Edmonton Oilers Legacy - All-Star Series

If the National Hockey League (NHL) All-Star games were a delicious soup, the numerous Edmonton Oilers that have played in the event over the years could be described as the stock that defined its flavour. Edmonton talent has dominated the All-Star festivities over the years, especially in the wide-open 1980s when a dynasty was born in Northern Alberta.

The NHL All-Star Game was the perfect platform for elite players to showcase their offensive skill, and from 1983-1989 Edmonton dominated the score sheet. During that time, the Oilers sent at least six individuals to the freewheeling exhibition each year, the most coming in 1985-86 when an incredible 10 representatives (nine players and one coach) made the trip to Hartford. (Strangely enough, that was the season the hated Calgary Flames eliminated the Oilers from the playoffs after Edmonton defenceman Steve Smith scored on his own net, thereby squashing his team’s attempt at three consecutive Stanley Cup victories.) Despite the selections, there were two occasions when an Oiler named to the all-star team failed to play in the actual game–Jari Kurri in 1984 and Paul Coffey in the one-off Rendez-Vous ’87 series.

It quickly became clear that Oiler players would dominant in All-Star competition as it had during the regular season. It made sense – the entire Oiler roster resembled that of an All-Star team anyway.

"The whole thrill of it was, I don’t want to say overwhelming, but pretty close to it," said former Oil defenceman Kevin Lowe, whose first of seven trips to the All-Star Game came in the 1983-84 season. "The thing that struck me most was playing with guys that were hated opponents. You would be nice, nice enough, humane I guess, but at some point, you knew you had to play them again. We always had a large contingent. My early years, they didn’t have to have a guy from each team, and one time we had nine guys."

"Everyone else was the minority amongst us."

Former Oiler captain Doug Weight was just as wide-eyed when he made his All-Star debut in 1995-96, the first of three appearances in Oiler silks.

"The first one, I was just in awe of being there," Weight said. "Seeing how laid back everyone was and meeting them all like Gretz and all the crew. It was just a lot of fun just to be around them and see how they acted towards each other. Those are things I remember, being around the guys and realizing that I wasn’t prepared at all. Everyone had their own limos set up, going to their own functions with their own families. I read the list of all the parties I was going to with my family, and I went and didn’t see a lot of other players. You have to set things up and enjoy the weekend as time off as well."

"And you’d like a little more ice time, damnit," he added with a chuckle.

Wayne Gretzky played in eight straight All-Star Games as an Oiler and by the time number 99 had finished his incomparable career, he went down as the highest scoring All-Star in NHL history with most goals (13) and most points (25) in 18 total games. The skinny kid from Brantford also holds the record for most goals in a period–he rifled in four during the third period of the 1983 game, a 9-3 drubbing by the old Campbell Conference over the Wales Conference.

However, Gretzky does not have the record for most appearances by an Oiler. That honour goes to former captain and Edmonton native Mark Messier, who played in nine games for his hometown team. All-time European NHL scoring leader Kurri went to eight straight All-Star Games, goaltender Grant Fuhr, born in Spruce Grove, Alberta, played in the annual event seven times, fleet-footed defenceman Paul Coffey made six visits, as did Lowe, and clutch scorer Glenn Anderson skated in five. Glen Sather coached five All-Star teams in his Oilers tenure, while former Edmonton coach John Muckler took charge of the Campbell Conference lineup in 1991.