as a player after that season, but remained as head coach and would be the face of the franchise for the next quarter-century. Sather stayed on as head coach when the Oilers joined the NHL in 1979–80. In 1978, then-Oilers owner Peter Pocklington came to Sather and asked him whether he should take advantage of an opportunity to acquire Wayne Gretzky. Sather replied, "Whatever you have to do, get him." This was considered a risky proposition in 1978, as many scouts and hockey pundits, notably Howie Meeker, considered Gretzky too small, and unlikely to ever make it in the pro ranks. Upon acquiring Gretzky, Sather allowed him to live with his family. In 1979, the Edmonton Oilers were absorbed into the NHL. After taking them to the first round of the playoffs in their inaugural season, Sather was promoted to president and General Manager, and named Bryan Watson as head coach. On the advice of Barry Fraser, his chief scout, Sather selected Paul Coffey in the first round, Jari Kurri in the fourth and Andy Moog in the seventh. After a 4–9–5 record to start the 1980–81 season, Sather stepped back behind the bench and demoted Watson to an assistant (Watson retired after the season). While his record was only 25–26–11 the rest of the way, the young Oilers caught fire late in the season and swept the heavily favoured Montreal Canadiens in the opening round of the playoffs. It was a signal of what was to come. Again on the advice of Fraser, Sather selected Grant Fuhr in the first round and Steve Smith in the sixth round of the 1981 draft. The 1981–82 season saw the Oilers charge out of the gate as never before. They scored an NHL-record 417 goals, paced by Gretzky's 92 goals and 212 points. They rocketed to second place in the league behind only the New York Islanders, but were upended in the first round by the upstart Los Angeles Kings. This was the start of a tremendous run for the Oilers, who made it to the 1983 Finals (losing to the Islanders) and then winning the Stanley Cup in five of the next seven seasons. The team made the playoffs with Sather as the sole head coach from 1979–80 until 1984–85. In 1985, Sather named top assistant John Muckler as associate head coach and began splitting most coaching duties with Muckler. Sather