Edmonton Oilers Legacy

Created in 1976, the Canada Cup as an initiative of the National Hockey League, the NHL Players Association and Hockey Canada.

For the first time in history, six major hockey powers–Canada, Sweden, Finland, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union and the United States–promoted the best players by competing in one tournament, with all the games held in North America.

With a star-studded roster that included Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull and Phil Esposito, Canada finished the round-robin portion of the tournament with a 4-1-0 record . The lone loss was a 1-0 setback to Czechoslovakia, which finished the round-robin at 3-1-1.

Both teams advanced to the best-of-three finals. Canada blanked the Czechs 6-0 in the first game before earning a 5-4 overtime win in the second contest. Orr collected nine points in seven games to win tournament MVP.

Humbled hosts

Edmonton Oilers phenom Wayne Gretzky made his Canada Cup debut in 1981, leading the tournament with 12 points. Although he had been great in the tournament, Gretzky was held scoreless in the final, an 8-1 loss to the Soviet Union.

Canada cruised through the round-robin with a record of 4-0-1, including a 7-3 win over the Soviets. The Canucks won 4-1 over the Americans in one semi-final, while the Soviets defeated Czechoslovakia by the same score in the other.

The Soviets were rebuilding after their loss to the Americans in the 1980 Olympics. Future NHLers Viacheslav Fetisov, Alexei Kasatonov, Igor Larionov and Vladimir Krutov each made their Canada Cup debuts, while veteran Vladislav Tretiak played goal.

The victors were not allowed to take home the Canada Cup trophy in a decision by NHLPA boss Alan Eagleson that nearly sparked an international incident. Meanwhile, the convincing win gave the Soviets bragging rights as the world’s best until the 1984 event.

The Edmonton Edge

The Edmonton Oilers would win their first Stanley Cup in the spring of 1984.

The upstart Oilers emerged victorious over the New York Islanders, who had won the previous four Cups.

The Islanders’ fourth Cup win came against Edmonton. So it was no surprise when some of the playoff tension spilled over into the Team Canada dressing room in the fall of 1984.

Glen Sather, Oilers coach and general manager, was chosen to lead Team Canada, which included eight Oilers–Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, Kevin Lowe, Charlie Huddy, Randy Gregg and goalie Grant Fuhr.

The Canadian team limped through the round-robin with a record of 2-2-1, finishing fourth. But Sather’s squad rebounded with a dramatic 3-2 overtime win over the Soviet Union in the semi-finals.

Islanders star Mike Bossy tipped in a Coffey shot for the winner, while current Oilers goalie coach Pete Peters (then with Boston) registered the win. Canada swept the best-of-three final over Sweden by scores of 5-2 and 6-5.