AT RANDOM: LET’S MAKE A DEAL
7 years ago
A tip of the cap to Leaking 5w-30, who got me thinking about some of the best and worst trades in the history of the Edmonton Oilers with his question in today’s edition of the Monday Mailbag.
I’ve narrowed it down to what I consider the best five trades and the worst three, but there’s obviously many more in both categories that are worthy of debate – especially when you follow the trade tree of some swaps from the initial deal to subsequent acquisitions made with players involved. I’m sticking to the initial trades.
While there’s still plenty of discussion, as you’d expect, about the deal GM Peter Chiarelli just made that sent Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for Adam Larsson, you won’t find it listed because it’s too soon to know how it’s going to turn out. Likewise, I didn’t find any other move by Chiarelli worthy of inclusion on the best or worst trades based on the early returns.
Craig MacTavish and Steve Tambellini didn’t make the list either, even though they had their moments, good and bad, during their tenures in the big chair. In the end, Glen Sather trades show up six times on the lists and Kevin Lowe owns the other two spots. You, of course, might see it differently, but here’s what I came up with.
THE BEST
Edmonton Oilers acquire | Date | New York Rangers acquire |
Doug Weight | March 17, 1993 | Esa Tikkanen |
If ever there was a case of “out with the old, in with the new,” Sather pulled it off by swapping proven warhorse Esa Tikkanen for Doug Weight, who would become Oiler captain and the team’s best player for many years while Tikkanen faded away. Weight, just 22 when acquired, would play 588 regular season games over parts of nine seasons in Edmonton and would score 157-420-577. He’d add 10-23-33 in 39 playoff games. Tikkanen, 28 at the time of the trade, bounced around to six teams during the rest of his career. He did win a Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994, but never replicated the personal success he enjoyed in Edmonton.
Toronto Maple Leafs acquire | Date | Edmonton Oilers acquire |
1999 4th round pick (#110-Jonathan Zion) 2000 2nd round pick (#51-Kris Vernarsky) | March 23, 1999 | Jason Smith |
If you can tell me what became of Jonathan Zion and Kris Vernasky, who were the draft picks the Maple Leafs got from the Oilers for Jason Smith without Googling them, you’re one up on me. Nobody needs a search engine to know what Smith meant to the Oilers in the 542 games he spent with Edmonton. Smith took over the captaincy from Weight after he was traded to St. Louis and he wore the C for five seasons, tying Wayne Gretzky as longest serving captain in franchise history. Tough as nails and mean as hell was Smith. A leader of men.
Edmonton Oilers acquire | Date | St. Louis Blues acquire |
Curtis Joseph rights to Mike Grier | August 4, 1995 | 1996 1st round pick (#14-Marty Reasoner) 1997 1st round pick (#15-Matt Zultek) |
Simply put, the man fans called Cujo came billed as the shot in the arm the post-Stanley Cup era Oilers needed in the crease and he delivered in spades. Before Cujo left Edmonton for stacks of cash in Toronto, he spent 201 games between the pipes and provided countless highlights – none bigger than his ridiculous save on Joe Nieuwendyk that set the stage for Todd Marchant’s Game 7 winner in a stunning upset over Dallas in 1997. And the rights to Mike Grier? That turned out pretty well, too.
Edmonton Oilers acquire | Date | Detroit Red Wings acquire |
Adam Graves Petr Klima Joe Murphy Jeff Sharples | November 2, 1989 | Jimmy Carson Kevin McClelland 1991 5th round pick (#100-Brad Layzell) |
Jimmy Carson, the big piece coming back from Los Angeles in the Wayne Gretzky trade/sale, didn’t want to be here. Klima, for all his inconsistencies and off-ice distractions, scored the winning goal in triple-overtime of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final in 1990. Graves and Murphy were two-thirds of the Kid Line with Martin Gelinas.
Edmonton Oilers acquire | Date | St. Louis Blues acquire |
Chris Pronger | August 2, 2005 | Eric Brewer
Doug Lynch Jeff Woywitka |
Sure, there’s no getting around the fact Chris Pronger’s trade request and departure after the Oilers went all the way to Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup final played a huge part in the decline the Oilers have been on since then. Let’s not forget, though, Pronger played his backside off in the 80 regular season and 24 playoff games he spent here. Pronger played 27:59 per game during the regular season and a whopping 30:57 in the post-season. He was an absolute stud. There wouldn’t have been a 2006 playoff run without the Human Rake.
THE FACE PALMERS
Los Angeles Kings acquire | Date | Edmonton Oilers acquire |
Wayne Gretzky Mike Krushelnyski Marty McSorley | August 9, 1988 | Jimmy Carson Martin Gelinas 1989 1st round pick (#18-Jason Miller) 1991 1st round pick (#20-Martin Rucinsky) 1993 1st round pick (#16-Nick Stajduhar) cash |
You don’t trade/sell the best player in the history of the NHL before his 28th birthday and win the deal, but that’s what Sather did with owner Peter Pocklington pulling the strings. Carson couldn’t get out of Edmonton fast enough, Gelinas was a good player but never a great one and the three draft picks the Oilers got from L.A. turned into Jason Miller, Martin Rucinsky and Nick Stajduhar. Hard to say for sure where the $15 million Pocklington got ended up. Many Oiler fans insist to this day there’s a special place in hell waiting for Pocklington because of this deal.
Buffalo Sabres acquire | Date | Edmonton Oilers acquire |
Miroslav Satan | March 18, 1997 | Craig Millar Barrie Moore |
Miroslav Satan was only 22 when Sather and the Oilers decided they couldn’t or wouldn’t reward him with a substantial raise in a new contract after a 25-goal season. Sather instead shipped him to Buffalo. Satan’s career would span 1,050 games and he’d score 328 more goals after leaving Edmonton. Millar played 36 games with the Oilers and Moore played a total of four. Both were out of the NHL by the age of 24. Hell no.
Edmonton Oilers acquire | Date | New York Islanders acquire |
Robert Nilsson Ryan O`Marra 2007 1st round pick (#15-Alex Plante) | February 27, 2007 | Ryan Smyth |
As if the tearful scene at the airport wasn’t bad enough after Lowe refused to bump up his offer by $100,000 a season and do a deal with Smyth and agent Don Meehan, he also got a whole bunch of nothing back from the Islanders in the trade after digging in his heels and setting up the dramatic exit of No. 94. Smyth could have and should have spent his entire career in Edmonton.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TEAM 1260.
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