WE LOVE HOCKEY!

Wayne Gretzky and the Canada Cup Trophy

1987

Pokey and The Bandit

Winnipeg Jets 1986-1988

Eldon "Pokey" Reddick 

and

Daniel "The Bandit" Berthiaume

Sports Illustrated Hockey Cover of the Week

June 1st 1987

Edmonton defeats Philadelphia to win the Stanley Cup.

WE LOVE HOCKEY!

Wayne Gretzky and the trophy after winning Canada Cup '87

He was the MVP of the tournament with 21 points

He led team Canada to victory in game 3 over the Soviet Union 6-5  to win the 3 game series 2 games to 1

WE LOVE HOCKEY!

1987 - Toronto Maple Leafs coach John Brophy admires the muscle of his newest defenceman, 18-year-old Luke Richardson; 

1987 Stanley Cup Finals (Game 7)

Stanley Cup Finals

May 31st 1987 

Game 7

Philadelphia Flyers vs Edmonton Oilers 

1987 and 1988 Jack Adams Trophy

Jacque Demers is to date the first and only coach to win back to back Jack Adams Trophies as NHL Coach of the Year.  He won the 1987 and 1988 Awards as head coach of the Detroit Redwings.   In these 2 seasons he guided the Red Wings to consecutive Campbell Conference Finals appearances but lost both to eventual Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers.

We Love Hockey

1987 NHL Awards

Wayne Gretzky in the 1980s was the big winner.  Besides winning the Stanley Cup and the Campbell Conference Trophy as captain of the Edmonton Oilers he took home:

The Hart Trophy/NHL MVP

(his 8th consecutive Hart Trophy)

The Art Ross Trophy/Leading Scorer for 1986-87

62 Goals, 121 assist, 183 points

The Lester B. Pearson, now Ted Lindsay Trophy/MVP as voted by the players

NHL Plus/Minus Award

+70

and if it existed then, the 

Rocket Richard Trophy/Leading Goal Scorer

62 goals

Ron Hextall Slashes Kent Nilsson - Stanley Cup Final 1987 (NHL Classic)

Our fun with Ron Hextall continues...

Happy Birthday Ron Hextall

Today May 3rd is the 48th birthday of former Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ron Hextall.  Now normally I wouldnt acknowledge a former Flyer since I am a Penguins man but I will make and exception today.   Hextall was no ordinary goalie, he played like a ticked off bull moose and had no problems fighting anyone or slashing anyone with his stick, much like Billy Smith of the Islanders.
Hextall was called by Wayne Gretzky.."the greatest goaltender I have ever played against".


In his rookie year of 1987 Hextall led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals against Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers and pushed the high scoring Oilers to 7 games.   That effort in goal earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs and became only the 4th player from the losing team to be named MVP.  Later that summer Hextall was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the NHLs top goaltender for the 1986-87 season.
He was also a 3 time winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy as the Flyers MVP (1987,1988,1989)


Today he is the General Manager of the AHL Manchester Monarchs, the top minor league affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings.