Gretzky inviting Pocklington back, and the look he gave him during the picture is the reason Wayne is the greatest hockey " man " of his era...thanks to Gordie 👍
The thing that made this team so special wasn't just the goals, the records, the winning and the cups. It was how when they won, they made everyone a part of it, from the training staff to Joey Moss, to even the fans. The players made everyone feel like they were a part of it too.
How can you not love this organization? I've been in quiet admiration of the Oilers for a long-time. I was a North Stars fan back in the day. They moved away in 1993. It was never the same. Thankfully, Edmonton did not relocate to Minnesota or anywhere else. The Oilers are an institution in Edmonton and deserve to remain that way forever.
60 years old and this was the best hockey team I've ever seen. If Pocklington hadn't had to tear it apart because of his poor financial decisions that had nothing to do with the Oilers, this team wins 8, 9, 10 Staney Cups. This from a Habs fan.
Yep, I think you’re correct, they were on their way in ‘84 and without the ‘GIFT’ in ‘86, the Oilers would have been favourites throughout the ‘80’s and into the ‘90’s. I’m a Leaf’s fan but I was devastated to see Gretzky sign in California…
As a Rangers fan, I loved watching guys like Messier and Anderson come to my favorite team and help them win the Stanley Cup in 1994. And then watching Gretzky come to New York and retire with the Rangers a few years later.
I was just a 3 month old baby when the Oilers lifted up the Stanley Cup in 1984. My dad recorded the whole 1984 playoff series on VHS. We still have them tapes and watch them. I wish I could have witness the mayhem, it must have been a wonderful time. 2006 we came oh so close to reliving some of that emotion. Now 2017 we got a chance to do it all over again. Come on boys lets do this. To Oilers past and present Thank You for what you did and have done for the city of Edmonton. Its a great place to be coming from an Edmontonian born and raised and never left
I remember this like it was yesterday! I was 16, living in Millwoods. So sweet! I still have my #20 Dave Lumley jersey!What a night! Jasper Ave was surreal!
I am a die hard St.Louis Blues fan. my team has yet to win the cup. this was one of the most classy vids I have seen in a while everyone on the that team was featured really really well done.
I’ve just looked at the video you commented on 4 years ago and at that time your Blues hadn’t had the exhilaration of winning the Stanley Cup. Now here in early 2023 your Blues have indeed won it. As a Leafs fan, I can honestly say that I am a little jealous as you may know, we haven’t had a winner since 1967. I was 13 at the time and as a kid I couldn’t imagine a season where the Leafs wouldn’t be successful in the playoffs. Needless to say, here in T.O. it’s been 55 years since we hoisted the cup. Happy for you tho’, I remember how special that time was. Still cheering for the team with the LONGEST cup drought. Be well, friend
I'm a Boston Bruins fan, and the Bobby Orr-led "Big Bad Bruins" were a special bunch, but this Gretzky-led Oilers team might have been the best ever. What I especially love about hockey players is the camaraderie and the charitable nature among the players that isn't quite the same with the other 3 major North American sports.
That’s cool. I’m Canadian & grew up playing hockey from around the age of 7-8 years old. I grew up in a small town called St.Marys,Ontario, Canada which is roughly 2 hours from Toronto so I grew up a Leafs Fan, Toronto has so many fans, even at away games half the building is Leaf Fans. I grew up watching Hockey Night In Canada with Don Cherry & Ron McClean. But all 7 Canadian teams have very strong fan bases, it was nice to see the Winnipeg Jets get their team back & they have the smallest arena in the NHL but are one of the loudest arenas in the league, especially come playoff time with the famous “White Out” which is so “L O U D” Go Leafs Go!!!
