The New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers unite in Alberta to honor Glen Sather
In the history of the National Hockey League, there have been various points over the years where great teams have won consecutive Stanley Cups and have been considered fantastic franchises.
In recent memory, the Chicago Blackhawks have won three Stanley Cups over the past six years. During the 1990s, the Detroit Red Wings were consistently a championship threat. It might be laughable for the younger generation watching the game today but, during the 1980s the Edmonton Oilers were the threat of the decade, and the architect of that hockey club was Glen Sather.
From the 1966-67 season until the conclusion of the 1976-77 campaign, Sather was a hockey player in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and the Montreal Canadiens where he earned a combined 193 points in 658 regular season games. In the 1976-77 campaign, he played one season as a member of the Edmonton Oilers when they were part of the World Hockey Association. He earned 53 points in 81 games.
Sather’s hockey playing career may not be memorable to the average hockey fan but his time as a head coach and General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers was magical. He was like King Midas, as almost everything he touched turned to gold.
Sather is heralded as the leader of the Edmonton Oiler dynasty who helped craft a team that won four consecutive Stanley Cup rings during the 1980’s and five championships before leaving the organization fifteen years ago and joining the New York Rangers franchise.
The two clubs associated and forever joined together in Sather’s career, the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers, came together on Friday night in Alberta to play a regular season game. That’s true, it was a regular season game, but it was also a special evening to honor Glen’s work building the Edmonton dynasty.
“It is difficult for me to put in my words the gratitude I feel for this honour,” Sather, 72, said. He also called himself “the luckiest person on earth”.
Along with his family, former Edmonton Oiler greats Paul Coffey, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson, Al Hamilton and Jari Kuri were there to celebrate with Sather. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was also in attendance. Unfortunately, number 99 Wayne Gretzky was unable to attend the festivities but he did record a video message to his former head coach that was played during the ceremony. Colin Campbell, Cliff Fletcher, Bill Torrey, David Poile and Craig Patrick were on hand as NHL executives. The Edmonton Oilers have had some fantastic men play over the history of their franchise and who were an integral part of the Oilers’ dynasty.
Sather’s banner-raising joins eight of the other greats and he is probably the last of that dynasty to be honoured. Next season, hockey life ends at Rexall Place and the Edmonton Oilers move into a new arena at the beginning of the 2016-17 campaign.
In the National Hockey League’s salary cap era today, there will probably never be another dynasty equivalent to the Edmonton Oilers.
Well done, Glen Sather!
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