Will history repeat for the Edmonton Oilers four decades later?
With Connor McDavid's Albertans riding high into the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year against the Florida Panthers, they inspire memories of a previous Oilers juggernaut paced by the iconic Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.
"There definitely are some meaningful connections," Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Kevin Lowe told NHL.com.
Lowe, an Oilers ambassador, won the Stanley Cup five times with Edmonton (1984-85, 1987-88, 1989-1990) and the New York Rangers in 1994.
"The similarities are especially true in terms of the lessons we learned," he said. "The commitment to winning, and perhaps most importantly the willingness to pay the price to achieve it."
Game 1 of the 2025 Final is at Rogers Place on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX), the Oilers holding home-ice advantage after losing Game 7 last season 2-1 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
Energized by the dynamic duo of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers are reminiscent of the 1983-84 team that was determined to learn from their four-game loss to the New York Islanders in the 1983 Final.
"I look at the present Oilers," said Vic Morren, co-host with Neil Smith on the "NHL Wraparound" podcast, "and I see the Oilers of 1984. That Gretzky team had huge motivation to win Stanley for the first time, just the way the current club does.
"In 1984, Edmonton's motivation to win the title outweighed the Islanders' motivation to defend. And it could happen again -- the Oilers are more motivated than Florida for the same reason -- they haven't won it yet."
Defeat in 1983 taught the Oilers an indelible lesson.
"After being beaten," Lowe said, "we walked past the Islanders' room and could see their players sitting in their stalls, equipment still on, beers in hand. That image alone stirred envy in us.
"But what really struck me was the number of ice packs strapped to their bodies -- shoulders, knees, hips; you name it. They were warriors, clearly battered and bruised from the battle. It was a powerful reminder of what it truly meant to pay the price to win."
The Oilers signed Jeff Skinner to a one-year, $3 million contract July 1, 2024. The forward scored his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal at 8:07 of the opening period in Edmonton's series-clinching 6-3 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final, 13 days after his 33rd birthday.
In a similar vein, the Oilers acquired a virtually unknown center named Kevin McClelland in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Tom Roulston on Dec. 5, 1983. McClelland's goal 1:55 into the third beat Islanders goalie Billy Smith for a 1-0 victory in Game 1 of the 1984 Final, a series Edmonton won in five for their first Stanley Cup championship that launched a run of five titles in seven seasons.
"Looking back," said McClelland, who played for four championship Oilers teams, "what stood out for me was our work ethic. We faced lots of obstacles to get to the Islanders, but we handled them. We stayed winners because we dealt with all the other challenges that came up."
In his autobiography, "Champions: The Making of the Edmonton Oilers," Lowe called McClelland's goal "one that led to the biggest victory for the Oilers until that time. It inspired us to beat the Islanders in five games."
The Oilers' victory in Game 5 against the Stars looms as their most meaningful to date because it catapulted them into the Final for the second straight year. Like the 1984 model, these Oilers are filled with warriors such as 40-year-old forward Corey Perry, who opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 2:31 of the first period.
"This club has done a lot of thinking about what happened last year," said Perry, who will be in his sixth Stanley Cup Final, "and a lot of self-reflecting. But now we're a different team and a deeper one."
McDavid and Draisaitl are the balance wheels like Gretzky and Messier were in another century.
"What amazes me about Wayne," Messier once said, "is that he never stops amazing me."
Gordie Howe, Mr. Hockey and the idol of Gretzky's youth, once observed, "I sometimes think that if you part Wayne's hair, you'll find another eye."
Similar encomiums are being delivered about McDavid.
"Connor's game is incomparable," Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons wrote. "There is a singular genius that is McDavid. He does what no one else in the game can do."
Although the Oilers failed in their Cup quest last spring, McDavid's 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) en route to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy voted as playoff MVP made it evident, as one reporter put it, "that the Oilers are McDavid's team now more than ever." Edmonton's captain leads the playoffs this season with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) and Draisaitl's seven goals are tied with Perry for the team high.
"This is a mature group," said Oilers second-year coach Kris Knoblauch. "They're older and have seen a lot of playoff hockey. They know what they need to do to get it done."
Will Oilers playoff history repeat?
"There are definitely parallels," Lowe said. "It starts with high-octane star power with a clear determination to win. That's followed by excellent support players doing their job followed by goaltenders capable of stealing a game. It comes down to a team that has the experience and understanding that success comes at a cost."
McDavid is well aware of that fact and the possibilities ahead.
"I'm a guy who wants to make a lasting impression on hockey," McDavid said, "and with that in mind I have a lot more work to do."
Winning the Stanley Cup, like Gretzky and the Oilers did 41 years ago, would do the trick. And it would give Canada its first Stanley Cup champion since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
"McDavid," Simmons concluded, "is the best Canadian hockey player leading the best Canadian team to a possible championship season."
