Top 100 Oilers: No. 92 — Willy Lindstrom

Notable

Before Edmonton, Lindstrom was a winner in the WHA, lifting the Avco World Trophy three times in four seasons with the Jets. He was part of the first wave of Swedish players to jump to North American pro hockey, joining countrymen Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson, and Lars-Erik Sjoberg in Winnipeg. Between 1975-76 and 1978-79, the skilled winger scored 123 goals and 261 points over 316 WHA games.

Since Lindstrom was never drafted, the Jets didn’t lose his rights when the WHA was absorbed into the NHL in 1979. While Winnipeg lost top players such as Kent Nilsson and Terry Ruskowski to other clubs, Lindstrom stuck with the Jets through their first NHL seasons, putting up 143 points over 225 games from 1979-80 to 1981-82.

With the Jets puttering towards a mediocre season in 1982-83, Winnipeg traded Lindstrom to a rival that had followed them from the WHA to the NHL’s Smythe Division. Lindstrom played parts of three seasons in Edmonton, helping the Oilers win their first two Stanley Cups.

Lindstrom wrapped up his NHL career with two seasons in Pittsburgh in 1985-86 and 1986-87, serving as a mentor on a young Penguins team led by 1984 first-overall pick Mario Lemieux. He returned to Sweden and played three seasons with Brynäs IF, captaining the team in the latter two.

The Story

Unlike their WHA cousins in Winnipeg, Quebec, and Hartford, the Oilers were very good very quickly upon entering the NHL. They squeaked into the playoffs in 1979-80 and 1980-81, then broke out in 1981-82 with 48 wins and 111 points for their first Smythe Division title. Despite that surge, Edmonton fell in the first round to the Los Angeles Kings, a team that had managed half as many wins in the regular season.

Looking for playoff-tested experience, the Oilers acquired Lindstrom from the Jets ahead of the 1982-83 trade deadline in exchange for young centre Laurie Boschman. The three-time Avco Cup winner then chipped in 13 points in 16 playoff games to help Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Final, where they were swept by the New York Islanders.

The Oilers would not be denied again by the Islanders. The teams met in the 1983-84 Final, and Edmonton won in five to capture the club’s first Stanley Cup. Lindstrom scored 12 goals and 29 points across three deep playoff runs with the Oilers, helping the young squad deliver back-to-back championships in 1984 and 1985.

What Brownlee said

The Willy Lindstrom fans of the Edmonton Oilers saw after he arrived in town was distinctly different than the player they watched score a bushel of goals for the Winnipeg Jets in the WHA and NHL, but he was nonetheless a significant player with Edmonton’s first two Stanley Cup teams.

Lindstrom was 31 by the time he was acquired from the Jets for Laurie Boschman during the 1982-83 season. He had nine straight seasons of 20-or-more goals and three AVCO Cups from his WHA days on his resume, and he’d settle in nicely as a checker and complementary player to all that young talent Glen Sather’s Oilers had up front.

The Last 10

• No. 100 — Mark Lamb
• No. 99 — Bryan Marchment
• No. 98 — Kent Nilsson
• No. 97 — Dean McAmmond
• No. 96 — Ladislav Smid
• No. 95 — Marty Reasoner
• No. 94 — Jeff Petry
• No. 93 — Dave Manson