But my memories of Grant Fuhr go back to before his time in the NHL.
Cougar Town
The first time I heard about Grant Fuhr was on CBC Calgary Channel 9. Sports reporter Gary Arthur did a piece on a rising young star goaltender with the Victoria Cougars who was from Spruce Grove, Alberta.
The first time I heard about Grant Fuhr was on CBC Calgary Channel 9. Sports reporter Gary Arthur did a piece on a rising young star goaltender with the Victoria Cougars who was from Spruce Grove, Alberta.
Then I would hear about him occasionally on TV or radio, and read about him in the odd sports page I came across.
The one thing I wondered at the time was “How do you pronounce Fuhr?” Is it “Fuhr like purr” or “Fuhr like pure”? It turned out to be Fuhr as in pure.
That came in handy as the Victoria Cougars were coming to town to play the Lethbridge Broncos during the 1979-1980 season.
I was so excited.
Missed him by that much
Somehow, I was able to convince my parents to take me to the game. I was pumped.
Somehow, I was able to convince my parents to take me to the game. I was pumped.
Fuhr wore a distinctive mask. It was fibre glass, with three vertical stripes dividing the entire area of his face. He would wear a mask with a similar design when he started with the Edmonton Oilers.
We got to the Lethbridge Sportsplex in plenty of time to see the teams warm up. There in the net was a goalie wearing that exact mask. After taking about a dozen or so shots, he skated to the bench, where he conferred with another goalie, this one wearing a cage.
The conference broke up, and the one with the cage skated to the Cougar net.
I soon learned his name was Kevin Eastman, and he would be playing goal that night for Victoria.
My heart fell.
It hurt the Cougars too, because I am pretty sure the Broncos beat the Cougars that night.
Future’s so bright
Grant Fuhr was the Western Hockey League’s outstanding goalie in 1981, and led them to the league championship and a trip to the Memorial Cup. He was also a league all-star in both seasons he played in the WHL, the 1979-1980 and 1980-1981 seasons.
Grant Fuhr was the Western Hockey League’s outstanding goalie in 1981, and led them to the league championship and a trip to the Memorial Cup. He was also a league all-star in both seasons he played in the WHL, the 1979-1980 and 1980-1981 seasons.
The Edmonton Oilers were already strong in net with Andy Moog and Ed Mio, but in the 1981 NHL entry draft, they took Grant Fuhr with the eighth pick overall. He was the highest goalie ever taken in the draft, to that point.
He split his time with Moog over the next few seasons. In 1981-1982, his rookie year, Fuhr appeared in 48 games, winning 28, losing five, tying 14, recording no shut outs and having a 3.31 goals against average.
Stanley Cup success
The following year, 1982-1983, the Oilers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final, although Moog was the starting goalie for the run that culminated in a loss to the New York Islanders. Fuhr played in 32 games, winning 13, losing 12, tying five, with no shut outs and a 4.29 goals against average. He played in one playoff game, for 11 minutes, allowing no goals. He also played 10 games in the minors, so I wonder if he had an injury that year and was rehabbing it in Moncton.
The following year, 1982-1983, the Oilers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final, although Moog was the starting goalie for the run that culminated in a loss to the New York Islanders. Fuhr played in 32 games, winning 13, losing 12, tying five, with no shut outs and a 4.29 goals against average. He played in one playoff game, for 11 minutes, allowing no goals. He also played 10 games in the minors, so I wonder if he had an injury that year and was rehabbing it in Moncton.
The Oilers were back in the Stanley Cup final in the 1983-1984 season, for a rematch with the Islanders. This time, Fuhr had been named the starter for the playoffs. He did not disappoint, appearing in 16 games, winning 11, losing four, recording one shut out and a 3.00 goals against average, as the Oilers won their first Stanley Cup. He was injured part way through Game 3 of the final, so Moog played the last two games. In the regular season he played in 45 games, winning 30, losing 10, tying four, recording one shut out and a goals against average of 3.91.
Fuhr was also tapped on the shoulder to play for Team Canada in the 1984 Canada Cup, where he helped win gold, playing in two games, winning one and tying one with a goals against average of 3.00.
By the start of the 1984-1985 season, Fuhr was the number one goaltender for the Oilers. He appeared in 46 games games, winning 26, losing eight, tying seven with one shut out and a 3.87 goals against average, as the Oilers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers for their second straight Stanley Cup.
