Editor's Note: On Thursday, December 1st, Mike Grier announced his retirement from the NHL after a career that spanned 14 seasons. Grier was one of the lynchpins to the Oilers "little teams that could" of the late 90's and early aughts. We could not hope to describe Grier's time in Edmonton and his impact on the Oilers any better than Bruce McCurdy did in this September, 2010 article on his favorite post-dynasty Oiler.

It's tough to identify a single favourite Oiler from the post-dynasty days, a period that now stretches two decades into the past and indefinitely on to the future like an open prairie road. Like Lisa, I have lots of favourite Oilers. But I have no problem whatsoever in identifying my favourite trade from that period, so I'll use that as the springboard.

It was a complicated transaction, a kind of reverse sign-and-trade. Fortunately there was a willing sucker out there to do the signing, in the person of Mike Keenan, GM of the Blues. Keenan had a hankering for a hard-rock winger and decided that the man he wanted was Shayne Corson of all people. Corson - who I will say flat out is my least favourite Oiler ever - had worn out his welcome in the River City. He had "led" the club to three out-of-playoff finishes since being acquired from Montreal for Vincent Damphousse, and had disgraced the Oil drop through his off-ice actions, especially a widely reported fistfight with teammate and former protege Jason Arnott over the awarding of an assist of all things. This during a playoff "race" which was once again doomed to end in failure. That last incident resulted in Head Coach George Brunet losing his job and Corson himself being stripped of the "C" and clearly being placed on the "let him go when his contract is up" list.

Up stepped Mike Keenan to do the signing, despite the compensation of the day which was two first-round picks. I was happy enough with the exchange, but then Keenan came up with a sweetheart offer to get his picks back: he'd give up his own contract headache in star goaltender Curtis Joseph and throw in a developing hardrock winger of his own in Mike Grier. Tee hee.

At the time I called it a "three-for-zero" trade: we got Cujo, we got Grier, we got rid of Corson. Three desirable outcomes. It could hardly have worked out better as both Joseph and Grier more than fulfilled their promise, while Corson went on to soil the bed of a few other teams, notably Toronto where he quit on his teammates right in the middle of a playoff series. But I digress, other than to point out the obvious bias that I was likely to see Mike Grier in a very positive light compared to the void he would be stepping into.

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With the Oilers Top 25 Under 25 mostly behind us, I thought it might fun to take a look at how good that first Stanley Cup winner was when it comes to young talent. I'm not saying this group is as good as that one, but... well... but nothing. This group really isn't even close to being as good as that one. After the jump, we'll see just how good they were, and look to the bottom of the list to remind ourselves that even a dynasty will struggle to have a winner in every spot.

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The Moon is blood red as I write this, in a total eclipse, lit only by refraction of all the sunsets and sunrises ringing Earth. It's a deep central eclipse, its totality fully 100 minutes in duration, but with a visibility zone half a world away. Alas, just a few hours too early. 

It will be a bright and still very much full moon that will preside over the streets of Vancouver later this evening, as fans congregate to celebrate or mourn as the case may be. (Of course the game itself may well be over before moonrise, given the weird combination of hockey still being played near summer solstice and a 5 o'clock local start time, on a week night no less.)  

Never mind those latter facts, they're minor details, let's just pick the ones that fit the narrative (see: ^^ headline ^^). The superstitious folk and true believers with their eyes on the skies (see: ^^ picture ^^) might note that conjunction of events and say "anything can happen"; whereas those of us dispassionate scientific types who have been watching this particular series from afar with the certain knowledge that the phase of the Moon has fuckall to do with it might conclude "anything can happen". Cuz this series has been loony tunes from the get-go.

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When I try to describe to an American how many Canadians feel about Paul Henderson's 1972 series winning goal against the Russians, I struggle. The closest comparison I can come up with is "where were you when they shot JFK." Although there are now a few generations of Canadians who were not yet born when that goal was scored, we are aware of what it meant for Team Canada and our country. The Tragically Hip were inspired by the goal enough to write a song, you have no doubt seen the pictures or the video in commercials and you have definitely heard the audio replayed saying "Scores! Henderson scores for Canada" This goal has been called the "goal of the century."

As the goal means to so much to so many Canadians, it should come as little surprise that the physical pieces of the game have also come to mean so much to Canadians. Paul Henderson's iconic jersey recently sold for over $1 million, in an online auction that many felt shouldn't have happened in the first place. Some were concerned that this item was something that should be in a museum for all to see. The new owner and Paul Henderson himself seemed to feel similarly, and have organised a cross Canada tour for the jersey. Paul and his tour are on their way back east across the country, but I was able to catch up to the truck during their visit to Calgary Alberta.

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Editor's Note: This story was originally published on June 10th, but given that tonight is Rod's last game in the booth, it seems very appropriate to re-publish it now.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Rod's Retirement Roast, virtual edition. My name is Bruce, and I'll be your master of ceremonies for this event.

Oiler fans were saddened recently to hear of the impending retirement of the Voice of the Oilers, Rod Phillips. The man who called over 3,500 (three thousand five hundred!) Oilers' games has put in a full career and then some over the past 37 years, but we'll be sorry to see him go.

