Cal Nichols was 84 years old when he died on the weekend.

What and 84 years it was: of showing up, of gathering people. Of walking into rooms where powerful men said no and finding, in the quieter rooms behind those rooms, the ones filled with blue collar millionaires and stubborn believers, a different answer. He saved Edmonton from losing the Oilers.

Tait: Cal Nichols a hero to Edmonton hockey fans Back to video

But what Nichols really saved was the idea that a city — any city, even one that sometimes forgets where it came from — can still act like a small town when........

© Edmonton Sun