TOP 100 OILERS: SHAWN HORCOFF (29)
7 years ago
If there’s a better story of perseverance and work ethic paying off than the tale scripted by Shawn Horcoff during the 12 seasons he spent playing with the Edmonton Oilers, I can’t think of it. From fourth-round draft pick and fourth-line winger when he first broke into the NHL to first-line centre and captain of the Oilers, Horcoff’s ascent was the product of a dash of talent and a heaping helping of being willing to work harder than anybody else.
From the moment Horcoff arrived in Edmonton by way of the Michigan State Spartans after a stint in the minors with the Hamilton Bulldogs until he was traded away to the Dallas Stars in the summer of 2013, he never, ever cheated the Oilers in terms of effort. He gave them his best. Even when his best wasn’t good enough. Even when he was being overpaid, as was most certainly the case in his final years in Edmonton.
Shawn Horcoff
Center — shoots L
Born Sep 17 1978 — Trail, BC
Height 6.01 — Weight 210 [185 cm/95 kg]
Drafted by Edmonton Oilers
Round 4 #99 overall 1998 NHL Entry Draft
BY THE NUMBERS
Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% | TOI | ATOI |
2000-01 | 22 | 49 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 42 | 21.4 | 452 | 9:14 | |
2001-02 | 23 | 61 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 3 | 18 | 57 | 14.0 | 691 | 11:20 | |
2002-03 | 24 | 78 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 10 | 55 | 98 | 12.2 | 1053 | 13:30 | |
2003-04 | 25 | 80 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 0 | 73 | 110 | 13.6 | 1402 | 17:31 | |
2005-06 | 27 | 79 | 22 | 51 | 73 | 0 | 85 | 167 | 13.2 | 1578 | 19:59 | |
2006-07 | 28 | 80 | 16 | 35 | 51 | -22 | 56 | 168 | 9.5 | 1666 | 20:50 | |
2007-08 | 29 | 53 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 1 | 30 | 115 | 18.3 | 1178 | 22:13 | |
2008-09 | 30 | 80 | 17 | 36 | 53 | 7 | 39 | 178 | 9.6 | 1709 | 21:22 | |
2009-10 | 31 | 77 | 13 | 23 | 36 | -29 | 51 | 123 | 10.6 | 1496 | 19:26 | |
2010-11 | 32 | 47 | 9 | 18 | 27 | -1 | 46 | 78 | 11.5 | 878 | 18:41 | |
2011-12 | 33 | 81 | 13 | 21 | 34 | -23 | 24 | 123 | 10.6 | 1586 | 19:35 | |
2012-13 | 34 | 31 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 24 | 41 | 17.1 | 523 | 16:51 | |
2013-14 | 35 | 77 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 1 | 52 | 68 | 10.3 | 990 | 12:52 | |
2014-15 | 36 | 76 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 9 | 27 | 82 | 13.4 | 989 | 13:01 | |
2015-16 | 37 | 59 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 34 | 73 | 8.2 | 784 | 13:17 | |
12 yrs | EDM | 796 | 162 | 285 | 447 | -38 | 511 | 1300 | 12.5 | 14212 | 17:51 | |
2 yrs | DAL | 153 | 18 | 31 | 49 | 10 | 79 | 150 | 12.0 | 1980 | 12:56 | |
1 yr | ANA | 59 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 34 | 73 | 8.2 | 784 | 13:17 | |
Career | 1008 | 186 | 325 | 511 | -27 | 624 | 1523 | 12.2 | 16975 | 16:50 |
PLAYOFFS
Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% | TOI | ATOI |
2000-01 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 33 | 6:31 | |
2002-03 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 42.9 | 93 | 15:27 | |
2005-06 | 27 | 24 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 4 | 12 | 41 | 17.1 | 519 | 21:37 | |
2013-14 | 35 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 9.1 | 85 | 14:13 | |
2015-16 | 37 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 39 | 7:49 | |
Career | 46 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 10 | 25 | 64 | 17.2 | 768 | 16:42 |
NOTABLE
Horcoff willed his way up Edmonton’s line-up from the fourth line to the first line because he worked at this game. He was a solid, two-way player who could play a sound defensive game, chip in around the net and win some face-offs. What Horcoff wasn’t, despite high-water marks of 73 points in 2005-06 and 50 points in 53 games in 2007-08, was a naturally gifted offensive player. A dynamic player. A game-breaker.
The problem is, outgoing GM Kevin Lowe paid Horcoff like one when he gave him a six-year contract extension worth $33 million in July of 2008, two years after the Oilers lost in Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup final against Carolina. In a salary cap era and on a team that was on its way off the rails with incoming GM Steve Tambellini at the controls, Horcoff didn’t have a hope in hell of living up to that contract. He didn’t.
All that money changed how fans looked at Horcoff. While I understand it on one level, especially with the team well on the way to being upside down and on fire, it’s not like Horcoff and his agent held a gun to Lowe’s head, after all. By the time the Oilers named Horcoff the 13th captain in franchise history in October 2010, he was 32 and on the downside of his career. His best season, topped off by the Stanley Cup run and Shirts Off For Horcoff, seemed a distant memory.
THE STORY
When I look back at Horcoff’s tenure as an Oiler, the only thing missing is a Stanley Cup ring – something he was willing to block a shot with his face, as he did against the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of 2006, to get. If he had managed that, he’d be higher on this Top 100 list. The thing is, Horcoff wasn’t just a “try hard” player. For me the numbers Horcoff put up, not the amount of his pay cheques, tell the story.
Horcoff ranks fifth in franchise history in games played with 796. He’s ninth in goals with 162 and ninth in points with 447. He’s tied for eighth in even-strength goals with 116 and power-play goals with 41. He’s tied for seventh in game-winning goals with 25 and he’s 10th in shots with 1,300. Simply put, Horcoff is in the company of Ryan Smyth, Ales Hemsky and Doug Weight when it comes to the most productive Oilers since the last Cup in 1990.
The vast majority of players ahead of Horcoff on this Top 100 list were Cup winners or multiple Cup winners with the Oilers during the glory days of the Boys on the Bus era. From afterthought at the entry draft and a fourth-liner to Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup and captain of the Oilers, that’s Horcoff. I’d call that a career.
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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