2006–07 Edmonton Oilers season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=2006–07
Team=Edmonton Oilers
Conference=Western
ConferenceRank=12th
Division=Northwest
DivisionRank=5th
Record=32–43–7
HomeRecord=19–19–3
RoadRecord=13–24–4
GoalsFor=195 (30th)
GoalsAgainst=248 (16th)
GeneralManager=Kevin Lowe
Coach=Craig MacTavish
Captain=Jason Smith
AltCaptain=Shawn Horcoff (Feb-Apr)
Ethan Moreau
Ryan Smyth (Oct-Feb)
Steve Staios (Feb-Apr)
Arena=Rexall Place
Attendance=16,839 (17th)
GoalsLeader=Ryan Smyth (31)
(Traded mid-season)
AssistsLeader=Ales Hemsky (40)
PointsLeader=Ryan Smyth (53)
Petr Sykora (53)
Ales Hemsky (53)
PlusMinusLeader=Daniel Tjarnqvist (+3)
PIMLeader=Matt Greene (109)
WinsLeader=Dwayne Roloson (27)
GAALeader=Dwayne Roloson (2.75)

The 2006–07 Edmonton Oilers season began on October 5, 2006. It was the Oilers' 34th season, 27th in the NHL. After making it to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, the club had a disappointing season, finishing out of the playoffs.

Prior to the season the club experience the stunning loss of star defenceman Chris Pronger. After helping the Oilers to the Stanley Cup final in the 2005–06 season, Pronger requested a trade due to personal reasons. In early July, Pronger was sent to the Anaheim Ducks for Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid and various draft picks. [ [http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=170401&hubname=nhl Edmonton deals Pronger to Anaheim] , tsn.ca, July 3, 2006, accessed March 11, 2007.]

Not only did Pronger leave, but another major acquisition from the previous season, Michael Peca, was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent. Despite the losses in personnel, the Oilers had a very strong start to the season, briefly propelling them to the top of the Northwest Division standings. The Oilers would slowly fall back of the pack however, finding themselves well out of a playoff spot by the trade deadline.

At the deadline, the Oilers again stunned the NHL by trading their leading scorer, and pending Unrestricted Free Agent, Ryan Smyth to the New York Islanders for two prospects and a first round draft pick. [ [http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=197922&hubname=nhl Oilers trade forward Smyth to Islanders] , tsn.ca, February 28, 2007, accessed March 11, 2007] Reports later indicated that Smyth and the Oilers were only $100,000 apart in contract negotiations when the Oilers chose to make the trade. [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=rotowire-yanmyth100000ifferen&prov=rotowire&type=fantasy Ryan Smyth: $100,000 Difference Led to Deal to Isles] , yahoo.com, March 2, 2007, accessed March 11, 2007.]

On the same night as the Smyth trade, the Oilers retired former captain Mark Messier's #11 sweater. The celebration of Messier also included having a street named after him in Edmonton. Oilers General Manager, and Messier's former teammate, Kevin Lowe was noticeably absent from the retirement ceremony. Messier won five Stanley Cups with the Oilers during his time in Edmonton. [ [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070227/Mark_messier_070227?s_name=&no_ads= Messier has No. 11 sweater retired by Oilers] , ctv.ca, February 27, 2007, accessed March 11, 2007.]

The Oilers set new marks in this season for both success and failure. Edmonton recorded its 1000th regular season win in the NHL on January 2, 2007, [Ciampa, Marc, [http://www.sportsline.com/nhl/gamecenter/recap/NHL_20070102_FLA@EDM Oilers beat Panthers to reach franchise's 1,000th victory] , CBSSportsline.com, January 3, 2007, accessed June 2, 2007.] while late in the season, the Oilers lost 12 consecutive games, a mark that surpassed Edmonton's record of 11, however the NHL does not now consider an overtime loss a true loss, thus does not officially break the franchise record for losses. [ [http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070324.wspt-oilers-avs-23/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20070324.wspt-oilers-avs-23 Oilers snap 12-game winless streak] , globesports.com, accessed March 28, 2007] [Jones, Terry, [http://www.edmontonsun.com/Sports/Oilers/2007/03/19/3782242-sun.html The losing streak ends at nine!] , edmontonsun.com, March 19, 2007, accessed March 28, 2007.]

In May 2007, Daryl Katz offered $145 million towards the purchase of the team. Sources close to the Edmonton Journal state that, as part of the deal, the team will remain in Edmonton. [ [http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/story.html?id=7b24ec0d-34f9-4afd-bd42-0c388284ea8d&k=15071 Katz bids to buy Oilers ] ] No negotiations took place as the owners immediately responded that the Oilers were not for sale. [ [http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=204174 SportingNews.com - Your expert source for NHL Hockey stats, scores, standings, blogs and fantasy news from NHL Hockey columnists ] ]

Regular season

eason standings

December

Record for month 5–9–0 (Home 2–4–0 Away 3–5–0)

March

Record: 1–12–1; Home: 1–7–1; Road: 0–5–0^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Edmonton. Stats reflect time with the Oilers only.
^‡Denotes player traded mid-season

Goaltenders

"Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average"
valign="top"

References

*Game log: [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/teams/schedule?team=edm Edmonton Oilers game log] on espn.com
*Team standings: [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/standings NHL standings] on espn.com
*Player Stats: [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/teams/stats?team=edm Edmonton Oilers 2006–07 Reg. Season Stats] on espn.com
*Draft Picks: 2006 NHL Entry Draft

Goaltenders:

hockey team player|no=30|name=Markkanen•

Defensemen

hockey team player|no=2|name=Greene•hockey team player|no=5|name=Smid•hockey team player|no=21|name=Smith•hockey team player|no=24|name=Staios•hockey team player|no=25|name=Hejda•hockey team player|no=29|name=Tjarnqvist•hockey team player|no=36|name=Roy•hockey team player|no=40|name=Syvret•hockey team player|no=60|name=Bisaillon•hockey team player|no=76|name=Young•

Forwards

hockey team player|no=10|name=Horcoff•hockey team player|no=12|name=Nilsson•hockey team player|no=14|name=Torres•hockey team player|no=15|name=Lupul•hockey team player|no=16|name=Stoll•hockey team player|no=18|name=Moreau•hockey team player|no=19|name=Reasoner•hockey team player|no=20|name=Petersen•hockey team player|no=22|name=Jacques•hockey team player|no=26|name=Winchester•hockey team player|no=28|name=Thoresen•hockey team player|no=33|name=Schremp•hockey team player|no=34|name=Pisani•hockey team player|no=46|name=Stortini•hockey team player|no=78|name=Pouliot•hockey team player|no=83|name=Hemsky•