28 Days Until The Season Begins (as of Wednesday)
By Zach Laing
9 months agoThroughout the summer and into the fall, we’ll be counting down the days until the Edmonton Oilers begin their 2023-24 season with a daily trip down memory lane.
As far as fan favourites, Craig Muni is right up there for Oilers fans.
An October 8, 1986 article in the Edmonton Journal details the Oilers acquiring Craig Muni.
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Death, taxes, and Oilers fans loving their role players.
And for Muni, it’s his hard-nosed style of play on the Oilers blue line that endeared himself in the City of Champions. Drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs 25th overall in 1980, Muni was a solid prospect with a good all-around skill set. He could move the puck effectively, but offence didn’t come his way in the NHL.
Muni struggled to break in with the Leafs and bounced between the NHL for brief stints, with much more of his time spent in the AHL with the St. Catharines Saints. He hit free agency, and opted to sign with the Edmonton Oilers.
“When we met with teams that summer, there were about six or eight organizations that were interested, but the only thing I wanted was a guarantee from them that I would play in at least half of the exhibition games,” Muni said of the market for him as a play. “Of all the teams we talked to, Glen Sather was the only one that said he would give me his word on a handshake that I would. Sure enough, I played in half the games and I made the team – I wasn’t slated to make the team but I did!”
When he inked in 1986, the NHL underwent an expansion draft and Muni was involved in one of the most adventures transactions the NHL had ever seen. On Oct. 2, the Oilers sold his rights to Buffalo, who a day later sold them to Pittsburgh. Then, three days after that, the Penguins sent him back to Edmonton to complete a Sept. 11, 1985 deal where the Oilers moved Gilles Meloche to Pittsburgh for Marty McSorley.
All this, mind you, because the Oilers had wanted to hold onto young winger Raimo Summanen.
Muni went on to be an important piece on the Oilers’ blueline helping win Stanley Cups in 1987, 1988 and 1990. His tenure in Edmonton lasted six and a half seasons, when on in March 1993, the Oilers traded him to Chicago for Mike Hudson.
All in all, Muni enjoyed the best years of his NHL career in Edmonton appearing in 493 NHL games scoring 24 goals and 111 points while tacking on 492 PIM.
Previous days
- 99 Days Until The Season Begins — Wayne Gretzky
- 98 Days Until The Season Begins — Jesse Puljujarvi
- 97 Days Until The Season Begins — Connor McDavid
- 96 Days Until The Season Begins — Jayden Grubbe
- 95 Days Until The Season Begins — The 1995 Draft
- 94 Days Until The Season Begins — Ryan Smyth
- 93 Days Until The Season Begins — Petr Nedved
- 92 Days Until The Season Begins — Tomas Jurco
- 91 Days Until The Season Begins — Magnus Paajarvi
- 90 Days Until The Season Begins — The 1990 Stanley Cup
- 89 Days Until The Season Begins — Mike Comrie
- 88 Days Until The Season Begins – Brandon Davidson
- 87 Days Until The Season Begins — Rendez-vous ’87
- 86 Days Until The Season Begins — Nikita Nikitin
- 85 Days Until The Season Begins — Petr Klima
- 84 Days Until The Season Begins — Oscar Klefbom
- 83 Days Until The Season Begins — Ales Hemsky
- 82 Days Until The Season Begins — Jordan Oesterle
- 80 Days Until The Season Begins — Ilya Bryzgalov
- 79 Days Until The Season Begins — The WHA-NHL Merger
- 78 Days Until The Season Begins — Marc-Antoine Pouliot
- 77 Days Until The Season Begins — Adam Oates
- 76 Days Until The Season Begins — Bryan Young
- 75 Days Until The Season Begins — Jacques Plante
- 74 Days Until The Season Begins — The Edmonton Gardens
- 73 Days Until The Season Begins — Vincent Desharnais
- 72 Days Until The Season Begins — The Alberta Oilers
- 71 Days Until The Season Begins — Lubomir Visnovsky
- 70 Days Until The Season Begins — Curtis Hamilton
- 69 Days Until The Season Begins — Nice jersey number
- 68 Days Until The Season Begins — Jaromir Jagr
- 67 Days Until The Season Begins — Gilbert Brule
- 66 Days Until The Season Begins — The 1966 Memorial Cup
- 65 Days Until The Season Begins — Mark Napier
- 64 Days Until The Season Begins — McDavid’s 64-goal season
- 63 Days Until The Season Begins — Tyler Ennis
- 62 Days Until The Season Begins — Mark Arcobello
- 61 Days Until The Season Begins — Wayne Gretzky’s 61 records
- 60 Days Until The Season Begins — Sebastien Bisaillon
- 59 Days Until The Season Begins — Brad Hunt
- 58 Days Until The Season Begins — Johan Motin
- 57 Days Until The Season Begins — David Perron
- 56 Days Until The Season Begins — Teemu Hartikainen
- 55 Days Until The Season Begins — Igor Ulanov
- 54 Days Until The Season Begins — Jujhar Khaira
- 53 Days Until The Season Begins — Reid Schaefer
- 52 Days Until The Season Begins — Jerred Smithson
- 51 Days Until The Season Begins — Andrei Kovalenko
- 50 Days Until The Season Begins — 50-Goal Seasons
- 49 Days Until The Season Begins — Edmonton Mercurys
- 48 Days Until The Season Begins — Edmonton Flyers
- 47 Days Until The Season Begins — Marc-Andre Bergeron
- 46 Days Until The Season Begins — Jani Rita
- 45 Days Until The Season Begins — Ales Pisa
- 44 Days Until The Season Begins — Chris Pronger
- 43 Days Until The Season Begins — Jason Strudwick
- 42 Days Until The Season Begins — Doug Weight
- 41 Days Until The Season Begins — Mike Smith
- 40 Days Until The Season Begins — Devan Dubnyk
- 39 Days Until The Season Begins — Bogdan Yakimov
- 38 Days Until The Season Begins — Edmonton Investors Group
- 37 Days Until The Season Begins — Mike Peca
- 36 Days Until The Season Begins — Selmar Odelein
- 35 Days Until The Season Begins — Dwayne Roloson
- 34 Days Until The Season Begins — Fernando Pisani
- 33 Days Until The Season Begins — Marty McSorley
- 32 Days Until The Season Begins — Matt Greene
- 31 Days Until The Season Begins — Curtis Joseph
- 30 Days Until The Season Begins — Bill Ranford
- 29 Days Until The Season Begins — Leon Draisaitl
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