TOP 100 OILERS: TOMMY SALO (59)

7 years ago

The two enduring images I have of Tommy Salo are as unflattering as can be. The first, pre-dating his six seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, is Salo taking an absolute butt-kicking while a member of the New York Islanders from Dan Cloutier. The second is the goal Salo allowed from a $5 cab ride away against Belarus while playing for Sweden in the 2002 Olympics.

The truth is, in between those career lowlights in other jerseys, Salo played a lot of good goal in the 355 regular season and playoffs games he spent with a decidedly mediocre Oiler team from 1999-2004. Salo’s name stands out among the leaders of pretty much every goaltending category in franchise history every bit as boldly as those forgettable moments do. A decidedly mixed bag is Salo.

Tommy Salo

Goalie — shoots R

Height 5.11 — Weight 173 [180 cm/78 kg]

Drafted by New York Islanders

Round 5 #118 overall 1993 NHL Entry Draft

BY THE NUMBERS

Season	Age	Tm	GP	W	L	T/O	SV%	GAA	SO	MIN
1994-95	23	NYI	6	1	5	0	.905	3.02	0	358
1995-96	24	NYI	10	1	7	1	.860	4.02	0	523
1996-97	25	NYI	58	20	27	8	.904	2.82	5	3208
1997-98	26	NYI	62	23	29	5	.906	2.64	4	3461
1998-99	27	TOT	64	25	28	9	.903	2.57	5	3718
1998-99	27	NYI	51	17	26	7	.904	2.62	5	3018
1998-99	27	EDM	13	8	2	2	.903	2.31	0	700
1999-00	28	EDM	70	27	28	13	.914	2.33	2	4164
2000-01	29	EDM	73	36	25	12	.904	2.46	8	4364
2001-02	30	EDM	69	30	28	10	.913	2.22	6	4035
2002-03	31	EDM	65	29	27	8	.899	2.71	4	3814
2003-04	32	TOT	49	18	21	7	.897	2.56	3	2791
2003-04	32	EDM	44	17	18	6	.896	2.58	3	2487
2003-04	32	COL	5	1	3	1	.912	2.37	0	304
6 yrs		EDM	334	147	128	51	.906	2.44	23	19564
5 yrs		NYI	187	62	94	21	.902	2.77	14	10568
1 yr		COL	5	1	3	1	.912	2.37	0	304
Career			526	210	225	73	.905	2.55	37	30436

Playoffs:

Season	Age	Tm	GP	W	L	GA	SA	SV	SV%	GAA	SO	MIN
1998-99	27	EDM	4	0	4	11	149	138	.926	2.23	0	296
1999-00	28	EDM	5	1	4	14	133	119	.895	2.83	0	297
2000-01	29	EDM	6	2	4	15	187	172	.920	2.22	0	406
2002-03	31	EDM	6	2	4	18	161	143	.888	3.15	0	343
2003-04	32	COL	1	0	0	0	7	7	1.000	0.00	0	27
Career			22	5	16	58	637	579	.909	2.54	0	1369

NOTABLE

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His lack of fistic prowess aside, Salo was a very good goaltender who was capable of great moments right up until the wheels fell off in his final two seasons with the Oilers, 2002-03 and 2003-04, in the wake of a crushing 4-3 Olympic quarterfinal defeat to Belarus. Coincidence? Difficult to say.

In one of the greatest upsets in Olympic hockey history, the heavily favored Swedes lost in Salt Lake City when Salo allowed a goal from outside the blue line by Vladimir Kopat on a rising shot that bounced off his mask and into the net. Oiler GM Kevin Lowe was in the crowd. Whether it was that debacle or just erosion in his game, Salo was never the same.

In his last two seasons, Salo’s save percentage dipped below .900, to .899 and .896, before he was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche with a sixth-round pick for a young blueliner named Tom Gilbert. It was a good trade but a bad end for Salo, who’d play just five games with Colorado before going home to play with MODO in Sweden.

THE STORY

When talks turns to Oiler goaltenders, Salo is seldom mentioned among the best who’ve played here. That, in large part, is because the team never won anything during his tenure. The Oilers made the playoffs with Salo between the pipes four straight seasons, but came up second best to the Dallas Stars in every one of them. Salo never won a series.

Salo never had great teams in front of him, but he never did manage to nudge the teams he did have past a superior opponent the way Curtis Joseph and Dwayne Roloson did when the post-season came. He was very good in the 1999 playoffs but the Oilers scored just seven goals in four games. More of the same in 2001 as the Oilers lost in six games, scoring just 13 goals.

Post-season futility against Dallas aside, you’ll find Salo among franchise regular season leaders in games played (third at 334), wins (third at 147), save percentage (third at .906), goals-against average (first at 2.44) and shutouts (first at 23). Not championship stuff, but an impressive resume when you take everything into account.

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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TOP 100 OILERS: TOMMY SALO (59)

BY THE NUMBERS

NOTABLE

THE STORY

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