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Mark Messier’s Trade Tree Between the New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers

By Conor Power

Mark Messier #11, Eric Lindros #88 of the New York Rangers. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images/NHLI)
Mark Messier #11, Eric Lindros #88 of the New York Rangers. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images/NHLI) /
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NEW YORK – CIRCA 1990: Grant Fuhr #1 of the Edmonton Oilers defends his goal against the New York Rangers during an NHL Hockey game circa 1990 at Madison Square Garden in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Fuhr’s playing career went from 1981-2000. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
NEW YORK – CIRCA 1990: Grant Fuhr #1 of the Edmonton Oilers defends his goal against the New York Rangers during an NHL Hockey game circa 1990 at Madison Square Garden in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Fuhr’s playing career went from 1981-2000. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Oilers Side

So, the Oilers got back Louie Debrusk, Bernie Nicholls, Steven Rice, and David Shaw. Starting with Louie DeBrusk because he was not traded.  DeBrusk spent 6 years in Edmonton, playing in 228 games, putting up 19 goals and 12 assists for 31 points. DeBrusk put up 797 penalty minutes in his time in Edmonton, proving he was more of the punch-you-in-the-face type of player than a scoring forward.

Moving onto the other player that was not traded in this deal, and that is Steven Rice. Rice played in 94 games as an Oiler, scoring 19 goals and 20 assists for 39 points. He had 66 penalty minutes proving again 1990s hockey had the tendency to be more like a brawl than a hockey game. Rice would go to Hartford and even follow the organization down to Carolina after relocation. Rice’s exit from Edmonton was an offer sheet, not a trade.

Let’s move on to David Shaw because this is going to become slightly nuts. A somewhat pleasing fact about Shaw is that he was traded everywhere he went in his career. From Quebec to New York, New York to Edmonton, Edmonton to Minnesota, Minnesota to Boston, Boston to Tampa, and Tampa to San Jose. He had 12 games as an Oilers scoring a goal and an assist, before he was flipped for Brian Glynn.

Glynn played in 89 games as an Oiler scoring six goals and 18 assists for 24 points. He was packaged and shipped off to the Ottawa Senators for a 1994 8th-round pick used on Rob Guinn. Guinn never made the NHL and was never dealt. On a darker note, Guinn was fatally wounded in a car accident in 2008. Taken from the hockey world far too young.

It’s difficult to move on from such a dark note, but Bernie Nicholls’ branch still needs to be discussed. Nicholls spent 95 games in Edmonton, scoring 28 goals and 61 assists for 89 points. Unlike a lot of other players on here, he was actually an offensive-minded player. Nicholls was flipped to the New Jersey Devils for Zdeno Ciger and Kevin Todd.

Ciger spent 204 games as an Oilers, netting 64 goals and 91 assists for 155 points. Good totals, but he would leave the league after the 1995-96 season. He tried to come back in 2001-02, but it just didn’t work. He wasn’t dealt by the Oilers, so this ends. As for Kevin Todd, he spent 25 games as an Oiler, scoring four goals and nine assists for 13 points. He was sent to the Chicago Blackhawks for Adam Bennett. Bennett played in 48 games, three goals and six assists, but wasn’t dealt.

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