Thanks '72.
Sure hope the team honours him through the 17-18 season. Might be the right player tribute to start off the wall of honour.
He was a giant part of every 80s kid's childhood here in Edmonton. He was why we stood taller and tougher than our southern rivals. We rose to his level. A big part of the dynasty faded when he went to Hartford. We were lucky to have him back in several roles after his on-ice retirement. He always did right by his friends and associates. Class guy.
Dave was from that era where you had skilled players and you had guys that stood up for them. For those who never saw him play live, he wasn't like the designated tough guy who only played 3 or 4 minutes and fought the other team's tough guy. That was a time where you had heavyweights, middleweights and even some lightweights ready to go at it. What made Semenko stand apart was that he didn't go out looking for a fight but made sure he won when he did. That's the major reason why guys like Gretzky and others, who didn't fight or were targeted by those above their weight class, could play the way they did.
There are plenty of his fights on YouTube and elsewhere. One of my favourites was when the Oil were playing the Islanders and Billy Smith. He was very active with the stick with those around the net, including playing with the tape knob being below the top end of the stick, so he could butt-end someone and cut them pretty good. In one game in Long Island, Semenko was hanging around the net looking to screen or bang in a loose puck. Smith decides he wants to rough up Semenko, thinking he'd just either skate away or just wrestle. Instead, Semenko turned on Smith, popped his mask off and pummelled him. IIRC, both got majors, Smith had a double game misconduct and Semenko a triple GM.
Yeah, the team did lose a lot when Dave got traded. Even though they won cups in 87, 88 and 90, there wasn't the swagger as in earlier years. People will have their favourites in Marty McSorley, Dave Brown or Georges Laraque but Dave Semenko was part of the character of the growing years of the Oilers.
