The perfect assembly of villains.. Loved it.
Among the more obvious choices, John Muckler's face and also the announcers referring to that guy as 'DR Randy Gregg' used to have me seething. Was that really something that needed to be qualified EVERY time?
Only the Canucks in the last 7-10 years have had an amalgam of such hateable people on one team.
Thanks for the vid.
Last edited by flizzenflozz; 07-31-2014 at 11:22 PM.
The style of hockey that was played by most of the Smyth division and particularly the 80's battle of Alberta was truly as close as you could get watching a war on ice. Every season every playoffs. Their mutual hatred competing against each and for the fans was genuine.
For the all the other fans like myself that grew up in the 80's we were blessed to see those epic battles. The consistent border line hockey insanity is something can't really be compared to hockey of today.
The NHL has evolved to the skill level what it is today but the 80's battle of Alberta had it all and it was can't miss hockey every game they played.
If you don't think that skill level was there then just check out the Flames and Oilers stats player by player top to bottom.If some fans disagree with that they have either forgotten or are just too young to have seen it. You can't fault anyone if they were too young and it is natural for generations to stand behind the notion that theirs is the best.
I guess I'm lucky that I have seen both and was even more lucky to see the greats of the 70's.
Just like my dad was lucky to see the legendary hockey of the 50's and 60's but the true battle of Alberta is a glimmer of what it used to be.
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Last edited by Stay Golden; 08-01-2014 at 12:57 AM.
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I remember Anderson,Messier and someone else firing pucks directly at a group of flames fans heckling them during warm-up. Sather was laughing at this as well. I was one of many kids around this area, but they didnt care. Imagine this stuff happening now.
Lot of Oiler fans/whiners don't stop to think that even though the Smith goal was flukey, they still had a ton of time to tie it up. That Calgary team had so much guts to beat a powerhouse like that. One of the greatest upsets of all time. I remember that game like it was yesterday...
I've got the "C of Red" video yearbook from 1986 on VHS -- it has the final seconds with Peter Maher's first "Ya Baby". Going to try to get it uploaded onto Youtube this weekend...
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Hard to explain the impact of this series to younger fans. There is no team in the NHL today, nor has there been since, as dominant as the Oilers were in those days. They were the last of the true dynasties. In their prime.
Consider this: The '86 loss to the Flames was the only series that Oilers dynasty lost in a span of 18 playoff series.
And the hatred between the two teams was vitriolic. Again, nothing compares today. NHL players are simply more buddy-buddy professionals today, with so much more roster turnover and free agency, than the were back then. The combination of the skill, toughness and dedication to a system that it took to beat the Oilers in a 7 game series is a testament to years of hard work by the Flames management and coaching staff. That upset series might still be my favourite memory as a Flames fan - more than even the Cup win or the 04 Cinderella run. It marked the beginning of the Flames run as one of the premier franchises in the NHL.
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Originally Posted by fotze
If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
Last edited by CliffFletcher; 08-01-2014 at 06:24 PM.
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The NHL has evolved to the skill level what it is today but the 80's battle of Alberta had it all and it was can't miss hockey every game they played.
In that era, even the regular season games between the Flames and Oilers had days of media build-up and anticipation. And the on-ice action was electric. If you were a hockey fan at all, you had to drop anything you were doing and watch those games. It was like a bunch of playoff game 7s sprinkled through the regular season.
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Originally Posted by fotze
If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
In that era, even the regular season games between the Flames and Oilers had days of media build-up and anticipation. And the on-ice action was electric. If you were a hockey fan at all, you had to drop anything you were doing and watch those games. It was like a bunch of playoff game 7s sprinkled through the regular season.
To your point, here's one more brawl from Jan game of that 1986 season
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can you imagine what this rivalry would have been had social media been around then?
The outrage over the line brawls and bench clearing brawls, kneeing in fights, punching over and around officials, elbows (on Nattress), someone breaking Messier's (?) leg while fans cheered, the playoff goal that didn't count that Nieuwendyk got (and the Sun caught in a great photo) etc etc would've had hundreds or thousands of people up in arms.
Now there's a TSN poll and roundtable discussion on the simplest of questionable hits....there was questionable hits and much dirtier things than anything in the game right now, at least once or twice a game.
Exhibit A, this likely wasn't a penalty in 1988..now it would be a 15 game suspension with Roberts getting death threats via Twitter:
To your point, here's one more brawl from Jan game of that 1986 season
It's too bad Risebrough's disastrous tenure as GM has overshadowed his playing career with the Flames. Because his arrival from Montreal, and then Tonelli's from the Islanders, gave the Flames franchise a crucial injection of leadership and winning experience.
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Originally Posted by fotze
If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
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As someone who wasn't in Calgary at the time and watched the BOA from an outsider's perspective, I found your comment interesting.
My perspective as an outsider was that most (outside Alberta) viewed the Oilers as the talented, star-studded good guys, and the Flames as the big, bad bullies.
Not saying I did, just that that was my general impression from most fans.
And yes, Sather's smirk... hated it.
I lived in Calgary at the time and everyone (in my circle anyway) thought of the Oilers and Slither as evil incarnate.
Oh and as well I love Badger's grimmace/ nose tweaking stuff. RIP Badger Bob...truly one of the greats. It was a pleasure watching him coach Calgary those few years. I wish he would have won the cup in that 86 run.
It's amazing how much better the team got between then and '89... It's such a shame they weren't able to start the 90s with a little mini-dynasty.
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Originally Posted by LickTheEnvelope View Post
... Eakins' claims Gagne's line played Kessel's line even...
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Originally Posted by Hells Bells View Post
Yeah, Gagner's line was -4 and Kessel's was +4, so it all evened out.
