Several Edmonton Oilers are trying to win the first Stanley Cup rings of their careers.
Esa Tikkanen gets rid of his.
The 59-year-old Helsinki won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers between 1985 and 1990, and another with the New York Rangers in 1994.
The current Oilers are trying to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since Tikkanen, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and company lifted Lord Stanley’s trophy in 1990.
Wayne Gretzky was Tikkanen’s teammate on Cup-winning teams in 1985, 1987 and 1988 before Gretzky was traded to Los Angeles.
Tikkanen put three of his four Oilers championship rings up for sale, as well as his New York ring. He’s holding on to his first championship ring with the 1985 Oilers, but the others are up for auction.
“The first one, I gave it to my father because I told him when I started in the NHL ‘if I win the Stanley Cup, you will have the first one’ and I will never sell that one”, Tikkanen said Monday from Finland.
Edmonton will face the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Cup final.
As the Oilers prepare to face the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup final, Travis McEwan caught up with fans in Edmonton and the Sunshine State to find out how they’re feeling ahead of Game 1.
Tikkanen says he spent late hours in Helsinki watching his old team chase the hockey glory he knows well.
“Edmonton has to be ready and score goals when they get the chance,” Tikkanen said.
Former Oilers owner Peter Pocklington and Oilers players Petr Klima, who died last year, as well as Willy Lindström, sold Stanley Cup rings.
Tikkanen’s Rangers ring attracted attention as the first from that 1994 team to be offered at public sale, Classic Auctions President Marc Juteau said.
Bidding, which ends June 25, totaled nearly US$28,000 for the Rangers ring and ranged from $11,000 to nearly $16,000 for the Oilers versions on Monday.
“This is probably the (most) important set of rings ever given by the very important Oilers dynasty,” Juteau said. “This is coming from a guy who played on the same line as Wayne Gretzky.”
Pocklington’s Stanley Cup ring from 1990 sold for nearly $85,000, according to the Classic Auctions website.
Tikkanen puts his rings in his shaving kit and says his kids aren’t interested in them. Tikkanen says selling four of his five titles made sense to him.
“They’re special, but everyone knows I won five Stanley Cups. The other rings sat in my bag for 30 years and no longer fit me,” he explained.
“Why not? A lot of players have already sold theirs. They’re wasting time in my bag. I hope someone, an Oilers or Edmonton Rangers fan, buys them.”
The former striker denies that the sale of the rings is linked to reports in the Finnish media last year about his tax dispute with the Finnish government.
“No, no, nothing. Before that, I was talking to Marc about selling my rings,” Tikkanen said.
Tanker dynasty
NHL teams have won back-to-back Stanley Cups over the past 34 years, but no team has been this dynastic since the Oilers won five in seven years between 1984 and 1990.
“I played there eight years and won four Stanley Cups with them,” Tikkanen said. “We had great teams with the Edmonton Oilers with Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, myself, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Kevin Lowe and Randy Gregg. We had a great team all around.”
Tikkanen made his NHL debut in the 1985 playoffs. He retired in 1999 after 14 seasons. Known as a “super pest” for his needling style, he was also a prolific producer in the postseason. Tikkanen’s 72 career playoff goals place him 16th all-time with current Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.