The 1985-1986 season promised to be another championship season, as the Oilers were top of the league. Fuhr turned in another solid campaign, with 29 wins, eight losses, no ties or shut outs, and a 3.93 goals against average in 40 games. After the Oilers dispatched Vancouver in three straight games, they engaged Calgary in an epic seven-game series, that turned on a simple play involving Fuhr. Defenceman Steve Smith came out from behind his own net and, attempting a cross-ice pass, hit Fuhr and the puck went in the net. It gave the Flames the lead, but the Oilers could not score over the next 15 minutes, so the Flames recorded one of the biggest upsets in NHL history.
Undeterred, the Oilers were back in the Stanley Cup final in the 1986-1987 season, where they outlasted the feisty Philadelphia Flyers in a seven-game series. Fuhr was 14-5 in 19 games in the playoffs, with no shut outs and a 2.47 goals against average. During the regular season he had 22 wins, 13 losses, three ties, no shut outs and a 3.44 goals against average.
That season, the NHL replaced the all-star game with a two-game exhibition against a team of Soviet all-stars called Rendez-Vous ’87. The teams split the two games, with Fuhr apearing both games for the NHL all-stars.
Before the start of the 1987-1988 season, Fuhr backstopped Team Canada to a win over the Soviet Union in the Canada Cup. He appeared in all nine of Canada’s games, including the epic three-game final. He had six wins, a loss, two ties and a goals against average of 3.34.
The following season was Fuhr’s best. Andy Moog had been dealt to Boston, so Fuhr played in 75 games, winning 40, losing 24, tying nine, recording four shut outs, and a 3.43 goals against average. The Oilers won their fourth Stanley Cup, defeating my beloved Boston Bruins in the final. Fuhr won all 16 games, lost two, and had a goals against average of 2.91. That year he also won his only Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie and finished second in balloting for the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player.
Things changed in the 1988-1989 season for the Oilers. In a trade that shocked the hockey world, Wayne Gretzky was sent to Los Angeles. Subsequently, the teams met in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with the Kings winning in seven games, and ending the Oilers hope for a third straight Stanley Cup and fifth in six years. Fuhr played in 59 games, winning 23, losing 26, tying six, recording one shut out and a 3.83 goals against average. He appeared in all seven playoff games, recording one shut out and a 3.45 goals against average.
The decade close with the 1989-1990 season, and the Oilers winning their fifth Stanley Cup, defeating my beloved Bruins once more in the final. Fuhr was injured much of that season, appearing in just 21 games for the Oilers, winning nine, losing seven, tying three, recording one shut out and a 3.01 goals against average. He did not make any appearances in the playoffs, as his replacement Bill Ranford backstopped the Oilers to the Stanley Cup and won the Conn Smythe as playoff most valuable player.
By the close of the decade, Fuhr was also a first team all-star in 1988, a second team all-star in 1982, and played in the 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, and 1989 all-star games.
The years after
Grant Fuhr would go on to have ups and downs in the years that followed, including a 59-game drug suspension in the 1990-1991 season. He would go on to play for Toronto, Buffalo, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Calgary before retiring at the end of the 1999-2000 season.
Grant Fuhr would go on to have ups and downs in the years that followed, including a 59-game drug suspension in the 1990-1991 season. He would go on to play for Toronto, Buffalo, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Calgary before retiring at the end of the 1999-2000 season.
His final NHL career totals were 403 wins, 295 losses, 114 ties, 25 shut outs and a goals against average of 3.38 in 868 games.
He was the first Black player to win the Stanley Cup and the first Black player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.
Parting thoughts
Although I thought I would see Grant Fuhr in 1980, it took another nine years to actually see him for the first time in a game against my beloved Boston Bruins in February of 1988.
Although I thought I would see Grant Fuhr in 1980, it took another nine years to actually see him for the first time in a game against my beloved Boston Bruins in February of 1988.
It was not his finest hour, as he got chased by the Bruins and replaced by Warren Skorodenski.
Yet, I would see him several more times in an Oiler uniform, and he was an unbelievable goaltender.
On several occasions, Wayne Gretzky has said Grant Fuhr is the greatest goalie in NHL history.
Given his record in the playoffs and the Canada Cup, I wouldn’t want anyone else.
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