NATION PROFILE: STAN WEIR
By Lowetide
10 years agoStan Weir gave the first Oilers NHL team a veteran center they could count on. A solid offensive player he could also check, win faceoffs and anhor the main penalty-kill. Stan Weir was a mentor to the Boys on the Bus, and as such is a charter member of Oilers Nation.
Peter Gzowski, the brilliant writer, put Stan Weir in perfect foccus in his book GAME OF OUR LIVES:
Weir centered Dave Hunter and a dizzying group of wingers that included Dave Lumley, Donny Murdoch and sometimes Blair MacDonald. Weir also played many shifts with Mark Messier on his portside, Sather would line Messier up at center on faceoffs and young Mess would try to get himself and the opposition center thrown out so Weir and the Oil would have a distinct advantage on the ensuing faceoff with Weir at the helm.
Weir scored 31 goals in the final WHA season, 33 in the 1979-80 season (that was the year of the penalty shot above and the year Gzowski wrote his book about the team) and then hung around for most of two additional seasons as a 4th liner/pk/mentor.
Part of that role is losing playing time season over season, and as the Oilers added more quality and depth to the team Weir fell farther down the depth chart. Still, those seasons in NHL Oiler colors were vital to keeping the team competitive while also developing young players to take on the role.
LEGACY
He is a very important part of the early Oilers. Weir did the difficult work until the kids could take on more of the chores, and in that way he contributed greatly to the glory team that won Stanley after his exit.
Many years later–during the Stanley run in 2006–Weir came to prominence once again. Oilers fans would often write "Chuck Norris" level brags in comments sections for the hours leading up to gametime 2006 spring. Among the more brilliant (credit if available) items:
- Stan Weir puts the fun in funeral.
- Gretzky went where the puck was going. Weir made the puck come to him (PDO)
- Stan Weir let the dogs out
- Stan Weir once played 18 holes of golf using a 12-inch strip of rebar and a sun-dried tomato. He shot a 54.
- When Stan Weir crosses the street, cars look both ways.
- Stan Weir won a pissing contest with a Russian racehorse.
- Stan Weir can blow bubbles with Beek Jerky (Clayton Magnet)
- Stan Weir is not susceptible to Kryptonite (doritogrande)
- Stan Weir put the laughter in manslaughter.
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