probably bracing themselves for a beating, were just sitting down with their lattes when Russ Courtnall opened things up with a pair of goals, the first at the 2:40 mark of the first period, the second almost five minutes later.

Seven minutes into the game, the Maple Leafs had a 2-0 lead.

Make that 3-0, after Miroslav Frycer potted one on the power play at the 12:25 mark.

Old MLG must have been rocking.

Gretzky got the Oilers on the board at 14:03 with his 29th goal, but that would be it for the big boys, as the Maple Leafs pumped in two more goals before the end of the period.
Steve Thomas and Brad Smith (Brad Smith!!!) got the goals.

5-1 Leafs after one. 

Going into this game, the Oilers had won five in-a-row, and eleven of their last thirteen.  Maybe they were due for an off-night.

So who were the goaltenders for this epic?  The game summary shows that Andy Moog and Grant Fuhr split this one, while the Leafs went all the way with Tim Bernhardt.

With just under five minutes gone in the second period, the 16,282 in attendance must have been feeling pretty good.  Leave it to Wayne Gretzky to put some doubt in their minds. 

His 30th at the 4:58 mark made it 5-2 Toronto.  All still seemed fine for the home team.

In game that featured twenty goals, there was about a six-and-a-half minute stretch where the red lights got to catch their breath.

At 11:19, Raimo Summanen scored.  And then Gretzky completed his hat-trick less than four minutes later.  C’mon, in a game with twenty goals, you knew Gretzky had to have some of them.

That made the score 5-4 Maple Leafs, with five minutes left to play in the second.

Toronto stopped the Oilers’ express with the second goal by Steve Thomas, a mere 24 seconds after the Gretzky tally.  Undaunted, Kevin McClelland responded for Edmonton just over a minute later.

The Oilers finally tied things up, when Paul Coffey got on the score sheet with his 18th goal of the season.

Toronto had blown a four-goal lead, and was going to head into the dressing room tangled up in a 6-6 tie.

Until Wendel Clark scored 33 seconds after Coffey tied it.

Toronto went to the dressing room with an improbable 7-6 lead.  Edmonton had outscored them 5-2 in that second frame, and still the Leafs led the game.

By the time they dropped the puck for the third period, it was probably safe to assume that nobody had left the game early.  Who could be sure what would unfold in the third?  Often these sort of games calm down by the third period.  There was no worry of that happening on this night.

Who knows what the Oiler’s coaching staff barked at their troops during the intermission.  Edmonton came out loaded for bear, and Jari Kurri joined the scoring parade, popping one in a mere 28 seconds into the third.  Less than a minute later, Glenn Anderson scored his 27th goal of the season, giving the Oilers their first lead of the game.

Image the see-saw emotions of the crowd at Maple Leaf Gardens that night.  They watched their team carve out a 5-1 lead after one period, only to fall behind 8-7 less than two minutes into the third.

Maybe that was the point that some of the faithful lost the faith, and beat a hasty retreat to the subway.

They shouldn’t have thrown in the towel so easily. 

That would be the only time the Oilers enjoyed a lead all night, because 45 seconds after the Anderson go-ahead goal, Frycer replied with his second of the game.

And then he completed his hat-trick less than three minutes later, and the Leafs were on top again, 9-8.

But if anyone thought the run-and-gun Oilers were done, they were wrong.  Less than four minutes later…an eternity in this game…Anderson scored again for Edmonton.

With just over a dozen minutes left in the third, things were knotted up at nine apiece.

And then a strange thing happened.  The scoring slowed down considerably.  With nine goals in the first 48 minutes of the game, the Oilers ran out of bullets.

Miroslav Frycer entered his name into Maple Leafs’ lore when he got his fourth goal of the game at the 10:51 mark.  The Leafs had cracked the double-digit barrier for the second time that season.  They had put 10 goals past the Devils in a 10-7 goal marathon on December 4th, so they knew a little bit about these goal fests.

Dan Hodgson got the insurance marker at 18:42, and the Leafs held on for the 11-9 win.

At the Montreal Forum that night, most of the crowd around me were pulling for the upstart Leafs to upend the Oilers, though we all wanted to see Edmonton also get to double digits.

Considering there were twenty goals scored that game, only three of them came on the power play, Toronto with two of those.  Overall, there were only seven minor penalties called all night.

Jari Kurri had a great night, with a goal and five assists.  Gretzky had his usual production, getting three goals and chipping in with three assists.

For the Leafs, Frycer led the way with four goals.  Marian Stastny assisted on the last three Toronto goals. 

Frycer, who defected to the Quebec Nordiques around the same time the three Stastny brothers did, had a couple of good years in Toronto.  His four goals this game represented a career high.  He scored 32 goals that season, also a career high, and retired in 1989 with 147 goals in 415 games, most of them with Toronto, but he also served time with Quebec, Detroit, and Edmonton.

As for shots, the Maple Leafs edged the Oilers 39-31.  Which means there were twenty goals on seventy shots.  Obviously no problem with goaltending equipment being too bulky this game.

