I can say without any doubt Bill Guerin absolutely loved playing for the Edmonton Oilers, and he felt that way at a time when the glory days of five Stanley Cups were little more than a faded memory. Teammates and fans, in return, felt the same way about Guerin, a speedy power forward from Massachusetts who arrived in Edmonton via the New Jersey Devils in the 1998 trade that sent Jason Arnott the other way.

On the ice, Guerin was a lethal blend of speed, toughness and talent who could play the game any way you wanted to. Off the ice, he was a popular teammate with the gift of the gab, a cutting sense of humor and a penchant for pranks. It sucked, then, when Guerin was traded to Boston just 211 games after arriving – a transaction he found out about not from Oiler GM Kevin Lowe, but from a fan at his daughter’s figure skating practice on Nov. 15, 2000. In between, Guerin was a helluva player for the Oilers.

Bill Guerin

Right Wing

Born Nov 9 1970 — Wilbraham, MA 

Height 6.02 — Weight 220 [188 cm/100 kg]

Drafted by New Jersey Devils

Round 1 #5 overall 1989 NHL Entry Draft

BY THE NUMBERS

Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%	TOI	ATOI
1991-92	21	NJD	5	0	1	1	1	9	8	0.0
1992-93	22	NJD	65	14	20	34	14	63	123	11.4
1993-94	23	NJD	81	25	19	44	14	101	195	12.8
1994-95	24	NJD	48	12	13	25	6	72	96	12.5
1995-96	25	NJD	80	23	30	53	7	116	216	10.6
1996-97	26	NJD	82	29	18	47	-2	95	177	16.4
1997-98	27	TOT	59	18	21	39	1	93	178	10.1
1997-98	27	NJD	19	5	5	10	0	13	48	10.4
1997-98	27	EDM	40	13	16	29	1	80	130	10.0
1998-99	28	EDM	80	30	34	64	7	133	261	11.5	1576	19:42
1999-00	29	EDM	70	24	22	46	4	123	188	12.8	1262	18:01
2000-01	30	TOT	85	40	45	85	7	140	289	13.8	1870	21:00
2000-01	30	EDM	21	12	10	22	11	18	64	18.8	416	19:49
2000-01	30	BOS	64	28	35	63	-4	122	225	12.4	1454	22:43
2001-02	31	BOS	78	41	25	66	-1	91	355	11.5	1618	20:45
2002-03	32	DAL	64	25	25	50	5	113	229	10.9	1187	18:33
2003-04	33	DAL	82	34	35	69	14	109	263	12.9	1533	18:42
2005-06	35	DAL	70	13	27	40	0	115	210	6.2	1150	16:25
2006-07	36	TOT	77	36	20	56	10	66	225	16.0	1309	16:00
2006-07	36	STL	61	28	19	47	8	52	189	14.8	1063	17:26
2006-07	36	SJS	16	8	1	9	2	14	36	22.2	246	15:22
2007-08	37	NYI	81	23	21	44	-15	65	227	10.1	1408	17:23
2008-09	38	TOT	78	21	27	48	-12	81	226	9.3	1300	16:40
2008-09	38	NYI	61	16	20	36	-15	63	181	8.8	1050	17:13
2008-09	38	PIT	17	5	7	12	3	18	45	11.1	250	14:44
2009-10	39	PIT	78	21	24	45	-9	75	227	9.3	1367	17:32
7 yrs		NJD	380	108	106	214	40	469	863	12.5
4 yrs		EDM	211	79	82	161	23	354	643	12.3	3254	19:02
3 yrs		DAL	216	72	87	159	19	337	702	10.3	3870	17:55
2 yrs		BOS	142	69	60	129	-5	213	580	11.9	3072	21:38
2 yrs		NYI	142	39	41	80	-30	128	408	9.6	2458	17:19
2 yrs		PIT	95	26	31	57	-6	93	272	9.6	1618	17:02
1 yr		SJS	16	8	1	9	2	14	36	22.2	246	15:22
1 yr		STL	61	28	19	47	8	52	189	14.8	1063	17:26
Career			1263	429	427	856	51	1660	3693	11.6	15580	18:29

