9 goalies you forgot played for Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have had a strange history between the pipes.
For a franchise approaching its 50th season in the NHL, there has been a considerable lack of consistency at the goaltending position.
The highs have been astronomical, with superstars Grant Fuhr and Curtis Joseph tending goal in Edmonton at times, and the likes of Bill Ranford, Tommy Salo, and Dwayne Roloson sprinkled here and there.
However, the norm over the past 30 years has been, more or less, plagued by mediocrity at the position. The Oilers haven’t had a bona fide superstar goalie since Joseph last appeared with Edmonton during the 1997-98 season.
That’s a long time to go without a big name at the position, and it’s caused the organization to go through a lot of different goaltenders. So many, in fact, that some names may have slipped the mind of your average Oilers fan.
In the spirit of the offseason, let’s take a trip down memory lane and take a look at nine goalies you likely forgot ever suited up for the Oilers…
1. Fred Brathwaite
Oilers stats: 40 GP, 5-17-4, .885 SV%
Seasons in Edmonton: 1993-94 to 1995-96
Fred Brathwaite may be a popular name down the QE2 for his time with the Calgary Flames, but he actually got his start in Edmonton.
He spent parts of three disappointing seasons with the Oilers in the mid-1990s before toiling in the AHL for a few seasons. Brathwaite re-emerged with the Flames in the 1998-99 season and put forth a few decent statistical seasons.
2. Ilya Bryzgalov
Perry Nelson/Imagn Images
Oilers stats: 20 GP, 5-8-5, .908 SV%
Seasons in Edmonton: 2013-14
The decade of darkness Oilers left a graveyard of goaltenders in its wake, and the most bizarre of that bunch has to be Ilya Bryzgalov.
At the time, the quirky Russian goaltender was once one of the NHL’s best, but a few terrible years with the Philadelphia Flyers led to Bryzgalov being bought out at the end of the 2012-13 season.
The Oilers opted to give him a chance, signing him to a one-year deal midseason. Bryz put up okay numbers and was eventually flipped to the Minnesota Wild at the 2014 trade deadline.
3. Bob Essensa
Oilers stats: 74 GP, 22-28-7, .904 SV%
Seasons in Edmonton: 1996-97 to 1998-99
Bob Essensa is best-known for his work with the Winnipeg Jets, but he also put in three campaigns in Edmonton.
Essensa was reaching the twilight of his career and settled into the backup role behind Joseph. His totals were just fine, but nothing to write home about. Though the Oilers made the playoffs all three years Essensa was there, he only made one postseason relief appearance.
4. Viktor Fasth
Marc DesRosiers/Imagn Images
Oilers stats: 33 GP, 9-18-4, .894 SV%
Seasons in Edmonton: 2013-14 to 2014-15
Viktor Fasth was another short-lived experiment of the decade of darkness.
He was initially brought in as a trade deadline acquisition from the Anaheim Ducks in 2014. Fasth had struggled to stick at the NHL level but was putting up decent stats in the AHL. Edmonton gambled on the Swede to help stabilize goaltending, but it didn’t work out.
Fasth struggled to adapt and was out of the league after just 33 games with the Oilers.
5. Jonas Gustavsson
Marc DesRosiers/Imagn Images
Oilers stats: 7 GP, 1-3-1, .878 SV%
Seasons in Edmonton: 2016-17
It’s easy to forget that the Oilers opened Rogers Place with a tandem of Cam Talbot and Jonas Gustavsson on the bench.
Talbot was the obvious starter, and Gustavsson was brought in as a pure backup. However, even that proved to be too much for “The Monster,” and he found himself demoted to the AHL and returned to Sweden the following year.
6. Nikolai Khabibulin
Kelvin Kuo/Imagn Images
Oilers stats: 117 GP, 33-67-14, .903 SV%
Seasons in Edmonton: 2009-10 to 2012-13
Nikolai Khabibulin was one of the league’s most established goaltenders when he inked a four-year deal with the Oilers in 2009.
The Russian netminder was seen as a major addition to a young Oilers squad trying to punch above their weight, but things did not pan out as expected. Edmonton took a massive step backward with Khabibulin between the pipes and finished dead-last in the NHL during his first season.
The rest of his tenure would be plagued with injuries and inconsistent play.
7. Anders Nilsson
Perry Nelson/Imagn Images
Oilers stats: 26 GP, 10-12-2, .901 SV%
Seasons in Edmonton: 2015-16
Anders Nilsson stole away the Oilers starting job from Talbot in his one season in Edmonton.
During Connor McDavid’s rookie season, Talbot was expected to be handed the torch, but that was delayed by an upstart Nilsson. The Swede pounced on early struggles from Talbot and vaulted up the depth chart with some okay-to-decent performances.
Edmonton opted to capitalize on his value, flipping Nilsson to the Blues at the 2016 trade deadline.
8. Anthony Stolarz
Perry Nelson/Imagn Images
Oilers stats: 6 GP, 0-2-0, .897 SV%
Seasons in Edmonton: 2018-19
When Talbot’s play started to slip, the Oilers opted to trade him to the Philadelphia Flyers for a young Anthony Stolarz.
Edmonton, however, wasn’t all that interested in giving Stolarz much of a chance. He appeared in just six games before being allowed to walk into free agency. Little did the Oilers know Stolarz would defeat them in the Stanley Cup Final, backing up for the Florida Panthers in 2024.
He then went on to become a starting goalie with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
9. Ron Tugnutt
Oilers stats: 29 GP, 10-13-2, .877 SV%
Seasons in Edmonton: 1991-92 to 1992-93
Ron Tugnutt spent 16 years in the NHL, and a few of those came with the Oilers.
Though he is much better known for his tenure with the Quebec Nordiques and Ottawa Senators, he spent two seasons in between with Edmonton. It wasn’t a memorable stint, as Tugnutt played second fiddle to Ranford. It was also the start of the first dark ages for the franchise.
He would eventually be claimed by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks during their 1993 expansion draft.