TOP 100 OILERS: VINCENT DAMPHOUSSE (56)
7 years ago
Vincent Damphousse was an absolutely terrific player, a guy who used a combination of quickness and hockey smarts to score 70-or-more points in a season eight times during his NHL career. Unfortunately, Damphousse did it just once as a member of the Edmonton Oilers, leading the team in scoring with 89 points during the 1991-92 season.
Damphousse, who’d play just 80 games with what was left of the 1990 Stanley Cup champion Oilers, was the epitome of the “here for a good time, not a long time” guy in Edmonton, otherwise he’d no doubt occupy a higher place on this Top 100 list. He’s likely as well-known in these parts for the blockbuster trade that brought him here and the lousy trade that sent him packing a year later. Too bad.
Vincent Damphousse (C)
Born Dec 17 1967 — Montreal, PQ
Height 6.01 — Weight 191 [185 cm/87 kg]
Drafted by Toronto Maple Leafs
Round 1 #6 overall 1986 NHL Entry Draft
BY THE NUMBERS
Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S% |
1986-87 | 19 | 80 | 21 | 25 | 46 | -6 | 26 | 14.8 | |
1987-88 | 20 | 75 | 12 | 36 | 48 | 2 | 40 | 10.8 | |
1988-89 | 21 | 80 | 26 | 42 | 68 | -8 | 75 | 13.7 | |
1989-90 | 22 | 80 | 33 | 61 | 94 | 2 | 56 | 14.4 | |
1990-91 | 23 | 79 | 26 | 47 | 73 | -31 | 65 | 10.5 | |
1991-92 | 24 | 80 | 38 | 51 | 89 | 10 | 53 | 15.4 | |
1992-93 | 25 | 84 | 39 | 58 | 97 | 5 | 98 | 13.6 | |
1993-94 | 26 | 84 | 40 | 51 | 91 | 0 | 75 | 14.6 | |
1994-95 | 27 | 48 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 15 | 42 | 8.1 | |
1995-96 | 28 | 80 | 38 | 56 | 94 | 5 | 158 | 15.0 | |
1996-97 | 29 | 82 | 27 | 54 | 81 | -6 | 82 | 11.1 | |
1997-98 | 30 | 76 | 18 | 41 | 59 | 14 | 58 | 11.0 | |
1998-99 | 31 | TOT | 77 | 19 | 30 | 49 | -4 | 50 | 10.0 |
1998-99 | 31 | 65 | 12 | 24 | 36 | -7 | 46 | 8.2 | |
1998-99 | 31 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 16.3 | |
1999-00 | 32 | 82 | 21 | 49 | 70 | 4 | 58 | 10.3 | |
2000-01 | 33 | 45 | 9 | 37 | 46 | 17 | 62 | 8.9 | |
2001-02 | 34 | 82 | 20 | 38 | 58 | 8 | 60 | 11.6 | |
2002-03 | 35 | 82 | 23 | 38 | 61 | -13 | 66 | 13.1 | |
2003-04 | 36 | 82 | 12 | 29 | 41 | -5 | 66 | 7.7 | |
7 yrs | MTL | 519 | 184 | 314 | 498 | 26 | 559 | 12.3 | |
6 yrs | SJS | 385 | 92 | 197 | 289 | 14 | 316 | 10.8 | |
5 yrs | TOR | 394 | 118 | 211 | 329 | -41 | 262 | 12.8 | |
1 yr | EDM | 80 | 38 | 51 | 89 | 10 | 53 | 15.4 | |
Career | 1378 | 432 | 773 | 1205 | 9 | 1190 | 12.3 |
PLAYOFFS:
Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S% |
1986-87 | 19 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -3 | 8 | 5.6 | |
1987-88 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 10 | 0.0 | |
1989-90 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | |
1991-92 | 24 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 13.3 | |
1992-93 | 25 | 20 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 8 | 16 | 21.2 | |
1993-94 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 8 | 7.1 | |
1995-96 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 15.4 | |
1996-97 | 29 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 2 | 0.0 | |
1997-98 | 30 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -4 | 22 | 7.1 | |
1998-99 | 31 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 13.6 | |
1999-00 | 32 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 8 | -5 | 16 | 3.6 | |
2000-01 | 33 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 14 | 13.3 | |
2001-02 | 34 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -1 | 12 | 11.8 | |
2003-04 | 36 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 20 | 18.9 | |
Career | 140 | 41 | 63 | 104 | -6 | 144 | 12.2 |
NOTABLE
The Oilers had already dismantled much of the team that had five Stanley Cups in the trophy case when GM Glen Sather acquired Damphousse from the Toronto Maple Leafs in one of the biggest deals of the 1990s. The Oilers sent future HHOFers Grant Fuhr and Glenn Anderson along with Craig Berube to the Big Smoke for Damphousse, Luke Richardson, Scott Thornton and Peter Ing – plus, of course, a little cash.
Just 24 at the time, Damphousse responded by scoring 38-51-89, leaving him seven points ahead of runner-up Joe Murphy. He led the Oilers in several offensive categories, including goals, assists, points, PP goals (12) and game-winning goals (eight). Damphousse added 14 points in 16 playoffs games, third on the team behind Murphy and Bernie Nicholls, as the Oilers were swept by the Chicago Blackhawks in the Campbell Conference final.
The 38 goals represented the third-best total of Damphousse’s 1,378-game NHL career. The 89 points was the fifth-best of his tenure in The Show. Not bad on an Oiler team that had slipped to sixth in the league with 295 goals after regularly scoring 400-plus goals during the dynasty days. Damphousse and Murphy were the drivers that season.
THE STORY
The Oilers were barely better than .500 (36-34-10 for 82 points in 80 games) with Damphousse. They wouldn’t get within a $5-cab ride of that total in 1992-93 after trading him to the Montreal Canadiens during the off-season with a fourth-round draft choice for Shayne Corson, who’d worn out his welcome in Montreal, Brent Gilchrist and Vladimir Vujtek.
Damphousse, a native of Montreal, paid instant dividends for the Habs by scoring 97 points. Montreal went on to win the 1993 Stanley Cup. With me-first guy Corson greasing the rails, the Oilers came off the tracks, finishing 1992-93 with 60 points in 84 games (26-50-8). The Damphousse-for-Corson swap wasn’t the only reason for the free-fall, but it certainly accounted for a big chunk of it.
In his first four seasons with Montreal, Damphousse tallied 97, 91, 40 (48-game season) and 94 points. The Oilers, meanwhile, missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and in all four of those seasons. That’s not a coincidence. Damphousse was terrific in his one and only season as a member of the Oilers.
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.
PREVIOUSLY:
- 57. Boris Mironov
- 58. Jaroslav Pouzar
- 59. Tommy Salo
- 60. Dave Brown
- 61. Rem Murray
- 62. Sam Gagner
- 63. Sheldon Souray
- 64. Dustin Penner
- 65. Bernie Nicholls
- 66. Roman Hamrlik
- 67. Zdeno Ciger
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