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Q & A with Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Grant Fuhr

Former Edmonton Oilers' Grant Fuhr takes part in the 1984 Stanley Cup reunion media availability in Edmonton, Alta., on Wednesday October 8, 2014. Fuhr touches on his drug use and partying, racial tensions as a prominent black hockey player and more in a recently released book. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Former Edmonton Oilers' Grant Fuhr takes part in the 1984 Stanley Cup reunion media availability in Edmonton, Alta., on Wednesday October 8, 2014. Fuhr touches on his drug use and partying, racial tensions as a prominent black hockey player and more in a recently released book. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Former NHL goaltender Grant Fuhr has a resume most players can only dream of, especially in the modern era.

His career began as a 19-year-old in 1981-82 with Edmonton where he soon became a key component of the high flying, talent laden Oilers dynasty which won the Stanley Cup five times from 1984 to 1990. 

He was their No. 1 netminder for their first four championship runs.

In all, Fuhr played 19 seasons in which he was 6-time All-Star, and a Vezina Trophy Winner (1987-88), he also backstopped Canada in the nation’s thrilling victory on home ice at the 1987 Canada Cup. The tournament is considered one the best exhibitions of hockey ever played.

Many doubted his future when injury troubles mounted and his admission of past drug use came to light in 1990, resulting in a 59-game suspension during the 1990-91 season.

However, Fuhr showed resiliency during the latter half of his career highlighted by setting an NHL record with 79 starts for the St. Louis Blues in 1995-96.

He also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs,  Buffalo Sabres, LA Kings, and Calgary Flames before retiring in 2000.  Fuhr was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003 - his first year of eligibility.

Currently, the 52-year-old is the director of golf at Desert Dunes Golf Course in Palm Springs, Ca.

Eh Game had a chance to talk with Fuhr about his recently released autobiography titled Grant Fuhr - The Story of a Hockey Legend  which was written with Calgary based journalist Bruce Dowbiggin. 

 

EG: Why did you decide publish a book?  Who decided the format?

GF: Lots of people asked if I would ever write a book but I never thought about it.  I was approached by Bruce Dowbiggin who was my neighbour in Calgary, we started it about 3 years ago.  The format was Bruce’s idea, I’d never written a book.  I had the easy part, I got to live the life.

 

EG: The Oilers recently held a reunion in Edmonton to mark the 30th anniversary of the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.  How was that?

GF: The reunion was awesome, it was the first time we had all been together since 1984. You talk to the guys once in a while but you never get to spend time with them.  We enjoy each other’s company.

(Back then) We hung out as a team, it is a little different from what you see with teams now.  It was treated like a family atmosphere.

We had no idea how good we were at the time.  We enjoyed playing and we enjoyed making each other better.

 

EG: Peter Pocklington was invited to attend the event, he obviously has a controversial legacy in Edmonton.  What were your thoughts on his inclusion?

GF: I thought it was good, it shows what a great hockey city it is.  He was part of building a great franchise and they treated him with the respect he deserves.

I have seen Peter several times, I live in Palm Springs, CA., and he has place near there.  My wife and I have had dinner with him and Eva (Pocklington’s wife).  He treated us well as players.

 

EG: Of the four Stanley Cup championships you were a part of, is there one that stands out or that you are most proud of?

GF: They all stand out in their certain ways.  Every year there was a few different guys, a few different players on each team.  I don’t think people realize how hard it is to win a Cup, you appreciate everything that goes into it.

 

EG: What was the competition in the crease like with teammate Andy Moog during your playing days?

GF: We both had the opportunity to play and we knew if we wanted to play we had to be good, so we pushed each other.  He is truly one of the reasons I became as good as I was.  We supported each other.

On the good teams, it’s a friendly competition – he is your partner.

I also roomed with (veteran goaltender) Ron Low my first year, he was like my first goalie coach.  Your partner was who you leaned on if you were having a tough time.

(Goalie coaches were not as common place as they are now. In fact, Fuhr's first NHL goalie coach was Mitch Korn in Buffalo where he played with the Sabres from 1993-95.)

 

EG: What are your thoughts on the current Oilers team?

GF: I am a fan, I have always been a fan of the team since I was growing up in Spruce Grove, Alta.  It has been a tough stretch to see over the last 7-8 years.  They have some talent there.

