Edmonton Oilers: Remembering Dave Semenko

Edmonton Oilers legend Dave Semenko has died after a short yet courageous battle with liver and pancreatic cancer. He was 59.

Semenko was hospitalized only two weeks ago and passed away quietly in Edmonton with his family by his side. One of the truest examples of how to be an Oiler, Semenko played hard on the ice and was great in community. And the fans loved him for it.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound tough guy could handle any challenger who dared to drop the gloves with him. Thanks to him, the Oilers star players were allowed to play worry-free. Semenko was most famously called “Wayne Gretzky’s bodyguard” during his time in Edmonton – a title that would stick with him the rest of his life.

Gretzky released a statement on Semenko’s passing via edmontonoilers.com on Thursday.

Edmonton Oilers

“[Semenko] was one of the first Oilers I met in 1978,” Gretzky wrote. “I didn’t know at the time the impact he would have in my life and my career. He was the toughest player I knew and yet the biggest Teddy Bear you would ever know. A beloved Oiler that will be missed dearly because of his kind heart and funny sense of humour. He made us all better people.”

Semenko played two seasons (1977-1979) with the Oilers in the WHA, registering 16 goals, 36 points, 298 penalty minutes and 29 fights in 142 games. He also scored the final goal in WHA history.  Following the WHA’s merger with the NHL, Semenko played parts of another eight seasons with the Oilers, notching 59 goals, 136 points, 981 penalty minutes and 87 fights in 454 games. He also dropped the gloves with Muhammad Ali in 1983 for charity.

The most feared fighter of his era and toughest player in Oilers history, Semenko was a core member of the Oilers through the first half of the 1980s, and helped Edmonton win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1984 and 1985.

Semenko was traded to the Hartford Whalers in 1986, where he played one season and finished his NHL career with Toronto Maple Leafs. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native accumulated 65 goals, 88 points, 1,175 penalty minutes and 104 fights in 575 career NHL games.

After hanging up his skates in 1988, Semenko returned to Edmonton as a radio colour commentator for the Oilers and also served as an assistant coach with the orange and blue in 1996-97. He spent most of the past two decades scouting for the Oilers and was always a great ambassador for the team.

Former teammate Paul Coffey told Oilers TV that he believed Semenko beat his bout with cancer, like so many fights before.

“I got a note from [Kevin Lowe] about three weeks ago and was shocked, but still felt that it would be OK,” said Coffey. “I thought if anyone could beat anything it would be Semenko. But it wasn’t his fight to win anymore. It’s a devastating thing that took a big man down really fast. He was our protector, our friend and the guy who kept everyone loose.”

Based on the emotions and sadness on social media, it’s clear that Semenko touched many lives in Edmonton and around the hockey world. There will never be another Dave Semenko and he will be missed. Once an Oiler, always an Oiler.