Edmonton Oilers Legacy

After the Edmonton Oilers completed their first National Hockey League (NHL) season in 1979-80, Peter Pocklington made a bold move.

The Oilers’ colourful and controversial owner gave Glen Sather complete control of the team as general manager and president. Sather, a native of High River, Alberta, was already the head coach of the club. Now, he would be expected to build it up.

Pocklington made an even bolder statement when he predicted Sather would guide Edmonton to a Stanley Cup championship "within five years." To the amazement of the entire league, Pocklington’s prophecy proved to be true as the Oilers captured their first Cup in 1984, followed by four more from 1985-1990.

General Manager of a Juggernaut

Sather, also known as "Slats," would be the team’s general manager for 21 years. During his tenure, the Oilers posted a regular season record of 791-660-215, capturing three President’s Trophies, six division titles and six conference championships. In Stanley Cup playoff action, Sather’s teams compiled a 133-82-1 record.

Aside from his duties as general manager, he also coached Edmonton for three seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and 11 in the NHL.

Building a Winner

The foundation for Sather’s success began with strong draft selections prior to entering the NHL. Sather and chief scout Barry Fraser were determined to build the Oilers into a winner--and build it they did. Over the next few years, Sather and Fraser assembled one of the best teams ever to hit the ice in the NHL.

Edmonton’s 1979 draft class included first-round pick Kevin Lowe, third-round pick Mark Messier and fourth-round pick Glenn Anderson.

Prior to coming to Edmonton, Lowe was a 20-year-old defenceman who had starred for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, while Messier was an 18-year-old left-winger who had toiled with the WHA’s Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers. Anderson was a 19-year-old left-winger at the University of Denver.

They harvested three more standout players in the 1980 draft. The Oilers chose nineteen-year-old defenceman Paul Coffey in the first round from the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League, right-winger Jari Kurri in the fourth-round from the Finnish team Jokerit, and goaltender Andy Moog with the team's seventh-round pick from the Billings Bighorns of the Western Hockey League.

In 1981, Sather drafted 18-year-old goaltender Grant Fuhr in the first round from the WHL’s Victoria Cougars. The Oilers had been watching Fuhr for several years before drafting him. He grew up just outside Edmonton in Spruce Grove, where former NHL goaltending great Glenn Hall coached the future hall-of-fame goalie.

Eighteen-year-old Steve Smith, who would anchor the Oilers’ defence corps for three Stanley Cup championships, was selected in the sixth-round of the 1981 draft from the OHL’s London Knights.

In 1983, Oilers' staff selected 18-year-old defenceman Jeff Beukeboom in the first round, and Esa Tikkanen, an 18-year-old from the Finnish team Jokerit club, in the fourth round.