Beauty and the Beast?

Flames' Sheehy Always Targets

Great Gretzky When They Meet

by Eric Duhatschek

The Hockey News 

Winter 1987

    Just who is Neil Sheehy, and why is he driving the No. 1 player in hockey crazy?

    Until recently, it may have been the National Hockey League's best-kept secret--the confrontation between the Great One and the Butcher from Harvard.

    The Great One, of course, is the Edmonton Oilers' Wayne Gretzky.  The other guy, who picked up his nickname after Sports Illustrated paraphrased a sign posted in the Northlands Coliseum, is ex-Harvard Crimson defenseman Sheehy.

    Sheehy, now with the Calgary Flames, has developed a reputation as the first--and maybe the only--player in the league who can consistently drive Gretzky to distraction.  He does it in subtle, understated ways-an extra push here, an extra hit there--always treading the fine line between what is legal and what isn't.

    But he does it so effectively that the Gretzky-Sheehy confrontation has become the most important subplot in any meeting of the Flames and Oilers.  It is the subject of editorial cartoons and newspaper headlines.  Above all, it is one of the reasons the Flames were 6-1-1 in their seven series with Edmonton.

    Should Calgary stave off the first-round playoff challenge of the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton does the unexpected by dumping the Los Angeles Kings, then the Alberta Uncivil War will resume in the division final, and Sheehy and Gretzky will be center stage again.

    "He (Gretzky) isn't used to being bumped or being taken out of the play," explained Sheehy.  "So many times, when he moves the puck, the defenseman will turn away.  I try to finish the check."

    Knowing how much Sheehy's presence on the ice bothers Gretzky, coach Bob Johnson tries to get him out there whenever possible.  Not only do the Flames use a checking center--usually Carey Wilson--against the Oilers' star, they also put Sheehy and his partner, Paul Reinhart, on the ice.

    Reinhart is so good on his skates that he rarely gets beaten one-on-one.  Sheehy just tries to put himself near enough to get an arm or a stick or a shoulder on him.

    Gretzky acknowledged that Sheehy's tactics are one reason that he's been relatively silent in games against Calvary. 

    "It's tough to put him out of your mind, but I'm going to try," he said.  "He does a good job on me.  He stands up and plays the man.  I think he plays with more emotion against us than he does against other teams.  He keeps pounding away--nothing illegal, but he keeps coming at you to get you off your game."

    Gretzky's teammates have also noticed.

    "The guy's doing a hell of a job," Paul Coffey said.  "He's doing it to perfection."

    Sheehy's performance in the last home-and-home series between the Flames and Oilers--two Calgary wins--resulted in great cries of outrage from Edmonton Oilers' assistant coach John Muckler, for one, warning that if Sheehy persisted, then the Flames better all be ready to respond, "even Mr. Mullen and Mr. Bullard."

    Sheehy's response:  "When Gretzky drops the gloves with me, then I'll expect Mullen and Bullard to drop the gloves with their guys."

    Oiler enforcer Marty McSorley, who missed the sixth and seventh games of the series, took a different approach.  He accused Sheehy of cowardice because he refused to fight when challenged by a couple of the Oilers' heavyweights.  The Flames say even Gretzky called Sheehy a "turtle" in the penalty-filled March 20 game.  Gretzky would not comment on the report.

    Of Sheehy, McSorley said, "He usually attacks when there's nobody on the ice who can do anything.  He turtled on Mac (Kevin McClelland).  He doesn't have any desire to stand up to the big guys."

    Sheehy countered the charge by saying he is more effective on the ice than in the penalty box.  Asked what it would take to draw him into an altercation, he answered, "I'd have to see our team gain some advantage.  The bottom line is to win the hockey game.  We have to win on the scoreboard.  If I were to fight for myself, I'd just be being selfish."

    Sheehy dismissed the charges of stick-work that the Oilers leveled against him.

    "I didn't stick anybody," said Sheehy.  "The only thing I did was give (Kent) Nilsson a two-hander--and I hit him on the stick, not his hands."

    Sheehy said the Oilers were speaking out of frustration.  Counting last season's playoffs, the Flames held an 11-4-1 edge in the last 16 meetings between the teams.

    "Calgary's been dumped on by Edmonton so long, he said.  "Everybody from Edmonton always rubbed everybody from Calgary's faces in defeat.  As soon as Calgary gets something on Edmonton--any victory--all of a sudden, their pride comes out.”

    "The reason this is getting ugly is we've been successful against them for a period of time.  People from Edmonton just don't like it."

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