Glenn Chris Anderson (born October 2, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues. Anderson was known for performing especially well in important games, which garnered him the reputation of a "money" player. His five playoff overtime goals rank third in NHL history, while his 17 playoff game-winning goals put him fifth all-time. During the playoffs, Anderson accumulated 93 goals, 121 assists, and 214 points, the fourth, ninth, and fourth most in NHL history. Anderson is also first all-time in regular season game-winning goals in Oilers history with 72.
At a young age, Anderson admired the European aspects of the game. He was known to have a liking for participating in international tournaments, more so than his NHL contemporaries. When he was drafted by the Oilers in 1979, he chose to play for Team Canada at the 1980 Winter Olympics instead of immediately joining the Oilers. Anderson won gold at the 1984 and the 1987 Canada Cup and he was a silver medalist at the 1989 Ice Hockey World Championships. During his NHL career, Anderson was part of six Stanley Cup-winning teams (winning his first five as a member of the Oilers and his last as a member of the Rangers),
and he was a participant at four All-Star Games. He is one of only seven Oilers players to have won all five Cups in franchise history. In 1996 he played for Team Canada in the Spengler Cup Tournament, often referred to as the Stanley Cup of Europe. Despite having the flu with a high fever, Glenn rallied as soon as his skates were laced and was voted unanimously as the MVP of the tournament. They hoisted the Cup for Canada and took the lounging photo on the ice surrounding the Spengler Cup which was Glenn's idea when the Oilers won their first cup and has since become a tradition. Anderson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 10, 2008, and his jersey number, 9, was retired by the Oilers on January 18, 2009. On December 11, 2023, Anderson was named Head Coach and General Manager of the Powell River Kings of the BCHL.
Background
Anderson was born on October 2, 1960, in Vancouver, and raised in Burnaby, British Columbia. His father, Magnus, was a Norwegian immigrant and his mother, Anne, was of Ukrainian origin. He has two brothers (Allan and David) and a sister (Pam). As a young child, Glenn did not enjoy the game of ice hockey. His first-ever goal was in his own net. By the age of 12 he felt he had a gift and honed his skills as his love of the game increased with his joy of powerful skating. As a youth, he and teammate Ken Berry played in the 1972 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Burnaby.
Growing up, Glenn played hockey with childhood friends, Andy Hill, the Berry boys, and Michael J. Fox, (who became an award-winning actor). Anderson's hockey idol was his favourite player, Alexander Yakushev of the Soviet team, whom he had watched during the 1972 Summit Series. Glenn eventually produced the one hour acclaimed documentary "To Russia With Love", released in September 2012, about the way Russia changed the Canadian ice hockey game.
Playing career
Early career
Anderson began his junior hockey career with the Bellingham Blazers of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL) during the 1977–78 season. In 64 games, Anderson recorded 62 goals, 69 assists, and 131 points, the third-most goals and eighth-most points in the league. To top off his lone season in the BCJHL, he was named to the league's Second All-Star Team.
In 1978–79, Anderson was recruited to play for the hockey team of the University of Denver in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) by Marshall Johnston, the university team's head coach. Anderson played in 41 games and led the team in points with 55.
In the 1979 NHL entry draft, Anderson was drafted 69th overall by the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He opted to play for Team Canada during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. The team toured the world playing different opponents in preparation for the Olympics. The practice Anderson received during this time helped "greatly improve" his skills. The Oilers made the playoffs that year and defeated the Montreal Canadiens in the preliminary round, three games to none. This was deemed a huge upset since the Canadiens had finished eleven spots higher than the Oilers in the overall standings. The Oilers moved on to the quarter-finals where they were defeated in six games by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, New York Islanders. During the playoff run, Anderson scored 12 points in 9 games, establishing himself as a "fierce" playoff performer. Anderson and his team were matched up against the Islanders who were looking for a fourth consecutive Stanley Cup victory. During the Final, Anderson had several noted run-ins with Islanders goaltender Billy Smith. During game one, a slash on Anderson's knee earned Smith a two-minute slashing penalty. In game four, when the two crashed into each other, Smith's dive resulted in referee Andy Van Hellemond handing a five-minute penalty to Anderson. The season ended in disappointment for the Oilers as they were defeated in four games in a best of seven series. Anderson's team would cite the loss as a valuable lesson in their quest for their first Stanley Cup.
