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This is a great summer for all you hockey lovers out there, as we bring you two tidbits of Edmonton Oilers history: first, former Boston Bruins coach Don Cherry was once promised a job as a scout for the Edmonton Oilers, and second, Oilers great Mark Messier asked to be traded out of Edmonton.
Cherry recalled once getting in trouble for something he said on Hockey Night in Canada — a common occurrence even in the ruder, braver, more freewheeling 20th century — when Glen Sather, the Oilers' hockey coach, came up to him and said, “I hear you're getting fired, right?”
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Cherry asserted that this may indeed be the case.
“Well,” Sather said, “if you get fired, you'll get a job as a scout for us anyway.”
Cherry recounted the story on the latest Grapevine podcast, adding that he was “very happy with the offer. I wouldn't have minded taking a big pay cut.”
Speaking of Messier, the former Oilers standout said on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast that he knew it was time for a change after winning five Stanley Cups with Edmonton in 1991. His Oilers made it to the Final Four in 1991 but lost.
“At the end, you know, in my mind, I just felt like a change was needed. The team needed to be rebuilt. Wayne left, Paul left, Grant left. Personally, I needed another challenge professionally. I told Glenn, when the final buzzer went off, I was like, 'Wow, this is my last game with the Edmonton Oilers.' I called Glenn and I said, 'Glenn, we need to rebuilt the team. It's been 12 years. This is probably more than we expected.' I knew Wayne was going to win, but did he ever think he'd win five Stanley Cups? Probably not. He asked me, 'Where do you want to go?' And I said, 'If there's a chance, I'm 31 and I don't mind playing in New York.' So he was able to make the deal with New York.”
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This is a happy ending to the Messier trade saga, because at the time, it wasn't known that Messier had requested a trade. At the time, it was reported that Messier and the Oilers were in a contract dispute.
There was dissatisfaction in Edmonton that Edmonton didn't get much value in exchange for Messier. There were also long-simmering rumors of resentment that Edmonton couldn't get a New York player in exchange for Messier because Oilers owner Peter Pocklington demanded millions in cash as part of the return. I finally confirmed this fact conclusively in an interview I did with Pocklington in 2010: He got $2 million in the deal.
Of course, many Edmonton fans would have been upset and outraged in 1991 if they'd known Messier wanted out. I probably would have felt that way too. But that was 34 years ago. The world was different then, and the NHL was definitely different.
We've all gotten pretty used to the idea that NHL players have a big say in where they play, so I'm glad Messier was able to achieve his NHL dream in New York.
Staples on politics
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