Doug Weight reflects on Rexall Place and his Edmonton captaincy

When Doug Weight was traded to the Edmonton Oilers, the future captain of the team admits he had no idea where he was off to, other than it was the home of the 1980s Oilers dynasty team.

"I didn't know much about Edmonton, didn't know where it was on the map to be honest with you," said Weight, who now spends his time pacing behind the New York Islanders bench as an assistant coach and assistant general manager.

Weight was traded to Edmonton on March 17, 1993 for Esa Tikkanen. He came to the team as a young prospect who management inserted into the spotlight right away.

"Glen Sather, Ron Low, the organization, they put pressure on me, they challenged me, they made me a better player, made me compete, made me a leader, and for that I thank them." Weight said.

Weight played nine seasons in Edmonton, the last two as captain. During his time in Edmonton he helped lead the team to five playoff appearances, with a famous win in 1997 against a heavily favoured Dallas Stars team.

"When we came back and beat Dallas, in the first playoffs I think in five or six years for the organization, it was a special one, the way the crowd was behind us, the noise. It was a pretty special series for us as a group."

Weight credits the Rexall Place faithful for helping the team win that series. He calls Oiler fans the best he's ever played in front of.

"Even during the regular season compared to the playoffs, it's a completely different situation," Weight said.

"They're very cerebral fans, they know the game, but when it's playoffs they're just all out nuts. They're loud, they're supportive, and really they willed us to many of the victories we achieved over that course of time. It was just fun, electric, a great thing to be a part of something I'll never forget."

"You miss it"

A month ago, Weight returned to Rexall Place with the Islanders. It marked the last time both clubs face each other in the historic arena. Weight said each time he returns to the old building, the memories come flooding back.

"You miss it, it's still a great building to go to, so many memories, how loud it was, what we achieved in the '90s when I was there. We were a rebuilding team, so to make the playoffs, to compete as hard as we did, and to have the fan support.

"It's going to be nice to have a new building, but it's going to be surreal not to be in that old coliseum anymore."

Aside from the playoff games against the Dallas Stars, Weight said the countless battles against the Calgary Flames are also something he can't forget.

"I haven't been part of an atmosphere like that, it was physcial, it was mean, it just bore into the players that you hate each other," he recalled. "To me the cities hated each other, the players from the first game I played, you had this rivalry that was really fun to be a part of.

"You had to keep your head up, back then everybody would drop their gloves, everybody was looking to find somebody in open ice to hit them," he said. "And the crowd's were nuts, it really introduced me to that fear, and getting over that fear, that anxiety, and those butterflies you get in the game, and learning how to cope with it and moving forward with it in my career."

During the 1995/96 season, Weight tallied 104 points, the only time he's ever racked up over 100 points in a single season.

The goal

But it was a goal he scored against the Calgary Flames in 1997 that still remains a highlight. The end to end rush on Rexall ice is likely the most replayed goal of his 22-year NHL career.

"We lost the draw, they dumped it. I was just going full speed, and was able to get a little bit of a gap on the d (defence), and kind of drew the left defence in and went at the right defenceman and was just able to get it through his legs.

"I ended up having to miss the check and skating backwards on a little bit of a breakaway and was able to score. It's a little bit of a blur but a fun night."

"I didn't really know what happened until I watched it after the game, so it was a pretty good goal, not to toot my own horn."

Memories that will last a lifetime, said Weight. And many diehard Oiler fans would agree.