2005–06 Edmonton Oilers season

The 2005–06 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' 26th season in the NHL, and they were coming off a 36–29–12–5 record in 2003–04, earning 89 points, finishing in 9th place in the Western Conference, failing to qualify for post-season play. The Oilers qualified for the playoffs in eighth place, and put on a playoff run, finishing with a loss in the Stanley Cup Final.

Offseason
Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, the 2004–05 NHL season was cancelled when the players and owners could not agree to a new CBA. The two sides would come to agreement, and there would be many changes for both the Oilers and the NHL as a whole.

The NHL introduced a salary cap of $39 million for the 2005–06, which meant the teams above that figure would cut salary to fit under the cap. The Oilers, who had a lot of cap room, took advantage of this, and the St. Louis Blues would trade former Hart Trophy and Norris Trophy winner Chris Pronger to the Oilers in exchange for Eric Brewer, Jeff Woywitka and Doug Lynch. Pronger would then sign a 5 year, $25 million contract with Edmonton. The Oilers would then make another blockbuster trade, this time acquiring former Selke Trophy winner Mike Peca from the New York Islanders for Mike York and a 4th round draft pick.

The NHL also made a number of rule changes, such as adding a shootout to determine the winner of a game that was tied after 5 minutes of overtime to eliminate ties, goaltenders were not allowed to play the puck in the corners of the ice surface, and the referees would crack down on obstruction.

Regular season
The Oilers would start off the season rather slowly, sitting with a 9–9–1 record after 19 games, but the club would get hot, going 21–9–7 in their next 37 games. As the trade deadline approached, the club did not have a clear #1 goalie, and they addressed this issue by trading their 1st round draft pick in 2006 to the Minnesota Wild for Dwayne Roloson. Edmonton would also add former Calder Trophy winner Sergei Samsonov to the club, as they sent Marty Reasoner and Yan Stastny to the Boston Bruins to acquire him. The Oilers played mediocre hockey for the rest of the season, but managed to finish in 8th place in the Western Conference, and qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2003. Just before the playoffs, a big Edmonton Oilers logo appeared at center ice.

Offensively, Ryan Smyth would lead the club with 36 goals, his highest total since scoring 39 goals in 1996–97, and 22 year old Ales Hemsky would breakout, earning a club high 58 assists and 77 points. Shawn Horcoff would also have a breakout season, scoring 22 goals and 73 points, as would Jarret Stoll, as he would score 22 goals and earn 68 points. On defense, Chris Pronger would anchor the blueline, earning a defenceman best 56 points, while Marc-Andre Bergeron would score 15 goals and 35 points from the blueline. Ethan Moreau had a club high 87 penalty minutes.

In goal, Edmonton would use a trio of goaltenders until the arrival of Dwayne Roloson at the trade deadline. Mike Morrison would win 10 games and have a 2.83 GAA, but he would not last the season with the Oilers, as he would be lost on waivers to the Ottawa Senators. Ty Conklin, the starter from 2003–04, would appear in only 18 games, going 8–5–1 with a 2.80 GAA, before being sent to the minors. Jussi Markkanen won a club high 15 games, and would serve as Dwayne Roloson's backup when the club acquired him. Roloson would have a team best 2.43 GAA, and have a 8–7–4 record with the team.

Playoffs
Edmonton would open up the playoffs against the President's Trophy winners, the Detroit Red Wings, who finished with 124 points during the season. After the Wings won the first game in double overtime, Edmonton would tie the series with a solid 4–2 victory to return home with a split. The teams would exchange wins in the 2 games in Edmonton, and return to Detroit for game 5 tied 2–2. Edmonton would hang on for a 3–2 victory in game 5, and return home looking to close out the series. The Oilers hang on to win the 6th game 4–3, eliminating the heavily favoured Red Wings 4–2, and Edmonton won their first playoff series since 1998.

In the 2nd round, the Oilers would have to face the 5th seeded San Jose Sharks, who finished the season with only 4 more points than Edmonton at 99. The Sharks would take control of the series early on, winning both games in San Jose by 2–1 scores, however, the Oilers would get a much needed triple overtime victory in game 3, and then win the 4th game to tie the series up at 2, heading back to San Jose. The Oilers would dominate the Sharks in the 5th game, winning 6–3, and would win the series with a 2–0 shutout in game 6, to earn a spot in the Conference Finals for the first time since 1992.

The Oilers would have a Western Conference Final matchup against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who were the 6th seed in the conference, and finished with 2 more points than Edmonton during the season. Edmonton, who had won their last 4 games, stayed on their hot streak, winning the first 2 games in Anaheim by 3–1 scores. The Oilers would take a 3–0 series lead with a 5–4 win, however, the Mighty Ducks would avoid the sweep by defeating the Oilers 6–3 in game 4. Edmonton would rebound, winning the 5th game 2–1, and earn their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since winning it in 1990.

Edmonton would face the Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes in the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals. In the opening game, goaltender Dwayne Roloson would go down to injury midway through the 3rd period with the score tied at 4, and Ty Conklin came in to replace Roloson, however, he would allow the winning goal as Carolina won the game 5–4. With Jussi Markkanen starting in game 2, the Hurricanes dominated the Oilers, winning the game 5–0. Edmonton would rebound in the 3rd game, playing their first home game in the Stanley Cup Finals since May 22, 1990, with a 2–1 victory, but the Hurricanes would take the 4th game 2–1 to take a commanding 3–1 series lead. The Oilers, facing elimination, would take the 5th game to overtime, and win the game by a 4–3 score to stay alive. The series returned to Edmonton for game 6, and the Oilers shutout Carolina 4–0, setting up a 7th game to determine the champion. The Hurricanes, led by goaltender Cam Ward, played a very solid defensive game, and hold the Oilers to a single goal, while the Hurricanes managed to put 3 behind Jussi Markkanen, to win their 1st Stanley Cup in club history.

Player stats
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T/OT = Ties/Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

 * Trades

*Later traded to the San Jose Sharks. **Later traded to the Colorado Avalanche. ***Later traded to the Los Angeles Kings. ****Later traded to the Atlanta Thrashers.


 * Free agents acquired


 * Free agents lost


 * Players re-signed

Draft picks
Edmonton's draft picks at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft