TOP 100 OILERS: DON JACKSON (44)
7 years ago
There’s not a lot of room left on the marquee when you’ve got stars named Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson and Paul Coffey hogging the spotlight the way they did with the Edmonton Oilers in the early 1980s on the way to Hockey Hall of Fame careers. Don Jackson was always fine with that. Singers sing, dancers dance. Everybody has a job to do.
On a team full of thoroughbreds who’d tear up the track and bring fans to their feet in Edmonton and around the NHL as the Oilers rose up the ranks, Jackson, a big defenseman from Minnesota, was a plough horse. He was one of what people call the lesser lights, doing the grunt work in the background while his more talented teammates took centre stage. It was honest work. Necessary work.
Don Jackson
Defense
Born Sep 2 1956 — Minneapolis, MN
Height 6.03 — Weight 210 [191 cm/95 kg]
Drafted by Minnesota North Stars
Round 3 #39 overall 1976 NHL Amateur Draft
Drafted by Calgary Cowboys
Round 8 #91 overall 1976 WHA Amateur Draft
BY THE NUMBERS
Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% |
1977-78 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | |
1978-79 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 6 | 0.0 | |
1979-80 | 23 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 8 | 0.0 | |
1980-81 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 14 | 0.0 | |
1981-82 | 25 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 0.0 | |
1982-83 | 26 | 71 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 136 | 72 | 2.8 | |
1983-84 | 27 | 60 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 28 | 120 | 57 | 14.0 | |
1984-85 | 28 | 78 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 27 | 141 | 47 | 6.4 | |
1985-86 | 29 | 45 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 93 | 34 | 5.9 | |
1986-87 | 30 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 91 | 4 | 25.0 | |
5 yrs | EDM | 262 | 15 | 45 | 60 | 69 | 508 | 214 | 7.0 | |
4 yrs | MNS | 27 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 41 | 31 | 0.0 | |
1 yr | NYR | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 91 | 4 | 25.0 | |
Career | 311 | 16 | 52 | 68 | 75 | 640 | 249 | 6.4 |
PLAYOFFS
Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% |
1979-80 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
1982-83 | 26 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 30 | ||||
1983-84 | 27 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 32 | 16 | 6.3 | |
1984-85 | 28 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 64 | 6 | 0.0 | |
1985-86 | 29 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 0.0 | |
Career | 53 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 147 | 29 | 3.4 |
NOTABLE
Jackson’s NHL career spanned just 311 games, 262 of those with the Oilers, but he dropped the gloves a total of 43 times. Jackson was a willing, if not particularly adept, scrapper. He was the kind of guy teammates could count on to have their backs in any situation – that came in handy when the Battle of Alberta really was a battle. Playing in a support role, sticking his nose in when needed, was Jackson’s forte.
You can watch a clip of the Oilers and Flames going at it here with Jackson in the middle of the action. Some more Jackson, with Jim Peplinski, here. For a bit of comedic relief, you can watch Jackson, then coaching Cincinnati in the IHL, throwing down with Atlanta Mascot Sir Slapshot. It’s here. That dust-up cost Jackson a 10-game suspension. Suffice to say, Jackson more than made up for his lack of natural ability with a willingness to compete.
When Jackson arrived from the Minnesota North Stars before the 1981-82 season, Edmonton’s young stars, the core of the team that would go on to win five Stanley Cups, were still kids. Gretzky, Anderson, Messier and Jari Kurri were 21. Coffey was 20. Grant Fuhr was just 19. It was up to Jackson, then 25, Lee Fogolin, Dave Semenko, Dave Lumley and Curt Brackenbury to make sure the kids were alright.
THE STORY
Simply put, there’s nothing in the numbers that shows what a glue guy like Jackson meant to those young Oiler teams. Jackson was a third-pairing player who was at his best when working in tandem with Randy Gregg. His career-high for points was 20, which he hit twice with the Oilers. He scored just 15 goals, a career-high eight coming in 1983-84, during his tenure here.
That said, having talked to so many of the players from those teams of the early 1980s, there’s no question what the likes of Fogolin and Lumley and Jackson meant to that young core. Jackson, not fleet of foot, took care of his own end first and waded into the scrums when needed. Gretzky, Messier and the rest could do what they did because guys like Jackson did their part.
Jackson was part of Edmonton’s first Stanley Cup winner in 1984 and he added a second sip of bubbly for good measure in 1985 before he was dealt to the New York Rangers for the 1986-87 season. When the Oilers held their Boys on the Bus 30-year reunion for the 1984 Cup team, Jackson was here and he was, once again, happy as always to let the then-50-something kids take the spotlight. Teams don’t win without guys like Jackson.
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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