Grit and Glory: Celebrating 40 Years of the Edmonton Oilers

Product Description

The complete story of the Edmonton Oilers–from Wayne Gretzky and the dynasty years, to Connor McDavid and the future, and everything in between.

When the Edmonton Oilers joined the NHL in 1979, the team owner, Peter Pocklington, proclaimed they would win their first Stanley Cup within five years. A bold statement that turned out to be half right: they not only won the Cup in 1984, but won it four more times over the next six years, forging one of the most dominant dynasties ever.
    The Oilers have always been a team of determination–fast scoring, hard hitting, and creative hockey that has earned them loyal fans across North America. The team has faced adversity, both on and off the ice. As a small market team, the Oilers have struggled to compete in the NHL, but always found a way. From the biggest trade in history that saw the Great One leave for L.A., to the eleventh hour negotiations that kept the team in Edmonton with a cadre of thirty-seven passionate owners–there is no club like it. And now with super star Connor McDavid leading the roster there’s never been greater promise for the future.
     With forty years of NHL action to celebrate, acclaimed sports writer Lorna Schultz Nicholson takes a journey back to the Oiler’s phenomenal highs and challenging lows, the larger than life characters and amazing records, to tell the remarkable story of the hardest working club in the game. Fully illustrated with rare and exciting images, and published in full partnership with the Edmonton Oilers, this is the must have book for Oilers fans, and hockey fans, everywhere.

About the Author

LORNA SCHULTZ NICHOLSON loves writing about hockey. In 2010, she wrote the bestselling
Home Ice about the Men’s Olympic Hockey hopefuls, complete with images from their early hockey days. She has also written many hockey books for children, including her Hockey Canada Puckster series and a series of middle grade novels. She holds a B.Sc. in Human Performance from the University of Victoria and has worked as a Fitness and Recreation Coordinator at UVIC where she also coached rowing. She has worked in media and broadcasting and is now a fulltime author, having published over thirty-five books.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

After beating out the Flames, the Oilers pushed on, physically bruised from the intense and long series. Their next matchup was against the Minnesota North Stars, and even though they swept the series, it was fraught with a few wacky games.

For Game 1, Sather put Fuhr back in net and they won easily, 7–1. The second game was more of a struggle, a seesaw battle that ended 4–3. Fuhr had to leave with a hyperextended elbow and was relieved by Moog, early in the third period.

However, it was in Game 3 that things really started to go sideways. The Oilers took the ice at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, with Moog in net and the players eager to make it a 3–0 series. Dave Lumley and Wayne Gretzky popped in a couple early, giving Edmonton a 2–0 lead. Eight minutes into the second period, with the score now 2–1, Lumley took a major penalty for spearing. He made his way to the penalty box and could do nothing but drink water as he watched Minnesota score three goals during the power play, making it 4–2 North Stars. Seconds after he got out of the box, Minnesota scored to make it 5–2.

This turn of events could easily have taken the air out of the Oilers’ game, but instead they went on a tear, getting goals from Coffey, Kurri, Anderson, Linseman, Messier and Gretzky, with Gretzky’s goal coming off a penalty shot. The game ended 8–5. Although Minnesota put forth a tremendous effort in Game 4, the Oilers won the game 3–1 to complete the sweep.

The stage was set for a rematch with the New York Islanders. Because of the sweep, the Oilers had a nine-day break between series. Sather was always thinking ahead, looking for an edge. Over the course of the season, Roger Neils