The Gretzky Statue
One of the most iconic features of Rexall Place moves to Roger’s Place this week.
No, I’m not talking about the constantly crowded concourse or the long bathroom line ups.
The Wayne Gretzky statue will travel to the new Downtown location. Matt Henderson of Oilersnation did a fantastic write up about the statue today as well.
The Gretzky statue was erected after the 1988-89 season at the front of Edmonton Coliseum.
Should they keep it at Rexall?
I think there’s merit to the argument in favour of the Wayne Gretzky Statue staying at Rexall Place. After all, Wayne Gretzky helped put the Edmonton Oilers on the map. This was the house that Wayne built. This was the location where Gretzky won all four of his Stanley Cups, had his number retired.
Gretzky never played at Rogers Place. I understand that line of thinking.
My Take
There are many statues of players who have never played in the arenas where they are immortalized.
Some were just straight up built even if they never played a second in the arena. These names include Bobby Orr at TD Gardens, Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita at the United Centre. The Air Canada Centre in Toronto features plenty of legends including Teeder Kennedy, Johnny Bower and Borje Salming.
Even Montreal is not immune. They currently have statues of Howie Morenz, Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur outside the Bell Centre. However, they do have a Richard Statue at the former Montreal Forum, which is now a shopping complex.
I agree with Henderson; times change. I would rather have the icon of the Edmonton Oilers followed with the team, even if Gretzky never played at Rogers Place. It’s more a question of whatever happens to Rexall Place. Would you want a statue in a vacant lot, if the old stadium is demolished? Or would you want the statue in front of a supermarket?
A lonely statue representing a no longer used arena would be depressing. If anything, might as well keep the banners that were retired at Rexall Place. After all, they were all earned while the Oilers played at Rexall Place.
The Gretzky statues represents something more than a former arena. It represents the Oilers pinnacle of success, a reminder of a storied history of a franchise that was at one time, the most dominant team in hockey. It only makes sense for the statue to follow the team it represents.
New Oilers Jerseys Revealed on Friday?
NHL is coming to Winnipeg on Friday. Expect them to unveil #nhljets #oilers Heritage Classic jerseys and alumni rosters at Portage and Main
— gary lawless (@garylawless) August 3, 2016
As I have alluded to before, I’m an absolute jersey nut. When there is an announcement for a jersey, I look for jersey mockups and try to judge accordingly.
Now I’m just going on a personal opinion, but I think the jersey will be a white matches of the orange alternate the Oilers currently have.
It makes sense that the Oilers go for a matching take. The orange jersey was very well received and was a great throwback to the Oilers WHA days. The third jersey made for a fitting tribute for Rexall’s Farewell.
I also think they will be going with the White Jersey as they are the away team for this Heritage Classic. I also believe there will be very minor touch ups: the shoulder yolk stripping will be thinner to match and the mandated NHL shield will be added to the collar.
Regardless, this will be a very nice jersey to see hit on the ice. The shoulder numbers were something very unique to the NHL. Another interesting part of this jersey will be the orange as a secondary colour rather than blue.
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