1987 Canada Cup
The 1987 Labatt Canada Cup was a professional international ice hockey tournament held from August 28 to September 15, 1987. The finals took place in Montreal on September 11 and Hamilton, on September 13 and September 15, and were won by Team Canada.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Canada |
| Venue(s) | 7 (in 7 host cities) |
| Dates | August 28 – September 15, 1987 |
| Teams | 6 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Canada (3rd title) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 20 |
| Goals scored | 139 (6.95 per game) |
| Scoring leader(s) | Wayne Gretzky (21 pts) |
| MVP | Wayne Gretzky |
The final best-of-three series of this tournament between Canada and the Soviet Union is considered by many to be the best exhibition of hockey in history. At the time, Soviet players were not allowed to pursue playing careers in North America, and so it was only through tournaments like this one where hockey fans could see them exhibit their skills head-to-head against the best of the National Hockey League (NHL). The United States and Soviet Union teams complained about the neutrality of the officiating in the tournament. Soviet coach Viktor Tikhonov said he felt the main reason his team lost was because of "bias and errors in refereeing."
The tournament was the only time that two of the most dominant NHL players of all time, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, played on the same forward unit, combining with each other on 29% of Team Canada's goals. The winning Canadian team had 12 future Hockey Hall of Fame members on the roster.