Throughout the summer and into the fall, we’ll be counting down the days until the Edmonton Oilers begin their 2023-24 season with a daily trip down memory lane.
Let’s take a look back at Devan Dunbyk’s tenure in Edmonton.
A June 27, 2004 edition of the Edmonton Journal details the Edmonton Oilers using first-round picks of Devan Dubnyk and Rob Schremp.
PLAYER COUNTDOWN PRESENTED BY BETWAY
Devan Dubnyk was drafted by the Oilers in the 1st round of the 2004 draft, but much like with many goalies, his development path was far from linear. He struggled in his early days of pro hockey and made his debut with the Oilers during the 2009-10 season.
He appeared in 19 games for the team that year posting a 4-10-2 record, .889 save percentage and a 3.57 GAA, but year two was much different. In 2010-11, he appeared in 35 games for the Oilers posting a 12-13-8 record with a much improved .916 save percentage and 2.71 GAA.
He would continue it with strong seasons in 2011-12 and the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. Over those two seasons, he had the best years of his young career drawing in for 85 games posting a 34-36-9 record, .917 save percentage and a 2.62 GAA.
While his record was never impressive, his save percentage and goals-against-average numbers sure were given how poor those Oilers teams were amid some lean years.
In the 2013-14 season, however, Dubnyk looked… different. His game wasn’t there, and his numbers reflected that in what would culminate in his departure from the Oilers at 27 years old. On Jan. 15, 2014, the Oilers sent Dubnyk to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Matt Hendricks, a fourth-line heart-and-soul grinder who provided more than enough value for the Oilers.
For Dubnyk, it would kick off a year of suitcase living. He played in two games for Nashville, and eight for their AHL affiliate before a March trade sent him to the Montreal Canadiens, but he never played for them.
He signed a one-year, $800,000 deal as a free agent with the Arizona Coyotes for the 2014-15 season, and it’s there where he would rebound. Across 19 games he posted a 9-5-2 record and a .916 that caught the eye of the Minnesota Wild, acquiring him on Jan. 15, 2015 — a year to the day the Oilers traded him away.
Dubnyk in Minnesota was a different animal. Across his first full four seasons there he posted a 138-89-24 record and a .918 save percentage. In 2019-20, however, his game entered a steep decline as his save percentage fell to .890.
He would join the San Jose Sharks by way of trade in 2020-21 and was later sent to the Colorado Avalanche, but his game never rebounded and at 34, Dubnyk retired after that season.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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