Top 100 Oilers: Craig Simpson (18)

6 years ago

Craig Simpson had the kind of hands, offensive instincts and willingness to go to the tough areas and stay there no matter what that could have landed him in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Unfortunately for the Edmonton Oilers, it was his back and not his gifted mitts that ultimately dictated how Simpson’s NHL career would unfold – one that was far too short, it turned out.

Simpson scored 200 goals by the time he was 24, but he was just 28 when chronic back problems forced him to retire after just 634 career games, 419 of those in a stint with the Oilers in which he’d win two Stanley Cups. The hands and the heart were willing, but that back of Simpson’s had different ideas after years of taking a beating in the front of the net. That’s where the goals are and that’s where Simpson earned his keep.

Craig Simpson

Left Wing — shoots R
Born Feb 15 1967 — London, ONT
Height 6.02 — Weight 195 [188 cm/88 kg]

Drafted by Pittsburgh Penguins

Round 1 #2 overall 1985 NHL Entry Draft

BY THE NUMBERS

Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%
1985-86	18	PIT	76	11	17	28	1	49	74	14.9
1986-87	19	PIT	72	26	25	51	11	57	133	19.5
1987-88	20	TOT	80	56	34	90	20	77	177	31.6
1987-88	20	PIT	21	13	13	26	5	34	59	22.0
1987-88	20	EDM	59	43	21	64	15	43	118	36.4
1988-89	21	EDM	66	35	41	76	-3	80	121	28.9
1989-90	22	EDM	80	29	32	61	-2	180	129	22.5
1990-91	23	EDM	75	30	27	57	-8	66	143	21.0
1991-92	24	EDM	79	24	37	61	8	80	128	18.8
1992-93	25	EDM	60	24	22	46	-14	36	91	26.4
1993-94	26	BUF	22	8	8	16	-3	8	28	28.6
1994-95	27	BUF	24	4	7	11	-5	26	20	20.0
6 yrs		EDM	419	185	180	365	-4	485	730	25.3
3 yrs		PIT	169	50	55	105	17	140	266	18.8
2 yrs		BUF	46	12	15	27	-8	34	48	25.0
Career			634	247	250	497	5	659	1044	23.7

PLAYOFFS

Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%
1987-88	20	EDM	19	13	6	19	4	26	33	39.4
1988-89	21	EDM	7	2	0	2	-3	10	10	20.0
1989-90	22	EDM	22	16	15	31	11	8	42	38.1
1990-91	23	EDM	18	5	11	16	1	12	21	23.8
1991-92	24	EDM	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.0
Career			67	36	32	68	13	56	107	33.6

NOTABLE

To this day, Simpson remains the NHL regular season career shooting percentage leader at 23.66 per cent. Likewise, he holds the playoff record at 33.6 per cent. That includes ridiculous rolls in his two Stanley Cup years with the Oilers. In the 1988 playoffs, Simpson scored 13 goals in 19 games and sniped at a 39.4 per cent clip. In 1990, Simpson had 16 goals in 22 games (38.1). All told, Simpson tallied 36-32-68 in 67 playoff games with the Oilers. Simply put, Simmer was at his best when it mattered most.

Simpson arrived in Edmonton via one of the biggest trades in franchise history. In November of 1987, GM Glen Sather shipped future HHOF blueliner Paul Coffey, Dave Hunter and Wayne Van Dorp to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Simpson, who’d been drafted second overall by the Penguins from the Michigan State Spartans in 1985, Dave Hannan, Moe Mantha and Chris Joseph.

There’s an interesting sidebar on how Simpson arrived. Going into the 1985 draft, Simpson was projected to go first overall in a year when the Toronto Maple Leafs had the first pick. Simpson made it known there was no way he’d play for the Maple Leafs. Toronto instead took Wendel Clark with the first overall pick and Pittsburgh grabbed Simpson, who immediately left school to join the Penguins. Simpson’s trade to Edmonton came after just 169 games with the Penguins.

THE STORY

Photo: Connor Mah

It didn’t take Simpson long to find a home — and the kind of success he didn’t have in Pittsburgh — with the Oilers as he settled into left wing on a line with Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson. Simpson would score 43 goals in 59 games with the Oilers, giving him 56 for the season. Then came the 1988 playoff run. Simpson scored three game-winners, two of them in the first round against Winnipeg, and the Oilers sipped from the Cup.

In the 1990 playoffs, with Wayne Gretzky traded away to Los Angeles, Simpson added three more game-winners, including the goal that would prove to be the Cup-clincher in Game 5 against the Boston Bruins. Simpson’s 16 goals and 31 points left him tied for the team lead in scoring with Messier. In those two playoff years, 20 of Simpson’s 29 goals came five-on-five – most by way of tips and tucks from in tight, where he camped out and dared opposing D-men to move him. He absorbed a beating in the process.

Those were Simpson’s finest hours as an Oiler. While he scored 30 goals during the 1990-91 season, Simpson’s worsening back issues limited him to back-to-back 24-goal seasons. By the time he was traded to Buffalo in September 1993, Simpson was a shadow of the player he’d been. He played just 46 games for the Sabres before his back gave out completely. It was a terrific career – the best of it played in Oiler silks – cut way too short.

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.

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