POLL: GREATEST MOMENT IN OILERS HISTORY

[yave1964]

I had to resist the urge to make this the Wayne Gretzky love fest. The great one of course makes this list, hell he could BE the list, but i managed to get some others on here as well. So the greatest moments in Oilers history as i see them:

 

GAGNER SCORES 8 POINTS IN ONE GAME, TIES TEAM RECORD.

 

Gretzky and

Coffey both put up 8 point nights but it was a different game back then and certainly a different team. The massive night Gagner put up deserves mention in here.

 

WAYNE GRETZKY 4 SEASONS OF 200 POINTS

 

It is impossible to do a list of Oilers achievements without having Wayne dominate, like he did the game itself in the eighties. 4 separate times  the great one managed 200 points culminating with a career high and league record of 215.

 

4 CUPS IN 5 YEARS FROM 1984-1988

 

Stacked top to bottom with a combo of hall of famers such as Gretzky, Messier, Kurri, Coffey and Fuhr and the ultimate collection of spear carriers such as Steve Smith, Lamb, Moog, Tikkanen, MacTavish, ect. all....this team won 4 cups in five years   and if it hadnt been for the unfortunate own goal by Steve smith in game 7 against the Flames in 1986 it likely would have been 5 in a row.

 

GRETZKY SCORES 50 GOALS IN 39 GAMES!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=xTxtqqWAVhE On December 30th 1981 against the Flyers and Pete Peeters Wayne Gretzky established himself as the greatest, in his third year in the NHL he broke the mark set by Maurice Richard and tied by Mike Bossy of 50 goals in 50 games. Broke hell, he scored 50 in 39, culminated on this night with a five goal performance to set an individual record never to be broken.

 

 ONE WITHOUT WAYNE! 1990: OILERS WIN CUP POST GRETZKY

 

Gretzky was dealt to the Kings two seasons previous and the remnants of one of the greatest teams ever went on to prove that they were still a force, Wayne or no Wayne. With Bill Ranford leading the way in net, Mark Messier (45-84-129) stepped out of his shadow and established himself as the warrior that he is, Kurri pitched in 93 points, an early season deal brought in Klima, Murphy and Graves from the Wings for Carson, and in the postseason the old vets stepped up, Steve Smith had 15 points, Tikkanen had 13 goals, Mark Lamb had 17 points,  and Criag Simpson who had come over from the Penguins for Coffey went crazy (16-15-31) as the Oilers in one of their finest moments won one without Gretzky proving to themselves that they are deserving of respect.

 

 2006: CHRIS PRONGER CARRIES TEAM ON HIS BACK TO IMPROBABLE CUP FINAL

 

Only once in the past 16 seasons have the Oilers advanced past the first round, that being 2006 when the tall skinny punk came over from the Blues for a bag of beads. and led a bunch of decent kids, (Horcoff, Hemsky, Stoll and Torres all come to mind) and vets (Ryan Smyth Staios and Peca come to mind) who had no business being in the cup final. Along with late in the season acquisition Dwayne Roloson, Pronger carried this team on his shoulders much deeper than they had a right to expect, falling one game short of the ultimate prize. Pronger moved on to anaheim in a messy divorce from the team after one year, and in the 8 seasons since the Oilers have failed to make the playoffs even one time. Not a coincidence.

 

The trade was one that i left out, i have tossed it around and decided it might be the iconic moment in team history but so many other Gretzky moments came to mind. enjoy.

 

 

[JR Ewing]

-For me, it's 4 Cups in 5 years. Dynasties don't come around all the time, and watching the Kings steal the brains, and then the Rangers the heart of the team, was just a blow.

-The 2006 team was better than many give them credit for. Certainly not a great club at all, but they were a good team which was held up by historically terrible goaltending (.880) until Dwayne Roloson came aboard and gave them somebody who could stop a puck. They were getting goaltending 20 points below league average, and were over .500 at that point. Not bad, really. Not a lot of stars, but a damned pain in the ass team which worked hard and cut no corners.

-The other great irony of the 2006 season, is how everybody always said that the Oilers winning over DET, SJ, and ANA in the playoffs were major upsets when the Oilers won the season series against each team during the regular season as well. Including playoffs, the Oilers were

 

6-2-1 against DET

7-2-0 against SJ

8-1-0 against ANA

 

Still, I think that yave's point is very fair: CFP was a franchise defenseman who could clearly take teams further, as he demonstrated in other cities as well. One hell of a hockey player.

