Welcome back to the fifth edition of this series, one in which ranks the best five players of each position in Edmonton Oilers franchise history. To this point, the list has covered all the forward positions, as well as the defencemen.
Like the others, this list includes some high-class players, including a Hall-of-Famer. Let’s take a look at who made the cut.
5. Dwayne Roloson
During the 2005-06 season, the Edmonton Oilers had a fairly talented team, but were often losing games as a result of poor goaltending. Then general manager Kevin Lowe addressed that problem by acquiring Dwayne Roloson from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a first-round pick as well as a conditional third-round pick.
The trade worked out fantastically, as Roloson carried the Edmonton Oilers all the way to the Stanley Cup Final that very season. Unfortunately, he was injured in Game 1 of the Cup final versus the Carolina Hurricanes and was forced to miss the remainder of the series.
Roloson spent three more seasons in an Oilers uniform, and despite the team not qualifying for the postseason in any of them, he was able to play quite well throughout. After the 2008-09 season, he signed as a free agent with the New York Islanders, whom he spent parts of two seasons with. He then went on to play parts of two seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning before announcing his retirement after the 2011-12 season.
Roloson’s 193 games as an Oiler rank sixth all time in franchise history, as do his 78 wins. Over that span he was able to post a respectable 2.78 goals against average (GAA) along with a .909 save percentage (SV%). He will forever be remembered in Edmonton for his fantastic play during the 2006 playoffs.