Oilers at the deadline

3.8K

Sometimes I write items here for future reference (that’s how the book idea came about) and there are moments when bringing back articles from the past makes sense. Since we have a few days before the Oilers get rolling again, here’s a look at the team from 1980 through 1998 at the deadline.

1980—GLEN SATHER

• March 11, 1980—Oilers traded L Cam Connor and a second-round pick (Peter Sundstrom) to the NY Rangers for R Don Murdoch. Sather was always trying to find difference makers, and Murdoch had an amazing early career. It didn’t work out, but was worth the risk.
• March 11, 1980—Oilers traded C Ron Chipperfield to Quebec Nordiques for G Ron Low. One of the most famous trades in team history, Chipperfield was wildly popular and was experiencing a devastating family situation. A painful, if necessary, trade.
• March 11, 1980—Oilers traded G Jim Corsi to the Minnesota North Stars for future considerations. Probably cash, but it might have been a bus for the minor league team—you never know.

1981—GLEN SATHER

• March 10, 1981—Oilers traded D Pat Price to the Pittsburgh Penguins for C-R Pat Hughes. This was an interesting trade at the time and turned into an impactful one. Hughes was a big part of the first Stanley Cup team, probably more important than history suggests just by looking at the numbers.
• March 10, 1981—Oilers traded R Blair MacDonald and the rights to Lars-Gunner Petersson to the Vancouver Canucks for C Ken Berry and D Gary Lariviere. Well, Blair MacDonald was building a house while scoring a bunch and wanted a raise, and Slats didn’t think scoring on 99’s line was all that difficult. I always like Lariviere, he was not an Oiler for long but played well in his one full season.
• March 10, 1981—Oilers traded seventh-round pick (Craig Hurley) to Los Angeles Kings for C Garry Unger. It is important to remember that Unger was one of the NHL’s biggest stars of the 1970s. Sather had been after him since Edmonton entered the NHL, finally getting the center for not much at all. He didn’t hang around long enough for the Stanleys, but he was a favorite of mine and I enjoyed watching him play for the town team.

1982—GLEN SATHER

• March 8, 1982—Oilers trade C Walt Poddubny and R Phil Drouillard to the Toronto Maple Leafs for C Laurie Boschman. This trade didn’t work out, but Boschman was a big name. Toronto took him early in the 1979 draft and he never did work out, but his value was still high in 1982. He played in three playoff games that spring for the Oilers, and was in Winnipeg by the 1983 postseason.
• March 9, 1982—Oilers trade C Stan Weir to Colorado Avalanche for L Ed Cooper. Weir was struggling for the second year in a row, and for Sather that meant a trade. Cooper, from Loon Lake, never made it as an NHL player.
• March 9, 1982—Oilers trade D Doug Hicks to the Washington Capitals for C Todd Bidner. The Oilers badly needed Hicks in the early days, but 1982 deadline were ready to send him along. Bidner did not spend much more time in pro hockey.

1983—GLEN SATHER

• March 7, 1983—Oilers trade C Laurie Boschman to Winnipeg Jets for R Willy Lindstrom. One of my favorite players when he was a Jet, thrilled to see him succeed as an Oiler. He played on the first two Stanley teams, and scored 10 postseason goals in those years.

1984—GLEN SATHER

• March 6, 1984—Oilers traded D John Blum to the Boston Bruins for D Larry Melnyk. This is a typical deadline deal, Oilers acquired a player who could help now for a player who had a little higher upside. He played six playoff games for the 1984 team, and was used sparingly on the 1985 winner.
• March 6, 1984—Oilers traded a 1985 fourth-round pick (Larry Shaw) for the rights to Finnish forward Risto Jalo. This trade did not work out, but is the reason I always liked Sather as a GM. If this trade had worked (Jalo retired in 1998), Edmonton would have been far richer than the risk.

1985—GLEN SATHER

• Oilers were inactive at the deadline (March 12, 1985), but did pick up Mark Napier in January from the Minnesota North Stars. He was a terrific Oiler.

1986—GLEN SATHER

• Oilers were inactive at the deadline (March 11, 1986).

1987—GLEN SATHER

• March 2, 1987—Oilers traded second-round pick (Link Gaetz) to the Minnesota North Stars for C Kent Nilsson. This was a fantastic pickup, Nilsson had a major impact on the team upon arrival. A ridiculous talent, he finally got with the right team. Magic man.
• March 6, 1987—Oilers trade D Lee Fogolin, Mark Napier and fourth-round pick (John Bradley) to the Buffalo Sabres for Normand Lacombe, a fourth-round pick (Peter Eriksson) and the rights to Wayne Van Dorp. Two of my favorites heading out, Lacombe a young prospect who the Oilers felt could provide them with that patented two-way grittiness that made up Slats best teams. Lacombe delivered, but was not here a long time.
• March 10, 1987—Oilers trade L Raimo Summanen to the Vancouver Canucks for L Moe Lemay. This was acknowledgement that Summanen—once highly touted—was not going to have a big NHL career. I always liked him. Lemay was fun to watch.

1988—GLEN SATHER

• March 8, 1988—Oilers trade G Andy Moog and L Moe Lemay to the Boston Bruins for G Bill Ranford, L Geoff Courtnall, F Alan May and a second-round selection (Petro Koivunen). This might be the best deadline trade in Oilers history, suspect it would get my vote almost 30 years later. Courtnall played 19 games on the 1988 winner, Ranford won the 1990 Conn Smythe and emerged as the Oilers starter for the first half of the 1990s.

