Top 100 Oilers: No. 69 — Vincent Damphousse

Notable

Damphousse entered the organization as the key returnee in a trade that shipped out two Edmonton legends to Toronto. On Sept. 19, the Oilers sent Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr, and Craig Berube to the Maple Leafs in exchange for Damphousse, as well as Scott Thornton, Luke Richardson, and Peter Ing (who can forget Ing’s 91-92 Pro-Set card). Plus, money was believed to be involved.

The firesale was a continuation of the Jari Kurri trade in May, and preceded the Mark Messier deal by a month, although Messier had already requested a trade. General manager Glen Sather’s teardown was in full swing.

But the business of playing the games in the 1991-92 season was still to be done. Damphousse led the way offensively. As struggles hit Bernie Nicholls and Petr Klima, Vinny Van Goal led the Oilers in scoring in 1991-92 with 38 goals and 51 assists for 89 points, seven more than Joe Murphy.

When the Oilers slipped into the 3rd spot in the Smythe Division, Damphousse was a big reason why they upset the Los Angeles Kings six games, a club that began the series by starting five former Oilers on the ice. Then, the momentum kept rolling, beating one of the regular-season’s top teams in the Vancouver Canucks, to win yet another Smythe Division title.

It was unexpected, but his eight goals and six assists were third in team playoff scoring. His offensive instincts, quickness, and ability to headman a line helped soften the blow for a franchise that would soon turn for the worse.

The Story

The tumultuous in-fighting during the dog days of the 91-92 regular season was forgotten when the Oilers won their 28th and 29th playoff series in a total of 36 tries. And as sour as Oilers fans would feel seeing all these familiar faces playing elsewhere, only Gretzky and Messier outscored Damphousse in the ex-Oiler department.

But the teardown would continue, and Damphousse wasn’t entirely happy in Edmonton, either.

As the 1992-93 season approached, Sather would flip Damphousse, who, according to Terry Jones in the book 79 to 99, blamed his divorce on his playing and living in Edmonton.

There were tough times when more of the Stanley Cup core were being removed.D amphousse would return to his home province and the Montreal Canadiens, acquiring Shayne Corson, Brent Gilchrist, and Vladimir Vutijek. He would lead the Habs in scoring that year as they went on a magical run to win the Stanley Cup.

What Brownlee said

The Oilers were barely better than .500 (36-34-10 for 82 points in 80 games) with Damphousse. They wouldn’t get within a $5-cab ride of that total in 1992-93 after trading him to the Montreal Canadiens during the off-season with a fourth-round draft choice for Shayne Corson, who’d worn out his welcome in Montreal, Brent Gilchrist and Vladimir Vujtek.

Damphousse, a native of Montreal, paid instant dividends for the Habs by scoring 97 points. Montreal went on to win the 1993 Stanley Cup. With me-first guy Corson greasing the rails, the Oilers came off the tracks, finishing 1992-93 with 60 points in 84 games (26-50-8). The Damphousse-for-Corson swap wasn’t the only reason for the free-fall, but it certainly accounted for a big chunk of it.

In his first four seasons with Montreal, Damphousse tallied 97, 91, 40 (48-game season), and 94 points. The Oilers, meanwhile, missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and in all four of those seasons. That’s not a coincidence. Damphousse was terrific in his one and only season as a member of the Oilers.

The Last 10

• No. 79 — Mike Smith
• No. 78 — Jimmy Carson
• No. 77 — Zack Kassian
• No. 76 — Eric Brewer
• No. 75 — Risto Siltanen
• No. 74 — Raffi Torres
• No. 73 — Don Jackson
• No. 72 — Andrew Cogliano
• No. 71 — Anson Carter
• No. 70 — Adam Graves