FIVE WELL-KNOWN PLAYERS YOU MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN PLAYED A SEASON OR LESS FOR THE OILERS
When you think about notable players who played only a season or less with the Edmonton Oilers, Chris Pronger is usually the first name that comes to mind. He recorded 56 points during the 2005-06 season, was a dominant force on the blue line in the playoffs, and led the team to the Stanley Cup Final before being traded after just one season.
That said, throughout their history, the Oilers have had many well-known players who spent a single season or less with them, whether they played in Edmonton before hitting their stride, during their prime, or in the back nine of their careers. On that note, here are five significant players who might not immediately come to mind as having played in Oil Country for a season or less.
Geoff Sanderson
Geoff Sanderson was selected in the second round of the 1990 NHL Draft by the Hartford Whalers. Over his 18 NHL seasons, he played for seven teams, including a productive tenure with the Whalers, who later became the Carolina Hurricanes, where he produced two 40-goal seasons and earned All-Star selections in 1994 and 1997.
The highest points he tallied in one season were 89 with the Whalers in 1992-93. In his prime, he was known for being a very fast skater, so much so that former NHL netminder Martin Biron said about him, “Geoff Sanderson, the Sandman, was the fastest skater I have ever played with.” On top of that, he won the Puck Control Relay contest at the 1997 All-Star Skills Competition.
That said, in July 2007, the Oilers pulled off a major trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. They sent former captain Jason Smith and Joffrey Lupul to the Flyers in return for defenceman Joni Pitkanen, Sanderson, and a third-round draft pick. Pitkanen was the centerpiece of the trade, with Sanderson, in the last chapter of his career, seeming like a throw-in to round out the deal.
Sanderson, then 35 years old and no longer possessing the wheels he once had, played 41 games for the orange and blue in 2007-08, scoring three goals and ten assists. Although the Oilers missed the playoffs, Sanderson retired after the season with Edmonton with exactly 700 career points, making him the most productive player from the Northwest Territories.
Petr Nedved
Born in Liberec, Czechoslovakia, Petr Nedved made headlines in 1989 when, at just 17 years old, he left his hockey team during a midget tournament in Calgary and went to a local police station to announce his plan to defect to Canada.
Thereafter, after one season with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, Nedved was drafted second overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1990 NHL Draft, three spots before Jaromir Jagr. He played 15 seasons in the NHL, with his best scoring year being 1995-96, when he tallied 99 points with the Pittsburgh Penguins alongside Mario Lemieux and Jagr and his steadiest seasons were with the New York Rangers, where he notched 328 points over six seasons.
Nedved was a highly skilled offensive player who didn’t always get the spotlight compared to the superstars of his era, but as Zach Laing noted, his effectiveness was significant:
“Nedved was one of the highest-scoring players in the league during his peak years Between the 1995-96 and 2000-01 seasons, Nedved’s 363 points in 365 games placed him 32nd among all forwards.”
Nevertheless, during the 2003-04 season, the Oilers were in a battle for a playoff spot, and on March 7, 2004, they traded for Nedved and goaltender Jussi Markkanen in exchange for Dwight Helminen, a second-round pick, and Stephen Valiquette.
Nedved seamlessly joined Radek Dvorak and Raffi Torres on a line, producing 15 points in the final 16 games of the season. Yet, despite the praise for his efforts down the stretch, the Oilers missed the playoffs for the second time in eight years.
Moreover, a labour strike led to a lockout for the entire 2004-05 season, and the forward’s time with the Oilers was very brief as he signed with the Phoenix Coyotes before the lockout began. He returned to Edmonton in January 2007, claimed off re-entry waivers, but tallied only five points in 19 games. The Oilers missed the playoffs again, marking Nedved’s final NHL stint before finishing his career overseas.
Adam Oates
Former NHL player Adam Oates was known for his exceptional playmaking ability and vision on the ice, making him one of the greatest passers in NHL history. Additionally, he was the setup man for former sniper Brett Hull’s most productive scoring seasons, during which Hull tallied 72, 86, and 70 goals from 1989 to 1992, when both were members of the St. Louis Blues.
