Grant Fuhr

**Grant Fuhr** (born Grant Scott Fuhr on September 28, 1962 in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and the Calgary Flames.

Fuhr was drafted 8th overall by Edmonton in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

### Early Playing Career

In the mid-1970s, Grant played for the Enoch Tomahawks' hockey team. In 1979, at the age of seventeen, he joined the Victoria Cougars of the WHL.

After two outstanding seasons in Victoria (which included the league championship and a trip to the Memorial Cup in 1981), he was drafted eighth overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft on June 10, 1981.

### Professional

Grant played ten seasons for the Oilers, where he teamed up first with Andy Moog and then Bill Ranford to form one of the most formidable goaltending tandems in history, winning the Stanley Cup four times in five seasons (1983-84 through '87-88).

He was given the starting job in the 1983 playoffs and helped lead the Oilers to their first Stanley Cup Finals, though they were swept by the New York Islanders, who captured their fourth straight Stanley Cup.

The next year, general manager and head coach Glen Sather chose to go with Grant in the 1984 playoffs, though Fuhr was injured in the third game of the Stanley Cup Finals in a rematch against the Islanders when he collided with Pat LaFontaine, so Moog stepped in and led the Oilers to a series win. Thereafter, Fuhr remained the number one goaltender.

Grant was also involved with the infamous goal where Steve Smith scored on his own net to cost the Oilers the '86 playoffs against the Calgary Flames. He was the team's starting goaltender on the first four teams, but was injured and did not play in the 1990 playoffs, when the Oilers won for the fifth time.

In 1987, Grant played in goal for the NHL All-Stars in both games of the Rendez-Vous '87 series against the Soviet National Team. In 1987-88, he backstopped Canada to a victory at the Canada Cup, playing in all nine games, then played in 75 regular season and 19 playoff games.

He won his only Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender that year and finished second in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP, behind Mario Lemieux and ahead of teammate Wayne Gretzky. He also played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, and 1989.

Grant's playoff success fed into his reputation as the supreme "money" goalie (or "clutch" goaltender) of his era, the person you would want in net with the season on the line, and there was a period of time from 1987 through at least 1989 where Grant was often called "the best goaltender in the World".

Grant was suspended by the NHL for 59 games of the 1990–91 season. He had come forward about his drug use after spending two weeks in a counselling centre in Florida. He admitted that he used "a substance"; he did not say cocaine—for some seven years, or most of the period that the Oilers rested at the top of the NHL.

Details of Grant's drug use were supplied by the player's ex-wife, Corrine, who told the press in Edmonton that she often found cocaine hidden in his clothing and that she fielded numerous threatening telephone calls from drug dealers who had not been paid.

These embarrassing details no doubt contributed to the one-year suspension handed down in September 1990 by NHL president John Ziegler, who called his conduct "dishounorable and against the welfare of the league."

After missing 59 games and entering a two-week rehab program, the suspension was lifted by the league on February 18, 1991. Once he was re-instated, fans of opposing teams taunted him at games with bags of sugar.

On September 19, 1991, Grant was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a seven-player deal. After a season and a half in Toronto, he was again traded, this time to the Buffalo Sabres, on February 2, 1993.

In Buffalo, he played a role in the Sabres' dramatic first-round playoff victory over the Boston Bruins, helped instill a winning attitude in the organization, and mentored the young Dominik Hašek.

Grant had a successful 1993–94 season with the Sabres, splitting time in goal with Hašek, when he went down with multiple injuries, Hašek stepped into the starting role, and played well enough to hold onto the job. He and Hašek shared the William M. Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed.

In May 1993, while still a member of the Buffalo Sabres, Grant was denied membership in the neighbouring Transit Valley Country Club. At the time, rumours floated that the denial was based on race as several of his white teammates had been granted membership.

Club officials denied they rejected Grant's based on his race; rather, his application contained "incorrect and incomplete" information. Various acts of vandalism at the club occurred after news of his rejection surfaced, including an incident where vandals burned a swastika onto one of the greens.

In light of the negative publicity, the club reversed its position and offered Grant not only a membership, but an apology as well. He rejected the membership and joined nearby Lancaster Country Club. The club also temporarily suspended its membership committee and had an anti-bias policy written into its by-laws.

With Hasek now ensconced in the Sabres' net, Grant was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings, on February 14, 1995, once again playing with Gretzky. Out of shape and possibly past his prime, his career saw a resurgence when he signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Blues on July 14, 1995, before the 1995–96 campaign. He played 79 games that season, 76 consecutively, both NHL records.

On November 30, 1995, he earned his 300th career win versus the Winnipeg Jets.

The 1996 playoff run for Grant ended prematurely as Maple Leafs forward Nick Kypreos ran into him in the crease in the first round, causing him to tear several knee ligaments and Jon Casey had to play the rest of the playoffs. They beat Toronto in the first round, but lost to Detroit in the next.

Even though over the next three years he became one of the three winningest goaltenders in Blues history (along with Mike Liut and Curtis Joseph), Grant never fully recovered from his injury. After the Blues signed Roman Turek as their new number one goaltender in 1999, he was traded to the Calgary Flames on September 5, 1999.

Grant spent one season there being a mentor for Calgary's young goalies (including Fred Brathwaite). On October 22, 1999, he earned his 400th career win versus the Florida Panthers. He announced his retirement on September 6, 2000.

## Post-Playing Career

Grant was hired to be the Phoenix Coyotes goaltending coach on July 22, 2004. He held the position until the end of the 2008-09 season when he was replaced by Sean Burke. He held a similar post with the Calgary Flames in the 2000–2001 and 2001–2002 seasons.

## International Play

Grant was named to the 1984 Canada Cup team, but he saw limited action during the tournament due to an injury. He was again selected to represent Canada for the 1987 Canada Cup; it was here that he cemented his reputation as one of the best goaltenders in the game.

Playing against a tough Soviet Union squad, he turned away shot after shot during the three-game final. He also played for Canada at the 1989 World Championships where he won a silver medal.

## Accolades

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International

* In 1998, he was ranked number 70 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
* His #31 was retired by the Edmonton Oilers on October 9, 2003.
* Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.
* Inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

## Personal Life

Grant was born to one African-Canadian parent and one Caucasian parent, but was adopted by Betty Wheeler & Robert Fuhr, and raised in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada. His mother came from Enoch Cree Nation.

He married Lisa Cavanaugh in the Grand Cayman Islands on September 14, 2014; he has four children from previous marriages and a step-daughter.

Grant was a regular competitor at the American Century Championship, an annual competition to determine the best golfers among American sports and entertainment celebrities. The tournament is played at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course along the edge of Lake Tahoe.

In 2015, he collaborated on his biography with Bruce Dowbiggin called "Grant Fuhr: Portrait of a Champion."