Edmonton Oilers: All-Stars of the 2000s

Ryan Smyth was one of the most important All-Stars for the Oilers throughout the 2000s. In 419 games across the early 2000s, Smyth was able to produce 163 goals and 196 assists for a total of 359 points.

His points per game pace in that timeline was 0.86. His best season throughout the 2000s came in the 2000–01 season, when he put up 31 goals and 39 assists for 70 points in a complete 82 game season. That season, he averaged 0.85 PPG.

Ryan Smyth did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, but he was a big part of the Oilers success throughout the 2000s.

Janne Niinimaa, Defenceman

Janne Niinimaa played most of his NHL career with the Oilers in the late nineties and early 2000s. In 226 games in the early 2000s, Niinimaa was able to produce 21 goals and 97 assists for a total of 118 points through three seasons.

As a defender, he racked up the penalty minutes by receiving 236 minutes. That averages out to 1.04 minutes spent in the penalty box per game. His points per game pace in that timeline was 0.52.

Although he did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, Janne Niinimaa was still able to put up decent numbers for the Oilers and bring that enforcer mindset to the lineup as well.

Anson Carter, Centre

Anson Carter spent three seasons with the Oilers in the beginning of the 2000s. In 211 games repping the copper and blue, Carter was able to produce 69 goals and 88 assists for a total of 157 points. His points per game pace as an Oiler was 0.74, and his best season in Edmonton came in the 2001–02 season, when he put up 28 goals and 32 assists for 60 points in a complete season. That season, he averaged 0.73 PPG.

Anson Carter did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, but he still put up some solid numbers throughout his time spent in Edmonton.

Todd Marchant, Winger

Todd Marchant played most of his NHL career with the Oilers in the early nineties and early 2000s. In 230 games in the first three years of the 2000s, Marchant was able to produce 45 goals and 88 assists for a total of 133 points through those three seasons. His points per game pace in that timeline was 0.58, and his best season came in what was his last season in Edmonton, when he put up 20 goals and 40 assists for 60 points in 77 games. That season, he averaged 0.78 PPG.

Todd Marchant did not win a Stanley Cup with the Oilers, but he was still an important piece to the lineup for 10 years.

Shawn Horcoff, Centre

Shawn Horcoff spent almost the entirety of his NHL career with the Oilers, and was one of their best players throughout the 2000s. In his first 460 games in Edmonton, Horcoff was able to produce 120 goals and 218 assists for a total of 338 points. His points per game pace in that timeline was 0.73.

His best season throughout the 2000s came in the 2005–06 season, when he put up 22 goals and 51 assists for 73 points in just 79 games. That season, he averaged 0.92 PPG.

Shawn Horcoff did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, but he was one of the best Oilers to ever rep the copper and blue.

Mike Comrie, Centre

Mike Comrie spent a total of four seasons with the Oilers in the early 2000s. In 235 games repping the copper and blue, Comrie was able to produce 74 goals and 80 assists for a total of 154 points. His points per game pace as an Oiler was 0.66, and his best season in Edmonton came in the 2001–02 season, when he put up 33 goals and 27 assists for 60 points in a complete season. That season, he averaged 0.73 PPG.

Even though Mike Comrie did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, he still put up some impressive numbers in Edmonton and is one of their well known players.

Radek Dvorak, Winger

Radek Dvorak spent a total of three seasons with the Oilers in the early 2000s. In only 154 games played in Oil Country, Dvorak was able to produce 27 goals and 59 assists for a total of 86 points. His points per game pace as an Oiler was 0.56, and his best season in Edmonton was in the 2003–04 season, where he put up 15 goals and 35 assists for 50 points in only 78 games. That season, he averaged 0.64 PPG.

Radek Dvorak did not win a Stanley Cup in his 18 year career, but he was still able to help the Oilers out when they needed him.

Ales Hemsky, Winger

Ales Hemsky was probably the best Oiler throughout the 2000s, where he played seven seasons. In 443 games across the early 2000s, Hemsky was able to produce 100 goals and 253 assists for a total of 353 points. His points per game pace in that timeline was 0.80.

His best season throughout the 2000s came in the 2005–06 season, when he put up 19 goals and 58 assists for 77 points in only 81 games. That season, he averaged 0.95 PPG.

Ales Hemsky did not win a Stanley Cup with the Oilers throughout his career, but he was still one of their best players and put up some pretty impressive numbers in the process.

