For as many great skaters as the Edmonton Oilers have had in franchise history, their netminders haven’t been nearly as good.



This is a four-part series looking at the four best players in team history from the four positions: Wingers, Centres, Defencemen, and Goaltenders. In this article, we’ll look at the Mount Rushmore of Oilers netminders, as well as some honourable mentions.

Let’s dig in!
<h2>Grant Fuhr</h2>
Grant Fuhr is easily the best netminder in Edmonton Oilers’ history. They selected the netminder eighth overall in the 1981 draft and like many players from the Oilers’ dynasty, Fuhr won five cups with the team before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs before the start of the 1991-92 season.

Overall, Fuhr finished with an .883 save percentage and a 3.69 goals-against average in 423 games with the franchise. Moreover, he finished with a 226-117-54 record. While the save percentage and goals-against average may be very poor for our time, it was a different era of hockey where goals were plentiful.

https://twitter.com/VintageOilers/status/1839883496933994559

For example, Fuhr won the 1987-88 Vezina Trophy thanks to an .881 save percentage and a 3.43 goals-against average. This was the only time in franchise history an Oiler has won the award.

Fuhr was a great playoff performer as well. In nine postseason runs with the Oilers, he finished with an .896 save percentage and a 3.05 goals-against average, along with a 74-32 record in 111 games played. Although he was on the roster for all five of the Oilers’ Stanley Cups, he was injured for their final Stanley Cup in 1990.

He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, alongside Glenn Anderson, before the start of the 1991-92 season. It’s safe to say the dynasty came to an end at this time, as Mark Messier, Steve Smith, Charlie Huddy, and Jari Kurri all departed the team around this time.

Post trade, Fuhr played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and Calgary Flames, posting an .891 save percentage and a 3.08 goals-against average in 445 games played. He also amassed a 177-178-60 record in 445 games played.
<h2>Curtis Joseph</h2>
From undrafted to one of the best goalies in team history, Curtis Joseph’s three seasons with the Oilers were incredibly impactful.

The Keswick, Ontario native got his start with the St. Louis Blues, posting a .907 save percentage and a 3.04 goals-against average in 280 games played from the 1989-90 season until the 1994-95 season. In early August 1995, the Oilers traded a 1996 first-round pick (Marty Reasoner, who later played for the Oilers) and a 1997 first-round pick (Matt Zultek) to the Blues for the netminder.

Edmonton had issues signing Joseph, leaving him to play in the International Hockey League for 15 games before the Oilers came to their senses. Afterwards, Joseph had an .886 save percentage and a 3.44 goals-against average in 34 games.

The reason why Joseph is on this list though, was thanks to his 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. Between those two seasons, the netminder had a .906 save percentage and a 2.78 goals-against average, along with a 61-60-18 record in 143 games.

What Joseph is most well known for in Oiler Country is his playoff performances. Between the 1997 and 1998 postseason, Joseph had a .919 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average in 24 games, along with a 10-14 record. This included a terrific opening round against the Dallas Stars in 1997, featuring the incredible save in Game 7’s overtime.

https://twitter.com/VintageOilers/status/1784800010678464964

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The thing is, he made another fantastic save in Game 7 of the opening round in 1998. After getting knocked down below the goal line, Joseph scrambled back to his crease, overslid the net, but reached back with the paddle and robbed the Colorado Avalanche forward. The stakes were a bit lower as the Oilers were up 3-0 midway through the game, but holy moly, what a save.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j9Y-N2qGh8&amp;ab_channel=HockeyVintage

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Sadly, Joseph signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs after the conclusion of the 1997-98 season. Over the course of his career, he spent parts of five seasons with the Maple Leafs (two different stints), a couple of seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and Phoenix Coyotes, and nine games with the Calgary Flames.
<h2>Dwayne Roloson</h2>
On Mar. 8, 2006, the Oilers occupied the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs, owning a three-point lead over the Anaheim Ducks. On that day, they traded a 2006 first-round pick (Trevor Lewis) and a 2007 conditional third-round pick (Spencer Machaeck) to the Minnesota Wild for Dwayne Roloson.

Roloson was undrafted, much like Joseph, and got a start with the Calgary Flames during the 1996-97 season. After two seasons south of Edmonton, he played two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, before ending up with the Minnesota Wild. In his fourth season with the Wild, Roloson had a .910 save percentage and 3 goals-against average in 24 games played, mainly serving as Manny Fernandez’s backup, before the Oilers traded for him.

