Old rivalry between Jets, Oilers expected to heat up at Heritage Classic
Alumni game will feature NHL legends Gretzky, Messier, Selanne and Hawerchuk
The ice is in and Investors Group Field looks like it's ready to go for the 2016 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic where the Winnipeg Jets host the Edmonton Oilers in the outdoor regular season match up Sunday.
But it's the alumni game that has fans excited about a return to some old-time hockey which long-time fans in Edmonton and Winnipeg recall so fondly.
Former Oilers captain Kevin Lowe and tough guy Dave Semenko touched down in Winnipeg on Thursday and were swarmed by autograph seekers and selfie collectors.
For Lowe, returning to Winnipeg brings back some old memories of a rivalry that was dates back to the World Hockey Association.
Both teams entered the World Hockey Association together in 1972 and then joined the NHL together in 1979. Both teams faced each other many times in the 1980s and 90s with Edmonton dominating the games.
"I mean both cities have a long history of sports and of hockey but if we think of the WHA days, the last two teams to play in the WHA finals were the Jets and the Oilers," he said.
Jets 'always a tough series'
"Even though the Jets never beat us in the playoffs, they were always a tough series.
"The only thing in their way of winning a cup or two like the (Calgary) Flames was the fact that they had to play the Oilers, so it was good memories.
But Lowe won't be policing the blue-line on Saturday like he did back in 2003 for the inaugural Heritage Classic game played at Commonwealth Stadium.
More than 56,000 fans braved the -20 C temperatures to watch the NHL's first outdoor game and the first to be televised in high definition.
The Oilers led by Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier took on the Montreal Canadiens featuring former stars like Guy Lafleur.
The Oilers went on to win the game 2-0, the regular season game played afterwards was won by the Habs 4-3.
'I'll be the cheerleader:' Lowe
"Actually I'm not playing. I'll be the cheerleader, " Lowe joked.
"I'll make sure the beer is cold in the dressing room for the guys and you know everybody's excited about it. It's always fun to get together and I know we've got a pretty good roster put together so hopefully we can win the game."
Semenko remembers playing in the bone chilling cold during the first outdoor game as well.
He'll be lacing them up on Saturday too, where the weather is forecast to be 10 C for the 1 p.m. puck drop.
"Well it was cold for us. We had some heaters on the bench so we didn't have to deal with it," Semenko recalled.
"I think the mistake we made is that we chopped up the ice. We wanted to skate around and work up a sweat to combat the cold and we ruined the ice.
"Even Wayne (Gretzky) and Jari (Kurri)were having trouble handling the puck on that stuff so it'll be a little different this time."
For Semenko, the return to Winnipeg will be filled with memories. He was part of some of the big battles between the clubs in the 1980s and 90s.
Rivalry goes back a long ways
"I played in the World Hockey Association too, so there wasn't a lot of teams in the league. We played them a lot and four of the teams that survived went on to the NHL. Yah, so that rivalry goes back a long, long ways."
There's already talk about a future Heritage Classic and a possible return to Edmonton.
"There's lots that can happen in Edmonton in the coming years with the new building and Ice District," Lowe said.
"We want to host a lot of events, so an NHL all-star game, the draft, maybe another outdoor game in Edmonton in the not so distant future — it's not planned yet — but we're certainly open to all those types of events.
"You know Edmonton's such a great host for those types of events."