Will we ever see a game like this again?  Well, probably not for a while, considering that it took 64 years between 20-goal games.  Then the league had three in short order, but
that’s part of what made 1980’s hockey so invigorating.

The Maple Leafs were unable to build on that game, dropping ten of their next twelve games, including a 10-1 loss in St. Louis a week later.  Two night after 11-9 slugfest, the Leafs lost 9-7 in Buffalo.

How many goals did Toronto surrender that season?

386.  Only the Red Wings and Kings were more porous.

And that team that Montreal beat that same night at the Forum?  None other that their age-old rival, the Boston Bruins.  One would think I would have remembered being at that game, but we were all too busy scoreboard watching…in January.

- Mick Kern

Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s

Back in those (mostly) innocent days when I was a kid, one sports story that worked its way through my Grade Four classroom was the sordid tale of a couple of New York Yankees pitchers that swapped their entire families.  Not just their wives, but also their kids and their dogs.  No word if the furniture was thrown in, or if there was a set-of-dishes to be named later.

Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson were solid pitchers for the Yankees, but to a bunch of nine-year-old growing up in suburban Edmonton, these guys were as famous as Reggie Jackson or Catfish Hunter.

It was just plain weird what the southpaws did, never mind what your personal morals may be.  Sure, it was the early 70′s, and the hangover from the technicolour Sixties was upon us, but this went beyond wife swapping.  To this day, I still scratch my head at the notion.

Hockey, being a mostly conservative sport in almost every aspect of that definition, has never publicly had the same arrangement, though you hear stuff sometimes you can’t repeat, though no doubt someone is squirreling it all away for a future tell-all book.

So it comes as a complete shock to me that former Edmonton Oilers’ owner Peter Pocklington reveals in, what else, his new book, that at one point during the early 1980′s, two National Hockey League teams almost went all Kekich/Peterson, and pulled off the most outrageous trade in the history of sports.

Having obviously squirreled away a ton of inside stories over the years, along with a map of where all the bodies are buried, Peter Puck has grabbed the attention for his new book he hoped he would by revealing that he worked out a deal with Toronto Maple Leafs’ legendary owner Harold Ballard that would have seen the two men swap teams.

Swap teams.  Completely.  Which means the fine folk of Edmonton would have been saddled with the complete roster of the early 80′s Maple Leafs, just in time to watch the young guns of the Oilers emege as one of the greatest teams in NHL history.  The trouble is, those young bucks would have been hoisting all those Stanley Cups dressed in Maple Leaf blue.  Worse, the city of Edmonton would have had Ballard within their city borders.

Apparently, for whatever reason, Ballard changed his mind and the entire thing was scuttled.

The mind is boggled at the implications of such a wholesale trade, if it had been allowed to proceed.  Since such a possibility reads like science fiction, let’s put on the Spock ears and follow the changes that would have occurred to our timeline, if that deal had actually gone forward.

It should be noted that the pebble in the pond, check that, the giant boulder in the pond that the Oilers-Leafs swap would have been to the rest of the NHL would have had far-reaching implications, that would still be felt to this day.

The Edmonton Oilers would have moved years ago, if that deal had materialized.  Most likely, the Houston Oilers would have had to wait until the death of Ballard, and the battle over his diminished estate had been settled, before they could finally concentrate on the business of hockey, and during the 1995-96 season, Houston would win the Stanley Cup.

The Quebec Nordiques would still be in the league, though they never would have ended up with goaltender Patrick Roy, and thus, to this day, the Nordiques still would not have won the Stanley Cup, and there are still concerns about building a new arena.  There are whispers the team may move to Kansas City.

Roy would remain with the Montreal Canadiens, though head coach Mario Tremblay would have lost his job as a result.  The Canadiens would make the Cup Final in 1998, losing to the Detroit Red Wings.

The Nordiques would not have been in position to draft Eric Lindros first overall in 1991; that honour went to the Edmonton Oilers, who had earlier traded the rights to the New Jersey Devils for Tom Kurvers, and it was the Devils who took Lindros first that year.

Lindros would thrive in the Swamp, and he never suffered a concussion from that devastating Scott Stevens open-ice hit, as they were on the same team.  Lindros would retire as a member of the Devils, having won three Stanley Cups, in 2000, 2001 and 2003.

A young Peter Forsberg would captain the Philadelphia Flyers to the 1995 Cup.

If Pocklington had ended up with his young team in Toronto, he would have most likely made a ton of cash over what he realized in Northern Alberta.  Even with his business problems that existed in other industries he ran (Gainers Foods), Peter Puck would have not needed to cash in his depreciating asset known as Wayne Gretzky.  Even if he later broke up the Boys On The Bus, odds are Bruce McNall would have been exposed as a charlatan by then, which means the Great One doesn’t end up in L.A, after winning five Cups with Toronto.

Let’s say, instead, Gretzky is traded by the Leafs to the Rangers.  It is he, in 1994, that hoists the Stanley Cup over his head, as the Broadway Blueshirts end their 54-year drought.

