When it comes to the most memorable goals in the storied history of the Edmonton Oilers, Todd Marchant’s Game 7 overtime winner against the Dallas Stars at Reunion Arena in the 1997 playoffs ranks a lot higher than he does on this list of Top 100 Oilers. It was, is and will always be one of those moments frozen in time for Oiler fans.
While that goal to upset the powerhouse Stars unquestionably remains the highlight of the decade Marchant spent draped in Oiler silks, the broadest body of work for the little speedster from Buffalo was that of a checker, a hard-nosed third-line centre who would torment opposing forwards with the speed and tenacity of a hungry dog on a raw piece of steak – traits that earned Marchant the nickname T-Bone.
Todd Marchant
Left Wing
Born Aug 12 1973 — Buffalo, NY
Height 5.10 — Weight 175 [178 cm/79 kg]
Drafted by New York Rangers
Round 7 #164 overall 1993 NHL Entry Draft
BY THE NUMBERS
|
Season |
Age |
Tm |
GP |
G |
A |
PTS |
+/- |
PIM |
S |
S% |
TOI |
ATOI |
|
1993-94 |
20 |
TOT |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
-2 |
2 |
6 |
0.0 |
||
|
1993-94 |
20 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-1 |
0 |
1 |
0.0 |
|||
|
1993-94 |
20 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
-1 |
2 |
5 |
0.0 |
|||
|
1994-95 |
21 |
45 |
13 |
14 |
27 |
-3 |
32 |
95 |
13.7 |
|||
|
1995-96 |
22 |
81 |
19 |
19 |
38 |
-19 |
66 |
221 |
8.6 |
|||
|
1996-97 |
23 |
79 |
14 |
19 |
33 |
11 |
44 |
202 |
6.9 |
|||
|
1997-98 |
24 |
76 |
14 |
21 |
35 |
9 |
71 |
194 |
7.2 |
|||
|
1998-99 |
25 |
82 |
14 |
22 |
36 |
3 |
65 |
183 |
7.7 |
1376 |
16:47 |
|
|
1999-00 |
26 |
82 |
17 |
23 |
40 |
7 |
70 |
170 |
10.0 |
1405 |
17:08 |
|
|
2000-01 |
27 |
71 |
13 |
26 |
39 |
1 |
51 |
113 |
11.5 |
1271 |
17:54 |
|
|
2001-02 |
28 |
82 |
12 |
22 |
34 |
7 |
41 |
124 |
9.7 |
1392 |
16:58 |
|
|
2002-03 |
29 |
77 |
20 |
40 |
60 |
13 |
48 |
146 |
13.7 |
1532 |
19:54 |
|
|
2003-04 |
30 |
77 |
9 |
25 |
34 |
-17 |
34 |
163 |
5.5 |
1590 |
20:39 |
|
|
2005-06 |
32 |
TOT |
79 |
9 |
25 |
34 |
2 |
66 |
132 |
6.8 |
1363 |
17:15 |
|
2005-06 |
32 |
18 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
-1 |
20 |
42 |
7.1 |
362 |
20:05 |
|
|
2005-06 |
32 |
61 |
6 |
19 |
25 |
3 |
46 |
90 |
6.7 |
1001 |
16:25 |
|
|
2006-07 |
33 |
56 |
8 |
15 |
23 |
7 |
44 |
115 |
7.0 |
850 |
15:10 |
|
|
2007-08 |
34 |
75 |
9 |
7 |
16 |
-3 |
48 |
93 |
9.7 |
1112 |
14:49 |
|
|
2008-09 |
35 |
72 |
5 |
13 |
18 |
-2 |
34 |
101 |
5.0 |
1046 |
14:32 |
|
|
2009-10 |
36 |
78 |
9 |
13 |
22 |
-16 |
32 |
83 |
10.8 |
1233 |
15:49 |
|
|
2010-11 |
37 |
79 |
1 |
7 |
8 |
-18 |
26 |
63 |
1.6 |
1050 |
13:17 |
|
|
10 yrs |
EDM |
678 |
136 |
207 |
343 |
28 |
490 |
1453 |
9.4 |
6976 |
17:42 |
|
|
6 yrs |
MDA,ANA |
421 |
38 |
74 |
112 |
-29 |
230 |
545 |
7.0 |
6293 |
14:57 |
|
|
2 yrs |
CBJ |
95 |
12 |
31 |
43 |
-18 |
54 |
205 |
5.9 |
1951 |
20:32 |
|
|
1 yr |
NYR |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-1 |
0 |
1 |
0.0 |
|||
|
Career |
1195 |
186 |
312 |
498 |
-20 |
774 |
2204 |
8.4 |
15219 |
16:43 |
PLAYOFFS
|
Season |
Age |
Tm |
GP |
G |
A |
PTS |
+/- |
PIM |
S |
S% |
TOI |
ATOI |
|
1996-97 |
23 |
12 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
12 |
40 |
10.0 |
|||
|
1997-98 |
24 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
10 |
17 |
5.9 |
|||
|
1998-99 |
25 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
10 |
10.0 |
97 |
24:21 |
|
|
1999-00 |
26 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
-1 |
2 |
6 |
16.7 |
54 |
18:07 |
|
|
2000-01 |
27 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-3 |
