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STANLEY CUP WINNERS • WEEK 2 • Every Sunday during the 2012-13 hockey season, we will highlight a past Stanley Cup championship team, working our way back in time from 1989 to 1950. The series will highlight the two teams from the championship final, the winning team’s road to the Stanley Cup, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, plus a few other stars from the championship campaign. When it comes to the Stanley Cup winners, we will highlight some autograph values as published in the 2012 Vintage Collector’s Almanac & Price Guide.
BUY THE BOOK: Be sure to pick up your copy of the 2012 Vintage Collector’s Almanac & Price Guide at popular hockey collector stores or online via theWantList.ca.

1988 STANLEY CUP: OILERS WIN LAST TITLE WITH GRETZKY

The Edmonton Oilers won their fourth Stanley Cup in five years in 1988, defeating the Boston Bruins without a loss in five games (including a tied match that was abandoned because of a power failure at the old Boston Garden). Ten different players scored for the Oilers in the five games from May 18-26, with the Oilers twice winning 6-3 over the Bruins. In the series finale, Esa Tikkanen scored two goals and one assist in a 6-3 win.

ROAD TO THE 1988 STANLEY CUP: OILERS IN THE PLAYOFFS

The Oilers won 16 of 19 games en route to their Stanley Cup victory in 1988 (with just two losses). After finishing third overall in the league standings, the Oilers eliminated the Winnipeg Jets in five games, swept the Presidents’ Trophy Calgary Flames in four games, eliminated the Detroit Red Wings in five games, and then won the Stanley Cup over the Bruins in five games.

CONN SMYTHE TROPHY WINNER: WAYNE GRETZKY

Edmonton Oilers’ captain Wayne Gretzky won his second Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs in 1988. Gretzky led all playoff scorers with 43 points, including a Stanley Cup-record 31 assists. He also set a record for most points in the final series, scoring 13 points in just five games against the Bruins. As listed in the 2012 Vintage Collector’s Almanac & Price Guide, a Gretzky 8″x10″ signed photo costs approximately $300.

STARS OF THE 1988 EDMONTON OILERS

Along with Gretzky, four other players from the 1988 Edmonton Oilers have since become honoured members of the Hockey Hall of Fame: Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr, Jari Kurri and Mark Messier. The cost to purchase signed photos of those five stars is $40 for Anderson, $45 for Fuhr, $60 for Kurri, and $250 for Messier. Along with those five players, six other players were four-time Stanley Cup winners by 1988: Randy Gregg, Charlie Huddy, Kevin Lowe, Kevin McClelland and Esa Tikkanen.

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