As for the Kings, they continue to flounder, though the NHL props them up financially.  As a result, there isn’t a mad rush to pan fool’s gold in the U.S. south, meaning that the likes of the Anaheim Ducks and Florida Panthers never come-to-be.

The NHL still would expand to Ottawa and Tampa, though the Lightning are moved to Minnesota, and that’s where they win the Stanley Cup in 2004 over the Flyers.

The Thrashers and Predators never see the light-of-day, though Penguins’ owner Mario Lemieux threatens to move his team to Nashville if he doesn’t get a sweetheart arena deal from the city of Pittsburgh.

The league is impressed with the Nashville bid, and promises to consider expansion to Tennessee, and Kansas City, in the near future.  Canadian billionaire businessman Jim Balsillie, by now a personal friend of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, is often mentioned as the owner of a Nashville NHL franchise.

No-one ever hears about William Boots Del Biaggio.

The Islanders still need a new arena, and threaten to move to Hamilton, which Pocklington blocks.

The Winnipeg Jets still move to Phoenix, as the NHL is emboldened by the relative success of the Houston Oilers and Dallas Stars, though even in this alternative timeline, the Coyotes still lose a ton of money.

The North Stars have moved to Dallas, setting up a great rivalry with Houston, but overall, the NHL have dipped a tentative toe into the expansion waters, instead of diving in headfirst, and ending up with the fractured neck they have now.

Which only goes to prove that in every scenario, no matter how bleak, no matter how wacky, there is always a sliver of hope.

Makes me wish Ballard didn’t get cold feet.

- Mick Kern

Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s

Edmonton Sun Special Report: When Glory Was Born

It was fourteen years after the fact, when the old war horse on defence retired, after a 19-year career which included six Stanley Cups.

Somebody asked what was his greatest thrill.

“May 19, 1984,” responded Kevin Lowe.

And then the tears came. In a flood. He looked at his wife Karen – the double bronze medal-winning downhill skier from the 1988 Olympic Winter Games – while his brother Ken, the trainer, brought him a bottle of water before he was able to go on.

“When Dave Lumley scored the empty-net goal …,” Lowe said, his voice breaking. “It was pretty unbelievable. When the puck went in the net – that moment will forever be in my mind.”

That’s now 25 years ago.

Kevin Lowe just turned 50.

Jari Kurri turns 49 the day before the anniversary.

Grant Fuhr and Kevin McClelland are 46. Paul Coffey is 47. Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson are 48.

Charlie Huddy and Andy Moog are 49. Ken Linseman and Pat Conacher are 50.

Dave Semenko and Dave Hunter are 51. Don Jackson is 52. Randy Gregg is 53. Dave Lumley and Pat Hughes are 54. Lee Fogolin is 55. Jaroslav Pouzar is 57. And Willy Lidstrom is 58.

Most of them were barely old enough to grow playoff beards back then. And now they’re celebrating the silver anniversary of winning the big silver trophy.

Funny what you remember about May 19, 1984.

I remember driving home from the Coliseum that night and getting pulled over by the cops in a checkstop. When I rolled the window down, the police officer was knocked back by the reek of champagne.

I hadn’t had a sip.

I was headed home to change clothes and drive back to the NHL’s post-series party.

Owner Peter Pocklington, with whom my popularity was not particularly high at that precise point, had taken the trouble to write my name on a bottle of champagne then proceeding to see that I wear the entire bottle.

Pocklington – who would later have his father Basil’s name engraved on the Stanley Cup only to have it XXXXXed out by the NHL – then proceeded to provide a quote to the drenched scribe.

“This is the most incredible high I’ve ever had in my life,” said the owner, who will be celebrating Tuesday’s silver anniversary under house arrest in California on million dollar bail provided by coach Glen Sather prior to going to trial on tax fraud.

“When I said we’d win the Stanley Cup in five years the day we got into the league, I said it because I was a naive fool. But that’s what I believed. And then that’s what we all believed,” said Pocklington.

To see Gretzky carry the Stanley Cup around the ice in front of a gone-mad Coliseum crowd after only five years of the team being in the NHL following the WHA merger was one thing. But to see what the Oilers had done to a dynasty in their first step toward becoming the league’s last dynasty, was something else again.

It wasn’t that long before that the NHL was a million miles away for Edmonton, the voice of Foster Hewitt on radio and then TV with the game coming on midway in the second period.

The closest it came was when the Detroit Red Wings held training camp in Edmonton and you could watch Gordie Howe and Terry Sawchuk play their Edmonton Flyers farm club.

Then one day Bill Hunter and pals invented the WHA and Howe was playing in games here. Then Gretzky showed up and then one night in Chicago, Gretzky, Messier, Fogolin, Hunter, Lumley and Semenko were playing their first game in Chicago Stadium.

And now it’s 25 years ago since they won their first Cup?

So much has happened since. But those five years before they won that Cup, were hardly uneventful either.