Like Joseph, Roloson only had a brief tenure with the Oilers, but it was incredibly impactful. Ending the season with the 2005-06 season with the Oilers, Roloson finished with a .905 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average in 19 games, along with an 8-7-4 record.

However, it’s what he did in the postseason that puts him on Edmonton’s Mount Rushmore for netminders. Roloson put up easily the best goaltending performance for a single postseason run, rocking a .927 save percentage and a 2.33 goals-against average in 18 games. Moreover, he had a 12-5, but was injured in the Stanley Cup Finals in Game 1.

https://twitter.com/VintageOilers/status/1788781045237809513

If not for this injury, it’s a very real possibility that the Oilers would have six Stanley Cups instead of five, and Roloson was a big reason for them making it as far as they did as the eighth-seed.

Over his next three seasons with the Oilers, Roloson had a .909 save percentage and a 2.83 goals-against average in 174 games, along with a 70-75-20 record. He departed Edmonton after rejecting a one-year, $3 million deal and signed with the New York Islanders.

Over the next three seasons, Roloson had a .904 save percentage and a 3.01 goals-against average in 144 games played, along with a 60-59-15 record. Fun fact, he was also the last player born in the 1960’s to play in the National Hockey League.
<h2>Stuart Skinner</h2>
Throughout this series, we’ve looked at at least one current Oiler in this Mount Rushmore. Zach Hyman was featured in the wingers article, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were featured in the centres article, and Evan Bouchard was featured in the defence article. There’s an argument that Stuart Skinner’s short tenure as an Oiler also deserves to be featured here.

Selected in the third round of the 2017 draft, Skinner played a game for the 2020-21 Oilers, before filling in as the team’s backup in 2021-22. That season, he played 13 games while Mike Smith was injured, posting a .913 save percentage and a 2.62 goals-against average with a 6-6-0 record.

After Mike Smith’s retirement, Skinner became the team’s starter despite shelling out $25 million for five seasons (it ended up being two) of Jack Campbell. In 2022-23, Skinner had a .914 save percentage and a 2.73 goals-against average in 50 games, along with a 29-14-5 record.

Skinner had a horrendous start to his 2023-24, posting an .865 save percentage in the team’s first 13 games. However, after a coaching change, Skinner had a .916 save percentage and a 32-9-4 record from Nov. 24 until the end of the season, giving him a .905 save percentage and a 2.62 goals-against average in 59 games played last season.

https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1803222876020990284

On a surface level, his .901 save percentage and 2.45 goals-against average last postseason wasn’t great, but the save percentage is weighed down heavily by three games. In the first three games of the second round, Skinner allowed 12 goals on 58 shots for a .793 save percentage, but removing those three games from a sample size of 23 games, Skinner had a .913 save percentage.

The 25-year-old is the goaltender of the future and the 2024-25 season will be a big one for the netminder.
<h2>Honourable mentions</h2>
In this section, we’ll look at the goaltenders who didn’t make the cut. There are quite a few of them that could easily be on the team’s Mount Rushmore.
<h2>Andy Moog</h2>
Andy Moog was the first-ever netminder the Edmonton Oilers drafted, picking him in the seventh round of the 1980 draft. Through the dynasty years, he often served as the team’s backup, even as the team’s 1B to Grant Fuhr.

With the Oilers, Moog had an .886 save percentage and a 3.62 goals-against average in 235 games played, along with a 143-53-21 record. In the postseason, he had an .889 save percentage and a 3.14 goals-against average in 37 games, mainly as the team’s backup netminder.

https://twitter.com/VintageOilers/status/1246962310188433408

Moog won three Stanley Cups with the Oilers but was traded to the Boston Bruins at the 1988 trade deadline for Bill Ranford (we’ll get to him shortly). For the rest of his career, Moog has an .894 save percentage and a 2.91 goals-against average in 478 games with a 229-156-67 record. He spent six seasons in Boston, four with the Dallas Stars, and finished his career with the Montréal Canadiens.
<h2>Bill Ranford</h2>
Trading Moog to the Bruins allowed him to become a starter, but the Oilers also got a pretty good goalie in return. Ranford became a regular in 1986-87 for the Bruins, posting an .891 save percentage and a 3.34 goals-against average with the B’s.

