Mike Toth, Sportsnet.ca
Like a bothersome fly buzzing or a blood-sucking mosquito, in the 1986 Smythe Division final Neil Sheehy drove The Great Gretzky bonkers.
The series is best remembered for Steve Smith’s “own” goal as the Edmonton Oilers were stunned by the Calgary Flames in Game 7. But without Sheehy’s shutdown job on Gretzky, Calgary wouldn’t have stood a chance. Though Sheehy’s performance came without the gaudy offensive numbers people usually notice, it was worthy just the same.
In 1986, Sheehy was a young defenceman only a few years removed from Harvard. As he bided his time in the press box waiting for a chance to crack the Flames lineup, Sheehy took notice some of Gretzky’s tendencies.
“When the Oilers gained the zone, Gretzky always headed for the right corner and they’d try to rim the puck to him from the left point,” Sheehy, now 48, remembered recently. “Our d-man on that side would never chase him. But if you give great players time and space, they’ll kill you.”
When Sheehy finally got a chance to suit up against Gretzky, he was determined to put his observations to work.
“The way Gretzky played, there was no use standing in front of the net,” Sheehy said. “I went straight for the corner and every time the Oilers rimmed Gretzky the puck, I’d drive him right into the boards. Of course, you had to make sure and hit him clean because everybody knew the league protected Wayne.”
Sheehy’s strategy worked to perfection and when the playoffs arrived, Flames coach Bob Johnson completely bought in.
“To try and beat the Oilers, Badger came up with a seven-point plan,” Sheehy said. “And one of his points was that I had to be on the ice every time Gretzky was out there.”
But the rugged defenceman wasn’t just looking to bang The Great One’s body. Instead, Sheehy also planned to play games with Gretzky’s mind.
“I always enjoyed yapping at guys and when Gretzky started to yap back, that’s exactly what we wanted. It became big news because when a great player is talking, he’s not as focused on the game.”
As the series progressed, the action got hotter and so did Gretzky’s temper. Earlier that season, Gretzky had made noise about banning fighting. Once again, the super-pest spotted an opportunity.
“Gretzky was always accusing me of turtling when one of the Oilers big guys came after me,” said Sheehy, who now works as a player agent. “So I’d say, ‘Which is it, Wayne? First you say nobody should fight and then you get mad when I don’t.’ It drove him up the wall.”
Despite Sheehy’s efforts, Gretzky still racked up five goals and eight assists in the series. In the end, though, Calgary won and Sheehy became the most hated man in Edmonton. One night, a creative Oilers fan hung a “Sheehy the Butcher” poster at Northlands Coliseum. A photograph of the sign found its way into Sports Illustrated and Sheehy used it to name his boat. “I’d radio in from the water saying ‘This is Butcher to Base,'” he said with a laugh.
The paths of Sheehy and Gretzky have crossed only a couple of times since ’86, but they have never discussed the part each of them played in a series no one will ever forget. Today, most people continue to paint Gretzky as the hero and Sheehy as the villain and that suits “The Butcher” just fine.