Dustin Penner, Winger

Dustin Penner only played four seasons with the Oilers in the late 2000s. In 304 games as an Edmonton Oiler, Penner was able to produce 93 goals and 93 assists for a total of 186 points. His points per game pace in Oil Country was 0.61, and his best season in the copper and blue came in the 2009–2010 season, when he put up 32 goals and 31 assists for 63 points in a complete season. That season, he averaged 0.77 PPG.

Dustin Penner won two Stanley Cups in his career—Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings—but none with the Oilers.

Sam Gagner, Centre

Sam Gagner was one of the most well known Oilers throughout the 2000s. In four seasons throughout the late 2000s, Gagner played a total of 291 games. He was able to produce 59 goals and 114 assists for a total of 173 points. His points per game pace in that time was 0.59, and his best season in the 2000s came in the 2007–08 season, when he put up 13 goals and 36 assists for 49 points in 79 games. That season, he averaged 0.62 PPG.

Sam Gagner did not win a Stanley Cup in his 17-year career, but he was one of the favourite Oilers in that time.

Jason Smith, Defenceman

Jason Smith spent half of his NHL career with the Oilers in the late nineties and early 2000s. In 450 games across six seasons in the 2000s, Smith was able to produce 27 goals and 70 assists for a total of 97 points.

As a defender, he racked up over 100 penalty minutes three times with the Oilers. He received 572 penalty minutes, and that averages out to 1.27 minutes spent in the penalty box per game. Smith was definitely a Goon for the Oilers in that timeline.

He did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, but he was still a very big piece to the lineup.

Tom Gilbert, Defenceman

Tom Gilbert started his NHL career in Edmonton and spent half of his career with the Oilers in the late 2000s and early 2010s. In 390 games as an Oiler, Gilbert was able to produce 33 goals and 125 assists for a total of 158 points. His points per game pace was 0.41, and his best season in the copper and blue came in the 2008–2009 season, when he put up five goals and 40 assists for 45 points in a complete season. That season, he averaged 0.55 PPG as a defender.

Tom Gilbert did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, but he was still able to spend some good time in Oil Country.

Andrew Cogliano, Centre

Andrew Cogliano started his NHL career in Edmonton and spent four seasons with the Oilers in the late 2000s and early 2010s. In 328 games repping the copper and blue, Cogliano was able to produce 57 goals and 89 assists for a total of 146 points. His points per game pace as an Oiler was 0.45, and his best season came in his 2007–2008 rookie season, when he put up 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points in a complete season. That season, he averaged 0.55 PPG.

Andrew Cogliano was able to win one Stanley Cup in his career with the Colorado Avalanche, and was a fan favourite Oiler during his time with the team.

Eric Brewer, Defenceman

Eric Brewer spent a total of four seasons with the Oilers in the beginning of the 2000s. In 308 games in Oil Country, Brewer was able to produce 29 goals and 71 assists for a total of 100 points. His points per game pace in the copper and blue was 0.32, and his best season came in the 2002–03 season, when he put up eight goals and 21 assists for 29 points in 80 games.

Brewer received 210 penalty minutes, and that averages out to 0.68 minutes spent in the penalty box per game.

Even though Eric Brewer did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, his was still able to spend a couple solid years with the Oilers.

Marc-Andre Bergeron, Defenceman

Marc-Andre Bergeron started his NHL career in Edmonton and spent four seasons with the Oilers in the early 2000s. In 189 games repping the copper and blue, Bergeron was able to produce 33 goals and 55 assists for a total of 88 points. His points per game pace as an Oilers defender was 0.47, and his best season came in the 2005–06 season, when he put up 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points in just 75 games. That season, he averaged 0.47 PPG.

Marc-Andre Bergeron did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, but he still added some skill to Edmonton’s blue line.

Raffi Torres, Winger

Raffi Torres spent a total of four seasons with the Oilers in the early 2000s. In 276 games repping the copper and blue, Torres was able to produce 67 goals and 53 assists for a total of 120 points. His points per game pace in Oil Country was 0.43, and his best season came in the 2005–2006 season, when he put up 27 goals and 14 assists for 41 points in a complete season. That season, he averaged 0.50 PPG.

Raffi Torres did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, but he still saw some decent production for the Oilers with almost half a point per game.