The biggest difference from us and them being young is that we were more cohesive.  That has to come within the room.  We had great leaders in Gretz, Mess and Lee Fogolin.  Everyone pushed everyone to get better.  You can always be accountable to the coach, but being accountable to each other – that’s the biggest part of a team.

The thing you don’t want is for players to get comfortable losing.

 

EG: How about the current goaltending situation?

GF: I like what they did, the best way to groom a goalie is to play them when they are young.  There is no better place to learn than under the gun and under fire. Glen (Sather) let me play when I was 18.

 

EG: Later in your career you started an NHL record 79 games in 1995-96.  Do you think that record will be broken?

GF: I could see it happening, I had fun with it that year.  At that point I was supposed to be washed up.  You just have to find a goalie that enjoys playing that much.  Your body doesn’t get tired, your mind does.  If you get tired in the mind your body follows. You gotta' find something away from the game when your mind gets tired.  For me that was golf.

 

EG: Much was made of your perceived lack of conditioning especially when you played with the Blues under Mike Keenan.  In St. Louis you trained with famed track coach Bob Kersee, how did that impact your career?

GF: Athletically I was good, getting to train with Bobby and the U.S. track team, it put a whole new light on being fit.

I think in the long run it will make a world of difference (for current players that don't put much emphasis on conditioning in the offseason).  I used to play baseball in the offseason (in Edmonton) but I got overruled. I then spent summers playing golf.  I probably should have worked out more.  It’s funny, you are 35 and all of a sudden you figure that out.

 

EG: You were adopted as a baby, there are parts in the book that deal with your ethnicity as well as an encounter you had early in your career with someone that claimed to be your birth father , have you desired to explore this part of your life any further?

GF: I haven’t, I was happy with my adoptive parents and never wanted to explore any further.

 

EG: Considering race, do you see yourself as a hockey pioneer in any way?

GF: A pioneer? Maybe a little.  I happen to be lucky enough to have the most success out of anyone.  You hope it gave younger players some light at the end of the tunnel.  As hockey has grown into different markets, it probably has more meaning now.

In Canada you are treated as a hockey player first and foremost.

 

EG: In 1990 you were suspended for 59-games after admitting drug use in the 80’s.  How do you think that situation would have been handled differently today?

GF: Now there is more policy surrounding those issues, back then there was never a policy.

In my world it was old news, we got to pay a price for something I had done years ago.

I think I was made a bit of an example of – they needed someone to make an example of at the time, I just happen to fit the bill.

Failures in life aren’t failures if you can get up from it.  It’s easy to live with now.

 

EG: The Oilers traded you to the Maple Leafs in 1991, what was the transition like?

GF: Growing up as a kid, one of my first sweaters was my Leafs sweater.  The next best place to play after Edmonton was in Toronto.  Every Saturday you got to see the Leafs play and to come here an experience that is a kid’s dream.  It is the only place in the league aside from Montreal where you play under that type of microscope.

I thought it was fun to play there.  We weren’t good but it was fun that people cared.

I think a team that wins, everyone buys into the same program.  Everyone from the stars to the fourth line thinks the same.  When I got to Toronto it wasn’t like that but Cliff (Fletcher) was putting the pieces in place.

I came from a winner, the biggest thing in Edmonton was that if someone didn’t fit in, they moved him before he could disrupt the team. You had to buy into the system from day one and Glen was adamant about that.

 

EG: How do you think you would have fared playing in an era that wasn’t as run-and-gun as the 80’s in terms of playing style?

GF: I don’t think I would have wanted to play in any other era.  I might have had better numbers but I had fun.  I had 30-40 shots every night.  It was something I was comfortable and something that I liked.

 

EG: What do you do currently?

GF: I am the director of golf at Desert Dunes golf club in Palm Springs., Ca.  It is run by four gentlemen from Winnipeg. 

I oversee anything from merchandising, staff to making sure everyone is happy.  I am learning as I go and sort of flying by the seat of my pants.

 

EG: Why do so many hockey players gravitate toward golf?

GF: The mechanics are similar.  If you look at the biomechanics of it – a slapshot and golf swing are not that far apart.

 

EG: Aside from the championships, what was the best part of having played on those great Oilers teams?

GF: The best part was the guys we played with.  It was a big family atmosphere.

 

Follow Neil Acharya on Twitter: @Neil_Acharya