I’ve always had a soft spot for role players who up their game and are at their very best when it matters most, and that’s why I’m a sucker for Pat Hughes. Hughes was hard-nosed “lesser light” who shone almost as brightly as the biggest stars with the Edmonton Oilers when they finally claimed their first Stanley Cup in 1984. When it mattered, Hughes was money.
Hughes, who spent a lot of time playing in the bottom six with the Oilers over the years, notably on a line with Dave Hunter and Kevin McClelland, would win a pair of Stanley Cups during his tenure in Edmonton, but it was that first one, helping the Oilers end the four-Cup dynasty of the New York Islanders in five games, that puts him on this list for me.
Pat Hughes
Forward
Born Mar 25 1955 — Calgary, ALTA
Height 5.11 — Weight 190 [180 cm/86 kg]
Drafted by Montreal Canadiens
Round 3 #52 overall 1975 NHL Amateur Draft
Drafted by Calgary Cowboys
Round 6 #80 overall 1975 WHA Amateur Draft
BY THE NUMBERS
Season | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% |
1977-78 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 5 | 0.0 | |
1978-79 | 41 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 7 | 22 | 51 | 17.6 | |
1979-80 | 76 | 18 | 14 | 32 | -38 | 78 | 159 | 11.3 | |
1980-81 | TOT | 60 | 10 | 9 | 19 | -12 | 161 | 92 | 10.9 |
1980-81 | 58 | 10 | 9 | 19 | -9 | 161 | 89 | 11.2 | |
1980-81 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 3 | 0.0 | |
1981-82 | 68 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 21 | 99 | 167 | 14.4 | |
1982-83 | 80 | 25 | 20 | 45 | 0 | 85 | 144 | 17.4 | |
1983-84 | 77 | 27 | 28 | 55 | 18 | 61 | 164 | 16.5 | |
1984-85 | 73 | 12 | 13 | 25 | -7 | 85 | 98 | 12.2 | |
1985-86 | 50 | 4 | 9 | 13 | -6 | 25 | 51 | 7.8 | |
1986-87 | TOT | 45 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -7 | 28 | 33 | 3.0 |
1986-87 | 43 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -6 | 26 | 30 | 3.3 | |
1986-87 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | |
5 yrs | EDM | 300 | 88 | 83 | 171 | 29 | 330 | 576 | 15.3 |
2 yrs | MTL | 44 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 5 | 24 | 56 | 16.1 |
2 yrs | PIT | 134 | 28 | 23 | 51 | -47 | 239 | 248 | 11.3 |
1 yr | BUF | 50 | 4 | 9 | 13 | -6 | 25 | 51 | 7.8 |
1 yr | HAR | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 3 | 0.0 |
1 yr | STL | 43 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -6 | 26 | 30 | 3.3 |
Career | 573 | 130 | 128 | 258 | -26 | 646 | 964 | 13.5 |
PLAYOFFS
Season | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% |
1978-79 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
1979-80 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | ||||
1980-81 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | ||||
1981-82 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||||
1982-83 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 | ||||
1983-84 | 19 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 44 | 4.5 | |
1984-85 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 33.3 | |
1986-87 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Career | 71 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 14 | 77 | 47 | 6.4 |
NOTABLE
It’s been well documented how the 1982-83 edition of the Oilers was humbled by the Islanders in the 1983 Cup final, getting swept in four straight games, and the lessons that were learned about what it would take to make the next step. Those are lessons Hughes, who arrived in Edmonton from Pittsburgh in March of 1981, took to heart when the Oilers hit the ice for the 1983-84 season still stinging from the sweep.
Hughes scored 27-28-55, which represented career highs for goals, assists and points, during the regular season. Hughes followed that up with 13 points (2-11-13), again career highs, in 19 post-season games against the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Minnesota North Stars and the Islanders on the way to the bedlam that ensued at Northlands Coliseum when the Oilers clinched that first Cup on May 19, 1984.
Of course, it was the big boys who led the way – Wayne Gretzky (35 points), Jari Kurri (28 points), Mark Messier (26 points), Paul Coffey (22 points) and Glenn Anderson (17 points) did their thing. But it was the middle of the line-up that that pushed the Oilers over the top. Ken Linseman had 14 points and Hughes was next with 13. Seven other players had 10 points during that playoff run. Top to bottom, there wasn’t a single player who took that 4-0 waxing from the Islanders the year before who didn’t bring it in 1984.
THE STORY
“It was a huge thrill,” said Hughes, who returned to Edmonton for the 30-year anniversary of the 1984 championship. “Not only as players, who as a kid growing up, this is a lifelong goal to hoist the Stanley Cup, but for all the people who couldn’t play that are the fans, they got excited about it.
“For a city like Edmonton it’s different than in a Montreal or Toronto or Detroit, they’d won it many years. This was the first Cup for this city ever, and I think people just went crazy over it. It was a special time . . . in Game 5 it was an electric atmosphere. The city felt it and the team felt it. You could just tell we were on the verge of something special. It was a really exciting place to be, it was for many days after that as well.”
Hughes, who retired from the NHL after the 1986-87 season and has been a member of the Ann Arbor Police Department in Michigan for more than 20 years, played his backside off to bring that first Cup to Edmonton and then added an exclamation mark with his second Cup in 1985. Hughes was never better through 573 regular season games and 71 more in playoffs than he was wearing Oiler silks.
This series will look at the top 100 Edmonton Oilers from the NHL era 1979-80 to 2014-15, starting with 100 and working up.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.