There was Gretzky, first and foremost, breaking all those records, including scoring 50 goals in 39 games, the team making the playoffs that first year, losing out to the Philadelphia Flyers who virtually lined up to testify about the fabulous future in front of these kids.

SINGING ON THE BENCH

There was sweeping the Montreal Canadiens the next year and singing on the bench in their second round series in Long Island against the Stanley Cup-winning Islanders.

There was the weak-kneed wimp Miracle On Manchester setback, blowing a 5-0 lead and the series against the Los Angeles Kings the following year.

And there was getting to the 1983 final, and losing to the Islanders in a four-game sweep, a lesson which taught them how to win – Gretzky later recalled walking by the Islanders room and noticing that they were exhausted and wounded while the Oilers felt fine.

Fogolin transferred the captaincy to Gretzky in the fall of the 1983-84 season and when they started the playoffs, Sather not only had John Muckler and Ted Green as assistant coaches but, in a moment forgotten by many, he added the temporarily unemployed Roger ‘Captain Video’ Neilson to work the film room for the playoffs.

The Oilers easily disposed of the Winnipeg Jets in the first round but were pushed to Game 7 during a fabulous playoff series against the Calgary Flames with Gretzky declaring: “There’s going to be a rivalry now for sure.”

After sweeping the Minnesota North Stars in the third round, the Oilers had earned a rematch with the Islanders in the Stanley Cup final.

It was the Islanders’ ‘Drive For Five’ vs. the Oilers’ ‘Run For One.’ Or Billy vs. ‘The Kid,’ named for goalie Billy Smith vs. Gretzky.

Fuhr was great, stopping 34 shots and McClelland scored the goal to win 1-0 in Game 1 on the Island.

While the Oilers lost 6-1 in Game 2, the series involved the 2-3-2 World Series format that year so the Oilers headed home for three.

Led by Messier with two goals, the Oilers won Game 3 by a 7-2 count.

“I’ve never heard a crowd like this in Edmonton for a constant 60 minutes,” said Messier of the inspiration.

It was 7-2 again in Game 3 with Fuhr out with a shoulder injury and Andy Moog in the rest of the way.

The Oilers won Game 5 by a score of 5-2.

During the three games in Edmonton, the Oilers outscored the Islanders 19-6. The defending champions had not only been nudged off the throne, they’d been blown away and the sign on the dressing room wall said it all: “The Drive For Five Is No Longer Alive because the Thirst For First shall be quenched tonight.”

In that dressing room when it was over were more people than a dressing room can hold. It was an insane scene of family, friends, politicians and the nation’s sports media.

And everybody was drenched. Those who weren’t were taken care of by Gregg, who went around the room looking for candidates, shouting ‘You’re too dry!’

MESS WAS A MESS

Messier was crying.

Not only had he won the Stanley Cup but he was such a force they gave him the Conn Smythe Trophy too.

“Messier’s goal in Game 3 turned us into the team we had to be,” said Coffey.

“The Calgary series made all the difference,” said Lowe. “Right there. That was the time and place. That’s where we grew up. That’s where we acquired the mental toughness to win the Stanley Cup.”

Sather mentioned the World Hockey Association.

“I’m proud to have been in that league. People like Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson showed us a lot about creative hockey. It started there.”

Edmonton went crazy. The oil capital of Canada became the hockey capital of Canada. A crowd of between 100,000 and 200,000 (Police told Mayor Laurence Decore it was the latter) attended the biggest single parade ever held in Edmonton.

And thanks to the Oilers and a bet between mayors, 36 Long Island Ducks were moving to Edmonton’s Storyland Valley Zoo.

In the column I wrote while dripping with champagne that night was the following paragraph:

“Edmonton had tasted winning before but never like this. The Grey Cups were great. But uh-uh. No way. Not even close. That was the greatest single sports experience the unbelievably fortunate sports city – Canada’s City of Champions – has ever seen.”

Soon there would be signs on the outskirts of town declaring Edmonton the City of Champions.

After all that’s happened in Edmonton over the years, it’s hard to top what we witnessed that night on May, 19th, 1984.

Terry Jones appears courtesy of the Edmonton Sun

Article by Don Schwartz, WG Authentic / Watch Video

The eyes of a country were turned towards its capital on April 15, 1999 as the Ottawa Senators hosted the New York Rangers in what would be the final time Wayne Gretzky took to Canadian ice as a National Hockey League player.

Tearful were those eyes, however, as fans throughout Canada and around the NHL held hope that murmurs of an impending retirement were simply rumors.

“The biggest thing that I remember is the speculation before hand,” said Wayne’s one-time Edmonton Oilers teammate and current Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster Craig Simpson, who was part of Sportsnet’s coverage of the game. “I remember thinking ‘No, this can’t be.’ There was no official retirement statement and he had one last game left in New York afterwards. I think there was definitely a little bit of denial heading into that final game in Canada, that everybody was feeling ‘Oh, it’s just a rumor’ or ‘Maybe he’ll change his mind.’

