RE-LIVE THE EDMONTON OILERS 1990-91 SEASON
8 years ago
As ridiculous as it seems, given that the 1990-91 edition of the Edmonton Oilers were fresh from winning their fifth Stanley Cup the previous summer, you didn’t have to look very hard to see the wheels slowly coming off the Boys on the Bus – the bus itself was being dismantled piece-by-piece, actually – due to rising salaries and owner Peter Pocklington’s unwillingness (and inability) to pay them.
While the Oilers would increase their streak of making the playoffs since entering the NHL to 12 consecutive seasons, they had to do it without Jari Kurri, who signed in Europe (Milano) when he couldn’t come to terms on a new contract. Kurri joined Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey and Andy Moog as former Oilers. Captain Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson remained, as did Grant Fuhr, Kevin Lowe and Charlie Huddy, but the erosion of talent and depth was obvious.
RECORD 37-37-6 80 Pts. 3rd Smythe Division
GD 272-272 – even SH% 12.3 SV% .890
NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
1991-06-22 | David Oliver drafted 144th overall. |
1991-06-22 | Martin Rucinsky drafted 20th overall. |
1991-06-22 | Tyler Wright drafted 12th overall. |
1991-06-12 | John LeBlanc traded to Winnipeg with 10th round pick in 1992 (Teemu Numminen) for 5th round pick in 1991 (Ryan Haggerty). |
1991-05-30 | David Brown traded to Philadelphia with Corey Foster and Jari Kurri for Craig Berube, Craig Fisher, and Scott Mellanby. |
1991-05-30 | Charlie Huddy claimed by Minnesota in expansion draft. |
1991-03-05 | Brad Aitken traded by Pittsburgh for Kim Issel. |
1990-11-22 | Bruce Bell traded to Minnesota for Kari Takko. |
1990-11-10 | Max Middendorf traded by Quebec for 9th round pick (Brent Brekke). |
1990-10-22 | Greg Hawgood traded by Boston for Vladimir Ruzicka. |
1990-10-01 | Randy Gregg claimed on waivers by Vancouver. |
1990-08-31 | Ken Linseman signed as free agent (formerly with Philadelphia). |
1990-07-16 | Steve Graves signed as free agent by Los Angeles. |
LEADING SCORERS
Player | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | EV | PP | SH | S | S% |
LW | 79 | 27 | 42 | 69 | 22 | 85 | 27 | 13 | 2 | 235 | 11.5 | |
RW | 70 | 40 | 28 | 68 | 24 | 113 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 204 | 19.6 | |
C | 53 | 12 | 52 | 64 | 15 | 34 | 34 | 18 | 0 | 109 | 11.0 | |
RW | 80 | 27 | 35 | 62 | 2 | 35 | 21 | 12 | 2 | 141 | 19.1 | |
LW | 75 | 30 | 27 | 57 | -8 | 66 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 143 | 21.0 | |
RW | 74 | 24 | 31 | 55 | -7 | 59 | 21 | 9 | 1 | 193 | 12.4 | |
D | 77 | 13 | 41 | 54 | 14 | 193 | 24 | 15 | 2 | 114 | 11.4 | |
LW | 73 | 20 | 20 | 40 | -7 | 34 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 124 | 16.1 | |
C | 56 | 7 | 29 | 36 | 15 | 94 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 14.3 | |
C | 80 | 17 | 15 | 32 | -1 | 76 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 113 | 15.0 |
SEASON RECAP
With Kurri in Europe and Mark Messier, who’d recorded a career-high 129 points the previous season, missing 27 games with injuries and managing just 64 points in the 53 games he did play, the Oilers were a shadow of the offensive juggernaut they’d been in seasons past.
Esa Tikkanen, better known as a mangler of the English language and a hellacious checker, led the team with 69 points. Klima, the triple-overtime hero in Game 1 of the 1990 Cup final, had 68 points, including 40 goals. The Oilers, who’d regularly scored 400-or-more goals in seasons past, managed just 272 goals. They had to score by committee and rely on 1990 Conn Smythe winner Bill Ranford and Fuhr in goal.
The Oilers stumbled out of the gate at 2-11-2, a stretch that included a nine-game losing streak, but heated up and managed to hit the 40-game mark at 19-19-2. They’d finish the season 22 points back of the Los Angeles Kings and 20 behind the Calgary Flames in the Smythe Division. If the diminished Oilers were to reach the Cup final again, they’d have a tough road.
ONE STEP SHORT
The first step down that road, in the days when the Battle of Alberta still meant something, was intensely satisfying for Oiler fans. The underdog Oilers sent the Flames packing for the golf course wondering what went wrong when Tikkanen snapped a shot past Mike Vernon in overtime of Game 7 at the Saddledome.
The Oilers followed that upset with another by knocking off Gretzky and the heavily favored Kings in six games. Tikkanen, who had two game-winners against the Flames, had another – in Game 3 against the Kings – as the Oilers prevailed in six games, capping the series at Northlands Coliseum with a 4-3 overtime win, courtesy of a goal by Craig MacTavish.
With Fuhr having grabbed the crease back from Ranford, the Oilers faced the Minnesota North Stars in the conference final with another trip to the Cup on the line, but they’d clearly emptied the tank to get that far. The series lasted just five games, and the North Stars were clearly the superior team, winning by scores of 3-1, 7-3, 5-1 and 3-2.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.
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