An all-decade Edmonton Oilers hockey club eh? I thought it would be a fun exercise to do to get my mind off of the vitriol being thrown around on Twitter. “Ken Holland isn’t doing this, Ken Holland isn’t doing that. He’s wasting another year of Connor McDavid and is that much closer to demanding out…” Please!
Let’s have some fun, shall we?
The Goalies
- Cam Talbot
- Devan Dubnyk
- Mikko Koskinen
During this decade, the Oilers used 18 goalies. From Tyler Bunz to a couple of Russians in Ilya Bryzgalov and Nikolai Khabibulin, but none more than Cam Talbot. He started 222 out of 227 games for the Oilers during his stint (104 of those being wins) and was a major reason why they made the playoffs in 2016 and for that reason, why he’s on my team.
Before Talbot was Devan Dubnyk, a rare homegrown netminder who basically had the dumb luck of having to be the guy who’d go through the initial rebuild in Edmonton. He started the decade off and was the Oilers main guy (more or less) from 09′ to ’13. He’ll probably be more remembered for his appearances in local commercials but before he was an all-star in Minnesota, he was grinding with the Oilers.
The last goaltender I have on my team is the current one, Mikko Koskinen. His initial year with the team was a complete shitshow. He was ridden like a mule by Ken Hitchcock down the stretch and fatigue exposed some flaws in his game. In 2019/20 though, he’s been one of the team’s saviors and a major contributor to why the Oilers have a record above .500. If the Oilers are going anywhere this season, they need Kostco to stay on his game.
The Defensemen
Moving on to the defensemen, this group is a variety bag of skilled puck movers and veteran presence. A little bit of draft and develop with a dusting of expensive free agent adds.
- Oscar Klefbom/Jeff Petry
- Darnell Nurse/Justin Schultz
- Andrej Sekera/Adam Larsson
- Ryan Whitney
My first pairing has Klefbom and Petry because let’s be honest, they’re the best Edmonton’s had in the last ten years. Oscar has been the TOI munching stud that Edmonton had been clamoring for and had Craig MacTavish not screwed around with Jeff Petry, the Oilers would probably have him too right now. It’s no coincidence that in the past when Klefbom has gone down the club has followed. He’s been its anchor ever since they started giving him 22+ minutes a night. With Petry, they had that right-shot stud who could basically do it all. Skate, shoot, pass, defend, and get mucky.
Darnell Nurse and Justin Schultz as a pairing would’ve had fans jumping for joy, crying tears of sorrow, and wanting to throw their TV remotes in anger. That’s how volatile these two were (are). The fact is, Justin Schultz was probably the best offensive defender Edmonton had in the last ten years, regardless of his defensive frailties. The club never gave him the proper insulation and suffered for it, then they pilfered him for a draft pick. He went on to win two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh…
Darnell Nurse might be the toughest and best-skating defenseman Edmonton has had in twenty years, let alone ten. Along with Oscar Klefbom, Doc is a player that was drafted and developed by the Oilers but probably thrust into a feature role too early in his career thanks to the wonderful team building performed by the plethora of GMs employed by the Oilers in this decade of darkness. The questions today are how many more years do we have of this defenseman and is he going to price himself out of Edmonton? Thus following the paths of many talented blueliners before him (Petry, Gilbert, Poti, Schultz, etc).
Andrej Sekera and Adam Larsson are amongst my favorite Oilers defenders of all-time. I always loved how Sekera was so calm and collected on the ice and would move the puck so very smoothly. It’s too had injuries derailed his career in the Alberta capital because I think him being healthy would’ve done a lot for the Oilers’ defense and how it was constructed and utilized. As for Adam Larsson, when he was acquired for Taylor Hall, I hoped he’d find some offense in his game, but it was never to come. That said, what did emerge has made me very happy. What I’m talking about his Larsson being Edmonton’s hardest defender. Nurse might be the toughest, but the Iron Swede is HAF. He makes life hell for opposing forwards when they decide it’s time to get their cycle going. In addition to that wonderful trait, he can often be found jumping into the play. For me, both of these men were vital in Edmonton’s run to the playoffs in 2016 and if there’s going to be another run this year, Larsson will need to re-create that 2016 effort.
The extra defender on my team is Ryan Whitney if nothing more for his ability to chirp and keep a conversation going. By the time he’d made it to Edmonton in a deal for Lubo Visnovsky, the lower-body injuries had started. In Anaheim, it was foot issues. In Edmonton, an ankle problem. When he was actually inserted into the lineup for the Oilers, Whitney was a .50 ppg player, the best of any regular Oiler from 2010-2019. It’s too bad when injuries take good players down.