“Once we realized that it looked like he would retire, I think everybody around the game and around the arena felt a little bit of sadness,” Simpson said. “But you knew you were also watching something special. I couldn’t help but think of all the great games that he’s had in his past and all the things he had accomplished as a player.”

Wayne had gained his country’s attention since his pee wee playing days and the impending conclusion of his career was of national interest. Beginning with his time in the Toronto Junior B League and continuing into his Stanley Cup championships with Edmonton, many of his career highlights took place in Canada, including international competition such as the Canada Cup.

“He’s an icon (in Canada),” said noted hockey writer Al Strachan, then a columnist for the Toronto Sun. “It was a fantastic career coming to an end for what a lot of people say the best player ever. In a hockey crazed country like Canada, it’s was a significant event. He’s our national hero and has been for a long, long time and was that because of his success in the rink. So if that aspect of his life was going to end, it was a big event.”

For many Canadians, Wayne and hockey are synonymous and the thought of their sporting idol playing his last game in their country was tough to take. It was a moment that brought the fans in attendance, such as Dave Bullis, to their feet several times throughout the game. With no formal celebration taking place that night in Ottawa, it was the crowd that provided the requisite fanfare, cheering on with chants of ‘One more year’ as Wayne earned each of the game’s three stars in a 2-2 tie.

“With about four or five minutes left to go in the game they stopped play because the whole place was cheering for him,” Bullis said. “People were crying. It was really, really emotional.

“I remember the game was over and all the Ottawa players went up to Wayne and shook his hand or gave him a tap. Nobody left the building. People stuck around and I remember the ovation they gave for Janet and the kids and Walter too because they put them up on the big screen at the end of the game. It was nice to see.”

While Wayne had grown into a global ambassador for the sport, Canadians simply thought of him as one of their own. More than just the end of a storied career, the game marked the end of a chapter in Canadian history, though his final NHL game would come three days later.

“Everybody knows the impact he’s had on Canadian hockey, both from the impact of all the players who grew up trying to be like him and the interest they have in hockey because of him,” Simpson said. “But what he’s done wearing a uniform in Canada, whether it’s an Edmonton Oilers uniform or the maple leaf being a part of Team Canada and the successes that they had there, I think everybody feels very proud that he’s from Canada and proud that he’s from a small town in Brantford. I think that’s part of being a hockey fan in Canada, you treasure the players that have come in and made an impact.”

A decade after Wayne’s last game in Canada, his country continues to hold him in the highest regard and utmost respect.

“He’s still extremely popular and I think Canadians would like to see him come back,” Strachan said. “People still suggest things like making him the Commissioner of the National Hockey League or making him down the road – because he’s a little bit young – the Governor General of Canada. He is still very, very highly regarded. I’d say revered, really.”

“Wayne is Canada,” Bullis added. “For what Wayne did as an ambassador for our country. He is Canada. When you want to speak hockey, it’s Wayne Gretzky.”

Article by Don Schwartz, WG Authentic / Watch Video

Bravo to the Phoenix Coyotes. They might not be playing for a post season slot, but they came to play against an Edmonton team that was trying to stop a two game losing skid. By the time the third period came around the Oilers had already dropped out of the Western Conference’s 8th and final playoff spot. They HAD to win.

A three goal lead turned into a 3-2 lead, but they held it. And there were lessons learned along the way that will bear fruit soon enough.

More from the coach:

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See ya in San Jose on Saturday night.

- Todd

Article by Don Schwartz, WG Authentic / Watch Video

It’s been 15 years since Wayne Gretzky set a new standard for scoring with his 802nd goal, but the memories are etched in stone for those in attendance that night on March 23, 1994.

The Los Angeles Kings had just returned home from a game in San Jose where Wayne had tied the NHL’s all-time goal scoring mark, held by his boyhood idol and legend Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe.  Anticipation filled The Forum, the Kings’ home at the time, as fans prepared themselves to witness hockey history.

Not that anyone “really” knew that the record would be set that night vs. the Vancouver Canucks.

“I was on that trip,” said Terry Jones, the long-time sports columnist for the Edmonton Sun, who was assigned to follow Wayne until he set the new scoring mark. “It started with him playing two or three games in the Los Angeles area. I remember going over to Anaheim one night and he was really struggling to get that key goal. There was a lot of banter between the two of us, a ‘you know, don’t keep me out here too long’ sort of thing.”

“So when he scored it in the game against Vancouver, I think it was more of a relief for Wayne than anything just because it was a bit of hockey’s version of the Babe Ruth thing going on with Henry Aaron.”

Despite the magnitude of the record, Wayne had already surpassed many of the NHL’s all-time marks, including assists and points. The challenge for Kings’ TV Play-by-Play voice and Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Miller with the goal record came down to capturing history in the proper light and being prepared for the moment.

“It was four or five years previous when he passed Gordie Howe (for the all-time record in points), when a friend of mine that summer had asked ‘what are you going to say when it happens?’” Miller recalled. “I said ‘well, I never really thought of saying anything except describing the play. Then I thought ‘maybe they expect me to add a little something to it.’ So when he passed Howe in points, I just said ‘the Great One has become the greatest of them all, the all-time leading scorer in the history of the National Hockey League.’

