Top 100 Oilers: No. 89 — Mark Napier

Originally posted on Oilersnation | By Cam Lewis | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 4:00 PM ET

Oilersnation is reviving the Top 100 Edmonton Oilers of All Time list, a project originally created by the late Robin Brownlee in 2015. Mark Napier comes in at No. 89 on our updated 2025 list. He was ranked No. 75 on Brownlee’s original list.

Mark Napier is one of those “right player, right time” additions. A WHA star turned NHL veteran, he arrived in Edmonton with speed to burn and a scorer’s touch, exactly what a young Oilers core needed. The Montreal Canadiens got his most prolific NHL years, but the Oilers got real value across 175 games and a key piece on the 1985 Stanley Cup team.

Via The Nation Network

Notable

Napier stacked an impressive résumé before he ever wore orange and blue. He piled up 223 points in 131 OJHL games and won a Memorial Cup with the Toronto Marlboros. After that, he made his professional debut in the WHA, scoring 136 goals and 254 points over 237 games with the Toronto Toros and Birmingham Bulls between 1975-76 and 1977-78.

The Montreal Canadiens selected Napier with the 10th overall pick in the 1977 NHL Draft. The Toronto native won the Stanley Cup in his rookie season with Montreal in 1978-79 and had back-to-back 40-goal seasons with the club in 1981-82 and 1982-83.

The Habs dealt Napier to the Minnesota North Stars during the 1983-84 season, and he was flipped to the Oilers the following year in 1985-86. After parts of three seasons in Edmonton, Napier was dealt alongside Lee Fogolin to the Buffalo Sabres for Normand Lacombe and Wayne Van Dorp.

Via The Nation Network

The Story

Chasing veteran help in January 1985, GM Glen Sather flipped prospect Gord Sherven and farmhand Todd Martin to Minnesota for Napier, who also happened to be winger Pat Hughes’ brother-in-law. Sather planned to play Napier with Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson to give Edmonton two dangerous lines and ease the load on Gretzky’s unit.

Napier fit right away, adding speed and finish for the stretch run. The winger scored 35 points in 33 regular-season games with the Oilers and then added 10 points in 18 playoff games, helping Edmonton win their second Stanley Cup in team history. It was a long-awaited return to the top for Napier, who hadn’t been there since his rookie season in Montreal.

Via The Nation Network

What Brownlee said

The Montreal Canadiens employed Mark Napier during his most prolific offensive years as an NHL player, but the Edmonton Oilers got plenty of mileage out of the former Toronto Marlboros forward in the 175 games he spent here, a stint that included the 1985 Stanley Cup.

Napier certainly had a resume. He lit up the OHL with 223 points in just 131 games and also won a Memorial Cup with the Marlboros. He jumped to the Toronto Toros of the WHA and then the Birmingham Bulls before landing in Montreal, where he won a Cup with the Habs. By the time Napier arrived in Edmonton, he was 28. He could still score. He could still fly.

“It was my first year in the league and we won the Stanley Cup. I thought this could go on forever,” Napier said. “So, it was pretty special to win my second one in Edmonton. That one I really appreciated a lot more and learned never to take winning the Stanley Cup for granted again.”