In parts of 10 seasons with the Oilers, Ranford had an .888 save percentage and a 3.48 goals-against average in 396 games, along with a 150-169-46 record. This included a Conn Smyth-winning postseason, as he had a .912 save percentage and 2.53 goals-against average en route to the Oilers’ fifth and final Stanley Cup.

https://twitter.com/VintageOilers/status/1794207716749332831

The Oilers sent Ranford back to the Boston Bruins in Jan .1996 for Mariusz Czerkawski, a 1996 first-round pick (Matthieu Descoteaux) and rights to Sean Brown. For the next four seasons, Ranford had an .890 save percentage, playing with the Bruins, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Detroit Red Wings.

Prior to the beginning of the 1999-2000 season, Ranford returned to Edmonton as the team’s backup, posting an .885 save percentage and a 3.59 goals-against average in 16 games played. Thankfully, he retired as an Oiler.
<h2>Devan Dubnyk</h2>
The same case can’t be said for Devan Dubnyk. Selected 14th-overall in the 2004 draft, Dubnyk made his NHL debut in 2009-10, posting an .889 save percentage and a 3.57 goals-against average in 19 games.

However, his play drastically improved in 2010-11, as he had a .916 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average in 35 games played, with a 12-13-8 record. Dubnyk took over the starter’s role in 2011-12, finishing with a respectable .914 save percentage and a 2.67 goals-against average in 47 games, with a 20-20-3 record.

Dubnyk was a big reason the Edmonton Oilers were in a postseason spot in April during the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season. Overall, he finished the season with a .921 save percentage and a 2.57 goals-against average in 38 games (of 48 games). The Oilers really fumbled the bag the next season though, trading Dubnyk to the Nashville Predators for Matt Hendricks after he had an .894 save percentage and a 3.36 goals-against average in 32 games played.

Between the Arizona Coyotes and the Minnesota Wild in 2014-15, Dubnyk had a .929 save percentage and a 2.07 goals-against average, winning the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, finishing third in Vezina voting and fourth in Hart voting.

https://twitter.com/mnwild/status/591736773073502208

Post-trade, Dubnyk finished his career with a .916 save percentage and a 2.47 goals-against average in 369 games played, along with a 192-129-32 record. Almost like trading a Vezina-calibre goaltender for scraps wasn’t a great idea, leaving the Oilers with a gaping hole between the pipes for the foreseeable future. <a href="https://www.oilersnation.com/news/the-six-edmonton-oilers-goalies-of-the-2013-14-season">That led to quite a few poor trades, but you can read about that in this article here</a>.
<h2>Cam Talbot</h2>
The Oilers finally found a solution to their netminding situation at the 2015 draft, trading a 2015 second-round pick, a 2015 third-round pick, and a 2015 seventh-round pick to the New York Rangers for Cam Talbot. The second-round pick turned out to be Jonas Siegenthaler, the third was used to pick Sergey Zborovskiy, and the seventh was used to pick Adam Huska.

Talbot was successful in 2014-15 filling in when Henrik Lundqvist went down with an injury, posting a .926 save percentage and a 2.21 goals-against average in 36 games. He carried on the success with the Oilers in 2015-16, posting a .917 save percentage and a 2.55 goals-against average in 56 games played.

If you ask many people who the team’s MVP was in the 2016-17 season, a season where the Oilers finally made the postseason, most would say Connor McDavid, who finished with 100 points. I believe it’s Cam Talbot though, as the netminder finished with a .919 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average in 73 games played. An incredible workload with great results.

https://twitter.com/VintageOilers/status/1546358659550040064

The next season, he played 67 games and finished with a .908 save percentage and a 3.02 goals-against average. However, the Oilers failed to make the postseason, as was the case in 2018-19, when Talbot had an .893 save percentage and a 3.36 goals-against average in 31 games played. Prior to the 2019 trade deadline, Talbot was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for Anthony Stolarz.

Post-Oilers, Talbot has posted a save percentage of .910 in 202 games, along with a 108-66-18 record. He’s played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames (the same season he fought Mike Smith), Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, and Los Angeles Kings. Most recently, he signed a contract with the Detroit Red Wings.

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