News Article: Some Pretty Good Stuff from the Athletic on the 1987 Canada Cup

[KINGS17]

LeBrun: Gretzky and Lemieux on the best series ever – the...

But when I mentioned to him this week it was the best hockey I had ever seen in my life, No. 66 quickly chimed in.

“That’s for sure,” Lemieux told The Athletic. “All 6-5 games. The pace was pretty quick for back then, too. It was certainly a great experience to be part of it.’’

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[kovacro]

Personally, it was the greatest tournament I ever had a chance to watch. Was a youngster back then but I remember how fantastic that final 3-game series was.

I was at the round robin CANADA-USA game in Hamilton. Got the CANADA Cup program somewhere in a box in my house.

My brother was at Game 2 of the Final. Lucky bastard!

TSN showed the 3-game series last week with studio commentary from the likes of Larry Murphy, Igor Larionov and Mike Keenan.

One story had Gretzky inviting Krutov, Larionov and Makarov over to his families house for a BBQ. Victor Tikhonov would not let his guys go unless he went along. When they got there Gretzky and Co. were having a few pops but the Russian guys were not allowed to partake in front of their coach. I think Larry Murphy mentioned they ended up going down to the basement to sneak a few.

Per Gretzky at a function I attended here in Hamilton a few years back, Team Canada was not too thrilled about Games 2 and 3 being played in Hamilton instead of Toronto, however they were blown away by the crowd and atmosphere.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I have the DVD-collection that was released of this series a few years back, guessing it's out of print now, but this tournament was so damn exciting. Kelly Hrudey was actually a backup goalie for Canada, but Fuhr played in all the games.

Seven former Kings were on that squad.
Legends of Hockey - Time Capsule - Pro Classics: Canada Cup 1987 Canada Team Roster