Edmonton Oilers Heritage Website

Randy Gregg is the owner of five Stanley Cup rings from his time with the Oilers, despite a string of retirements and medical-school commitments.

Gregg, an Edmonton native, was a teenage hockey player of note, but he was also a genius. The University of Alberta had accepted him at age 16 and three years later, in 1975, he began the study of medicine.

Although committed to his studies, hockey was important to Gregg, and, out of curiosity, he tried out for the Golden Bears hockey squad. Not only did he make the team, he was named Intercollegiate Player of the Year in 1979 and led the Bears to two University Cup titles as national champions. His play caught the attention of the New York Rangers, but he instead decided to play for the Canadian national team, which would allow him more time to combine academics with his on-ice passion. The national team also featured U of A coach Clare Drake on staff, so Gregg had a familiar mentor on the team.

In 1980, Gregg played for Canada at the Lake Placid Olympics, where he realized that hockey was more than a part-time passion. In the Olympics, he was only one of a few players who scored on Soviet goaltending legend Vladislav Tretiak. But, even after the Olympics, Gregg decided against the NHL, choosing instead to spend two years as an amateur player coach in Japan.

Finally, he returned to his hometown and signed with the Oilers in 1982. In his rookie 1982-83 season, he played every regular season game on the Oilers blue line, as Glen Sather felt that his team needed a smart and steady defenceman going into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Gregg would go on to win five Stanley Cups with the Oilers and a Canada Cup in 1984 with the national team. In his Oilers’ career, he played in 453 regular-season games, earning 188 points. Although not a goal scorer, he was a defensive specialist that earned him a solid reputation throughout the league.

Throughout his career, Gregg did not allow hockey to sideline his study of medicine. Since his debut with Team Canada in 1980, he had made it clear that his first priority was his education. After the Oilers’ shocking upset in the 1986 playoffs, Gregg announced that he was quitting so he could focus on his medical career. However, a couple of months into the 1986-87 season, Gregg was back in the Edmonton line-up to help the team win another Cup. After that season, he retired once again so he could enter a residency program in orthopedic surgery. Again, he still wanted to play, so he rejoined the amateur national team program and once again represented Canada at the Calgary Olympics. Instead of returning to the medical profession after the Games, Gregg re-signed with the Oilers, remaining with the team until 1990, when he retired again to work in medicine and help design a new minor hockey program for kids. In 1992, he returned to the NHL for one last time, playing with the Vancouver Canucks for just 21 games.