Grant Fuhr
Hockey Athlete - Inducted 2004
Born in Spruce Grove, Grant Fuhr made his presence known all through the minor hockey system. Grant went on to star with the Victoria Cougars of the Western Hockey League, being named a First Team All-Star during both of his seasons. He was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round (8th overall) in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. During Grant's 10 years with the Edmonton Oilers, he was a member of all five of the Oilers Stanley Cups.
Without a doubt, Grant's best season was the 1987-88 campaign when he accumulated a league-leading 4,304 minutes played and 40 wins. During that same season, Grant won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's Top Goaltender and was runner-up to Wayne Gretzky for the Hart Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player.
By the early 1990s, the Edmonton Oilers began to dismantle the dynasty that won them five Stanley Cups in seven years, and in a seven-player blockbuster deal, Grant was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. After two years in Toronto, Fuhr was sent to the Buffalo Sabres where he would team up with Dominik Hasek to win the William Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals scored against.
After stops with the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues, Grant returned to his home province of Alberta, but as a member of the Calgary Flames. As a member of the Calgary Flames, Grant joined an elite club of goaltenders when he defeated the Florida Panthers to record his 400th career win - becoming the sixth goalie in NHL history to reach that milestone.
Prior to the 2000-01 season, Grant Fuhr announced his retirement from professional hockey. Grant Fuhr's 20-year career was full of highlights, and fittingly, in his first year of eligibility, he was selected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.
After Induction
The Edmonton Oilers retired Grant Fuhr’s #31 Jersey October 9, 2003.
Grant was the goaltending coach for the Calgary Flames from 2000-02, and then the Phoenix Coyotes from July 22, 2004 until the end of the 2008/09 season.
Grant was one of five Edmonton Oilers that made the NHL’s Top 100 List in January 2017.
A 90-minute documentary about Grant’s career and life on and off the ice, titled ‘Making Coco’ The Grant Fuhr story was released in 2019. Grant’s love for golf was also covered in the documentary. Golf became a new career path for Grant when he became a partner in the Desert Dunes Development Group. In 2013, they took over the management of the Desert Dunes facility, and in 2014, Grant was named the Director of Golf at Desert Dunes Golf in Desert Hot Springs, California. In 2019, he hosted the inaugural Grant Fuhr Celebrity Golf Invitational August 5 to 7, with proceeds benefiting the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and their programs to combat addiction.
