Oilersnation is reviving the Top 100 Edmonton Oilers of All Time list, a project originally created by the late Robin Brownlee in 2015. Fernando Pisani comes in at No. 55 on our updated 2025 list. He was ranked No. 55 on Brownlee’s original list.

Fernando Pisani is mainly remembered for one thing in his tenure with the Edmonton Oilers: his terrific 2006 postseason.

Notable

Born in Edmonton, Pisiani was drafted by his hometown Oilers in the eighth-round of the 1996 draft and spent the majority of his career with the team. The 6’1”, 205 lb forward spent four seasons grinding at Providence College, then an additional three seasons in the American Hockey League.

Finally, Pisani made his NHL debut in 2002-03 at the age of 27. In 35 games with the team, Pisani scored eight goals and 13 points, along with a goal in six playoff games. In his first full-season in the National Hockey League, Pisani scored 16 goals and 30 points in 76 games.

The 2003-04 season was the start of a four-season streak where Pisani hit double digit goals, compiling 61 goals and 117 points in 289 games from 2002-03 until 2007-08. From there, injuries began to derail his career, playing just 78 games over his final two seasons as an Oiler, scoring 11 goals and 23 points in those games.

Entering free agency after the 2010 season, Pisani signed with the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks. In his 60 games, he scored seven goals and 16 points, playing three additional games in the postseason. It was one of just three seasons since his collegiate career that Pisani played for a different organization, as he played in Switzerland and Italy in the lockout year of 2004-05, as well as Sweden in 2011-12 to end his career.

The Story

Pisani played six playoff games in his rookie campaign, and then another three to end his career. In the middle is one of the most surprising playoff runs of all time. The eighth-seeded Oilers knocked off the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings, overcame a 2-0 series deficit to the San Jose Sharks, and then gave the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim a gentleman’s sweep. If not for Dwayne Roloson’s injury in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Oilers would’ve likely won it all.

Roloson, obviously, was the reason the Oilers made it as far as they did, but Pisani very well could’ve been their most valuable skater. He was instrumental in their upset, scoring five goals and six points in six games, with two of those goals coming in the deciding Game 6.

Aside from a two-goal performance in Game 5 of the second round, the Sharks did a good job of containing Pisani. On the other hand, the Ducks did not, as he scored two goals and four points in five games.

Pisani got hot again to begin the Stanley Cup Finals, scoring in the opening game. His next goal came when the Oilers’ backs were up against the wall in Game 5, scoring just 16 seconds into the game to set the tone. Pisani also scored the final goal of the game, becoming the first player in NHL history to score an overtime winner shorthanded. This sent the Oilers back to Edmonton down 3-2 in the series.

Just 105 seconds into Game 6, Pisani scored a power play goal, giving the Oilers a 1-0 lead. They never relinquished it, as they went on to score four goals to set up a winner-takes-all Game 7 in Raleigh. Unfortunately, they lost that game, but it was Pisani’s goal just 63 seconds into the third period to cut the Hurricanes lead in half and give the team hope.

A June 15, 2006 edition of the Edmonton Journal details the Edmonton Oilers’ game five win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

What Brownlee said

Pisani never came close to attaining the heights he did during those eight weeks before the 2006 playoffs, and he never came close to replicating them again afterward – if that’s even possible. Pisani would have a distinctly underwhelming 28-point season in 2006-07 and then have his career derailed by ulcerative colitis, a condition that ravaged him.
Pisani came back after missing the first 26 games of the 2007-08 season. He’d score 13 goals and earn the team’s nomination for the Bill Masterton Trophy for doing so, but he was never the same. Pisani was limited to 38 games the season after and 40 games the season after that before catching on with the Chicago Blackhawks for 60 games in 2010-11. Then, after 462 NHL games, the unofficial mayor of Edmonton’s Little Italy was done.
Had Pisani not caught lightning in a bottle the way he did for those eight weeks in 2006, he wouldn’t be on this list and his exploits wouldn’t be etched in the minds of every Oiler fan who witnessed them during that exhilarating and stunning run to Game 7. But he did and he is, and what a wonderful, magical memory it is.

The Last 10

ARTICLE PRESENTED BY bet365

Featured

Editorials

Recent articles from Ryley Delaney

Top 100 Oilers: No. 55 — Fernando Pisani

Nugent-Hopkins scores game-winning goal in 1,000th game as Oilers shutout Blues 5-0: Recap, Reaction and Highlights

Oilers pour it on the Canucks in 6-0 win: Recap, Reaction, and Highlights