“Now on this night I thought ‘well, I’ve got to come up with something else to say because he was going to pass the goal scoring record.’ So when it happened, I said ‘the Great One’s NHL record book is now complete, he’s the all-time leader in points, assists and now in goals with his 802nd goal.’”

That goal would finally come with the assistance of teammates Luc Robitaille and Marty McSorely, sending the sold-out and celebrity-filled crowd into a frenzy.

“Kirk McLean, the Vancouver goaltender, was so far out of the net that it was just a wide open net for Wayne to score,” Miller said. “You would think he almost can’t miss this. And he didn’t miss it. There was a tremendous ovation. I remember Wayne with his hands in the air kind of doing a little dance.”

Though he became the all-time leading goal scorer in NHL history that night, the moment overshadowed the all-around game of Wayne and the pride he took in assisting his teammates and the greater team good.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t put (the goal record) up there with some of the others,” Jones said. “The record he broke as a King in Edmonton, the points record, I’d think that probably meant more to Wayne because it was points and he was more about points than goals, even though we all remember that night he scored five to make it 50 in 39 games and breaking Phil Esposito’s single season record and all that stuff.

“At the end of the day, Wayne was about being a playmaker more than a goal scorer, so I think those records probably meant more to him.”

Wayne would go on to tally 92 more goals beyond 802 before his retirement after the 1998-99 season. The current active leader in goals is New Jersey’s 40-year-old veteran Brendan Shanahan with 654. So while the memories of 802 for many are etched in stone, hockey fans wonder if 894 is a record that also needs to be set in stone.

“The way things have gone in the league, it’s a record that, I know it’s been said before, may never be broken,” Miller said. “I don’t think players nowadays are going to play long enough to score that many goals. Everybody that night was feeling that it was going to be a night we’d remember because of the anticipation of seeing an NHL record.”

Article by Don Schwartz, WG Authentic / Watch Video

Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s

Thursday night at the Shark Tank, the mighty Sharks were holding on to a 3-2 lead against the Hurricanes halfway through the third period, when Matt Cullen made a beauty of a backhand pass across the slot to Ray Whitney, who buried it.  It was Whitney’s 17th goal this season.

Carolina would go on to win the game 4-3 in the shootout, but what caught my eye was The Little Engine That Could…and Still Does.

Ray Whitney.

Okay, I knew that he still played in the league, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him score a goal, but every time he lights the lamp, I’m reminded of this talented player, who has been around the league since, well, it seems time immortal.

In reality, Whitney has been in the NHL since the San Jose Sharks took him in the second round of the 1991 Entry Draft.  Their first selection had been Pat Falloon, and the two young guns were held up as the future of the young Sharks.

It didn’t exactly play out that way.  Falloon, who was the second overall player chosen, after phenom Eric Lindros, played 575 career NHL games, suiting up for the Sharks, Flyers, Senators, Oilers and Penguins.  His high-water mark was his rookie season, when he scored 25 goals and added 34 assists.  For a number of reasons, Falloon only had one more 20-goal season in his nine-year NHL career.  He ended up with 143 goals and 322 points in those 575 games, a far cry from what had been expected of him.

But there I go…an article about Ray Whitney, and it detours into an examination of the career of Pat Falloon.

Both players were teammates with the WHL Spokane Chiefs for three seasons, and each one led the team in scoring for a year.  It seemed a perfect fit that both would be drafted by the Sharks, though to many, Falloon was considered the better prospect.

Whitney was chosen 23rd overall that year, the first player taken in the second round.  Players chosen before him include Scott Lachance (4th overall by the Islanders), Alek Stojanov (6th by Vancouver), Brent Bilodeau (17th overall by Montreal), and Trevor Halverson (21st overall by Washington).  Halverson got into 17 career NHL games while Bilodeau never made the big leagues.

1991 was considered a pretty strong draft class, yet a number of teams decided to pass on Whitney.  While any draft is a crapshoot, Whitney put up strong offensive numbers with the Chiefs.   He led Spokane with a whopping 185 points ( 67 goals-118 assists) in 72 games in his final year of junior, while Falloon put up 138 points in only 61 games.   Whitney’s efforts garnered him the MVP for the WHL.

Both players had amazing years, and Spokane went on to win the Memorial Cup that season.  Whitney still holds the club record for assists and points in one season.

So why was Falloon favoured over Whitney?  They’re both small men in a big man’s game; Whitney standing 5 feet 10 inches, while Falloon towered over him at 5 feet 11 inches.

Whitney had to play 10 games in a German league before spending most of his rookie pro season with the San Diego Gulls of the IHL.

The former stick boy for the Edmonton Oilers obviously had some of that offensive magic rub off on him.  After Thurday night’s win in San Jose, Whitney has played in 962 regular season NHL games, and has scored 295 goals and added 481 assists for 776 points.

