Craig Simpson had the kind of hands, offensive instincts and willingness to go to the tough areas and stay there no matter what that could have landed him in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Unfortunately for the Edmonton Oilers, it was his back and not his gifted mitts that ultimately dictated how Simpson’s NHL career would unfold – one that was far too short, it turned out.
Simpson scored 200 goals by the time he was 24, but he was just 28 when chronic back problems forced him to retire after just 634 career games, 419 of those in a stint with the Oilers in which he’d win two Stanley Cups. The hands and the heart were willing, but that back of Simpson’s had different ideas after years of taking a beating in the front of the net. That’s where the goals are and that’s where Simpson earned his keep.

Craig Simpson

Left Wing — shoots R
Born Feb 15 1967 — London, ONT
Height 6.02 — Weight 195 [188 cm/88 kg]
Drafted by Pittsburgh Penguins
Round 1 #2 overall 1985 NHL Entry Draft

BY THE NUMBERS

Season
Age
Tm
GP
G
A
PTS
+/-
PIM
S
S%
1985-86
18
PIT
76
11
17
28
1
49
74
14.9
1986-87
19
PIT
72
26
25
51
11
57
133
19.5
1987-88
20
TOT
80
56
34
90
20
77
177
31.6
1987-88
20
PIT
21
13
13
26
5
34
59
22.0
1987-88
20
EDM
59
43
21
64
15
43
118
36.4
1988-89
21
EDM
66
35
41
76
-3
80
121
28.9
1989-90
22
EDM
80
29
32
61
-2
180
129
22.5
1990-91
23
EDM
75
30
27
57
-8
66
143
21.0
1991-92
24
EDM
79
24
37
61
8
80
128
18.8
1992-93
25
EDM
60
24
22
46
-14
36
91
26.4
1993-94
26
BUF
22
8
8
16
-3
8
28
28.6
1994-95
27
BUF
24
4
7
11
-5
26
20
20.0
6 yrs
EDM
419
185
180
365
-4
485
730
25.3
3 yrs
PIT
169
50
55
105
17
140
266
18.8
2 yrs
BUF
46
12
15
27
-8
34
48
25.0
Career
634
247
250
497
5
659
1044
23.7

PLAYOFFS

Season
Age
Tm
GP
G
A
PTS
+/-
PIM
S
S%
1987-88
20
EDM
19
13
6
19
4
26
33
39.4
1988-89
21
EDM
7
2
0
2
-3
10
10
20.0
1989-90
22
EDM
22
16
15
31
11
8
42
38.1
1990-91
23
EDM
18
5
11
16
1
12
21
23.8
1991-92
24
EDM
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0.0
Career
67
36
32
68
13
56
107
33.6

NOTABLE

To this day, Simpson remains the NHL regular season career shooting percentage leader at 23.66 per cent. Likewise, he holds the playoff record at 33.6 per cent. That includes ridiculous rolls in his two Stanley Cup years with the Oilers. In the 1988 playoffs, Simpson scored 13 goals in 19 games and sniped at a 39.4 per cent clip. In 1990, Simpson had 16 goals in 22 games (38.1). All told, Simpson tallied 36-32-68 in 67 playoff games with the Oilers. Simply put, Simmer was at his best when it mattered most.
Simpson arrived in Edmonton via one of the biggest trades in franchise history. In November of 1987, GM Glen Sather shipped future HHOF blueliner Paul Coffey, Dave Hunter and Wayne Van Dorp to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Simpson, who’d been drafted second overall by the Penguins from the Michigan State Spartans in 1985, Dave Hannan, Moe Mantha and Chris Joseph.
There’s an interesting sidebar on how Simpson arrived. Going into the 1985 draft, Simpson was projected to go first overall in a year when the Toronto Maple Leafs had the first pick. Simpson made it known there was no way he’d play for the Maple Leafs. Toronto instead took Wendel Clark with the first overall pick and Pittsburgh grabbed Simpson, who immediately left school to join the Penguins. Simpson’s trade to Edmonton came after just 169 games with the Penguins.

THE STORY

Photo: Connor Mah
It didn’t take Simpson long to find a home — and the kind of success he didn’t have in Pittsburgh — with the Oilers as he settled into left wing on a line with Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson. Simpson would score 43 goals in 59 games with the Oilers, giving him 56 for the season. Then came the 1988 playoff run. Simpson scored three game-winners, two of them in the first round against Winnipeg, and the Oilers sipped from the Cup.
In the 1990 playoffs, with Wayne Gretzky traded away to Los Angeles, Simpson added three more game-winners, including the goal that would prove to be the Cup-clincher in Game 5 against the Boston Bruins. Simpson’s 16 goals and 31 points left him tied for the team lead in scoring with Messier. In those two playoff years, 20 of Simpson’s 29 goals came five-on-five – most by way of tips and tucks from in tight, where he camped out and dared opposing D-men to move him. He absorbed a beating in the process.
Those were Simpson’s finest hours as an Oiler. While he scored 30 goals during the 1990-91 season, Simpson’s worsening back issues limited him to back-to-back 24-goal seasons. By the time he was traded to Buffalo in September 1993, Simpson was a shadow of the player he’d been. He played just 46 games for the Sabres before his back gave out completely. It was a terrific career – the best of it played in Oiler silks – cut way too short.
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.

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