@@sudsysutherland359 Yep. Sorry I didn't reply back sooner, but happened upon this video again, and decided to watch it again (yes, I'm a big hockey fan lol). I spent my formative years on a 90-acre farm in southern Maine, and we had a pond that nicely doubled as a skating pond during winter, and after school when the yellow bus dropped my sister and I off at home, I rushed to put on my skates to catch about an hour's worth of daylight skating on the pond before the early sunsets would hit. I played a lot of pond hockey growing up with my friends, and nothing like freezing rain the night before, then going out on a pond and skating on what looks like a sheet of glass. No zamboni/indoor ice surface can match virgin ice on a pond. I miss that a lot. Regarding Canadian fan bases, I largely agree with you. There are pockets in the US (obviously Boston, Pittsburgh, Detroit/MI, Minnesota, NY, etc.) where hockey is pretty big, and while I believe the most intense ongoing hockey rivalry is the Canadiens-Bruins (with all due respect to the Habs-Leafs rivalry), I think THE most intense, crazy rivalry was the old Quebec Nordiques-Habs rivalry, back when Quebec still had a team in the NHL. The only reason the Habs-Nordiques rivalry isn't the best ever is because of how short it was, obviously when the Nordiques moved to Colorado to become the Avalanche. That said, what the NHL needs to do is take one of the southern US teams (Carolina or Florida) and move them back to Quebec City, especially as Quebec already built a new NHL-ready arena!! P.S. Don Cherry is The Man. It was disgusting to see the "politically correct" assholes attacking Cherry some months back, so I was VERY glad to see Bobby Orr come to his defense.
One of the very best teams in any professional sports since I've been alive. They were fun, tough and successful. That late 80s rivalry with Calgary was epic.
I won't watch hockey anymore but did from the 50's through the 90's, and have to say the Battle of Alberta was as the most exciting rivalry I ever saw. That includes Boston/Montreal, Battle of Quebec, Battle of New York, etc. there was true hate and great skill.
I love the Leafs, but I have nothing but respect and love for the 1980s Gretzky/Messier era Oilers, truely a team of great talent, with 2 of the players: Gretzky and Messier, being some of my most favourite players of all time
I remember going to West Edmonton Mall and the players were signing Autographs (Oilers Autograph session) granted the lines were big but the players were their we (MY Kids) got to see the players, Its different now. Loved the video thanks.
Just reading The Box Scores in The Newspapers and watching The Highlights back then was special. I live in an Eastern Conference City, so I only got to see them live once a year. To live in Edmonton and have the opportunity to see this Team live up to 41 Games a Season would have been amazing. 1984 was the culmination of a group of young players who became a great team through practice and playing.
I'm a die-hard NY Rangers fan but this was a fantastic video. Those 80s Edmonton Oilers teams were special, great and fantastic to watch. A very special organization.
I was living in Edmonton back then. So much has gone by since then...I’m sure for everyone. I’ve never seen the city erupt as when they won. Very special time and memories. Thanks for the vid. Well done.
@Joseph McAuley Beaten "badly"? Who the Hades do you think you're kidding. The Devils might have beaten them ONCE, but neither Detroit nor the Avs had the D corps to stay with those Gretzky-Messier Oilers. Too fast, and too skilled, with more than enough toughness to handle those clubs.
This is to ice hockey what the Manchester United European Cup team of 1999 was to English football. Truly the best team in the world that year. It had been coming. People were talking about the youth team players coming through but nobody expected what they achieved. Every time I think 99 I think Gretzky. Best ice hockey team ever? I can’t see the current Pens team getting anywhere near this level. Very special team. I will never understand why he went to the LA Kings and whether or not it was his choice. It doesn’t seem like it’s what he wanted when you watch ‘that interview’ but other sources say it was his choice.
So cool of the Oilers to make Mike Zanier part of the party ...I mean he basically sat on the bench for 2 games as cover as Fuhr was injured. Gretz made sure everyone who was there was involved. Great move
Thank you for the memories. It was unforgettable for me as a foreign student studying at the U of A and having the privilege of witnessing history in 1984
That was fun to watch!! I was in my early twentys in 83...I remember this dynasty very well...was lucky to have lived during the days when I could go to a game and watch Gretzky play......they're all still good guys to this day!.
