Esa Tikkanen (NHL 1985-1999, Canucks 1995-1997) | 10 | LW

Kevin Biestra · Thursday at 08:31 PM

When Esa Tikkanen had a cup of coffee (exactly 100 games where he scored 64 points despite being near the end of his career) he became the second player with five Stanley Cup rings to wear the Canucks jersey (the other being Oilers dynasty teammate Randy Gregg).

People might not realize it now all these years later, but Esa Tikkanen's credentials are not that far from the Hall of Fame, especially since Kevin Lowe is in for a similar quantity of Stanley Cups and guys like Guy Carbonneau are in primarily for their Selke Trophy accolades and defensive play. Tikkanen had 244 goals and 630 points in 877 career games and was a Selke Finalist four times, finishing 2nd place for the trophy three times. In other words, he would have had his own personal Selke Trophy dynasty had Guy Carbonneau not been in the way with his own... Kind of what the 1980s Oilers did to the Bruins and Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals of that decade.

Tikkanen won four of his Cups with the Oilers and his fifth one in 1994 against us with the Rangers. He was one of the aging legends brought into Vancouver in the mid-to-late 90s (along with guys like Peter Zezel and Mike Ridley) as the Canucks were nuked into a post-1994 rebuild by the whole Mark Messier chapter.

In separate seasons, Tikkanen was voted the 3rd, 4th and 5th best LW in the league. In his first three full NHL seasons he had 78, 74 and 78 points. That last 78 point season was in only 67 games...he was on pace for something like 93 points.

He was awesome in the 1988 playoffs and a Conn Smythe candidate, scoring 10 goals and 27 points in 19 games as the Oilers won the Stanley Cup. He delivered in other playoffs as well (24 points in 22 games and 20 points in 18 games).

And anyone who was around when he was playing might remember his interviews, where he was considered the only person on earth speaking whatever language it was that he was using, and it was known in the hockey world as Tikkanese...

Another guy who was somewhat quietly one of the best hockey players to ever wear the Canucks jersey.

And a silly little Tikkanen factoid...

Tikkanen, the racehorse

The 1994 Breeders' Cup Turf was won by Tikkanen, a Thoroughbred racehorse named in Esa Tikkanen's honor by George W. Strawbridge, Jr., owner of Augustin Stable and an active director of the Buffalo Sabres NHL ice hockey club and a member of the team's executive committee for more than thirty years.