4 |
7 |
0.0 |
138 |
22:57 |
|
|
2002-03 |
29 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
-1 |
2 |
5 |
0.0 |
120 |
20:03 |
|
|
2005-06 |
32 |
16 |
3 |
10 |
13 |
14 |
14 |
26 |
11.5 |
281 |
17:34 |
|
|
2006-07 |
33 |
11 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
-1 |
12 |
19 |
0.0 |
173 |
15:44 |
|
|
2007-08 |
34 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
25.0 |
106 |
17:40 |
|
|
2008-09 |
35 |
13 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
16 |
18 |
5.6 |
259 |
19:56 |
|
|
2010-11 |
37 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
-3 |
4 |
4 |
0.0 |
86 |
14:23 |
|
|
Career |
95 |
13 |
21 |
34 |
9 |
88 |
160 |
8.1 |
1315 |
18:31 |
NOTABLE
Just 20 when he was acquired from the New York Rangers in a swap that sent Craig MacTavish to Broadway at the 1994 trade deadline, Marchant arrived in Edmonton amid hopes by some he’d turn into an offensive centre who’d complement Doug Weight. Marchant, had, after all, put up 78 points in 65 games over two seasons with Clarkson of the ECAC before the Rangers drafted him 164th overall in 1993.
Aside from his final season in Edmonton, when he hit the free agency jackpot with 20-40-60 in 2002-03, Marchant never did show the same offensive flair with the Oilers. He instead earned his keep as a two-way player who could kill penalties and chip in offensively here and there. In that regard, Marchant was remarkably consistent – he was always in the mid-teens in goals and finished with 30-40 points seven times.
Marchant’s best work came during his years playing with Mike Grier and Ethan Moreau, a trio dubbed the MGM Line. Moreau and Grier provided the crash and Marchant provided the dash. They drew the tough assignments as shutdown guys most nights. For several seasons, many people, me included, considered the threesome one of the best third lines in the NHL.
THE STORY
Marchant scored 20 shorthanded goals as an Oiler, sixth-best in franchise history behind Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, MacTavish and Esa Tikkanen. The Oilers made the playoffs in six of Marchant’s nine full seasons in Edmonton. It was an era when the Oilers were barely in or barely out of the playoffs and when every post-season meant a date in Dallas.
In 1996-97, the Stars finished with 104 points to Edmonton’s 81. A lot of people picked the Stars to win in a sweep, five games at the outside, but when the Oilers, backstopped by Curtis Joseph, pushed Ken Hitchcock’s Stars to a seventh game – Dallas actually trailed 3-2 in the series before Mike Modano got the winner in Game 6 in Edmonton – the stage was set for Marchant.
Oiler fans have the sequence burned in their brains. Joseph makes a ridiculous diving save across the crease on Joe Nieuwendyk. Dallas gets another crack at Joseph after the face-off, but Weight gathers a loose puck, spins and hits Marchant, who races in on the backhand past a stumbling Grant Ledyard, goes to the forehand and snaps the puck past former Oiler Andy Moog. Fist-pump Glen Sather. Dogpile on the ice. On to Denver.
This series will look at the top 100 Edmonton Oilers from the NHL era 1979-80 to 2014-15, starting with 100 and working up.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.
PREVIOUSLY:
- 44. Don Jackson
- 45. Dwayne Roloson
- 46. Anson Carter
- 47. Blair MacDonald
- 48. Risto Siltanen
- 49. Mike Grier
- 50. Martin Gelinas
- 51. Mike Comrie
- 52. Dave Manson
- 53. Janne Niinimaa
- 54. Ethan Moreau
I watched that video 5 times just now. One of the great moments in Oiler history.
