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Flashback Friday: Looking at the trade with the Wild that netted the Oilers Dwayne Roloson in 2005-06
Edmonton Oilers Dwayne Roloson
Photo credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Dec 19, 2025, 19:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 19, 2025, 19:01 EST
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Goaltending has been an obvious sore spot for the Edmonton Oilers in 2025-26.
So much so that they did something that’s not often done, trading their starter mid-season for a different season. Similarly, the Colorado Avalanche addressed their goaltending situation early into the 2024-25 season, trading for both Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a recent trade involving a starting goalie, much less one that has worked out. In December 1995, the Montréal Canadiens (foolishly) traded Patrick Roy to the Colorado Avalanche, formerly the Québec Nordiques. It took just one season for the Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup, with Roy being a big part of that.
The last time a starter was traded mid-season who even got their team to the Stanley Cup Final happens to be a former Oiler and Minnesota Wild player, Dwayne Roloson. On Mar. 8, 2006, the Oilers traded a 2006 first-round pick and a 2007 third-round pick to the Wild for the netminder.
Roloson didn’t just come out of nowhere. While he wasn’t drafted and made his National Hockey League debut at the age of 27, Roloson had plenty of experience in the league prior to the trade. With the Wild from 2001-02 until 2003-04, Roloson played 45 or more games in each of the three seasons. In 2003-04, he had a league-best .933 save percentage as well as a 1.88 goals against average, finishing ninth in Vezina voting (finishing sixth just the year before).
The Simcoe, Ontario product was having a solid season with the Wild before the trade, posting a .910 save percentage and 3.00 goals against average in 24 games. His play with the Oilers, at least in the regular season, declined a bit, as he finished the 2005-06 season with a .905 save percentage and 2.43 goals against average in 19 games with the Oilers.
But as you know, Roloson’s strong play carried the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals as the eighth-seed, the first time that had ever happened. They upset the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings in the first round, with Roloson posting a .929 save percentage in the six games.
In the second round against the San Jose Sharks, the Oilers fell two games behind (not because of Roloson), but they won the next four games, with Roloson posting a .931 save percentage in the six games. Then, in the Conference Finals against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Roloson finished with a .934 save percentage in five games.
Unfortunately, Roloson was injured in the late stages of Game 1 and didn’t return in the series, as the Oilers lost in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes. Roloson spent another three seasons with the Oilers, posting a .909 save percentage and 2.83 goals against average in 174 games, with a 70-75-20 record.
Roloson then signed with the New York Islanders for the 2009-10 season and was traded the following season to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Traded mid-season once again, Roloson almost led a team to the Stanley Cup Final again, but the Lightning lost in seven games to the Boston Bruins. The netminder retired after the 2011-12 season, becoming the last player born in the 1960s to play an NHL game.
There’s a massive difference between the 2005-06 and 2025-26 Oilers, namely that the current day Oilers are expected to win it all. After two consecutive Stanley Cup Final defeats something had to change in the crease, with the Oilers acquiring Tristan Jarry. Like Roloson, Jarry has had strong seasons before joining the Oilers, and hopefully, he can help lead the Oilers to the Stanley Cup.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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