As the hockey world celebrates the 60th birthday of Wayne Gretzky, fans of the Edmonton Oilers will undoubtedly have big smiles on their faces today. Flashbacks of the past come back anytime Gretzky is mentioned thanks to everything he did for the franchise.
Gretzky’s leadership, surreal ability on the ice, and commitment to excellence were an integral part of his prime when he was on the Oilers. Throughout his nine-year tenure with the Oilers, Gretzky did his part to lead the franchise to four Stanley Cup championships in a way that’s never been done before.
He won back-to-back championships in 1984 and 1985 and then did it again in 1987 and 1988 and it’s something that will forever be remembered by Oilers fans. It was during an era that everything fell into place and we were all witnessing greatness every hockey game he was a part of.
Wayne Gretzky will be forever remembered as the face of the Edmonton Oilers
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In the grand scheme of things, Gretzky will always be remembered as the face of the Oilers during a time when they truly stood out from other hockey teams. During the mid to late 80s, the Oilers always put on a show thanks to everything Gretzky brought to the table.
As Gretzky hits the big 60 in 2021, one has to marvel at all the incredible achievements he earned throughout his legendary career. One that stands out the most which will likely never be broken is all those hat tricks he scored with ease and precision.
Gretzky scored 60 hat tricks in his career that spanned over two decades, which to this day is still the NHL all-time record for both the regular season (50) and NHL Playoffs (10).
A human-scoring machine, Gretzky ended his career with 1,487 games played, 894 goals scored, 1,963 assists, and 204 Power Play goals. These are the kinds of numbers you’d only find in video games, not in real life but Gretzky did it all and then some that prove he’s the greatest hockey player of all-time.
Here’s a huge thank you to Gretzky as what he did during his time on the Oilers is something to always be grateful for, in addition to everything he did for professional hockey. As fans of this great sport and historic team, we can all appreciate and reflect on Gretzky for all the memories, plays, and of course, championship moments.
With how the current Oilers are playing today, we can all only hope that they take a few moments today as the hockey world honors Gretzky and look back at all his legendary highlights, quotes, and tenacity. That should undoubtedly help inspire and motivate them towards hopefully, similar greatness this season.
With how the Oilers are taking this season one game at a time, for tonight’s road game against the Winnipeg Jets, here’s to hoping they leave victorious with a huge win. It would be great to deliver an extraordinary performance in honor of Gretzky on his birthday for all that he accomplished with the Oilers. Talk about giving a nice birthday gift to give to The Great One tonight, eh?