Last night, we looked at the All-Decade team for the 1980’s for the Edmonton Oilers. That team was tough for a variety of reasons, but the biggest was the fact that were so many talented players on the rosters of that decade. Edmonton was a dynasty during the 1980’s, plain and simple.
The 1990’s, however, were vastly different.
Edmonton won a Stanley Cup in the spring of 1990, but after that it was all down hill. The Oil reached the Conference Finals in both 1991 and 1992, but couldn’t get over the hump. The team then went dark, missing the post-season from 1992-1993 through the spring of 1997.
The Oilers would upset the Dallas Stars in the opening round of the 1997 playoffs, and then upset the Colorado Avalanche in the opening round in 1998, both series going seven games.
The 1990’s was simply a roller-coaster for Oiler fans, but we haven’t forgotten the stars of the decade. Without further ado, here is the all-decade team for the 1990’s.
Forwards:
Left Wing: Ryan Smyth – Ryan Smyth is the only player who appears on two of these teams, and that’s for good reason. Smyth wasn’t the most dynamic or most skilled player in franchise history, but he was a mainstay for two separate decades of Oiler hockey. Smyth was a young, fast and tough player who played the perfect late 1990’s style of hockey.
Smyth’s best goal scoring season was in 1996-97, when he tallied a career high 39 goals in 82 games. Smyth would also hit the 50 point mark twice during the final years of the decade.
Smyth formed a third of the first line that knocked off Dallas in ’97 and Colorado in ’98, he was a massive part of those teams and the Oilers of this decade.
Center: Doug Weight – As of now, Doug Weight is the best post-dynasty player the Edmonton Oilers have had. He was extremely skilled, and drove Edmonton’s offense from his arrival in 1993 through his departure in the summer of 2001.
Weight eclipsed 50 points on four separate occasions during the 1990’s, even scoring 104 points during the 1995-96 season.
Like Ryan Smyth, Weight was a key part of the 1997 and 1998 teams that each won a playoff round for the franchise. He was the face of this team in the late 1990’s, and gave Edmonton a star player to market league wide.
It’s a shame he left the organization in the 2000’s, because he easily could have been the next Oiler Hall of Fame member, earning a spot in the Rexall rafters.
Right Wing: Bill Guerin – He only played three seasons in Edmonton during the 1990’s, but he was a revelation for the team during that time. The NHL was a game for power-forwards in the 1990’s, and Guerin was one of the few elite ones in the NHL.
When he came to Edmonton, he immediately changed the complexion of the forward group. Guerin scored 30 and 24 goals during his two full seasons in Edmonton, providing a real punch in the line-up. On top of that, he was a monster for the Oilers in the 1998 playoffs against the Avalanche in the opening round.
His tenure was short, but his impact was massive. Guerin was traded in the middle of the 2000-01 season, but he’ll always live in Oilers 90’s history.
Defenders:
Number One Defender – Roman Hamrlik – Another short stint, but another very impactful one. Hamrlik came to Edmonton during the 1997-98 season and proved to be a stabilizing force on the blue-line. The big defender was defensively very responsible, and handled the workload as Edmonton’s horse.
He also contributed some offense from the back-end, scoring at least 20 points in each of the three seasons he played for the Oilers. He was a massive part of that 1998 team, and played a big role on the 1999 team that lost in the first round of the playoffs to Dallas.
Hamrlik was one of Glen Sather’s savviest moves of the 1990’s in my mind.
Number Two Defender – Boris Mironov – Wait what? Yes, that’s right, I’m putting Bobo on the list. Mironov wasn’t the best shut-down defender, but he was adequate in that regard for Edmonton. What Mironov excelled at was offense. He had a bullet for a shot and was a key to Edmonton’s power-play units in the late 1990’s.
Mironov scored over 30 points every season from 1995-96 all the way through 1998-99. He also scored a massive goal for Edmonton in game seven of the 1997 upset of Dallas, a goal from the point thanks to one of his trademarked bombs.
Mironov joined the Oilers in 1993-94 and was with them until the 1998-99 season, when he got traded to Chicago.
Goalie:
Starting Goalie: Curtis Joseph – Is anyone really shocked? Cujo posted SV%’s of .907 and .905 during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons, not great by today’s standards, but very solid for that era. On top of that, Cujo went to a different level during the post season, he stole games for Edmonton in both 1997 and 1998.
Cujo only played parts of three seasons with the Oilers, but he was terrific for the team during that tenure. He was Edmonton’s best goalie since Grant Fuhr, and he proved that with many clutch performances during the playoffs for the Oil.
Next up, the 2000’s.
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