[Yorick]

4 Cups in 5 years and Gretzky himself.

[yave1964]

4 Cups in 5 years and Gretzky himself.

Alas Yorick, I like your avatar.

[jammer2]

  The dynasty hands down...very rare then, even moreso now.

[Vanflyer]

4 Cups in 5 years and Gretzky himself.

 

I choose the 4 cups in 5 years as well, basically choosing team accomplishments over individual. However, to give Gretzky his due, those cups never happen without him. 

[yave1964]

@JR Ewing

 

The 05-06 Oilers do get very little respect, i grudgingly admit they were better than given credit for. Ryan smyth (36-30-66) had arguably his best season, Raffi Torres (27-14-41) beat him out for the Cy Young. Some strange stat lines stand out to me, Hemsky, a a winger led the team in assists. Only 3 other forwards were within 28 of him. Fernando Pisani (whatever happened to him??) went 14-4-18 in the postseason. The team was known for its toughness and grit but not a single player had or even aproached 100 PIMs, the leader was Ethan Moreau with 87 but remarkably the team had 12 players with over 40. Just team toughness, lled by Pronger. And they had 4 goalies with at least 18 appearances, the last team to do so.

 

  My boy Yzerman was on his last leg (literally) and i hoped for a deep playoff run to send him into retirement. Pronger had other ideas. I had always hated him with the Blues, I developed a strong hate, bordering on Claude Freaking Lemieux type of psychosis after this series. When he teamed with Niedermayer the following year to send the Wings home early and win a cup for the ducks, i began to develop a respect for him, and I give him credit now as one of the greatest warriors in the games history. 

[JR Ewing]

@JR Ewing

 

The 05-06 Oilers do get very little respect, i grudgingly admit they were better than given credit for. Ryan smyth (36-30-66) had arguably his best season, Raffi Torres (27-14-41) beat him out for the Cy Young. Some strange stat lines stand out to me, Hemsky, a a winger led the team in assists. Only 3 other forwards were within 28 of him. Fernando Pisani (whatever happened to him??) went 14-4-18 in the postseason. The team was known for its toughness and grit but not a single player had or even aproached 100 PIMs, the leader was Ethan Moreau with 87 but remarkably the team had 12 players with over 40. Just team toughness, lled by Pronger. And they had 4 goalies with at least 18 appearances, the last team to do so.

 

  My boy Yzerman was on his last leg (literally) and i hoped for a deep playoff run to send him into retirement. Pronger had other ideas. I had always hated him with the Blues, I developed a strong hate, bordering on Claude Freaking Lemieux type of psychosis after this series. When he teamed with Niedermayer the following year to send the Wings home early and win a cup for the ducks, i began to develop a respect for him, and I give him credit now as one of the greatest warriors in the games history. 

 

Shortly after signing a large extension with the Oilers, Pisani was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, and was quite unwell most of the time. He was continually suffering from rectal bleeding, severe abdominal pain and diarrhea. I remember reading an interview where he noted he was going to the bathroom upwards of 30 times per day. His diet became extremely limited, was in constant discomfort, acquired diabetes due to the meds he was on, and his weight dropped from 200+ pounds to 160, which is quite thin on a 6'1" frame. Considering that he was left exhausted after climbing the stairs in his house, you can imagine how his job, which was to play against opposing team's top forwards (and still scoring 15ish goals) was going. He just wasn't up to the task anymore, as his effectiveness was greatly diminished.

 

His GP dropped to 56, then 38, and finally 40 in 2010, his last year as an Oiler. Just couldn't do it anymore. He signed on with CHI, and played 60 games in 2011: just enough for him to get his NHL pension. I'm glad he was able to get it.

 

Two Pisani videos:

 

 

I was still living in Edmonton in those days, and the town was absolutely electrified by the run to the Cup that year. When he scored that goal, you could hear fans through the whole neighbourhood, and people took the streets, honking and yelling. Must have been pretty great for a local boy to contribute like that. Had a great spring.

 

And, the classic knob hockey video: