Kicking off my series of my personal favorite Edmonton Oilers of All Time, I start with #10: Bill Guerin.
Guerin Recap
Bill Guerin was acquired way back in January of 1998. Guerin was a part of the 1995 Stanley Cup Winning New Jersey Devils. Guerin, along with one of the best names ever, Valeri Zelepukin were traded to the Edmonton Oilers for center Jason Arnott and Adam Muir. The trade was made due to a contract holdout with the Devils. Guerin was only 26 at the time of the deal, with the other big name, Jason Arnott, was only 25. On paper it was definitely a fair trade. Both players were having contract difficulties with their respective teams, which sadly would be a running theme of the Oilers pre 2005.
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- The Edmonton Oilers Biggest Rivalries: A Look Back
- The Top 5 Oilers Coaches in Team History
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As an Edmonton Oiler, Guerin truly came into his own as a player by reaching the 30 goal and 60 point mark for the first time in his career. Overall, Guerin would play in 211 games as an Oiler, scoring 79 goals and registering 161 points over parts of four seasons with Edmonton. Unfortunately, the running trend of costs would spell the end for Guerin in Edmonton as he was traded to the Boston Bruins in November 2000 for Anson Carter, A first round pick in 2001 (Ales Hemsky) and a second round draft pick in 2001 (Doug Lynch).
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Why Guerin?
Bill Guerin Upper Deck Edmonton Oilers Collection 2013-14.
Photo from Kris Hansen
Bill Guerin was one of those forwards as a nine year old kid that had a bit of everything to him. He had that grit, that toughness. He looked like that mean SOB that you would not want to get on his bad side. Looking back as an adult, Guerin turned out pretty well for the Edmonton Oilers. He was your prototypical Power Forward! Doug Weight and him had instant chemistry. One reason why I really liked Guerin was because he was part of the Jason Arnott trade. I was not a fan of Jason Arnott at all. I think I can thank my dad for that (remember, as a kid, you are probably going to be heavily influenced by your parents when it comes to sports.) While I’m an adult, there are certain attitudes towards players I still share with my father and Jason Arnott was one of them. I always felt as a kid, Arnott could of given more out there, that he was selfish as a player. Now again, as a kid, I cannot say that sentiment was warranted or not, but I was pretty pumped that we got rid of him for Bill Guerin and Zelepukin. Alas, I was pretty sad when Guerin was dealt early in Grade 6 and I was happy with Anson Carter. I remember wanting Guerin to excel in Boston and he did.
Even though he’s number 10 on my personal list, he’s number one when it comes to dancing.