TOP 100 OILERS: ADAM GRAVES (40)
7 years ago
There’s a handful of players on this Top 100 list who made it based on what I saw, on the ice and off it, as opposed to the raw numbers they amassed during their time with the Edmonton Oilers. Adam Graves, who played a key role in Edmonton’s fifth Stanley Cup win in 1990 as a member of the Kid Line, is one of those players.
Graves was one of those throwback guys, a glue guy, during his too-brief tenure with the Oilers. He was that rare mixture of skill, toughness and willingness to do whatever it took to win that doesn’t come along very often. We got just a glimpse of Graves in the 139 regular season and 40 playoff games he spent here before he went on to bigger and better things in Manhattan.
Adam Graves
Left Wing — shoots L
Born Apr 12 1968 — Tecumseh, ONT
Height 6.00 — Weight 205 [183 cm/93 kg]
Drafted by Detroit Red Wings
Round 2 #22 overall 1986 NHL Entry Draft
BY THE NUMBERS
Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% | TOI | ATOI |
1987-88 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 8 | 9 | 0.0 | |||
1988-89 | 20 | 56 | 7 | 5 | 12 | -5 | 60 | 60 | 11.7 | |||
1989-90 | 21 | TOT | 76 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 0 | 136 | 94 | 9.6 | ||
1989-90 | 21 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -5 | 13 | 10 | 0.0 | |||
1989-90 | 21 | 63 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 5 | 123 | 84 | 10.7 | |||
1990-91 | 22 | 76 | 7 | 18 | 25 | -21 | 127 | 126 | 5.6 | |||
1991-92 | 23 | 80 | 26 | 33 | 59 | 19 | 139 | 228 | 11.4 | |||
1992-93 | 24 | 84 | 36 | 29 | 65 | -4 | 148 | 275 | 13.1 | |||
1993-94 | 25 | 84 | 52 | 27 | 79 | 27 | 127 | 291 | 17.9 | |||
1994-95 | 26 | 47 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 9 | 51 | 185 | 9.2 | |||
1995-96 | 27 | 82 | 22 | 36 | 58 | 18 | 100 | 266 | 8.3 | |||
1996-97 | 28 | 82 | 33 | 28 | 61 | 10 | 66 | 269 | 12.3 | |||
1997-98 | 29 | 72 | 23 | 12 | 35 | -30 | 41 | 226 | 10.2 | |||
1998-99 | 30 | 82 | 38 | 15 | 53 | -12 | 47 | 239 | 15.9 | 1685 | 20:33 | |
1999-00 | 31 | 77 | 23 | 17 | 40 | -15 | 14 | 194 | 11.9 | 1445 | 18:46 | |
2000-01 | 32 | 82 | 10 | 16 | 26 | -16 | 77 | 136 | 7.4 | 1290 | 15:44 | |
2001-02 | 33 | 81 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 11 | 51 | 139 | 12.2 | 1279 | 15:47 | |
2002-03 | 34 | 82 | 9 | 9 | 18 | -14 | 32 | 118 | 7.6 | 1070 | 13:03 | |
10 yrs | NYR | 772 | 280 | 227 | 507 | 6 | 810 | 2309 | 12.1 | 4420 | 18:20 | |
3 yrs | DET | 78 | 7 | 7 | 14 | -12 | 81 | 79 | 8.9 | |||
2 yrs | EDM | 139 | 16 | 30 | 46 | -16 | 250 | 210 | 7.6 | |||
2 yrs | SJS | 163 | 26 | 23 | 49 | -3 | 83 | 257 | 10.1 | 2349 | 14:25 | |
Career | 1152 | 329 | 287 | 616 | -25 | 1224 | 2855 | 11.5 | 6768 | 16:45 |
PLAYOFFS
Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% |
1988-89 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 4 | 6 | 0.0 | |
1989-90 | 21 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 17 | 46 | 10.9 | |
1990-91 | 22 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 22 | 48 | 4.2 | |
1991-92 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 8 | -6 | 22 | 33 | 15.2 | |
1993-94 | 25 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 12 | 24 | 93 | 10.8 | |
1994-95 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | -13 | 8 | 38 | 10.5 | |
1995-96 | 27 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 8 | -9 | 4 | 43 | 16.3 | |
1996-97 | 28 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 39 | 5.1 | |
2001-02 | 33 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -2 | 6 | 15 | 20.0 | |
Career | 125 | 38 | 27 | 65 | -10 | 119 | 361 | 10.5 |
NOTABLE
Graves hadn’t yet blossomed into the talent he became during the 772 games he’d go on to play with the New York Rangers — he had his jersey No. 9 retired in New York and in a book about the top 100 Ranger greats of all-time he was named No. 13 – but we got some glimpses of what he’d become, especially during that 1990 Cup run alongside Joe Murphy and Martin Gelinas.
Graves arrived in Edmonton to much fanfare, acquired from the Detroit Red Wings along with Petr Klima, Murphy and Jeff Sharples in a trade that sent discontent Jimmy Carson, Kevin McClelland and a fifth-round draft pick to the Motor City. GM Glen Sather wasn’t wearing a balaclava when he orchestrated the deal, but he should have as Graves, Klima and Murphy all played significant roles in that 1990 Cup win.
Coming off a regular season in which he had just 21 points in 63 games with the Oilers, Graves had 11 points in 22 playoff games, including a game-winning goal against Los Angeles in the second round. Murphy had 14 points and Gelinas five points as the trio provided much-needed depth of scoring behind Mark Messier, Craig Simpson, Jari Kurri, Esa Tikkanen and Glenn Anderson.
THE STORY
Simply put, Graves thrived outside the spotlight in Edmonton in a support role to Messier, Kurri and Simpson as Edmonton’s 1980s Dynasty Days wound down before taking over centre stage when he later landed in New York. “It was such an excellent team atmosphere,” Graves said. “We were together as any group of guys in the league.
“Everyone felt that they were a part of the team. No one felt left out. Because of that, even if you had a small role on the team, you were happy. You were glad to be able to give whatever little you could to the team. You did everything you could. I have many wonderful memories in my two years with the Oilers. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the team.”
Had Graves not left the fading Oilers for New York as a free agent in September of 1991 and spent another three seasons here – he scored 26, 36 and 52 goals in that span — he’d likely be a top-20 guy on this list. Graves was hard-nosed, talented and he always put team first in the room and on the ice. What a beauty Gravy was.
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.
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