2000–01 Edmonton Oilers season


The 2000–01 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' 22nd season in the NHL. They were coming off a 32–26–16–8 record in 1999–2000 earning 88 points, their highest point total since 1989–90. They made the playoffs for the fifth-straight season. The Oilers would lose to the Dallas Stars in six games in the first round.

Off-season

During the off-season, General Manager 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 replaced Sather with Kevin Lowe, who was the team's head coach in 1999–2000, and they named former Oilers player Craig MacTavish as the head coach of the team.

Regular season

Early in the season, the Oilers traded Bill Guerin to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Anson Carter and the Bruins' first two rounds of draft picks in 2001. Guerin had earned 22 points in 21 games with Edmonton at the time, though Carter immediately provided solid scoring for the Oilers, earning 42 points in 61 games.
The highlight of the Oilers season was a nine-game winning streak in mid-February, which helped ensure the team make the playoffs for the fifth-straight season. Edmonton finished the year with 39 wins and 93 points, their highest totals since the 1987–88 season. They finished in the sixth spot in the Western Conference.
Offensively, Doug Weight led the club with 90 points, scoring 25 goals and adding 65 assists. Ryan Smyth scored a team-high 31 goals and added 39 assists to finish the year with 70 points. Janne Niinimaa led the defense with 12 goals and 46 points, while fellow blueliner Tom Poti also scored 12 goals, finishing with 32 points. Georges Laraque led the Oilers in penalty minutes with 148.
In goal, Tommy Salo got the majority of action, winning a career-high 36 games, along with a 2.46 goals against average and earning eight shutouts.
The Oilers opened the playoffs against the Dallas Stars, making it the fifth-straight year that the two clubs would face each other, including the third-straight time in the first round. The teams split the first two games in Dallas, and then split the two 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 returned to Edmonton, and the Stars held off the Oilers and won the game 3–1 and the series 4–2, eliminating the Oilers for the fourth-straight season.

Season standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Player statistics

Regular season

;Scoring leaders
PlayerGPGAPtsPIM
Doug Weight8225659091
Ryan Smyth8231397058
Janne Niinimaa8212344690
Anson Carter6116264223
Todd Marchant7113263951

;Goaltending
PlayerGPMinWLTGASOSave %GAA
Tommy Salo7343643625121798.9042.46
Joaquin Gage5260220150.8803.46
Dominic Roussel8348140210.8613.62

Playoffs

;Scoring leaders
PlayerGPGAPtsPIM
Ryan Smyth63474
Doug Weight615617
Eric Brewer61562
Anson Carter63144
Mike Comrie61230

;Goaltending
PlayerGPMinWLGASOSave %GAA
Tommy Salo640624150.9202.22

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft
Round#PlayerNationalityCollege/Junior/Club Team
117Alexei MikhnovYaroslavl Torpedo
235Brad WinchesterUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison Badgers
383Alexander LyubimovSamara CSK VVS
4113Lou DickensonMississauga IceDogs
5152Paul FlacheBrampton Battalion
6184Shaun NorrieCalgary Hitmen
7211Joe CullenColorado College Tigers
7215Matthew LombardiVictoriaville Tigres
8247Jason PlattOmaha Lancers
9274Evgeny MuratovAk Bars Kazan

Roster