The Oilers again repeated as division champions in 1983–84. Anderson set a career high in goals with 54 and he made his first All-Star Game appearance. In the playoffs, the Oilers made their second consecutive Finals appearance. Once again, Anderson and his team faced the Islanders who were now looking to become the second team in NHL history to win five consecutive Stanley Cups. This time though, the Oilers emerged victorious in five games. This marked the end of the Islanders' dynasty and the beginning of the Oilers' dynasty. Anderson scored 17 points in the playoffs. Anderson recorded 42 goals and 81 points and once more his team was the division champions. Anderson set a career-high in assists with 16 during the playoff run. The loss did not seem to faze Anderson and his team, as they won their third Cup the next season by beating the Flyers once again, but this time in seven games. Anderson set career highs in goals (14), points (27) and PIM (59) during the playoff run. His 16 assists tied a career-high.
Looking to rebound after a disappointing season, Anderson and his team made a surprise appearance in the Finals. The Oilers defeated their opponents, the Boston Bruins, in five games to win their fifth Stanley Cup. Anderson scored 22 points and became one of only seven players to be a part of the entire Oilers dynasty. Wanting to rebuild the team with a younger core, the Oilers were involved in a blockbuster trade before the start of the 1991–92 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs that included seven players. Anderson, along with Grant Fuhr and Craig Berube, were sent to Toronto in exchange for Scott Thornton, Vincent Damphousse, Luke Richardson, Peter Ing and future considerations.
During his time with the Oilers, Anderson scored 417 goals, 489 assists, and 906 points, ranking him third, fourth, and fourth most respectively in franchise history. His 183 playoff points are fourth all-time in franchise history and his 126 powerplay goals are the most in franchise history.
Late career (1991–1997)
thumb|upright|Anderson in 2008
Anderson spent two seasons and part of another with the Maple Leafs. He recorded consecutive 20-goal seasons and he reached the career milestone of 1000 points with them. During the Maple Leafs playoff run in 1992–93, Anderson recorded 18 points in 21 games, including an overtime goal in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Kings, which gave the Leafs a 3–2 series lead but turned out to be their last win of the season. In New York, Anderson was reunited with many of his former teammates from his days in Edmonton. The Rangers featured six former Oilers, including future Hall of Famer and Anderson's long-time friend and linemate Mark Messier. The Rangers qualified for the playoffs and were able to advance to the Finals. Matched up against the Vancouver Canucks, the Rangers defeated them in seven games. This was the Rangers' first Stanley Cup victory since 1940. After being held scoreless in the previous rounds, Anderson scored three playoff goals in the Finals, two of them being game-winners. This would be Anderson's sixth Stanley Cup victory. At the end of the season, Anderson did not re-sign with the Blues. After playing part of the next season with Augsburger and the National Team again, Anderson signed with the Canucks as a free agent. His reasons for joining the team were because of former Oiler teammate Esa Tikkanen already playing there and a desire to finish his career in his hometown. However, Anderson never played for the Canucks as the Oilers picked him up on re-entry waivers. Canada advanced to the finals and defeated Sweden 2–0 in a best of three series to win the Cup. Anderson scored five points during the tournament. Anderson recorded three points during the tournament.
In 1989, Anderson played at the Ice Hockey World Championships for the first time. With four points in six games, Three years later, Anderson made his second and final appearance at the World Ice Hockey Championships, this time in Czechoslovakia. Canada was eliminated by Finland in the quarterfinals by a score of 4–3. Anderson registered three points during the tournament. Canada won silver as they lost the gold medal game to Sweden. The NHL released its players for the following games in Nagano.