*Fun Fact* Matt Benning has the best +/- of ANY Oiler defender in this decade with a +32. The next closest defender is Kris Russel (+4). Connor McDavid being the leading forward with a +42. Only 15 skaters out of 148 were +1 or more. Nail Yakupov owns the green jacket with a -88…
Lastly, the forwards. These selections actually ended up being a bit easier for me.
- Leon Draisaitl/Connor McDavid/Zack Kassian
- Taylor Hall/Ryan Nugent-Hopkins/Jordan Eberle
- Ryan Smyth/Shawn Horcoff/Ales Hemsky
- Pat Maroon/Sam Gagner/Dustin Penner
- Nail Yakupov/David Perron
It’s almost as if I took Edmonton’s best lines from 2010-2019 and slotted them in here, right? Well, I can’t lie, it’s basically what I did do but can you blame me? The Oilers have rolled out some beauties over time. Unfortunately, over the last ten years, they’ve only been able to roll out one good one per season give or take.
Line 1 is the one that is currently causing havoc for NHL defenses and you’d really have to work hard to convince me that it’s not the best line in Oilers history apart from their top line during the dynasty days. Between Draisaitl, McDavid, and Kassian you’ve got elite skill, elite playmaking, and elite vision. They can beat you in the trenches and they can beat you off the rush. It’s the kind of line you’d find at an All-Star game due to its ability to electrify and entertain the viewers.
The second line is what we fans of the Oilers had before Connor McDavid rolled into town. I remember hearing NHL players wonder why they’d ever break this line up? Then Todd McLellan came to town and got together with Kelly Buchberger and a few other members of the old Oilers and that was the end of Hallsy. A bad playoffs for Eberle ended his tenure with the Oilers and you have to wonder about Nugent-Hopkins these days… He’s trying to battle through a hand injury but it’s really affecting his game. But during this line’s peak, they were unforgettable with the speed and skill in which they terrorized opposing defenses. Hall could blaze up the ice with the puck, break into the offensive zone alone, dish it off to Nuge, who’d find a trigger happy Eberle ready to bury the biscuit in the blink of an eye. It really was a treat to watch these guys make defenders’ lives very difficult.
I think this is about as good a third line as you’re going to get. Ryan Smyth, Shawn Horcoff, and Ales Hemsky were past their primes when this decade started and 3rd liners as it was. But I don’t think you could find a better set of three with all of their experience and leadership than these three beauts. Smyth will go down for me as the Edmonton Oiler with the most heart. Not a lot outside of my kids makes me emotional, but his last game as an Oiler, being named Captain for it, that had me tearing up a bit. I’m glad he came back and retired in Edmonton.
As for Horcs and Hemmer, they ran the show in E-town for years and if not for that inflated contract Horcoff signed and Hemsky’s injuries, they might’ve spent more time with the Oilers. Horcoff was a good captain for Edmonton though. He played a very solid two-way game and was a great example for the youngsters that played with him. Hemsky was one of the most skilled players to lace them up for the Oilers. Even in his later years when he was really slowed down, he could still be found going to Dangle City. He was fearless to a fault and it cost him down the line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWYK9wU3sxE
The fourth line of Maroon/Gagner/Penner was a throw together line. I think it’s fair to have Gagner in any team like this as he spent a lot of time shedding blood and tears for this club. He came in as a highly-touted teenager who could skill with the best of them and while he was no Patrick Kane (his teammate in junior), he did an admirable job. Patrick Maroon and Dustin Penner will go down as cult favorites in Edmonton. They weren’t the best players on the teams when they played but they played an honest brand of the game. They were tough as nails too and they scored goals, so the blue-collar fans of the team really enjoyed them.
My extra forwards for this team are Nail Yakupov and David Perron. Yakupov was a favorite of mine because he was just so bloody entertaining to watch. He worked his bag off and had integrity. Yak City knew what made him a good player and that’s how he wanted to be used. He loved playing hockey and it showed. It’s unfortunate but really got shit on by the analytics folks AND the hockey purists. Nobody was really in his corner except his fans and Ralph Krueger. We know what happened there.
David Perron should’ve never left Edmonton. Had they kept him, they might’ve never made the trade with Pittsburgh that landed them an extra 1st round pick in the 2015 NHL draft (the pick would end up turning into Mat Barzal) and we wouldn’t be hearing all about the ill-advised Griffin Reinhart trade… Perron was a such a good goal scorer and an irritant. The type of skill and grit we can only hope finds itself in Kailer Yamamoto these days. The Blues are loving what Perron brings to the table now, aren’t they?
Who’s on your all-decade team? Leave your rosters in the comments below and Happy New Year’s from Taipei!!!
