2000–01 Edmonton Oilers season

2000–01 Edmonton Oilers
Division	2nd Northwest
Conference	6th Western
2000–01 record	39–28–12–3
Home record	23–9–7–2
Road record	16–19–5–1
Goals for	243 (9th)
Goals against	222 (15th)
Team information
General manager	Kevin Lowe
Coach	Craig MacTavish
Captain	Doug Weight
Alternate captains	Mike Grier (Nov-Apr) Bill Guerin (Oct-Nov) Todd Marchant (Nov-Apr) Rem Murray (Nov-Apr) Jason Smith
Arena	Skyreach Centre
Average attendance	15,612 (91.3%)
Team leaders
Goals	Ryan Smyth (31)
Assists	Doug Weight (65)
Points	Doug Weight (90)
Penalty minutes	Georges Laraque (148)
Plus/minus	Eric Brewer (+15) Igor Ulanov (+15)
Wins	Tommy Salo (36)
Goals against average	Tommy Salo (2.46)

The 2000–01 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' 22nd season in the NHL, and they were coming off a 32–26–16–8 record in 1999–2000, earning 88 points, their highest point total since 1989–90, and making the playoffs for the 5th straight season. The Oilers would lose to the Dallas Stars in 5 games in the 1st round.

Off-season

During the off-season, GM Glen Sather announced he was leaving the club to become the general manager of the New York Rangers. Sather had been the Oilers general manager since the 1980–81 season, and helped build the teams dynasty of the 1980s, when Edmonton won 5 Stanley Cups in 7 years. Edmonton would replace Sather with Kevin Lowe, who was the teams head coach in 1999–2000, and they would name former Oilers player Craig MacTavish as the head coach of the team.

Regular season

Early in the season, the Oilers would trade Bill Guerin to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Anson Carter, and the Bruins 1st and 2nd round draft picks in the 2001 Draft. Guerin had earned 22 points in 21 games with Edmonton at the time, however, Carter would fit in nicely with the Oilers, earning 42 points in 61 games.

The highlight of the Oilers season was a 9 game winning streak in mid-February, which helped ensure the team make the playoffs for the 5th straight season. Edmonton would finish the year with 39 wins and 93 points, their highest totals since the 1987–88 season. They would finish in 6th spot in the Western Conference.

Offensively, Doug Weight would lead the club with 90 points, as he scored 25 goals and added 65 assist. Ryan Smyth would score a team high 31 goals, and added 39 assists to finish the year with 70 points. Janne Niinimaa would lead the defense with 12 goals and 46 points, while fellow blueliner Tom Poti would also score 12 goals, and finish with 32 points. Georges Laraque led the Oilers in penalty mintues with 148.

In goal, Tommy Salo would get the majority of action, winning a career high 36 games, along with a 2.46 GAA, and earning 8 shutouts.

The Oilers would open the playoffs against the Dallas Stars, making it the 5th straight year that the 2 clubs would face each other, including the 3rd straight time in the 1st round. The teams would split the first 2 games in Dallas, and then split the 2 games in Edmonton, with both games in Edmonton being decided in overtime. Game 5 also went into overtime, with Dallas winning the game 4–3, and taking a 3–2 series lead. Game 6 would return to Edmonton, and the Stars would hold off the Oilers and win the game 3–1 and the series 4–2, eliminating the Oilers for the 4th straight season.

Season standings

Northwest Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Colorado Avalanche	82	52	16	10	4	270	192	118
2	6	Edmonton Oilers	82	39	28	12	3	243	222	93
3	8	Vancouver Canucks	82	36	28	11	7	239	238	90
4	11	Calgary Flames	82	27	36	15	4	197	236	73
5	14	Minnesota Wild	82	25	39	13	5	168	210	68

Game log

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
1	October 6	Detroit Red Wings	1–2	Edmonton Oilers	1–0–0–0	2
2	October 7	Colorado Avalanche	1–1	Edmonton Oilers	1–0–1–0	3
3	October 10	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	Montreal Canadiens	1–1–1–0	3
4	October 11	Edmonton Oilers	4–3	Detroit Red Wings	2–1–1–0	5
5	October 13	Buffalo Sabres	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	3–1–1–0	7
6	October 15	Edmonton Oilers	5–3	Minnesota Wild	4–1–1–0	9
7	October 17	Boston Bruins	1–6	Edmonton Oilers	5–1–1–0	11
8	October 19	Toronto Maple Leafs	4–1	Edmonton Oilers	5–2–1–0	11
9	October 22	Phoenix Coyotes	3–3	Edmonton Oilers	5–2–2–0	12
10	October 25	Atlanta Thrashers	3–1	Edmonton Oilers	5–3–2–0	12
11	October 27	Edmonton Oilers	2–3	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	5–4–2–0	12
12	October 28	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	Colorado Avalanche	5–5–2–0	12
13	October 30	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	3–5	Edmonton Oilers	6–5–2–0	14
14	November 1	Calgary Flames	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	7–5–2–0	16
15	November 3	Minnesota Wild	0–3	Edmonton Oilers	8–5–2–0	18
16	November 5	Edmonton Oilers	4–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	9–5–2–0	20
17	November 7	Edmonton Oilers	3–4	New York Rangers	9–6–2–0	20
18	November 9	Edmonton Oilers	0–2	Philadelphia Flyers	9–7–2–0	20
19	November 11	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	Pittsburgh Penguins	9–8–2–0	20
20	November 12	Edmonton Oilers	5–4	Minnesota Wild	10–8–2–0	22
21	November 14	St. Louis Blues	0–3	Edmonton Oilers	11–8–2–0	24
22	November 17	Chicago Blackhawks	3–3	Edmonton Oilers	11–8–3–0	25
23	November 19	Calgary Flames	0–2	Edmonton Oilers	12–8–3–0	27
24	November 22	Edmonton Oilers	3–4	Toronto Maple Leafs	12–9–3–0	27
25	November 23	Edmonton Oilers	5–3	Ottawa Senators	13–9–3–0	29
26	November 25	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	14–9–3–0	31
27	November 29	Montreal Canadiens	3–2	Edmonton Oilers	14–10–3–0	31
28	December 2	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	Vancouver Canucks	14–11–3–0	31
29	December 3	San Jose Sharks	3–3	Edmonton Oilers	14–11–4–0	32
30	December 6	Nashville Predators	0–4	Edmonton Oilers	15–11–4–0	34
31	December 9	Los Angeles Kings	4–2	Edmonton Oilers	15–12–4–0	34
32	December 13	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	Dallas Stars	15–13–4–0	34
33	December 14	Edmonton Oilers	6–2	Nashville Predators	16–13–4–0	36
34	December 16	Edmonton Oilers	0–4	Washington Capitals	16–14–4–0	36
35	December 18	Edmonton Oilers	3–4	Detroit Red Wings	16–14–4–1	37
36	December 20	Vancouver Canucks	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	17–14–4–1	39
37	December 22	Edmonton Oilers	1–1	Calgary Flames	17–14–5–1	40
38	December 27	Edmonton Oilers	2–3	Colorado Avalanche	17–15–5–1	40
39	December 28	Edmonton Oilers	2–2	San Jose Sharks	17–15–6–1	41
40	December 30	Montreal Canadiens	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	18–15–6–1	43
41	January 1	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	St. Louis Blues	18–16–6–1	43
42	January 3	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	Columbus Blue Jackets	18–17–6–1	43
43	January 5	Edmonton Oilers	2–1	Chicago Blackhawks	19–17–6–1	45
44	January 7	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–4	Edmonton Oilers	20–17–6–1	47
45	January 10	Nashville Predators	5–2	Edmonton Oilers	20–18–6–1	47
46	January 12	Vancouver Canucks	3–2	Edmonton Oilers	20–19–6–1	47
47	January 14	Ottawa Senators	1–4	Edmonton Oilers	21–19–6–1	49
48	January 16	Edmonton Oilers	2–1	Nashville Predators	22–19–6–1	51
49	January 18	Edmonton Oilers	1–4	St. Louis Blues	22–20–6–1	51
50	January 20	Detroit Red Wings	1–2	Edmonton Oilers	23–20–6–1	53
51	January 22	San Jose Sharks	2–2	Edmonton Oilers	23–20–7–1	54
52	January 24	Edmonton Oilers	1–6	San Jose Sharks	23–21–7–1	54
53	January 26	Phoenix Coyotes	1–1	Edmonton Oilers	23–21–8–1	55
54	January 30	Edmonton Oilers	5–3	Calgary Flames	24–21–8–1	57
55	January 31	Chicago Blackhawks	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	25–21–8–1	59
56	February 7	Edmonton Oilers	2–3	Dallas Stars	25–22–8–1	59
57	February 9	Edmonton Oilers	0–2	Phoenix Coyotes	25–23–8–1	59
58	February 12	Edmonton Oilers	6–3	Los Angeles Kings	26–23–8–1	61
59	February 14	Edmonton Oilers	3–3	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	26–23–9–1	62
60	February 16	New York Islanders	4–2	Edmonton Oilers	26–24–9–1	62
61	February 17	Vancouver Canucks	6–5	Edmonton Oilers	26–24–9–2	63
62	February 20	Los Angeles Kings	0–5	Edmonton Oilers	27–24–9–2	65
63	February 24	Edmonton Oilers	3–1	Calgary Flames	28–24–9–2	67
64	February 25	Dallas Stars	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	29–24–9–2	69
65	February 28	St. Louis Blues	3–5	Edmonton Oilers	30–24–9–2	71
66	March 2	Minnesota Wild	1–3	Edmonton Oilers	31–24–9–2	73
67	March 7	Toronto Maple Leafs	0–4	Edmonton Oilers	32–24–9–2	75
68	March 9	Edmonton Oilers	4–0	Buffalo Sabres	33–24–9–2	77
69	March 11	Edmonton Oilers	3–2	Carolina Hurricanes	34–24–9–2	79
70	March 13	Edmonton Oilers	5–4	Tampa Bay Lightning	35–24–9–2	81
71	March 14	Edmonton Oilers	2–2	Florida Panthers	35–24–10–2	82
72	March 17	New Jersey Devils	6–5	Edmonton Oilers	35–24–10–3	83
73	March 19	Philadelphia Flyers	4–2	Edmonton Oilers	35–25–10–3	83
74	March 21	Edmonton Oilers	7–0	Los Angeles Kings	36–25–10–3	85
75	March 24	Edmonton Oilers	4–7	Phoenix Coyotes	36–26–10–3	85
76	March 26	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–4	Edmonton Oilers	37–26–10–3	87
77	March 28	Colorado Avalanche	1–4	Edmonton Oilers	38–26–10–3	89
78	March 30	Dallas Stars	5–4	Edmonton Oilers	38–27–10–3	89
79	April 1	Edmonton Oilers	3–3	Chicago Blackhawks	38–27–11–3	90
80	April 2	Edmonton Oilers	3–5	Colorado Avalanche	38–28–11–3	90
81	April 4	Minnesota Wild	2–2	Edmonton Oilers	38–28–12–3	91
82	April 7	Edmonton Oilers	4–2	Vancouver Canucks	39–28–12–3	93

Playoffs

Dallas Stars 4, Edmonton Oilers 2

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 11	Edmonton Oilers	1–2	Dallas Stars	0–1
2	April 14	Edmonton Oilers	4–3	Dallas Stars	1–1
3	April 15	Dallas Stars	3–2	Edmonton Oilers	1–2
4	April 17	Dallas Stars	1–2	Edmonton Oilers	2–2
5	April 19	Edmonton Oilers	3–4	Dallas Stars	2–3
6	April 21	Dallas Stars	3–1	Edmonton Oilers	2–4

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Doug Weight	82	25	65	90	91
Ryan Smyth	82	31	39	70	58
Janne Niinimaa	82	12	34	46	90
Anson Carter	61	16	26	42	23
Todd Marchant	71	13	26	39	51

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	Save %	GAA
Tommy Salo	73	4364	36	25	12	179	8	.904	2.46
Joaquin Gage	5	260	2	2	0	15	0	.880	3.46
Dominic Roussel	8	348	1	4	0	21	0	.861	3.62

Playoffs

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Ryan Smyth	6	3	4	7	4
Doug Weight	6	1	5	6	17
Eric Brewer	6	1	5	6	2
Anson Carter	6	3	1	4	4
Mike Comrie	6	1	2	3	0

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	Save %	GAA
Tommy Salo	6	406	2	4	15	0	.920	2.22

Transactions

Trades

June 12, 2000	To Nashville Predators 5th round pick in 2000 - Matt Koalska	To Edmonton Oilers Patrick Cote
June 24, 2000	To New York Islanders Roman Hamrlik	To Edmonton Oilers Eric Brewer Josh Green 2nd round pick in 2000 - Brad Winchester
July 20, 2000	To Boston Bruins Kay Whitmore	To Edmonton Oilers Future considerations
November 15, 2000	To Boston Bruins Bill Guerin 1st round pick in 2001 - Shaone Morrisonn	To Edmonton Oilers Anson Carter 1st round pick in 2001 - Ales Hemsky 2nd round pick in 2001 - Doug Lynch Future considerations
December 18, 2000	To Montreal Canadiens Chad Kilger	To Edmonton Oilers Sergei Zholtok
January 12, 2001	To Nashville Predators Future considerations	To Edmonton Oilers Rory Fitzpatrick
March 13, 2001	To Pittsburgh Penguins Dan LaCouture	To Edmonton Oilers Sven Butenschon

Free agents

Player Former Team Contract Terms D Scott Ferguson Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 2 years, $0.77 million D Terran Sandwith Toronto Maple Leafs 1 year, F Domenic Pittis Buffalo Sabres 2 years, $0.65 million F Paul Healey Nashville Predators 1 year,

Player New Team F German Titov Mighty Ducks of Anaheim F Rob Murray Philadelphia Flyers F Michel Picard Philadelphia Flyers F Boyd Devereaux Detroit Red Wings F Alexander Selivanov Columbus Blue Jackets G Mike Minard Toronto Maple Leafs

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	17	Alexei Mikhnov	Ukraine	Yaroslavl Torpedo (Russia)
2	35	Brad Winchester	United States	University of Wisconsin–Madison Badgers (NCAA)
3	83	Alexander Lyubimov	Russia	Samara CSK VVS (Russia)
4	113	Lou Dickenson	Canada	Mississauga IceDogs (OHL)
5	152	Paul Flache	Canada	Brampton Battalion (OHL)
6	184	Shaun Norrie	Canada	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
7	211	Joe Cullen	United States	Colorado College Tigers (NCAA)
7	215	Matthew Lombardi	Canada	Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
8	247	Jason Platt	United States	Omaha Lancers (USHL)
9	274	Evgeny Muratov	Russia	Ak Bars Kazan (Russia)

References

• SHRP Sports
• The Internet Hockey Database
• National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007

Notes