RELEASE: MacTavish & Gregg to be inducted into Oilers HOF

RELEASE: MacTavish & Gregg to be inducted into Oilers HOF

The multiple Stanley Cup champions will be enshrined in the Oilers Hall of Fame prior to the October 25 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club is pleased to announce Craig MacTavish and Randy Gregg will be inducted into the Oilers Hall of Fame on October 25 when the team hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Signed ahead of the 1985-86 season, MacTavish spent eight full seasons with the Oilers as a player and enjoyed three Stanley Cup wins in 1987, 1988 and 1990. Seeing action in 701 games with Edmonton (10th in franchise history), the London, Ont. native recorded 155 goals along with 176 assists for 331 points. He added another 13 goals and 24 assists through 113 playoff games.

Potting 20-plus goals four times in his first five seasons with the club, “MacT” also assumed a leadership role in Edmonton and earned an alternate captain title in 1990 before succeeding Kevin Lowe as team captain in 1992. Sixty-six games into his ninth season with Edmonton, he was traded to the New York Rangers where he was reunited with numerous former Oilers teammates before eventually going on to win his fourth Stanley Cup.

Following his playing career, MacTavish returned to Edmonton as an assistant coach for the 1999-2000 season before becoming head coach the following year. Over his eight seasons at the helm, the Oilers posted a 301-252-47 record and made an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in 2006. He also served the club for five years as senior vice president of hockey operations and two years as general manager.

Originally joining the Oilers during the club’s 1982 playoff run, Gregg would go on to spend parts of nine seasons and 453 games with Edmonton, scoring 40 goals and 148 assists for 188 points, and becoming one of just seven players in team history to appear on the roster of all five Stanley Cup winners. His 130 playoff appearances (13 goals and 39 assists for 52 points) ranks sixth in franchise history and third among Oilers defencemen.

Born in Edmonton and playing his collegiate hockey at the University of Alberta, Gregg captained Team Canada at the 1980 Winter Olympics and played two years in Japan before signing with his hometown club. Remarkably earning a medical degree during his playing career, Gregg had a personal-best 40 points during his second full season with the Oilers in 1983-84, while his steady play along the blueline helped the club win its first of five NHL titles and earned him a spot on the 1984 Canada Cup squad.

Twice answering the call to return to the Oilers lineup following brief retirements in 1986 and 1988, Gregg won two more Stanley Cup titles in 1987 and 1988 while also making another Olympic appearance in 1988. Following Edmonton’s fifth Stanley Cup win in 1990, he was claimed via waivers by Vancouver.

Following his final retirement in 1992, Gregg completed his residency program at the University of Alberta and became a family physician, operating a sports medicine practice in Edmonton. He is also managing director of the Edmonton Riverhawks collegiate baseball team of the West Coast League.

Tickets for the October 25 Hall of Fame game vs. Pittsburgh are available in Oilers Power Pack 8, and fans can visit EdmontonOilers.com/PowerPacks to sign up for the August 8 pre-sale for their best chance at access. Individual game tickets will go on sale later in August.

About the Edmonton Oilers Hall of Fame

Created to honour outstanding contributions or service to the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club by past members of the organization, the Oilers Hall of Fame may include players, coaches, trainers, staff, executives or any other person whose role or service in the organization since its founding in 1972 is recognized as extraordinary.

The Oilers Hall of Fame selection committee is comprised of 11 members who were appointed based on their significant and varied experience in the game of hockey and the community. Each have been appointed for an initial three-year term and can serve for a maximum of 15 years.

Committee members may each bring forward one name annually as their official nomination for consideration. A maximum of two nominees will be elected to the Oilers Hall of Fame each year, requiring an affirmative vote of at least 75 percent.

Thec ommittee is comprised of former Oilers Wayne Gretzky, Ron Low, Louie DeBrusk, Chris Joseph, former player and executive Bruce MacGregor, along with media members Jim Matheson (Elmer Ferguson Award winner 2000), Terry Jones (Elmer Ferguson Award winner 2011), Bob Stauffer and Jason Gregor, as well as community members Chief Wilton Littlechild (International Chief and former U of A Golden Bear) and two-time Olympic gold medalist Shannon Szabados.