TOP 100 OILERS: TOM GILBERT (72)
8 years ago
All things being equal, which they very seldom are, when it comes to assessing players, I’ve always preferred guys with a high degree of bite and physical edge to their game over those who don’t provide the same blood-and-guts dimensions. “Softer” players, if you will, although that word tends to send some observers into a tizzy.
That said, I’m slotting Tom Gilbert, who definitely falls into the category of brains over brawn, a spot higher on my Top 100 list than Steve Staios, who never possessed Gilbert’s talent – thus, the all things being equal caveat doesn’t apply – but would fight to the death for every inch of ice, every loose puck. There is, after all, more than one way to get the job done. Gilbert proved that in the 384 games he played over six seasons with the Oilers.
Tom Gilbert
Defense — shoots R
Born Jan 10 1983 — Bloomington, MN
Height 6.02 — Weight 202 [188 cm/92 kg]
Drafted by Colorado Avalanche
Round 4 #129 overall
BY THE NUMBERS
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | Playoff GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | -1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007-08 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 82 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 20 | -6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2008-09 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 82 | 5 | 40 | 45 | 26 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2009-10 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 82 | 5 | 26 | 31 | 16 | -10 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2010-11 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 79 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 32 | -14 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011-12 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 47 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 12 | -3 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011-12 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 20 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 | -5 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2012-13 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 43 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 18 | -11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2013-14 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 73 | 3 | 25 | 28 | 18 | -5 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2014-15 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 72 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 30 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| 2015-16 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 45 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 3 | |||||
| NHL Totals | 637 | 44 | 174 | 218 | 192 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 |
NOTABLE
I wasn’t a big fan of how Gilbert approached the game during his time with the Oilers. He was one of those players, like Tom Poti, who never used his size to his advantage. He preferred to get in the way as opposed to banging bodies and imposing his physical will on opponents in the corners and in front of the net. Like Poti, Gilbert just wasn’t wired that way.
I always thought Gilbert could’ve been more than he was had he possessed even a modest amount of the nasty dimensions players like Sheldon Souray or Boris Mironov did – they not only moved the puck and produced points but would happily knock your teeth out – but it wasn’t to be. Even so, it would be unfair not to appreciate what Gilbert did bring to the table.
Gilbert played the best hockey of his NHL career during a three-year stretch in which he put up 33, 45 and 31 points with the Oilers. The 33 points came in his second season. The 45-point campaign (2008-09) came in his third and had some people projecting a ceiling much higher than he ever attained again. Gilbert’s best season since his 31 points in 2009-10 came with Florida in 2013-14, when he had 28 points.
THE STORY
Gilbert was sheltered in his first three seasons here. In 2008-09, he was playing 21:58 per game. Souray was here, so was Lubomir Visnovsky. By 2010-11, Gilbert was playing 24:30 and was in over his head. Souray and Visnovsky were gone. Gilbert and Ryan Whitney were the go-to guys on a back end laden with journeymen trying to full holes.
Simply put, when Gilbert’s ice time increased his offensive production decreased. Without that dimension of physicality and with his production falling off, there was, shall we say, less appreciation for the subtleties of Gilbert’s game as a 20-something-point guy than there was when fans thought he’d develop into a player who’d regularly get 40 points.
Gilbert was 29 and something of a whipping boy when the Oilers shipped him to the Minnesota Wild for Nick Schultz, a solid defender who contributed next-to-nothing offensively. It seemed an odd move, given the make-up of the blue line at the time. Had Gilbert offered any physical bang for the buck, he would have been higher on my list, but his best three seasons here still gets him a spot.
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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