Daniel Cleary, Winger

Daniel Cleary spent a total of four seasons with the Oilers in the late nineties and early 2000s. In 220 games played in Oil Country, Cleary was able to produce 31 goals and 55 assists for a total of 86 points. His points per game pace repping the copper and blue was 0.39, and his best season came in the 2000–01 season, when he put up 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in 81 games. That season, he averaged 0.43 PPG.

Daniel Cleary was able to win one Stanley Cup in his career with the Detroit Red Wings, and spent a few solid years in Edmonton before then.

Tommy Salo, Goaltender

Tommy Salo spent over half of his NHL career with the Oilers in the late nineties and early 2000s. In 334 games across six seasons, Salo was able to earn 147 wins, 128 losses and 51 ties.

As an Oiler, he was able to finish with a 2.44 GAA and a save percentage of .906. His best season in Edmonton came in the 1999–2000 season, when he finished the season with a 2.33 GAA and a .914 SV%.

Even though Tommy Salo did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, he was still one of the best Edmonton goaltenders throughout the early 2000s.

Dwayne Roloson, Goaltender

Dwayne Roloson spent four seasons with the Oilers towards the end of his NHL career. In 193 games across the early 2000s, Roloson was able to earn 78 wins, 82 losses and 24 ties.

Repping the copper and blue, he was able to finish with a 2.78 GAA and a save percentage of .909. His best season in Edmonton came in the 2008–09 season, when he finished the season with a 2.77 GAA and a .917 SV%.

Dwayne Roloson did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, but he still put up some very solid numbers in Edmonton when he played for them.

Steve Staios, Defenceman

Steve Staios spent half of his NHL career with the Oilers throughout the early 2000s. In 573 games across eight seasons, Staios was able to produce 35 goals and 111 assists for a total of 146 points.

As a defender, he racked up over 90 penalty minutes five times with the Oilers. He received 743 penalty minutes, and that averages out to 1.30 minutes spent in the penalty box per game. Staios was another Goon for the Oilers in that timeline.

He did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, but was still a very important piece to Edmonton’s blue line.

Fernando Pisani, Winger

Fernando Pisani started his NHL career in Edmonton and spent almost the entirety of his career with the Oilers throughout the early 2000s. In 402 games repping the copper and blue, Pisani was able to produce 80 goals and 73 assists for a total of 153 points. His points per game pace as an Oiler was 0.38, and his best season came in the 2005–06 season, when he put up 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points in 80 games. That season, he averaged 0.46 PPG.

Fernando Pisani did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, but he was in Oil Country through the thick and thin in the 2000s.

Ethan Moreau, Winger

Ethan Moreau spent over half of his NHL career with the Oilers in the late nineties and early 2000s. In 653 games across 11 seasons, Moreau was able to produce 112 goals and 100 assists for a total of 212 points.

His best season in Edmonton came in the 2003–04 season, when he put up 20 goals and 12 assists for 32 points in 81 games. He also received 782 penalty minutes, which averages out to 1.20 minutes spent in the penalty box per game.

Ethan Moreau did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, but he still saw some production, while spending some time in the sin bin as well.

Mike Grier, Winger

Mike Grier started his NHL career in Edmonton and spent six seasons with the Oilers in the late nineties and early 2000s. In 448 games repping the copper and blue, Grier was able to produce 81 goals and 102 assists for a total of 183 points. His points per game pace in Oil Country was 0.41, and his best season came in the 1998–99 season, when he put up 20 goals and 24 assists for 44 points in a complete season. That season, he averaged 0.54 PPG.

Mike Grier did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, but he was still able to see some decent production with the Oilers.

All-time 2000’s roster construction

The Edmonton Oilers were able to stick with a very strong team throughout the 2000s. Even though a Stanley Cup was not won, they had some of the best Oilers to ever play the game and even had players who are now in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

If you took these players and put them onto a 20-man roster, what would it look like? Here is what I came up with.

Ryan Smyth – Shawn Horcoff – Ales Hemsky
Ethan Moreau – Sam Gagner – Fernando Pisani
Dustin Penner – Andrew Cogliano – Radek Dvorak
Raffi Torres – Mike Comrie – Daniel Cleary

Janne Niinimaa – Tom Gilbert
Eric Brewer – Marc-Andre Bergeron
Jason Smith – Steve Staios

Tommy Salo
Dwayne Roloson

Bench: Todd Marchant – Anson Carter – Mike Grier