The 1980s was a very special and unique decade of sports events! I turned 12 in 1980, and I remember watching the "Miracle on Ice" match. Just months later, rookie gold medalist Kenny Morrow of the USA hockey team would go on to win this first Stanley Cup with the NY Islanders. Wayne Gretsky and Kenny Morrow and Joe Montana and Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, all of them, went into their respective professional leagues at about the same time period! ALL OF THEM WOULD BECOME HALL OF FAME CHAMPIONS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE SPORTS LEAGUES! The 1980s were also so unique and special for the music that captivated the popular culture as well. You hear a melody on the radio, and usually, you can tell if that song was from the 1980s!
I am teling you what, it may have sucked to have been an Oilers season ticket holder at times, but the autographed stuff they all get in their package plan, that should offset some of the pain. When you can put Fuhr,Mess, Gretz Kurri, Anderson, Moog, Low, Esa, McSorley, etc on a poster that is a hell of a gift.
As a Flyers fan sometimes you just have to give it up and tip your hat To The Best - As those mighty Oiler teams of the mid to late "80's beat my Gallant Philadelphia Flyers twice for the cup in "85 and "87 - " Great battles and memories between The Flyers and the Edmonton Oilers of the "1980's."
2 out of 3 ain't bad. No love for the Wings. But that's because I was a North Stars fan. So Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, and St. Louis were on the hate list.
OMG, look how old Gretz is, that'sad. I remember the blondie locks flying in the wind. The should remaster Boys on The Bus and put this on it as an extra.
I listened to an interview with Rick Vaive last week. A great player with the leafs during the late 70s and early 80s. He mentioned that back in his day the game plan for most NHL teams was the dump and chase strategy. Vaive said the Oilers changed all that. The Oilers obviously had some great players, but without Sather and Muckler, I’m not sure they would have had the success they enjoyed.
I had seasons tickets during those days & the '87 team, (3rd Cup winner, against the Flyers), was the best, without question. Kent Nilsson with Messier and Anderson, Gretzky, Kurri and Tikkanen. Coffee's last Cup with them, including a more mature nucleus than the one the so-called experts picked. Several Oilers have publicly said the same thing...
I always wonder if Wayne never got traded and they spend 5-7 more years together. What crazy numbers Gretzky would have and others on that team. I grew up in Winnipeg at the time but you had to respect just how amazing Edmonton was back then.
It is great to see Edmonton forgive Peter P.That had to be a VERY hard business decision to move Gretzky,but in hind sight,it expanded the game.Everything/body matures with age...What a Dynasty ! I lived there in the early 80's and still LOVE the team and the city...Go Leafs Go !
@ Marty Truelove I can honestly say that I would rather have had Gretzky remain an Oiler than trade him to grow the game in the U. S. The game still would have grown despite #99 suiting up as an Oiler.
What made that Oilers team special was not only the accumulation of talent, but that it happened in a small market city. Because Edmonton was not a huge city like LA or New York, it was much easier for the players to get together during the week between games just to socialize and get to know one another better. This in turn allowed them to become very close as teammates. Never again will we see such a collection of talented players on one team, and never again will such a collection of talented players ever be able to become so close as teammates.
As great as they were in 1984, I firmly believe that the 1985 Oilers team could beat ANY team from ANY era. I saw them play in Chicago, St. Louis, Minnesota and other NHL cities. They had all the components necessary in order to play any style any team wanted to play. They were the greatest team of all time!
I think the '87 Cup winners had it all with the late season addition of Kent "The Magic Man" to compliment Messier/Anderson and the playoff pickup Slats made of puck moving d-man Reijo Ruotsalainen.
@@flyflouridite2537 Yeah, That '86-'87 team was turbocharged....and then they picked up Kent Nilson for the playoffs who added 19 points in 21 playoff games. I don't know a team that could beat them in a seven game series.
