TOP 100 OILERS: BLAIR MACDONALD (47)

7 years ago

For those too young to remember, stand-up comic and actor Rodney Dangerfield carved out a nice career in the 1970s and 1980s with his bug-eyed, tie-tugging “I don’t get no respect” shtick. For those who don’t remember Blair MacDonald, he was pretty much hockey’s version of Dangerfield as a member of the Edmonton Oilers.

Edmonton GM Glen Sather made sure of that with his infamous quip that a fire hydrant could score 40 goals playing on the wing with Wayne Gretzky. That was in reference to MacDonald, who spent parts of two NHL seasons playing the part of the hydrant alongside The Great One, including 1979-80, when he scored 46 goals.

Blair MacDonald

Right Wing

Born Nov 17 1953 — Cornwall, ONT

Height 5.10 — Weight 180 [178 cm/82 kg]

Drafted by Los Angeles Kings

Round 6 #86 overall 1973 NHL Amateur Draft

Drafted by Alberta Oilers

Round 3 #30 overall 1973 WHA Amateur Draft

BY THE NUMBERS

Season	Age	Tm	Lg	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%
1973-74	20	EDO	WHA	78	21	24	45		34
1974-75	21	EDO	WHA	72	22	24	46	4	14	155	14.2
1975-76	22	TOT	WHA	85	26	16	42	-6	22	214	12.1
1975-76	22	EDO	WHA	29	7	5	12	-8	8	72	9.7
1975-76	22	INR	WHA	56	19	11	30	2	14	142	13.4
1976-77	23	INR	WHA	81	34	30	64	10	28	253	13.4
1977-78	24	EDO	WHA	80	34	34	68	-12	11	237	14.3
1978-79	25	EDO	WHA	80	34	37	71	35	44	259	13.1
1979-80	26	EDM	NHL	80	46	48	94	1	6	266	17.3
1980-81	27	TOT	NHL	63	24	33	57	-7	37	172	14.0
1980-81	27	EDM	NHL	51	19	24	43	-8	27	134	14.2
1980-81	27	VAN	NHL	12	5	9	14	1	10	38	13.2
1981-82	28	VAN	NHL	59	18	15	33	0	20	116	15.5
1982-83	29	VAN	NHL	17	3	4	7	-1	2	29	10.3
5 yrs		EDO	WHA	339	118	124	242	19	111	723	13.4
3 yrs		VAN	NHL	88	26	28	54	0	32	183	14.2
2 yrs		EDM	NHL	131	65	72	137	-7	33	400	16.3
2 yrs		INR	WHA	137	53	41	94	12	42	395	13.4
Career			NHL	219	91	100	191	-7	65	583	15.6
Career			WHA	476	171	165	336	31	153	1118	13.4

PLAYOFFS

Season	Age	Tm	Lg	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM
1973-74	20	EDO	WHA	5	4	2	6		2
1975-76	22	INR	WHA	7	0	0	0	-3	0
1976-77	23	INR	WHA	9	7	8	15	11	4
1977-78	24	EDO	WHA	5	1	1	2	-2	0
1978-79	25	EDO	WHA	13	8	10	18	1	6
1979-80	26	EDM	NHL	3	0	3	3		0
1980-81	27	VAN	NHL	3	0	1	1		2
1981-82	28	VAN	NHL	3	0	0	0		0
1982-83	29	VAN	NHL	2	0	2	2		0
Career			NHL	11	0	6	6		2
Career			WHA	39	20	21	41	7	12

NOTABLE

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I’ve always thought that comment by Sather was a bit of a cheap shot – there’s no way a fire hydrant would score more than 20 goals playing with the Great One. Still, there’s a measure of truth in it, especially in retrospect when you consider MacDonald never came close to replicating the one special season he spent keeping that right wing spot warm for Jari Kurri.

That said, only five other players in franchise history have scored more goals than the 46 MacDonald potted that season – Gretzky, Kurri, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson and Paul Coffey. Craig Simpson had a 56-goal season with the Oilers in 1987-88, but 13 of those came as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Impressive company, no matter who you slice it.

MacDonald wasn’t big, he wasn’t fast and he didn’t have even a little bit of grit in his game – he was a Lady Byng candidate with just six penalty minutes during his 94-point season in 1979-80 – but he could finish. His 17.3 shooting percentage that season was a career-best. He had the sense to go where Gretzky could find him. That’s a knack that dated back to MacDonald’s days as Gretzky’s right-hand man with the WHA Oilers.

THE STORY

When Kurri arrived for the 1980-81 season and put up 75 points, including 32 goals, as a rookie to finish second in team scoring behind Gretzky, MacDonald’s days as the designated right-side triggerman for the Great One were numbered. He’d scored 19-24-43 in 51 games when he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in March of 1981.

MacDonald would play just 88 games over parts of three seasons with the Canucks before his NHL days were done. MacDonald was the very definition of a complementary player and he never did find a fit, and certainly nobody remotely close to Gretzky, to mesh with on the west coast – even so, he managed 54 points in those 88 games. He finished his pro career with three seasons in Austria.

With good reason, everybody remembers the dynamic and prolific duo of Gretzky and Kurri during the glory days, but MacDonald occupied that prized RW spot first and he was damn good at it in Edmonton’s very first season in the NHL. All told, MacDonald’s tenure in Edmonton saw him score 65-72-137 in just 131 games. That’s one helluva fire hydrant.

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.

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TOP 100 OILERS: BLAIR MACDONALD (47)

BY THE NUMBERS

NOTABLE

THE STORY

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