Sheehy, Gretzky

Had Fierce Battles:

Oilers-Flames feud brought out best

in tenacious D-man

by Adam Proteau

The Hockey News

    Neil Sheehy was a special player for a number of reasons.  Need one?

    "I can honestly say I think I took fewer legitimate penalties against Wayne Gretzky than he took against me," said Sheehy, now a lawyer and player agent.  "It's a neat feeling knowing you had a special relationship with the greatest player of all times."

    Born in Fort Frances, Ontario, Sheehy was raised just across the border in International Falls, Minn.  “I grew up with two goals: playing in the NHL and graduating from Harvard,” Sheehy said.  “School was always first and foremost for me.”

True to his word, Sheehy gained admission to the Ivy League school and graduated with a degree in economics.  However, as an undrafted free agent, the defenseman had to prove he was NHL-worthy the hard way.   And that’s what he did, signing with Calgary in 1983.

    "Calgary was an unbelievable place to play hockey," Sheehy said.  "Each day there was like getting a copy of The Hockey News--page after page of hockey coverage every single day is a hockey lover's dream."

    Battle of Alberta

    Calgary also exposed Sheehy to the ferocious rivalry between the Flames and Edmonton Oilers.

    "Those games were phenomenal." said Sheehy, 43.  "The two best teams in the world at the time were in very close proximity to each other and it made for a bunch of fun."

    Sheehy's showdowns with Gretzky remains a source of great pride for him.  They began he said, when he noticed a specific tendency of the Great One.

    "Wayne always went to the corner opposite to where the puck went in," Sheehy said.  "It gave him all kinds of time to make the plays only he could."

    "So, even though we were taught never to leave the front of the net, I would follow him to the opposite corner.  I always kept my stick low--I knew the league wouldn't let me get away with much-and I'd push him into the boards, which he didn't like.  The Oilers would send out their tough guys to rough me up, but I'd already fought most of them;  instead, I'd take a couple of shots to the face, but we'd wind up with the power play.  The Oilers were so good back then, that was one of the strategies you had to use to beat them."

    When Gretzky grew frustrated with Sheehy's tactics, he tried goading the blue-liner into retaliation through the media.

     "He said that I turtled, that I was afraid to fight," Sheehy said.  "I said, here's Wayne Gretzky, one of the biggest supporters of removing fighting from hockey, daring me to use my fists.  He needs to make up his mind."

    "When the press went to him with my reply, he said, 'You're right--Neil Sheehy is the single reason fighting shouldn't be eliminated from hockey,' " Sheehy said.

    "A lot of what I did on the ice was a big mind game and when Gretzky said that, I knew it was working."

Trading Places

    Sheehy was traded to the Hartford Whalers in 1988 and took the news hard.

    "I was extremely disappointed," he said.  "We'd done so much and I knew we were close to winning a Cup.  The next season, that's exactly what happened."

    Sheehy was dealt to Washington a half-year later and after three seasons with the Capitals, he returned to Calgary in 1991 to close out his NHL career.

    When he retired, Sheehy completed a law degree and was certified as a player agent.  He currently represents such NHLers as Jason Blake and Matt Cullen.

    "When Herb Brooks coached the U.S. team in Salt Lake, he was asked how he could get a group of millionaires to play together," Sheehy said.  "He said, 'The one thing all players have in common is they play because of the little boy inside them.  My job is to find that little boy.'"

    "I'm not a coach," Sheehy continued, "but that's my job now, too...to keep that little boy alive in all my clients."