Here I will tell a story as to how cool the Oilers are. Now I am a John Vanbiesbrouck, Devils and Russian/Soviet hockey fan in Philadelphia, around this time I was 12 yrs old. My Mom got into hockey because of me and she shared the same all out hatred of the Flyers. My mom LOVE Gretz, I was a little goalie. Well he fall in 1988 my Mom wrote Called the Oilers she aske if there was any video for sale about the Oilers? My Mom began to tell the woman who answered the phone of ho much we loved and appreciated the Oilers for stopping two potential Flyers parades. Well she was so taken back she sent is for free the Boys on he Bus. To me that is the second best Hockey Doc/movie
That was probably Francine. There was another person who answered the phones for Oiler public relations named Brian. They were so nice, but Francine was an Angel. Same here, 1987-1988 off season. I called and she sent me one old and one current media guide, several Vachon Cake's Oiler stickers, two medium sized team emblem stickers, a souvenir brochure with the players modeling team apparel and a team "troll" key fob. I still have all of it!
This was so cool, so nice to see the team back together. Hockey is hockey and people get traded. Still have hard time forgiving P.P. for trading Gretz and Coffey. But he was in financial trouble so to him it was the thing to do. The most amazing team ever. The Oilers always will be my #1 team. Sure hope this is the year they can put it together, with such good young talent. Will we ever see a team that scores 400 goals again?
Back in 94 when I was 9 I collected hockey trading cards. I figured the best tactic to get a lot of cards was to pick a team nobody liked, so I picked the Oilers, who in 94 were doing less than great. Then I read up on the history of the team and the massive success it had in the 80s, Gretzky, Messier, Kurri, Fuhr, Anderson, Coffey etc, all the records, 5 cups... after that I've maintained I made the right choice even though I don't collect cards anymore and the team only have one more final to their name, once an Olier...
J Marciano umm, yeeah, sure they would :D sports tend to evolve. It's a cold fact that the 80's Oilers would be left standing in today's NHL. Just as Ford makes better cars now than 30 years ago, hockey players today are on a different level now. The amount of work and practice you need to put in to even dream of making the NHL has grown exponentially since the 80's. The professionalism and athletecism is on a completely different level now.
J Marciano I agree it's silly and stupid to compare different teams from different decades BECAUSE the game is always evolving - The 70's The fighting decade The 80's free wheeling high scoring decade The 90's the clutch and grad decade AND the 2000's 2005 till now With All The New Rule Changes Allows the NHL to showcase their superstars with practically a no touch league - So Yes whenever a team won at the time They were the best team at the time Plain and Simple.
@@sakarikosonen6228 False. And absurd. Those Oiler clubs had more skill, speed and grit than what we see in today's watered down NHL. They'd kick ass in a league where there's so little hitting and no redline.
@@sakarikosonen6228 wrong! If the oilers skated 45 second shifts they would compete on par or better with today’s nhlers. Now, would the rock ‘em sock ‘em, clutch and grab rules of yesteryear be in place or would it be the don’t even breathe on ‘em rules of today? My money would be on prime Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, Kurri, Anderson, Nilsson, and Fuhr, in any era!!!
I was in line in DFW and 3 people back was Kevin Lowe and I recognized him. Must have been 92 June. Anyway I see him and dont say anything and then as I am boarding I say you are Kevin Lowe of the Oilers? He looks at like i should kiss his ring fn ring. LOL. On the plane I pay by him on the way to the washroom and coming back, he held out his hand to stop me to chat. It lasted all of 30 seconds. Ok buddy whatever. Arrogance never leaves you. Other athletes, the Blue Jays Lloyd Moseby in Wendys on Yonge street with Jesse Barfield, Doug Flutie in Nashville airport and even at the end of the parade after winning the Grey Cup, Pinball Clemons at the practice field even spoke to me and my son and took a picture. No problem. Oilers. Their crap dont stink right. Arrogant.
On November 2 , 1990 Graves was involved in a blockbuster trade with the Edmonton Oilers. Along with Graves, the Oilers received Petr Klima, Joe Murphy and Jeff Sharples in exchange for Jimmy Carson, Kevin McClelland and Edmonton's fifth-round draft pick in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. He was on the last Cup winning team for the Oilers in 1990
