EDMONTON -- It was a memorable day for two members of the Edmonton Oilers front office after a long careers in the NHL.
Ken Holland, the team's general manager and president of hockey operations, and Kevin Lowe, the former Oiler defenceman and current Oilers Entertainment Group vice-chairman, were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame Wednesday, June 24.
Holland became a Hall of Famer for his achievements in the Detroit Red Wings front office, where he won three Stanley Cups and made the playoffs 22 times as general manager.
Holland received the call at about 1 p.m.
"It was an amazing moment," he said Thursday.
"I was totally shocked. I knew it was Hockey Hall of Fame induction week, but I knew there was a lot of speculation on who was gonna go in."
While Lowe has also been GM, it was his successful career on the ice with the Oilers that saw him join another group with former teammates Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.
"When I think of the Hall of Fame, I think of, Orr, Gordie Howe, Jean Béliveau, [Gretzky], [Messier] — those types of guys," Lowe said. "I just never saw myself, and I'm not comparing myself to them, but that's what the Hall of Fame means to me."
Lowe retired in 1998 and became eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame three years later. After years and years of waiting, he'd nearly given up.
"Listen, I don’t think that's going to happen," Lowe told his mom, who held out hope but passed away last year.
While he admitted he wasn't on the level of "some of the greatest players in the history of the game," he was a key contributor on six Stanley Cup champion teams.
"Playing in the NHL should be for everyone to try to win the Stanley Cup. It's extremely hard to win one, let alone six."
Lowe scored 84 goals and tallied 348 assists in 1,254 games with the Oilers and New York Rangers.
Other 2020 inductees include Jarome Iginla, Marian Hossa and Doug Wilson.