Overall, Oates finished his NHL career with 1,420 points, good for 20th place on the all-time points list. He was also the 15th fastest to hit the 1,000 career points mark, and his accomplishments earned him induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.
He played for seven NHL teams over his 1,337 games in the league, including the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Ducks, before making his final stop, at the age of 41, with the Oilers 21 years ago.
The Weston, ON native, remained unsigned at the start of the Oilers’ 2003-04 season, and he signed a one-year deal worth $1.95 million 17 games in. Oates played in 60 games that season, tallying 18 points in a limited third-line role, but he left a lasting impression on some of the Oilers’ youngsters.
Overall in his career, he was very good at faceoffs, ranking 10th all-time in the NHL with a 57.62% success rate. That said, it was noted that former Oilers Jarret Stoll and Shawn Horcoff picked up on Oates’ traits and became skilled faceoff men because of him. Edmonton failed to make the playoffs in 2003-04, and Oates announced his retirement shortly after and currently works as a skills coach.
Ray Whitney
Ray Whitney, a former NHL player from Fort Saskatchewan, AB, had an early role with the Oilers as a stick boy in the 1980s, where he was responsible for bringing sticks to the bench, topping up Gatorade cups, and assisting the trainers.
Whitney was considered small for the NHL at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, but he became the San Jose Sharks’ second-ever NHL draft pick when selected in the second round of the 1991 NHL Draft. Over a career spanning 22 seasons, he recorded 1,064 points and earned the nickname “The Wizard” for his superb skills and wizardry with the puck.
The Sharks bought out Whitney in 1997, and the Oilers signed him as a free agent. Yet, he was barely given a chance in Edmonton, because, after only nine games and recording four points in that span, he was placed on waivers. Additionally, it was reported that Whitney believed he was finished as an NHL player.
However, the Florida Panthers claimed him off waivers, and the rest is history. Whitney scored 61 points in 68 games that season and led the Panthers in scoring. Furthermore, to show how productive he was, he recorded fewer than 50 points in only two of the 13 seasons that followed, including an impressive 83-point season in 2006-07.
Though Whitney’s time with the Oilers was extremely short-lived, putting him on waivers is seen as a blunder by the organization and to rub salt in the wound, he was part of the Hurricanes squad that defeated the Oilers in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.
Vincent Damphousse
Vincent Damphousse is another talented forward who had a brief stint with the Oilers. Originally drafted sixth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1986 NHL Draft, the gifted centerman recorded 329 points in 394 games during his first five seasons with the Leafs and was named the MVP of the All-Star Game in 1991.
Before the 1991-92 season, the Oilers made a blockbuster trade with the Leafs, sending future Hall of Famers Grant Fuhr and Glenn Anderson to Toronto in exchange for Damphousse, Peter Ing, Luke Richardson, and Scott Thornton and some cash.
Unlike the other players on the list, Damphousse played a full season in Oil Country and had a fantastic season. He led the Oilers in goals (38), assists (51), points (89), power-play goals (12), and game-winning goals (eight) and he was also selected to the All-Star Game. Additionally, Damphousse finished third on the team in playoff scoring with 14 points, as the Oilers lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Campbell Conference Final.
The Montreal, PQ native’s tenure would only last a season, as it was rumoured that he asked for a trade because he wasn’t happy in Edmonton (a rumour he later denied). That said, on August 27, 1992, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in a deal for Shayne Corson, Brent Gilchrist, and Vladimir Vujtek.
Overall, Damphousse had a highly successful 18-year NHL career, recording 1,205 regular-season points, which ranks 51st on the all-time scoring list. He reached 70 points or more in eight different seasons, earned All-Star honours four times, and won the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1993. Considering his impact he had on the game, if he had stayed in Edmonton during his prime, the Oilers’ history could have been altered considerably.
Nevertheless, out of the five former Oilers mentioned, which one would you have wanted to see have a longer tenure in Edmonton during their prime?
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2024-09-03T15:01:02Z dg43tfdfdgfd