Edmonton Oilers (New Stanley Cup Edition)
AUTHOR: Rich Mole
FORMAT: 5.5 x 8.5 pb / 144 pages
ISBN-10: 1-55439-227-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-55439-227-8
$9.95
The modern era of professional hockey began when the Edmonton Oilers became an NHL team. The year was 1979, and over the next decade the team set the standard for successful, exciting hockey, dominating the league, winning five Stanley Cups in seven seasons, and producing some of the greatest players in the history of the sport, players such as Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, and Paul Coffey.
Prologue
It was 1990. Mark Messier, the captain of the Edmonton Oilers, faced the biggest challenge of his young career. He needed to carry the Edmonton Oilers through the playoffs to the team's fifth Stanley Cup victory without "The Great One" by his side. The Oilers had not been able to do it the year before. Two teams had met to battle for the 1989 Stanley Cup, but the Edmonton Oilers had not been one of them. Messier and the others had consoled themselves with the simple fact that making the finals - and winning them - was no piece of cake in a league of more than 20 teams.
The Oilers' playoff run got off to a rocky start. But after being down 3-1 in their series against the Winnipeg Jets, the Oilers were finally able to turn things around and pull the tough series out of the bag. Then, it was on to round two. Playoff pressure was bad enough. Making it worse, Messier knew that he lived in the shadow of the team's former captain and "spark plug" Wayne Gretzky. But he also knew that his team wasn't just good - they were great. Now it was time to prove it.
Messier pulled on his skates, laced them tight, and got ready to meet his former captain, Wayne Gretzky, and the L.A. Kings. It was game one, round two, of the 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs.
About the Author
BC-born author Rich Mole has enjoyed an eclectic communications career, as a former broadcaster, a freelance journalist, and, for 20 years, the president of a successful Vancouver Island advertising agency. A lifelong fascination with history has fuelled his desire to write about the times and people of Canada's past. Rich now makes his home in Calgary, Alberta.
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