The Edmonton Oilers unveiled their Quarter Century Team on Thursday, a project by the NHL to honour the league’s best players from the last 25 years.
Similar to the yearly NHL All-Star Team selections, each club is represented by a First Team and a Second Team consisting of three forwards, two defencemen, and one goaltender. The teams were selected by a mix of broadcasters, national and local writers, and former players.
Presenting the #Oilers Quarter Century Team – a mix of stars from the current squad & icons from the early 2000s. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/NDC6FHY7P1
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 30, 2025
Edmonton Oilers Quarter Century First Team
The First Team is led by Edmonton’s current generation of stars, with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins up front along with Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse on the blueline.
The only player on the Quarter Century First Team who isn’t on the Oilers’ 2024-25 roster is goaltender Dwyane Roloson, who led the team on a memorable run to the Stanley Cup Final back in 2005-06. Roli the Goalie posted a sparkling .927 save percentage in the playoffs for the Oilers that year and he had a .909 save percentage over 193 regular-season games with the club.
- Leon Draisaitl (F)
- Connor McDavid (F)
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (F)
- Evan Bouchard (D)
- Darnell Nurse (D)
- Dwayne Roloson (G)
Edmonton Oilers Quarter Century Second Team
The Second Team is comprised mostly of players from the aforementioned 2005-06 campaign. Ryan Smyth, Shawn Horcoff, and Ales Hemsky, who formed Edmonton’s top line that season, are the three forwards while former captain Jason Smith is one of the two defenders.
The other defenceman is Mattias Ekholm, who the Oilers acquired in a huge mid-season trade back in February of 2023. Between the pipes is Tommy Salo, who finished sixth and seventh in Vezina Trophy voting when playing for the Oilers in 1999-00 and 2000-01.
- Ales Hemsky (F)
- Shawn Horcoff (F)
- Ryan Smyth (F)
- Mattias Ekholm (D)
- Jason Smith (D)
- Tommy Salo (G)
Was anybody snubbed from the Oilers Quarter Century Team?
There’s no arguing against the forwards who were included but the blueline and goaltenders are up for debate.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are future Hall of Famers who already rank second and sixth in all-time scoring on the Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will likely end up as the franchise’s all-time leader in games played.
Ryan Smyth, Ales Hemsky, and Shawn Horcoff are ninth, 11th, and 12th in all-time scoring and were key players during the run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2005-06. Smyth is one of the most beloved players in team history and both Hemsky and Horcoff signed long-term contracts when many other players didn’t want to play in Edmonton.
When it comes to defencemen and goaltenders, Chris Pronger, Stuart Skinner, and Cam Talbot immediately come to mind as players who might deserve to be among the Oilers Quarter Century Team.
Though Pronger was only in Edmonton for one year, his performance in 2005-06 is right up there with McDavid and Draisaitl for the best single-season the Oilers have seen since the 1980s. He put up 56 points in 80 regular-season games logging 27:59 per night and stepped up to 30:57 per night in the playoffs and led the team with 21 points in 24 games.
Salo was very good for the Oilers, but he doesn’t have playoff success like Skinner, who helped Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2023-24. There’s also a strong argument for Talbot, who finished fourth in Vezina Trophy voting in 2016-17 and posted a .912 save percentage over 227 games during his time with the Oilers.
Here’s how the Edmonton Oilers Quarter Century Team would look if it were up to me…
First Team: McDavid, Draisaitl, RNH, Ekholm, Bouchard, Roloson
Second Team: Smyth, Hemsky, Horcoff, Pronger, Smith, Skinner