I’ve got to admit I smiled when Devan Dubnyk was voted the 2015 recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, annually awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, as a member of the Minnesota Wild.
Anybody who survives tending goal for 171 games over parts of five seasons behind the atrocious blue line group the Edmonton Oilers put on the ice during Dubnyk’s tenure, 2009-10 to 2013-14, is likely as deserving a winner as you’re going to find. I always thought it was too bad – for the Oilers, not necessarily for Dubnyk – he had to leave Edmonton to get it.

Devan Dubnyk

Goalie — shoots R
Born May 4 1986 — Regina, SASK 

Height 6.06 — Weight 210 [198 cm/95 kg]
Drafted by Edmonton Oilers

Round 1 #14 overall 2004 NHL Entry Draft
BY THE NUMBERS
SeasonTeamLgeGPAPIMMinGAENSOGAAWLTSvsPct
2009-10
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
19
0
0
1075
64
1
0
3.57
4
10
2
515
0.889
2010-11
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
35
0
2
2061
93
4
2
2.71
12
13
8
1010
0.916
2011-12
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
47
1
0
2653
118
6
2
2.67
20
20
3
1262
0.914
2012-13
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
38
0
0
2101
90
0
2
2.57
14
16
6
1043
0.921
2013-14
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
32
0
6
1678
94
0
2
3.36
11
17
2
791
0.894
2013-14
Nashville Predators
NHL
2
0
0
124
9
0
0
4.35
0
1
1
51
0.850
2013-14
Hamilton Bulldogs
AHL
8
0
0
415
23
1
0
3.33
2
5
0
191
0.893
2014-15
Arizona Coyotes
NHL
19
0
0
1035
47
0
1
2.72
9
5
2
514
0.916
2014-15
Minnesota Wild
NHL
39
2
2
2293
68
0
5
1.78
27
9
2
996
0.936
2015-16
Minnesota Wild
NHL
67
0
8
3839
150
0
5
2.33
32
26
4
1679
0.918
2015-16p
Minnesota Wild
NHL
4
0
0
236
11
0
0
2.80
1
3
0
87
0.888

NOTABLE

Dubnyk, selected 14th overall by Edmonton in the 2004 Entry Draft, spent the better part of a decade building toward establishing himself as the go-to guy in the goal crease for the Oilers. He did so behind a blue line group that never was very deep or very good. Of course, the same could be said of the entire roster during his time here.
After overcoming clutter in the crease along the way that included Jeff Deslauriers and Nikolai Khabibulin, Dubnyk won the starting job for 2012-13 and put up the best numbers of his career. He won 14 games – the Oilers won just 19 times that season under Ralph Krueger — and had a .920 save percentage. It seemed, despite a penchant for giving up soft goals, Dubnyk had finally arrived and that he’d be the answer between the pipes.
It wasn’t to be. Things went sideways in a hurry for Dubnyk in 2013-14 under new coach Dallas Eakins. In a season that would eventually see the Oilers spin six different stoppers through the crease, Dubnyk struggled mightily. The blue line wasn’t good enough. He wasn’t good enough. By the time the Oilers dealt Dubnyk to Nashville for Matt Hendricks, Dubnyk’s confidence and save percentage (.894) had taken a beating.

THE STORY

Dubnyk’s struggles followed him to Nashville. He played in just two games for the Predators – he allowed nine goals on 60 shots — before being shipped to Milwaukee of the AHL with coach Barry Trotz’s comments about “bad habits” still ringing in his ears. Days later, Dubnyk was traded to Montreal and assigned to Hamilton of the AHL. In less than half a season, Dubnyk had played himself right out of the NHL.
Dubnyk’s rise from the ashes began when he signed a one-year deal as a UFA with Arizona for 2014-15. Dealt to Minnesota early that season, Dubnyk’s career turned on a dime again. He made 38 straight starts and backstopped the Wild to the playoffs. All told, Dubnyk was 27–9–2 with a 1.78 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage with five shutouts with the Wild that season. It earned him the Masterton, not to mention a six-year contract worth $26 million.
That’s a turnaround that could’ve and maybe should’ve happened here, but with as much failure as the Oilers have endured, letting Dubnyk get away isn’t the worst mistake that’s been made. Dubnyk paid his dues and played very well as a member of the Oilers for long stretches, but it’s that miserable final half-season that chased him out of town.
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: