The Edmonton Oilers have made several big moves at the trade deadline throughout their history, but which ones had the most impact?
With the 2025 trade deadline under a month away and the Oilers sitting atop the Pacific Division, there is a good chance that GM Stan Bowman will be working the phones. Edmonton made it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season and this year’s deadline will be a chance to make sure the team is given every opportunity to finish the job.
The Oilers have made a few big deals at the deadline in the past, with some having pretty hefty Stanley Cup implications as well as bringing long-term staples to the team.
Here is a ranking of the Oilers’ six most impactful deadline deals over the team’s 46-year history:
6. Tommy Salo
The trade: Oilers acquire Tommy Salo (G) from New York Islanders for Mats Lindgren (C) and a 1999 eighth-round draft pick (Radek Martinek)
Date: March 20, 1999
Tommy Salo remains one of the greatest goalies in Oilers history.
The Swedish goaltender may not have had much playoff success with Edmonton but his name it littered all over the team’s record books. Salo appeared in 334 games with the Oilers across six seasons, amassing 147 wins in the process, which is the third most wins in franchise history. The only goalies to win more than Salo as an Oiler are Grant Fuhr and Ranford.
Most recently, he was named him to the Oilers quarter-century team.
5. Jason Smith
The trade: Oilers acquire Jason Smith (D) from Toronto Maple Leafs for a 1999 fourth-round pick (Jonathan Zion) and a 2000 second-round pick (Kris Vernarsky)
Date: March 23, 1999
One of the most beloved Oilers captains of all time came to Edmonton in a 1999 deadline deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Edmonton brought in Smith to help with a playoff push and while the team made it to the postseason they were swept in the first round by the Stars. The real impact of this trade was Smith becoming one of the most admired leaders in Oilers’ history.
Smith never put up a lot of points, but his work ethic made him an instant fan favourite. “Gator” played eight years in the Alberta capital, five of which as captain.
4. Mattias Ekholm
The trade: Oilers acquire Mattias Ekholm (D) and a 2024 sixth-round pick from Nashville Predators for Tyson Barrie (D), Reid Schafer (LW), a 2023 first-round pick (Tanner Molendyk), and a 2024 fourth-round pick (Hagen Burrows)
Date: February 28, 2023
The most recent trade on this list involves Edmonton finally taking a big swing to solve their defensive issues by acquiring Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators.
Ekholm has been one of the team’s most consistent players since day one and has helped to steady the ship in more ways than one. The Swede has been a top pairing defenceman on the Oilers since he arrived and his veteran leadership has helped his partner Evan Bouchard blossom into an elite defender.
Age will be a concern in the years to come, but right now he is one of the big reasons why the Oilers are Stanley Cup contenders.
3. Doug Weight
The trade: Oilers acquire Doug Weight (C) from New York Rangers for Esa Tikkanen (LW)
Date: March 17, 1993
It’s not often that a deadline deal brings in one of the franchises’ most iconic players, but the Oilers did just that by acquiring Doug Weight in 1993.
This was a transitional period for the Oilers as they were entering their first prolonged state of mediocrity and were dismantling the 1980s dynasty. Weight had been on the Oilers’ radar a year prior as then-GM Glen Sather had tried to get him included in the Mark Messier trade — to no avail.
Weight would spend nine years with the Oilers where he would put up 577 points in the Alberta capital. He defined a decade of Oilers hockey in the 1990s and played a massive part in the team’s iconic playoff series against the Dallas Stars in the latter half of that decade.
2. Dwayne Roloson
The trade: Oilers acquire Dwayne Roloson (G) from Minnesota Wild for future considerations and 2006 first-round pick (Trevor Lewis)
Date: March 8, 2006
The Oilers saw an immediate impact when they decided to trade for Dwayne Roloson at the 2006 deadline.
Edmonton had just squeaked into the playoffs that season as the eighth seed in the Western Conference but wound up upsetting the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks, and Anaheim Ducks to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
This was largely thanks to an incredible run from Roloson, who had a .927 SV% during the first three rounds. Unfortunately, an injury in Game 1 of the Final ended his run prematurely and is often pointed to as the thing that ultimately caused the Oilers to lose to the Carolina Hurricanes.
1. Bill Ranford
The trade: Oilers acquire Bill Ranford (G) and Geoff Courtnall (LW) from Boston Bruins for Andy Moog (G)
Date: March 8, 1988
There is only one deadline move on this list that eventually resulted in the Oilers winning the Stanley Cup and that is acquiring goaltender Bill Ranford in 1988.
There wasn’t an immediate payoff to this trade as Ranford only appeared in a total of 35 games in his first season and a half with Edmonton. That all changed during the 1989-90 season as he took over as the Oilers’ starter and led them to their first, and only, Stanley Cup victory without Wayne Gretzky.
Ranford also took home the Conn Smythe for playoff MVP that season, posting a 16-6 postseason record and .912 SV%.