The Edmonton Oilers announced Monday that they will honour former coach, general manager and executive Glen Sather with a banner saluting his achievements at Rexall Place. The club will raise the banner prior to a game against the New York Rangers on December 11.
“The Oilers organization has been blessed with tremendous leaders, many of them in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Those great teams and players were a part of one of the great dynasties in hockey. But, I can tell you with certainty, none of that success would have happened without Glen Sather,” Oilers Entertainment Group Vice-Chair Kevin Lowe said in a statement. “Glen was a mentor, leader, protector and father figure for so many players that wore the Oilers sweater. He showed us what it meant to be champions both on and off the ice.”
Sather served as head coach in Edmonton from 1977 to 1989 and 1993-94, and as general manager of the team from 1980 to 2000. He presided over one of the great dynasties in NHL history, guiding the Oilers to five Stanley Cups between 1984 and 1990. The man they call “Slats” ranks 19th in all-time regular season wins among NHL head coaches.
Sather will be the ninth Oiler honoured with a banner raised by the team, joining Al Hamilton, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson and long-time radio broadcaster Rod Phillips.