In addition, Whitney has 32 points in 65 NHL playoff games, and was a member of the 2005-06 Stanley Cup Chamption Carolina Hurricanes.  During that run, Whitney played in 24 games and scored 9 goals and 6 assists.

While these numbers are not Hall-of-Fame calibre, they speak of a long and productive career.  Seven times he’s cracked the 20-goal plateau, and is well on pace to do it again this year.  Whitney’s career high was 32 goals with the 97-98 Florida Panthers; he also had one with Edmonton that season, for a career season high of 33 goals.

And that was during the dead puck era.  If anything, the hockey played since the lost season of 04-05 should favour a player of Whitney’s size and abilities, and it appeares it has.  Since the lockout, Whitney has put up 55 points in 63 games, 83 points in 81 games, 61 points in 66 games, and, so far, 42 points in 52 games.

The gentleman is a point producer.  No, he will never challenge for the Art Ross Trophy, but talk about secondary scoring.  Whitney is a reliable offensive player.  Ask the Sharks.  His goal on Thursday ran his total to 10 goals and 10 assists in 20 career games against his former team.

Whitney is currently in his 17th NHL season, though he only got into two games during the 1991-92 campaign in San Jose (and still had 3 assists).  He’s played for six teams (San Jose, Edmonton, Florida, Columbus, Detroit and Carolina), though the bulk of his playing time has been divided between the Sharks, Blue Jackets and Hurricanes.

The Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta native got to wear the colours of his beloved Edmonton Oilers for only 9 games during the 97-98 season (1 goal-3 assists), but hockey fans further south in Wild Rose Country no doubt remember Whitney.

May 19th, 1995.  It was his goal in double-overtime in Game Seven that enabled the Sharks to upend the Calgary Flames 5-4.  That was the year where the league experienced another work stoppage, and teams played a 48-game regular season sked.  The fourth-year Sharks had 42 points, while the Flames took first place in the Pacific Division with 55 points, and were expected to go far that spring.

Whitney and the Sharks saw to it that the Flames playoff woes continued.  Calgary lost in the first-round the next season as well, and then missed the playoffs for seven straight years before their run to the Cup Final in 2003-04 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

As for Whitney, after that big goal, he played 60 games the next season in Northern California before splitting the 1996-97 season between the big club and Utah in the IHL and Kentucky in the AHL.  It was time for him to move on.

After that brief cup-of-coffee in Edmonton, Whitney’s career really took off when he was claimed on waivers by the Florida Panthers, where he scored those 32 goals in 97-98.  I recall that many of us at the time were surprised that Whitney reached such numbers; we had basically written him off.

Yet eleven years later, he continues to roll on, putting up the numbers, and finally getting his name on the Stanley Cup.

- Mick Kern

Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s

Terry Jones appears courtesy of the Edmonton Sun

Other banner-raisings have been more momentous.

And others were more emotional than when Glenn Anderson’s No. 9 finally went up to the rafters at Rexall Place last night.

But what made this one extraordinarily memorable was the players from the past who showed up to be there for the player who had to wait the longest to get there.

“Everybody was there,” said Anderson when it was over.

“It was tough to hold back the emotions. They were right there with you,” said Anderson.

No. 9 said he’s glad he didn’t have the banner-raising before his Hockey Hall of Fame induction.

“If it had been the other way around, I don’t think I’d have been able to go through my speech.

“It was amazing to have them all there. I think we showed the strength of the organization and the team we had and what we meant to each other. Everything was overwhelming,” said Anderson.

“It was a real good feeling,” said Glen Sather of being out there with all his players of the past.

“It’s nice to see everyone back here. This is what it’s all about,” said Wayne Gretzky.

The Oilers do banner-raisings better than anybody, but after you’ve done Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, Grant Fuhr and Al Hamilton, how do you top that with the one guy who had been overlooked by the Hockey Hall of Fame for so long?

Simple. Play the theme from the Magnificent Seven and introduce them one by one. Then cut to the Zamboni entrance where No. 9 stood in the dry-ice fog, his back to the crowd.

Except that wasn’t Glenn Anderson.

It was the Edmonton Oil Kings’ Drew Nichol.

“I got to be Glenn Anderson. And I get to keep the uniform,” said the Oil Kings tough guy.

The spotlight then hit the Oilers bench. And the real Glenn Anderson stood up, jumped over the boards and began a slow trip around the rink, waving to the crowd, many of whom were sitting in the same seats when he was scoring more game-winning goals, than any player in Oilers’ history.

There were lots of little touches, like Anderson stopping to pick up his six-year-old daughter Autumn, and to have a special moment with wife Susan and his dad Magnus who, despite his health, was able to make it after not being able to attend his Hall of Fame induction in November.

Anderson shook hands with Sather and John Muckler, who Gretzky put to work behind the Phoenix Coyotes bench as a coach for the occasion.

One by one, he did the same with every former teammate.