PLAYOFFS

Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%	TOI	ATOI
1991-92	21	NJD	6	3	0	3	2	4	10	30.0
1992-93	22	NJD	5	1	1	2	-2	4	3	33.3
1993-94	23	NJD	17	2	1	3	1	35	49	4.1
1994-95	24	NJD	20	3	8	11	6	30	28	10.7
1996-97	26	NJD	8	2	1	3	-5	18	13	15.4
1997-98	27	EDM	12	7	1	8	-6	17	47	14.9
1998-99	28	EDM	3	0	2	2	-4	2	8	0.0	79	26:14
1999-00	29	EDM	5	3	2	5	-1	9	12	25.0	90	17:55
2001-02	31	BOS	6	4	2	6	-2	6	25	16.0	128	21:17
2002-03	32	DAL	4	0	0	0	-1	4	3	0.0	34	8:34
2003-04	33	DAL	5	0	1	1	-1	4	23	0.0	101	20:09
2005-06	35	DAL	5	3	1	4	-2	0	18	16.7	81	16:14
2006-07	36	SJS	9	0	2	2	-3	12	22	0.0	154	17:06
2008-09	38	PIT	24	7	8	15	8	15	70	10.0	408	17:01
2009-10	39	PIT	11	4	5	9	3	2	30	13.3	201	18:17
Career			140	39	35	74	-7	162	361	10.8	1276	17:43

NOTABLE

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It didn’t long after being acquired by Glen Sather for Guerin to become a fixture on Edmonton’s top line alongside captain Doug Weight, who was Edmonton’s best player and would become Guerin’s best friend, and Ryan Smyth. Guerin, who roared up and down the left side, and Weight, silky smooth and a deft playmaker, were a fit. With Smyth banging in the loose change around the net, it was a tremendous trio.

Guerin’s best regular season in Edmonton was 1998-99, when he scored 30-34-64 in 80 games. Guerin’s best post-season here was 1998, when he scored seven goals and had eight points in 12 games – a 4-3 series win over Colorado and a second-round loss to the Dallas Stars in five games. It was in that first-round win over Colorado that Guerin earned the nickname Billy the Butcher for opening up Peter Forsberg with his stick.

Guerin and Weight were inseparable off the ice and are best friends to this day. They were particularly adept at cutting up the travelling media – especially when it came to jabs about being out of shape. At the end of one difficult travel day full of delays, the team bus finally pulled up in front of the hotel in St. Louis and Guerin proclaimed, “Free the hostages.” As I bolted for the door, Guerin added, “I said hostages, not sausages” to many guffaws. After that shot, Guerin made a habit of sending me a side of sausages at breakfast when we were on the road.

THE STORY

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As was the case too often with the Oilers in the 1990s and leading up to a new CBA and salary cap, the November 2000 departure of Guerin, who’d won a Stanley Cup with the Devils in 1995, was as much about finance and a tight budget as it was about hockey. Guerin was dealt to Boston for Anson Carter and draft picks that turned into Ales Hemsky and Doug Lynch. It was a tough day as stunned teammates rushed to Guerin’s house.

“It’s bittersweet. Actually, it’s not sweet,” said Guerin. ”I’m just disappointed at the timing. With the way things were going, I thought I’d found a home here, but you have to be professional about this I guess.” Added Weight: “I’ve got to sleep on this one. I don’t know what to tell you. Obviously, this is a time that’s difficult. Billy’s a big part of this team and a big part of my life. He’s a very close friend of mine and that’s first and foremost. I’m disappointed he’s leaving.” My story from that day is here.

After a 41-goal season with Boston, Guerin signed as a free agent with Dallas for the kind of money — $40 million over five seasons – that was simply an impossibility in Edmonton. Even then, and in later stops in St, Louis, San Jose, Long Island and Pittsburgh, where he’s now the assistant GM, Guerin always made a point of talking about his time in Edmonton. Like Weight, who’d be traded by the Oilers just over eight months later, Guerin never wanted to leave.

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:

• 32. Dave Semenko
• 33. Petr Klima
• 34. Marty McSorley
• 35. Jordan Eberle
• 36. Patt Hughes
• 37. Jeff Beukeboom
• 38. Craig Muni
• 39. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
• 40. Adam Graves
• 41. Ken Linseman
• 42. Jason Arnott