Top 100 Oilers: No. 25 — Andy Moog

Notable

Moog was drafted by the Oilers out of the WHL’s Billings Bighorns, and spent the majority of his first two years with the CHL’s Witchita Wild, he would enter the fray in 1982-83 and helped mark a shift in Edmonton’s crease. Out was the likes of journeymen Ron Low and Eddie Mio, and in were the young tandem of Grant Fuhr and Moog.

After playing 50 games in the 1982-83 season, Moog took the reins of the Oilers’ crease in the playoffs, helping the team reach the Stanley Cup final, only to get swept by the Islanders. Those 16 playoff games were more than he’d play in any of the other four playoffs he was in Edmonton for, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t important games where he was relied upon.

After Fuhr went down with injury in Game 3 of the 1984 Cup final, Moog would get his revenge on the Islanders, posting a 3-0 record with a .915 save percentage to secure Edmonton’s first-ever Stanley Cup title.

The Story

His play in Edmonton wasn’t the only pivotal thing he did for the organization, as when he returned from the 1988 Olympics representing Canada, general manager Glen Sather traded him on March 7, 1988, to the Boston Bruins for future Conn Smythe Trophy winner Bill Ranford, Geoff Courtnall, and a second-round pick.

Moog, who spent six seasons with the Oilers, would spend the same amount of time in Boston, playing 261 games, and helped them on three deep playoff runs. One of which was against the Wayne Gretzky-less Oilers in the 1990 Stanley Cup final, which Ranford won the Conn Smythe. The Bruins would get to the Eastern Conference final in 1991 and 1992, but would never get close again.

In June 1993, Moog would get dealt to the Dallas Stars, spending four years there, before signing and retiring at 37-years-old with the Montreal Canadiens after the 1997-98 season.

What Brownlee said

For younger generations of Edmonton Oilers’ fans, say, those born after 1985 or so, their most vivid recollection of Andy Moog might be that he was playing goal for the Dallas Stars in 1997 when Todd Marchant scored the winning goal in overtime at Reunion Arena to complete a stunning upset in the first round of the playoffs. Top shelf, blocker side. That was Andy.

Moog, of course, owns a far bigger place in Edmonton’s franchise record books, a niche carved out more than a decade earlier that saw Moog’s name engraved on three Stanley Cups as a member of the Oilers. He was the underrated half of a dynamic crease tandem with Grant Fuhr during the early 1980s when the Boys on the Bus were just getting rolling. That was Andy, too.

The Last 10

• No. 35 — Dwayne Roloson
• No. 34 — Taylor Hall
• No. 33 — Curtis Joseph
• No. 32 — Dave Semenko
• No. 31 — Dave Hunter
• No. 30 — Dave Lumley
• No. 29 — Sam Gagner
• No. 28 — Jordan Eberle
• No. 27 — Jason Smith
• No. 26 — Zach Hyman