1989—GLEN SATHER

• March 7, 1989—Oilers trade LW Greg Adams (the lesser) and C Doug Smith to the Vancouver Canucks for L John Leblanc and 1989 fifth-round pick (C Peter White). Lots of deadline deals are names without much of a future, this one didn’t move the needle.
• March 7, 1989—Oilers trade D Jim Wiemer and L Alan May to the Los Angeles Kings for D John English and C Brian Wilks. Sather had flare more deadlines, not so much this time.

1990—GLEN SATHER

• March 6, 1990—Oilers trade D Cam Brauer to the Hartford Whalers for D Marc Laforge. A small deal, Laforge played five NHL games with the Oilers and was a productive enforcer in the AHL for several years.
• March 6, 1990—Oilers trade C Brian Wilks to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Probably cash.
• March 6, 1990—Oilers trade D Jeff Sharples to the New Jersey Devils for D Reijo Ruotsalainen. One of my favorite Oilers, Ruotsalainen is a walking advertisement for why trade deadlines are a great idea. I bet he can still skate like the wind.

1991—GLEN SATHER

• March 5, 1991—Oilers trade R Kim Issel to the Pittsburgh Penguins for L Brad Aitken. The takeaway here is the continuation of a disturbing trend—failed first-round selections. It would eventually ground a very proud franchise.

1992—GLEN SATHER

• March 10, 1992—Oilers trade L Martin Rucinsky to the Quebec Nordiques for G Ron Tugnutt and L Brad Zavisha. This is the beginning of the difficult time, where Edmonton bled talent trying to shore up leaks and good players were just passing through. Rucinsky was a helluva draft pick, gone for 29 games of Ron Tugnutt. Why? Edmonton lost Tugnutt to the Anaheim Ducks in the expansion draft.

1993—GLEN SATHER

• March 17—Oilers traded L Esa Tikkanen to the New York Rangers for C Doug Weight. Tikkanen was one of my favorites—still is—and my initial reaction to this deal was heartbreak. The Boys on the Bus expired in either September or October 1991, two massive and devastating trades put it all to rest. By the time they got to dealing Tikkanen, it was more museum than arena, but legends walked among us. The Tikkanen trade was the death rattle. This was a brilliant trade by Sather, maybe the best deadline deal he ever made.
• March 22—Oilers traded D Craig Muni to the Chicago Blackhawks for C Mike Hudson. Another trade that didn’t work worth a tinker’s damn. Edmonton kept Hudson for only five games, and he was in Manhattan the next fall, and would play 150 more NHL games. Muni kept on ticking, finally retiring in 1997.

1994—GLEN SATHER

• March 14—Oilers traded D Dave Manson and 1994 sixth-round pick (D Chris Kibermanis) to Winnipeg Jets for D Boris Mironov, C Mats Lindgren, 1994 first-round pick (C Jason Bonsingore) and 1994 fourth-round pick (R Adam Copeland). A fantastic trade, BoBo is one of my favorite post-Stanley Oilers and Lindgren was a decent center. The first-round botch hurt like hell, but the general manager was on fire with this trade.
• March 21—Oilers trade C Craig MacTavish to the New York Rangers for C Todd Marchant. Another terrific trade for a building team, MacTavish did a fine job for the NYR, helping them win a Stanley. Marchant was an outstanding support center for nine years, a little more than that towards the end. He was a quality player for a long time in our town.
• March 21—Oilers traded D Brad Werenka to the Quebec Nordiques for G Steve Passmore. At the time, Werenka was a fringe player for Edmonton, in between the AHL and NHL over a couple of seasons. A former second rounder, my recollection is that we thought he would be a player. Passmore was a goalie the Oilers liked a lot, he was part of a fairly successful Kamloops Blazers team at the time. He never made it as an NHL starter, but at the time it seemed like a solid deal.

1995—GLEN SATHER

• April 7—Oilers trade L Scott Pearson to the Quebec Nordiques for D Ken Sutton. Pearson was a rugged winger who was shy on offense, although he did score 20 goals in 100 Oilers games. Sutton was a good NHL defender, one of many who passed through town quickly during the decade.
• April 7—Oilers trade F Roman Oksiuta to the Vancouver Canucks D Jiri Slegr. Oksiuta was a huge forward with a good scoring touch, Edmonton had him in the minors for a couple of seasons and then brought him to the NHL—where he scored well. Vancouver liked him enough to trade Slegr for him, and Slegr played pretty well for Edmonton before going back to Europe for a time. Oilers won this trade, because they eventually received a third-round pick for Slegr’s rights.

1996—GLEN SATHER

• March 20—Oilers trade F Kirk Maltby to the Detroit Red Wings for D Dan McGillis. Maltby played for one of the most famous teams of the modern era as a quality checker and role player. McGillis was no slouch, providing Edmonton with a couple of solid seasons on the blue before being sent away for another impressive player.

1997—GLEN SATHER

• March 18—Oilers traded F Miro Satan to the Buffalo Sabres for D Craig Millar and L Barrie Moore. Well, it didn’t work out too well. Among the all-time trade blunders in Oilers history, Satan ended his career with 363 NHL goals. His numbers before the trade were all stunning.
• March 18—Oilers trade D Jeff Norton to Tampa Bay Lightning for D Drew Bannister and sixth-round pick (used on Peter Sarno). Banniser was a fringe NHL defender and Sarno didn’t develop as an NHL player, while Norton hung around the league for a few good seasons.

1998—GLEN SATHER

• March 24—Oilers trade D Dan McGillis and a 1998 second-round pick (Jason Beckett) to Philadelphia Flyers for D Janne Niinimaa. One of my favorite trades because it fetched one of my favorite players. McGillis had some good years, but Niinimaa was terrific in five Oilers seasons.

There’s one more Sather year, 1999, and it was a gigantic one. I’ll write about that one tomorrow.