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Wayne Gretzky - First Stanley Cup Victory In 1984

Along with center Mark Messier, Gretzky transformed the Oilers into one of the best-ever teams in the history of hockey. Although the team was disappointed in a four-game sweep by the New York Islanders in the 1983 Stanley Cup finals, the Oilers returned the favor in a five-game series the following year. The Oilers emerged as champions again in 1985, 1987, and 1988, with Gretzky gaining honors as the playoffs' Most Valuable Player in 1985 and 1988.

Awards and Accomplishments

1980-87, 1989 Hart Trophy as NHL's Most Valuable Player
1980, 1992, 1994, 1999 Lady Byng Trophy as Most Gentlemanly Player in NHL
1981-85, 1987 Lester B. Pearson Award as Player of the Year, National Hockey League Players Association
1981-87, 1990-91, 1994 Art Ross Trophy as NHL's top scorer
1984-85, 1987-88 Stanley Cup as NHL champion (Edmonton Oilers)
1985, 1988 Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player in Playoffs
1999 Induction into Hockey Hall of Fame

The Great One

A role model on and off the ice, Gretzky transcended the sport. He was a magician who conjured virtually anything he pleased—and Canadians love him for it.

Hollywood will no doubt make a movie about Wayne Gretzky some day, and it will have to include the scene where he plays his last game in Canada, in Ottawa against the Senators. It happened like this last week: Gretzky and his New York Rangers, who had already been eliminated from playoff contention, were playing the home team to a draw, thus denying the Senators a chance to boost their own playoff position. Yet with 4:45 left in the third period, during one of Gretzky's shifts, the crowd began to chant 'One more year! One more year!' Then, minutes later during a stoppage in play, the big-screen scoreboard above centre ice replayed highlights from Gretzky's career, and the PA system played Carly Simon's 'Nobody Does It Better.' The crowd rose in tribute, and players on both benches stood, too, banging their sticks against the boards and on the ice in the quintessential hockey salute.

Source: James Deacon, Maclean's, April 26, 1999.

The Stanley Cup victories, along with Gretzky's seemingly endless series of individual awards, made him into the best-known player in hockey by the mid-1980s. In a country that favored hockey as its national sport, Gretzky became a uniquely Canadian hero: despite his awesome accomplishments, he remained resolutely down-to-earth, without a hint of scandal to tarnish his wholesome image. This humility and approachability made him into a favorite of fans and players alike. From 1981 to 1985 and again in 1987, Gretzky won the Lester B. Pearson Award as Player of the Year, given by the NHL Players Association.

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