Twenty-three years ago yesterday, the Edmonton Oilers would shake up their forward corp, trading Bill Guerin to the Boston Bruins deal that brought back draft picks and a young winger in Anson Carter.
The Oilers couldn’t afford Guerin, who had arrived in town just two years prior in the Jason Arnott trade, and the club looked to get back a valuable young asset and did so by acquiring Carter. Guerin arrived in Edmonton partway through the 1997-98 season, becoming well-loved during his time in town not only by the fans but also by the players on the team, namely captain Doug Weight.
But ultimately, those aforementioned financial woes forced Guerin out the door.
On top of Carter returning to Edmonton in the deal, the Oilers also acquired a first-round pick in 2000 to select Ales Hemsky and a 2001 second-round pick to select Doug Lynch, who was later shipped off in the Chris Pronger trade.
As Weight lost his close friend, the team looked for him to wear his leadership hat when Carter arrived for practice with his new team the following Wednesday.
“I let him know Billy was a great guy, a great teammate, but we expect the same from him. It’s a tough situation for Anson,” Weight told Robin Brownlee of the Edmonton Journal.
It would be a challenging situation for Carter and a pace change for the captain.
On the other hand, Carter wanted to ensure he wasn’t there to try to deputize Geruin.
“I’m not going to come in here and try to fill his shoes or take his place,” he said, “I’m going to try to create my own niche, do my thing. Hopefully, I can help this hockey club win some games.”
In light of receiving Carter, the Oilers would add more size to their lineup, as he stood at 6’1, 210 lbs. Younger than Guerin, the new Oilers forward had proven himself in the league and became a skilled, consistent 20-goal scorer with Boston. He was expected to play next to Weight and Ryan Smyth, filling the empty spot on the top line.
Matching his experience in Boston, Anson would play 211 games, scoring 69 goals and 157 points. He was later traded to the New York Rangers alongside Alex Pisa on March 11, 2003, as the Oilers received Cory Cross and Radek Dvorak.
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