The Stanley Cup-era of the Edmonton Oilers has moved even more into the past.
The Oilers sent goaltender Grant Fuhr and forward Glenn Anderson to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a seven-player trade Thursday. Now, only captain Mark Messier and defenseman Kevin Lowe remain from the Oiler teams that captured five Stanley Cup titles in a seven-year span."It seems I've gone through the whole transition," Fuhr said. "Everything goes in circles. I'm happy I was there for the whole circle."
The winter of Edmonton's discontent started in 1988, when Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. The departures have been steady ever since.
"It's the end of an era for me. I started with a mediocre team and we became a great one," Fuhr, 28, said.
"Now the Oilers are a very young team. . . . Now they'll build up again."
Oiler general manager Glen Sather also dealt Craig Berube, who came from Philadelphia in the Jari Kurri trade in late May, in the seven-player package.
Edmonton received flashy Toronto forward Vincent Damphousse, forward Scott Thornton, defenseman Luke Richardson and goaltender Peter Ing, plus future considerations.
"We're trying to mend holes for the future," Sather said.
Anderson, who's 28th on the all-time scoring list with 413 goals, had been embroiled in a contract dispute with the Oilers and did not report to training camp two weeks ago. Esa Tikkanen, the Oilers' leading scorer last season, and Craig Simpson have yet to come to terms with Edmonton.
With Bill Ranford returning from the Canada Cup with the Most Valuable Player trophy, Sather said he could part with Fuhr.
"Grant is one of the best goalies I've ever seen, but it was time to do something. Billy needs time to blossom. He needs the pressure of playing every night. I think he can do that," said Sather.