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Oilers apologize to dead player who is very much alive
The Edmonton Oilers apologized to Roger Cote and his family for accidently listing him as a deceased former player during the organization’s farewell to Rexall Place ceremony on April 6, 2016.
Said the Oilers in a statement released by the team on their website Friday afternoon:
In an extreme oversight and error, we included Mr. Cote in that portion of the program. Roger is alive and well, living in Garson, Ontario. For this action and any confusion or pain it caused Mr. Cote and his family and friends, we sincerely apologize.
We have been in close contact since the error with both Roger and his daughter Pamela. They have been incredibly kind and forgiving in dealing with this situation. We will be hosting the former Oiler and his son at a special Oilers game in the upcoming season at Rogers Place. We will also be inviting some of his WHA teammates to re-connect with Roger and share the evening with him.
Cote played with the Oilers when they were in the WHA, before they moved to the NHL. He was well known for wearing a toothpick in his teeth.
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The Edmonton Journal’s longtime Oilers beat reporter Jim Matheson wrote about Cote in his column about Rexall Place before the final game.
I miss the sight of Roger Cote, the WHA Oilers defenceman who played with a toothpick wedged into his teeth, from shift to shift, pass to pass, somehow never swallowing the toothpick when he took an elbow to the face.
Wrote the Sun Media about Cote’s toothpick in a 2012 story saying it looked like it "was surgically attached to his lower lip."
Mass Live also wrote about Cote when he was a member of the Springfield Indians of the AHL.
According to HockeyDB, the 76-year-old Cote played 119 games for the Oilers organization – first with the Alberta Oilers, then the Edmonton Oilers. His last pro season came in 1974-75 with the Indianapolis Racers.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
