Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WAYNE GRETZKY AND
THE EDMONTON OILERS
The Oilers and three other World Hockey
Association (WHA) teams joined the NHL
in time for the 1979-80 hockey season.
The Oilers were a well-managed, young
team that knew how to scout recruits from
the minor leagues. The team's owner
even declared that his team would win the
Stanley Cup (the trophy awarded to the
winner of the fi nals) within fi ve years or
less. This was a bold prediction in a league
where the championship title passed back
and forth between the dynasties of the
Montréal Canadiens and the New York
Islanders.
But while those teams were ageing, the
Oilers were building their future. Their
captain, Wayne Gretzky, soon earned the
nickname “The Great One” due to his in-
credible natural talent. He accumulated
record after record, and even scored fi ve
goals in one game on December 30, 1981. That day, he became the
fi rst player in hockey history to score 50 goals in such a short period
of time: 39 games. He ended the season with 92 goals and 120 as-
sists, an unprecedented record.
5
Statue of Wayne Gretzky at
Rexall Place.
© Tourism Edmonton
However, Oilers fans had to wait until their players matured, and it
was not until 1984 that the Oilers fi nally broke the domination of the
New York Islanders, who had just won four consecutive champion-
ships. The rest is history: the Oilers won fi ve Stanley Cups in seven
years, broke numerous records and had the satisfaction of winning
the coveted trophy again in 1990, while Gretzky had been playing for
the Los Angeles Kings for two years.
Having broken every imaginable record, Wayne Gretzky retired
from competition in 1999. He is now the head coach of the Phoenix
Coyotes (NHL). After toying with the idea of renaming their town
“Gretzkyville,” Edmonton instead decided to name a street after him,
and the former Capilano Drive became Wayne Gretzky Drive. And
why not?! The roads can turn to ice on cold winter days in Alberta's
capital city!
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