Having heard the rumours, I tuned into the final minutes of Rod's last broadcast in Anaheim as the sorry 2009-10 season wound to a close; if this was the end it was with a whimper, not a bang. Thankfully, we will have a handful more opportunities to hear Rod call a game in the 2010-11 season, as the club has arranged a farewell tour of sorts. A series of ten games called Rod's Classics will be featured, in which Phillips will call select games involving historic rivals of the mighty Oil, and take the chance to introduce what we all fervently hope is the team's next generation of stars. The hockey club has dropped many a PR ball over the years, but from this couch it appears they are doing things right in sending off their Hall of Fame play-by-play guy with the goldenest of parachutes.

No doubt Rod will be eating more than his share of rubber chicken in the coming months as his announcing days wind down, as everybody from former boys on the bus to assistant radio producers to stick boys to pancake eaters will all take their chance to say farewell. Today however, the chicken is virtual; the speakers are not people with any particular access, instead they are "ordinary" fans who have spent many a night over the past nearly four decades listening to Rod's voice provide the interface with their favourite team.

There are times when many voices can speak more eloquently than one. On this occasion I have invited four speakers from beyond the Oilogosphere to take the floor and have their say. Folks who listened to Rod here in Edmonton, in his home community of Calmar and all the way out on Vancouver Island. Later we will have an open mic in the comments section for any and all who wish to share an anecdote or memory of the man with the golden voice.

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Oilers fans of the '80s had little reason to lament the proverbial "one that got away", because there were so few who did. The survivor of the World Hockey Association had entered the NHL with a single "protected" skater: the 18-year-old Wayne Gretzky. Not a bad asset to be building a team around, and soon enough the team was built through some Glen Sather wheeler-dealering, a remarkable run at the draft, the trade route, and the open market (Randy Gregg and Charlie Huddy were both UFAs, signed for "free" in the manner of Taylor Fedun yesterday, and both won five Stanley Cups in this city. But I digress ... and I'm not even out of the first paragraph yet!)

There's an odd story behind why the Oilers ultimately protected just one skater, while the other three WHA teams had the "luxury" of two before all underwent the painful process of having their drawers pulled down and being exposed for all manner of abuse by Old Weird Harold and his henchmen in the unseemly world of the NHL's ownership group. The league-sanctioned buggery that followed was the only Reverse expansion draft in history, in which the incoming "expansion" teams were stripped of many of their better players, "reclaimed" by NHL teams. WHA teams who had scouted, pursued, signed, and developed talent from relatively untapped goldmines such as the NCAA and Scandinavia, lost their rights to whatever NHL team might have drafted the guy, even years later. The newcomers were permitted four exceptions: two protected skaters, and two goalies. The convoluted rationale used to explain the bizarre 1:1 ratio between skaters and goalies can best be summed up thusly: "We don't want your damned goalies."

Turned out they wanted not only our skaters, but in the strange case of Bengt-Åke Gustafsson, our protected skaters.

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Wayne Gretzky is all about numbers. Fifty is hardly a new number in his domain (in fact it's one of his more famous ones), but fifty years old is. Today he reaches that milestone, twelve years removed from his last game but still the biggest name in his sport.

I haven't seen much of Wayne those last dozen years since he hung up the blades - the two unforgettable days of the Heritage Classic, otherwise mostly-televised glimpses managing Team Canada, coaching the Coyotes, shilling product. I did, however, get many an eyeful of the Mozart of Hockey during the twelve years of his absolute peak as a player, from the afternoon he came to town as a pimple-faced 17-year-old wunderkind to the night he departed as hockey's all-time scoring champion. He was a hockey fan's wildest dream come true, especially a hockey fan with full season's tickets and a passion for both numbers and history.

Rather than write a new 99,000-word thesis on the Great One's impact on the hockey world, let me just link to a few previous accounts of those unforgettable days and years. Together these chapters weave a remarkable story.

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The first U.S. born female to win the Pulitzer Prize for literature, Pearl Buck, had some incredible knowledge on the subject of history. She once wrote, "If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday." These words of wisdom perfectly describe how to embrace the present without holding on to the past. Rather, we are encouraged to search the past in ways that force us to understand where we are today.

Hockey fans know a thing or two about the past. Those that long for a day when hockey was simple and pure are called "dinosaurs". Yet on the other hand, those that embrace goal celebrations and big pads are "youngsters". However, one undeniable fact that both groups firmly embrace is that hockey has a rich and enthralling history. From elementary roots in the pond hockey game to the streets of New York and Sean Avery's man-fashion blithering, the love of the game can be celebrated by exploring the progression of its players and supporters.

The American Hockey League is celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2011, and like any tough old bird, it's seen, heard, and experienced many incredible moments. Like a great-grandfather unpacking memories to future generations, the AHL has announced four more than admirable inductees into this year's Hall of Fame. The 2011 class will be honored at the AHL All-Star Classic in Hershey, PA in a special ceremony on January 31st. They'll be joining the ranks of Bruce Boudreau, Johnny Bower, Willie Marshall, Eddie Shore, Frank Mathers, and many other names that are certainly held in high regard by fans around North America. 

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