RE-LIVE THE EDMONTON OILERS 1988-89 SEASON
8 years ago
With the hockey world still buzzing and fans of the Edmonton Oilers still reeling from the sale of Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings in August after a fourth Stanley Cup win, the 1988-89 season would provide the local faithful yet another kick in the pills.
The post-Gretzky Era would begin with a very different looking team, and one that, not surprisingly, was less dynamic and high-powered than the one fans had grown accustomed to. Gone were Gretzky, Marty McSorley, Mike Krushelnyski, Paul Coffey and Andy Moog. In to fill that sizeable void were the likes of Jimmy Carson, Craig Simpson, Martin Gelinas and Bill Ranford.
With the Great One gone, the Oilers would win just 38 games and manage only 84 points, their lowest total since 1980-81. The Oilers saw a bid for a third straight Stanley Cup end in the first round of the playoffs, marking the first time since 1982 they’d fail to win a post-season round.
That bid ended at the hands of Gretzky and the Kings, when the new-look Oilers coughed up a 3-1 series lead and lost in seven games. Take that, and this, too.
RECORD 38-34-8 (84 points) 3rd in Smythe Division
GD 325-306 plus-19 SH% 14.6 SV% .876
NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
1989-03-07 | |
1989-03-07 | Alan May traded to Los Angeles with Jim Wiemer for John English and Brian Wilks. |
1989-03-01 | Nick Fotiu signed as free agent (formerly with Philadelphia). |
1989-02-15 | Tomas Jonsson traded by NY Islanders for future considerations. |
1989-02-07 | Keith Acton traded to Philadelphia with 6th round pick in 1991 (Dmitri Yushkevich) for David Brown. |
1989-01-23 | Doug Halward traded by Detroit for 12th round pick in 1989 (Jason Glickman). |
1989-01-14 | Dave Hunter claimed on waivers from Winnipeg. |
1989-01-03 | Miroslav Frycer traded by Detroit for 10th round pick in 1989 (Rick Judson). |
1988-12-05 | Reed Larson signed as free agent by NY Islanders. |
1988-11-07 | Glen Cochrane claimed on waivers from Chicago. |
1988-11-01 | Ken Hammond claimed on waivers by NY Rangers. |
1988-10-27 | Ron Shudra traded to NY Rangers for Jeff Crossman. |
1988-10-03 | Steve Dykstra claimed on waivers by Pittsburgh. |
1988-10-03 | Ken Hammond claimed on waivers from Los Angeles. |
1988-10-03 | Dave Hannan claimed on waivers by Pittsburgh. |
1988-10-03 | Doug Smith claimed on waivers from Buffalo. |
1988-09-30 | Reed Larson signed as free agent (formerly with Boston). |
SCORING LEADERS
Player | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% |
76 | 44 | 58 | 102 | 19 | 69 | 214 | 20.6 | |
80 | 49 | 51 | 100 | 3 | 36 | 240 | 20.4 | |
72 | 33 | 61 | 94 | -5 | 130 | 164 | 20.1 | |
67 | 31 | 47 | 78 | 10 | 92 | 151 | 20.5 | |
66 | 35 | 41 | 76 | -3 | 80 | 121 | 28.9 | |
79 | 16 | 48 | 64 | -16 | 93 | 212 | 7.5 | |
80 | 21 | 31 | 52 | 10 | 55 | 120 | 17.5 | |
76 | 11 | 33 | 44 | 0 | 52 | 178 | 6.2 | |
64 | 17 | 11 | 28 | 2 | 57 | 71 | 23.9 | |
46 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 9 | 47 | 74 | 14.9 |
SEASON RECAP
Led by Jari Kurri and Carson, who scored 49 goals, Edmonton still had considerable firepower with five players who had 30-or-more goals, they just didn’t have the big gun, Gretzky, leading the barrage. After scoring 400-or-more goals in five of the previous nine seasons, they dipped to 325.
Their 84 points left the Oilers third in the Smythe Division and seventh in the league, a $5 cab ride back of the first overall Calgary Flames, who put up 117 points on the way to winning the Stanley Cup – just to rub in the first-round loss to Gretzky and the Kings.
After getting a split in the opening two games in Los Angeles, winning 4-3 and losing 5-2, the Oilers jumped into a 3-1 series lead with 4-0 and 4-3 wins in Edmonton. Back came the Kings, evening things with 4-2 and 4-1 wins before dispatching the Oilers 6-3 in Game 7 at the Great Western Forum. Gretzky, of course, did his part with two goals and an assist in the deciding game.
RETHINKING THE SEASON
Even without Gretzky, the Oilers still had a roster that was the envy of many teams. Kurri, Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson were all 28 years old, still in their prime years. They had skilled youth in Carson and Simpson and a promising young goaltender behind Grant Fuhr in Ranford. Charlie Huddy and Kevin Lowe were proven veterans on the blue line. Steve Smith had emerged and taken a bigger role after the trade of Coffey.
That said, the Oilers simply didn’t have the swagger they had in previous years because, simply put, they no longer could lay claim to the greatest player in the game. I have no idea how to quantify how much that changed the dynamic of the Oiler aura, but it most certainly did.
This 1988-89 Oilers were still a very good team — one that had another Stanley Cup in it down the road — but they were no longer a team that could file into any given rink and win for fun with Gretzky leading the way. The Great One, as the Oilers were painfully reminded in the first round, was in the other dressing room now.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.
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