Edmonton Oilers Heritage Website

Glen Sather had been the Oilers general manager for two decades, from the team's first season in the National Hockey League in 1979-80 to the beginning of the new millennium. He had built the Oilers from a team decimated by the expansion draft of 1979 into an indomitable club, winning five Stanley Cups in the process.

When Sather left the small-market club in 2000 for the New York Rangers and the largest budget in the NHL, the Oilers looked from within to find a new general manager. The team's ownership group chose Kevin Lowe in the summer of 2000, moving him from behind the bench in the 1999-2000 season to the front office soon after. He was the team's first-ever draft choice in 1979 and scored the very first NHL goal in team history.

Lowe's formative hockey years were spent under Sather; and he immediately promised that the Oilers would not adopt a new style of play under him. He swore the Oilers would not adopt a defense-first system, like the neutral-zone trap, in lieu of traditional Oilers hockey. The club would continue to emphasize speed, toughness, skill and the need to open up the game.

"I know the city, and I know what it expects from this hockey team," Lowe said soon after he signed on as the team's new general manager. "In all my career, that's (high-pressure hockey) the only style I've played and the only way I've coached. I was very fortunate to play that style of hockey throughout my entire career."

For Lowe, the word "small-market" cannot be used as an excuse for lack of success. Although the Oilers have paid close attention to the budget, which has forced Lowe to make trades of stars like Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, Roman Hamrlik, Janne Niinimaa and Anson Carter, the team has always brought in young talent that meets with Lowe's philosophy of mixing a solid work ethic with speed. Under Lowe's care, the Oilers have signed good players like Mike Comrie and traded for Eric Brewer and Mike York.

From 2000-2003, the Oilers made the playoffs two out of three years and never sunk below the 92-point mark in the Western Conference standings.