To understand the goal you need to understand that Canadians team were going south of the border every year. You never knew if the Oilers would leave town and that game could be their last.
……as a 16 year old kid I remember thinking…do they let this be their last game ever, don’t make me cheer for the Flames
I remember his speed provided a lot of breakaways, but he didn’t finish most of them. THAT goal ranks right up there with Moose’s Game 3 wrister against the Islanders for me.
I felt the same way, would love to watch the breakaways but when I realized it was Todd I would usually sit back down.
Then he had that incredible season by his standards when pucks started going in and he bolted out of Edmonton for a payday at the first chance.
Yes that goal was amazing and I still remember watching it live, but IMO he’s not a top 50 player of this franchise, having been a 3rd line forward for much of his time here.
In fact, what he accomplished in the regular season was no different than Pisani, he just did it here longer because he didn’t get ulcerative colitis in the process. His playoff performance in 1997 pales in comparison to pisani’s, and he left town as soon as he could cash a bigger cheque while Pisani is a hometown hero who only left Edmonton when his health had robbed him of a career and he was no longer wanted.
My goosebumps got goosebumps watching that one again. I remember it like it happened yesterday.
Every Oiler fan old enough to have watched that series knows where they were when that goal was scored.
I was in Chili’s on 170th Street & Stony Plain Road, watching the game in the bar. Marchant scored and the place went absolutely ham. It was glorious. I got soaked with beer and so did everyone else and nobody cared.
That goal turned my 12 year old self into a hockey fan. I adored Marchant while he was a player here.
Two big omissions: the great story about how Sather thought he was trading for Todd’s bigger brother (http://oilersnation.com/2013/4/19/nation-profile-todd-marchant). I love that Sather fell bassackwards into one of the best Oilers ever (certainly one of my favourites). Also you have him listed as a left winger, but his best work was as as a centre. Great face off guy, back checked, never took a night off to my recollection.
I’ve never considered Todd a winger . . .
“While that goal to upset the powerhouse Stars unquestionably remains the highlight of the decade Marchant spent draped in Oiler silks, the broadest body of work for the little speedster from Buffalo was that of a checker, a hard-nosed third-line centre who would torment opposing forwards with the speed and tenacity of a hungry dog on a raw piece of steak – traits that earned Marchant the nickname T-Bone.”
The thumbnails at the top of each of these items are taken from Hockey DB.
I wonder what would happen if we lined up Marchant (in his prime) vs McDavid because I remember Marchant being ridiculously fast.
Second best O.T goal in Oilers history IMO. What a goal though!
I’m pretty sure his nickname was “nice try Toddy”.
I made 40 bucks on that goal off of a Canucks fan at UVic who really though that was going to be Dallas’ year…
“Joseph makes a ridiculous diving save across the crease on Joe Nieuwendyk. Dallas gets another crack at Joseph after the face-off, but Weight gathers a loose puck, spins and hits Marchant, who races in on the backhand past a stumbling Grant Ledyard, goes to the forehand and snaps the puck past former Oiler Andy Moog. Fist-pump Glen Sather. Dogpile on the ice. On to Denver.”
And Smytty cried….
Ah, the good ol’ days when you could count on a member of the third line to score 20 goals a season. And that was the deadpuck era.
The MGM line really was as solid a third line as there was in hockey at the time. They did everything you want in a shutdown line and popped more than their share of goals the other way.
Speaking of that line, I might have been inclined to put flip Moreau and Grier in your rankings, but until we get to #2 on this list, it’s pretty subjective.
Such an underrated player.
Merchant’s scoring routinely ranked top six within the Oilers’ forwards. Checking line? Yes. Third line? Not so sure.
If there was advanced states p/toi etc back in the days perhaps he would be viewed differently, and he did it with little PP time.
Then again were he not so underrated it’s unlikely he stayed an Oiler as long as he did.
I remember those days well having just graduated from NAIT.
WE FINALLY BEAT DALLAS!
Lost to Colorado in the second round after that, then the very next year, after the Arnott/Guerin trade, beat Colorado in the first round and sadly lost to fricken Dallas again in the second round.
B-E-L-F-O-U-R!