Edmonton Oilers’ 1984-85 Squad Named NHL’s Greatest Team
By Eric Friesen
The NHL named the 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers greatest team in league history Monday. After six-weeks of head-to-head voting on NHL.com, the Oilers’ second of five Stanley Cup-winning teams is said to be the best of all-time.
Edmonton captured their first Stanley Cup title in 1983-84, knocking off the four-time defending champion New York Islanders. The following year, the Oilers faced greater expectations to repeat as Cup champions.
Not only were the 1984-85 Oilers talented, but they were also the most fun to watch. They scored more, skated more effectively and fought harder than any other championship squad.
Edmonton Oilers
Wayne Gretzky won his fifth straight Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion and sixth straight Hart Memorial Trophy in 1984-85. That year, Gretzky registered 73 goals and 208 points in 80 games. He had also had an impressive 73-point lead over any other skater.
The1984-85 Oilers also had five other future Hockey Hall of Fame players in the lineup, including Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey and Grant Fuhr. And behind the bench, legendary head coach Glen Sather led the Oilers to victory.
The Oilers won the Smythe Division crown with a 49-20-11 record for 109 points in 1984-85 and scored a league-best 401 goals.
Playoff History
In the playoffs, the Oilers swept the first two rounds against the Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets. After that, the Oilers defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in six games to capture their third straight Campbell Conference championship. More than 30 years later, the Oilers remain the last team to win the (now-called) Western Conference title for three straight seasons.
Kurri, the league’s second-leading scorer in 1984-85 with 135 points, had a series to remember against the Blackhawks. The Finnish winger scored three hat tricks in the conference final, becoming the first and only player in NHL history to achieve the feat.
Edmonton faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1985 Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers tied the series at one after two games in Philadelphia. Gretzky’s first-period hat trick in Game 3 and two goals in Game 4 led the Oilers to a commanding 3-1 series lead. With the Stanley Cup in the building for Game 5, Edmonton looked to close out the series. After jumping to an early 4-1 lead, the Oilers came out with an 8-3 victory, winning the Cup for the second straight year.
In just 18 playoff games that season, Gretzky set the NHL records for playoff assists (30) and points (47). Additionally, Gretzky tied Jean Beliveau in 1956 and Mike Bossy in 1982 with seven goals in the Cup Final. He was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for his incredible playoff performance, finishing 10 points clear of the next highest scorer. Kurri scored a league-leading 19 goals in the playoffs, which tied him with Reggie Leach in 1976 for the most playoff goals.
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Building a Legacy
That same season, Edmonton had eight players go to the 1985 All-Star Game, including two goalies. Essentially, the Oilers were an all-star team, and definitely the league’s greatest squad. Now, in the salary cap era, it would be impossible to keep such a talented group together long enough to equal what the Oilers did three decades ago.
Edmonton’s 1984-85 team was perhaps the best team constructed in NHL history. To this day, the Oilers’ accomplishments are still marveled after 32 years.