The dismantling of the dynasty that was the Edmonton Oilers continued in 1991-92 as owner Peter Pocklington and GM Glen Sather all-but completed a total teardown of the Boys on the Bus by stripping away more key pieces in pre-season deals – Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson and Grant Fuhr.
While the Oilers got back some good players in deals that sent Messier to the New York Rangers (Bernie Nicholls, Steven Rice and Louie DeBrusk) and Anderson, Fuhr and Craig Berube to the Toronto Maple Leafs (Vincent Damphousse, Luke Richardson, Scott Thornton and Peter Ing), the five-time Stanley Cup champions weren’t even a shadow of what they had been. The big names and the big contracts were gone.
RECORD 36-34-10 82 pts. .513 3rd Smythe Division
GD 295-297 minus-2 SH% 13.3 SV% .883

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS

  • 1992-03-10 – Martin Rucinsky traded to Quebec for Ron Tugnutt and Brad Zavisha.
  • 1992-02-22 – Bill McDougall traded by Detroit for Max Middendorf.
  • 1992-01-21 – Brian Glynn traded by Minnesota for David Shaw.
  • 1992-01-12 – David Maley traded by New Jersey for Troy Mallette.
  • 1991-11-12 – Jeff Beukeboom traded to NY Rangers for David Shaw (completed Mark Messier trade of October 4, 1991).
  • 1991-10-07 – Ken Linseman traded to Toronto for cash.
  • 1991-10-04 – Louie DeBrusk traded by NY Rangers with Bernie Nicholls and Steven Rice for Mark Messier and future considerations (Jeff Beukeboom for David Shaw, November 12, 1991).
  • 1991-10-02 – Dave Manson traded by Chicago with 3rd round pick in 1992 (Kirk Maltby) for Steve Smith.
  • 1991-09-19 – Glenn Anderson traded to Toronto with Craig Berube and Grant Fuhr for Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing, Luke Richardson, Scott Thornton, future considerations, and cash.
  • 1991-09-11 – Norm Foster traded by Boston for 6th round pick in 1992 (Jiri Dopita).
  • 1991-09-03 – Adam Graves signed as free agent by NY Rangers–Oilers receive Troy Mallette as compensation.
  • 1991-07-30 – Brad Aitken signed as free by Toronto.
  • 1991-06-22 – David Oliver drafted 144th overall.
  • 1991-06-22 – Martin Rucinsky drafted 20th overall.
  • 1991-06-22 – Tyler Wright drafted 12th overall.
  • 1991-06-12 – John LeBlanc traded to Winnipeg with 10th round pick in 1992 (Teemu Numminen) for 5th round pick in 1991 (Ryan Haggerty).
  • 1991-05-30 – David Brown traded to Philadelphia with Corey Foster and Jari Kurri for Craig Berube, Craig Fisher, and Scott Mellanby.
  • 1991-05-30 – Charlie Huddy claimed by Minnesota in expansion draft.

LEADING SCORERS  

Rk
Player
Pos
Age
GP
G
A
PTS
+/-
PIM
S
S%
1
Vincent Damphousse
LW
24
80
38
51
89
10
53
247
15.4
2
Joe Murphy
RW
24
80
35
47
82
17
52
193
18.1
3
Craig Simpson
LW
24
79
24
37
61
8
80
128
18.8
4
Scott Mellanby
RW
25
80
23
27
50
5
197
159
14.5
5
Bernie Nicholls
C
30
49
20
29
49
5
60
115
17.4
6
Dave Manson
D
25
79
15
32
47
9
220
206
7.3
7
Kelly Buchberger
LW
25
79
20
24
44
9
157
90
22.2
8
Anatoli Semenov
C
29
59
20
22
42
12
16
105
19.0
9
Norm Maciver
D
27
57
6
34
40
20
38
69
8.7
10
Petr Klima
RW
27
57
21
13
34
-18
52
107
19.6

SEASON RECAP

The 1991-92 season was difficult to watch for fans who’d seen the Oilers win those five Stanley Cups in a span of seven seasons with a star-studded roster lead by Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, Messier and Anderson that had been the envy of the NHL, regularly scored 400 goals a season and beat teams for fun in a meteoric rise to greatness.
Even head coach John Muckler, who’d taken over from Sather behind the bench for the fifth Cup, was gone as he got out of Dodge to take a job with the Buffalo Sabres. That left Teddy Green, promoted to head coach, to gather up the new pieces and those that remained and try to make the playoffs for the 13th straight season. That Green managed that, barely, after a 6-11-3 start was a decent feat in itself given what he had to work with.
With a four-year playoff drought looming – that would seem like forever until the post-2006 Oilers set out on a decade of ineptitude — what was left of the Oilers provided fans a swan song with a playoff run by advancing past Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks into the third round against the Chicago Blackhawks with Joe Murphy and Nicholls leading the way. The swan song didn’t end well.

END OF THE LINE

The Blackhawks were just five points better than Edmonton during the regular season, but, led by Jeremy Roenick and Chris Chelios, pumped the Oilers 8-2 in the series opener at Chicago Stadium and then rattled off 4-2, 4-3 and 5-1 wins to advance to the Cup final.
Simply put, a once-loaded Edmonton roster that was now built on financial decisions rather than hockey decisions was no better than middle-of-the-pack. The likes of Damphousse, Murphy, Nicholls and Craig Simpson were very good players, but an obvious cut below those who’d departed. There wasn’t as much talent. There wasn’t as much depth.
The 1991-92 season would be the end of the line in a string of 13 straight playoff appearances by the Oilers dating back to their entry into the NHL in 1979-80, a last hurrah before the first truly dark days of the franchise set in.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.

RECENTLY BY ROBIN BROWNLEE  

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