Eventually, Anderson took his place to watch No. 9 make the slow trip to the top of Rexall Place, the crowd standing from beginning to end when, taking a page from the Coffey banner-raising, they called on Messier to send Anderson a pass on the right side to break in on the net and score.

The only thing that might have made it better was if Billy Smith had been in the goal in a New York Islanders uniform, slashing him with his goal stick as Anderson crashed the crease to score.

Oilers president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe gave the banner-raising speech.

“Glenn, it’s nice to see you back in that uniform,” he said.

“And it’s terrific to see all these other guys. We haven’t had as many of these guys on the ice at the same time since the Heritage Classic.

“I was beginning to wonder if we’d ever get to have this celebration,” he said of the time Anderson had to wait to finally make it into the Hockey Hall.”

He spoke of Anderson’s “courage, guts and bravery” and how “when it came to crunch time, there was never anybody any better.”

“As much as Glenn marched to his own drummer, when the chips were down, we knew Glenn would deliver.”

Lowe ended it by saying, “Tonight, I hope this makes your dream come true.”

Messier’s eyes were wet as he listened to Anderson start his speech.

“It was a lot easier watching someone else,” said Messier, who was the focus of the previous banner-raising.

“He was nervous before it. As we waited for it to start, you could tell the moment got bigger and bigger.”

Messier said he wouldn’t have missed this.

“We played on the same line, roomed together on the road, lived together here in town.

“To me, he’s my brother.

“We’re all like brothers. To look out there at all our guys together again, it felt like we should still be playing,” he said.

Anderson told the crowd, “It’s great to be back in this uniform again. This jersey represents home and home is where the heart is. Right here is where my heart is.”

His last comments he saved for the fans.

“You are the greatest hockey fans in the world,” he said. “We had the time of our lives here.”

Last night was another of those times.

Terry Jones appears courtesy of the Edmonton Sun

There are some things that you just can’t believe you get a chance to witness. It happens every so often in my job and last night was one of those nights that you bookmark for the rest of your life.  If you are a hockey fan and you find yourself in Edmonton, Alberta and at a rink that features Mark Messier, Jarri Kurri, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey, Wayne Gretzky and Glenn Anderson, well, let’s just say you might want to sit back and enjoy the ride.

And that’s what we did last night, despite the outcome of the game itself. To witness Anderson’s number 9 thrust into the rafters, and him receiving one last pass from Messier as he flew down the right wing was the stuff you write home about. (Or, you write it on your blog!)

My personal favorite moment? The decision to put John Muckler on the Coyotes bench!  What a classy move. And it obviously meant a great deal to a man who has given his entire life to the game of hockey. That was one of the topics of conversation with Gretzky just moments before the ceremony.

Listen below for a tribute to Glenn that ran on our game broadcast and Wayne’s comments prior to the special ceremony.

Wayne on Glenn’s ceremony:

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Broadcast Tribute:

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As a bonus, here is Glen Sather from right after the ceremony.  Interesting to note that he was asked about Wayne’s comments regarding the potential NEXT name to hang from the rafters.

Slats:

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A tip of the hat to the entire Oiler’s organization. They put on a helluva show and really know how to roll out the red carpet. They have built a wonderful connection between past and present Oilers.

It’s quite a fraternity.

- Todd

Organizers of the 2009 Quikcard Edmonton Minor Hockey Week, sponsors and volunteers gathered at Rexall Place recently to kick-off the 46th annual tournament.

To commemorate the start of the tournament, Chair Rod McMahon, Honorary Chair Bill Ross, title sponsor and Quikcard President & CEO Lyle Best and Edmonton Oilers General Manager Steve Tambellini addressed the importance of sportsmanship and dedication and wished the 534 teams participating the best of luck over the coming week of competition.

Three Minor Hockey players were presented with annual Wayne Gretzky Recreational Hockey Awards. Each award winner also received a scholarship from BMO Bank of Montreal. The Wayne Gretzky Awards are presented to the hockey player who best exemplifies good sportsmanship and dedication to the game.  Each year since the 1989/90 season, three outstanding young athletes from the BB, AA, and Junior programs have been the recipients of this prestigious award.  Players are nominated and chosen for sportsmanship, scholastic achievement, and community involvement. Today, Austin Porter of the North Edmonton Red Wings Junior B, Jacob Bennett of the CAC Leigh Inland Cement Bantam AAA, and Dylan Vieira of the Northeast Peewee Eagles were honoured.

Quikcard Edmonton Minor Hockey Week continues to be one of the largest ice hockey tournaments in the world. The tournament experienced tremendous growth last year and 2009 promises to be fast-paced and exciting with over 8,500 participants on 530 teams taking part in 761 games in 23 arenas and on 30 sheets of ice over ten days. This year, girls’ teams from surrounding areas including Onoway, Redwater, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc and Barrhead joined the tournament alongside returning boys’ and girls’ teams from Spruce Grove, Sherwood Park, St. Albert and Edmonton.

For more information please visit Quikcard Edmonton Minor Hockey Week’s new website at Quikcardminorhockey.com.