Playing style
Anderson was noted for his aggressive "to the net" playing style, typifying the NHL power forward in the early 1980s. He credits coach Clare Drake's drills during his time with the Olympic team for his love of driving the net. He also liked to stay behind the net and pass to his teammates in front of the goal for scoring chances. Noted as a "money" player, Anderson was able to elevate his game in high-pressure situations. He scored five playoff overtime goals and 17 playoff game-winning goals, good for third and fifth all-time in NHL history. In addition, his 72 regular season game-winning goals with the Oilers put him first all-time in franchise history. His jersey number 9 was retired on January 18, 2009, by the Oilers, before a game against the Phoenix Coyotes. The date for Anderson's number retirement was specifically selected because his former Oilers teammates, Wayne Gretzky and Grant Fuhr, were serving as the Coyotes' head coach and goaltending coach respectively at the time.
Anderson was a participant in season one of Battle of the Blades. Anderson and his partner, Isabelle Brasseur, were the second pair to be eliminated from the competition. For their efforts, Brasseur's charity, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and Anderson's charity, the Cross Cancer Institute, each received a $12,500 donation. Anderson or “Andy” as his hockey team brothers call him, did not shave the toe pick down on the figure skates as most of the hockey players had done and he tripped on it trying to be authentic despite never having skated on figure skates.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! colspan="5" | Regular season
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! colspan="5" | Playoffs
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season
! Team
! League
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
|-
| 1977–78||Bellingham Blazers||BCJHL||64||62||69||131||46||—||—||—||—||—
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1977–78||New Westminster Bruins||WCHL||1||0||1||1||2||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| 1978–79||University of Denver||WCHA||41||26||29||55||58||—||—||—||—||—
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1979–80||Canada||Intl||49||21||21||42||46||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| 1979–80||Seattle Breakers||WHL||7||5||5||10||4||2||0||1||1||0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1980–81||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||58||30||23||53||24||9||5||7||12||12
|-
| 1981–82||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||80||38||67||105||71||5||2||5||7||8
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1982–83||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||72||48||56||104||70||16||10||10||20||32
|-
| 1983–84||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||80||54||45||99||65||19||6||11||17||33
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1984–85||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||80||42||39||81||69||18||10||16||26||38
|-
| 1985–86||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||72||54||48||102||90||10||8||3||11||14
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1986–87||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||80||35||38||73||65||21||14||13||27||59
|-
| 1987–88||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||80||38||50||88||58||19||9||16||25||49
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1988–89||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||79||16||48||64||93||7||1||2||3||8
|-
| 1989–90||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||73||34||38||72||107||22||10||12||22||20
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1990–91||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||74||24||31||55||59||18||6||7||13||41
|-
| 1991–92||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||72||24||33||57||100||—||—||—||—||—
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1992–93||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||76||22||43||65||117||21||7||11||18||31
|-
| 1993–94||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||73||17||18||35||50||—||—||—||—||—
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1993–94||New York Rangers||NHL||12||4||2||6||12||23||3||3||6||42
|-
| 1994–95||Augsburger Panther||DEL||5||6||2||8||10||—||—||—||—||—
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1994–95||Lukko||SM-I||4||1||1||2||0||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| 1994–95||Canada||Intl||26||11||8||19||40||—||—||—||—||—
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1994–95||St. Louis Blues||NHL||36||12||14||26||37||6||1||1||2||49
|-
| 1995–96||Augsburger Panther||DEL||9||5||3||8||48||—||—||—||—||—
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1995–96||Canada||Intl||11||4||4||8||39||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| 1995–96||Edmonton Oilers||NHL||17||4||6||10||27||—||—||—||—||—
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1995–96||St. Louis Blues||NHL||15||2||2||4||6||11||1||4||5||6
|-
| 1996–97||HC La Chaux–de–Fonds||NDA||23||14||35||49||43||—||—||—||—||—
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1996–97||Bolzano HC||AL||6||9||14||23||0||—||—||—||—||—
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals