gold star for USAHOF

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023-24 revision of our top 50 Edmonton Oilers.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Edmonton made it to the Stanley Cup Finals but could not win it, falling in seven to the Florida Panthers.  We had two new entrants to the Top 50 and multiple elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which saw some significant changes:

1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Connor McDavid
3. Mark Messier
4. Jari Kurri
5. Leon Draisaitl

You can find the entire list here.

Regarding the top five, Connor McDavid added the Conn Smythe to his list of trophies.  He overtook Mark Messier for the second spot.  Leon Draisaitl also enters the top five, by passing Paul Coffey for that spot.

Forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins moved one spot to #12.

Defenseman Darnell Nurse advanced five spots to #15.

Defenseman Evan Bouchard makes his first appearance at #35.

The second debut was Zach Hyman, who entered at #37.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Edmonton Oilers.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Edmonton made it to the Second Round of the playoffs where they were knocked out by the eventual champions, Vegas.  There are no new entrants on the Top 50, but four players increased their rank.

As always, we present our top five, which saw one change:

1. Wayne Gretzky

2. Mark Messier

3. Connor McDavid

4. Jari Kurri

5. Paul Coffey

You can find the entire list here.

Last year, McDavid had the best season of his life, and doesn’t that say something?  He won his third Hart, fifth Art Ross, sixth First Team All-Star, first Rocket Richard Award and set personal highs in Goals (64), Assists (89) and Points (153).

Leon Draisaitl continues his climb, moving from #7 to #6.

Fresh off his first 100-Point year, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins advanced to #13 from #16.

Defenseman, Darnell Nurse, moved to #20 from #24.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

36. Jari Kurri

Jari Kurri was one of the legends in Edmonton in the 1980s, winning five Stanley Cups with the Oilers and earning five post-season All-Star Selections.  Kurri returned to Europe after the fifth Cup win, but on May 30, 1991, his rights were traded twice, first to Philadelphia, who subsequently dealt him to Los Angeles to reunite him with Wayne Gretzky, and just like that, Kurri was ready to return to North America.

Kurri was not the explosive player he once was but was still an above-average Right Wing.  Playing for L.A. for four-and-a-half years, Kurri averaged .89 Points per Game, and was an All-Star in 1993, the same year the Kings went to the Stanley Cup Finals.  That year he scored 87 Points, his best with Los Angeles.  He left L.A. when he was traded to the New York Rangers, where coincidentally, he again joined a former Oiler legend, Mark Messier.

Kurri was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Edmonton Oilers. 

Debuting as the Alberta Oilers in 1972 in the World Hockey Association, they would exchange the Alberta for Edmonton after one year.  The Oilers were an original WHA team, who would be one of four franchises that would be absorbed into the NHL in 1979.  When they joined the NHL, they had a young Wayne Gretzky in tow, and after drafting players like Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier and Grant Fuhr, a dynasty occurred that would win four Stanley Cups in the 1980s and one in 1990.  Since that time, they made the Finals once in 2006.  

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NHL.

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

This list is updated up until the end of the 2018-19 Season.

The complete list can be found here, but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are:

1. Wayne Gretzky

2. Mark Messier

3. Jari Kurri

4. PaulCoffey

5. GrantFuhr

We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.  

Look for or All-Time Top 50 Colorado Avalanche coming next!

As always we thank you for your support.

4. Jari Kurri

Before there was Teemu Selanne, there was Jari Kurri, the original "Finnish Flash."  Kurri is arguably the first real hockey megastar from Finland, and on a line with Wayne Gretzky, his talents were able to shine.

For our purposes, this is actually big news.

To enter the Hockey Hall of Fame you have to receive 14 votes out of 18 from the Hockey Hall of Fame Committee, so when three of them are replaced, it stands to reason that we here at Notinhalloffame.com are interested in knowing who it is.

Hall of Fame inductees, Jari Kurri and Ron Francis have been chosen to be a part of the selection committee.  Kurri is currently the General Manager of Jokerit, a Finnish club in the KHL and Francis is the Vice President and the General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes. 

The third man selection is TSN hockey insider, Bob McKenzie, a well known fixture on NHL broadcasts for the Canadian sports flagship network. 

The trip replaces Lanny McDonald, another Hall of Famer, who has stepped down to take over as the Chairman of the Board for the Hall.  The other two replaced are American broadcaster, Mike Emrick and Hall of Fame inductee, Peter Stastny, both of which served their three year terms on the committee.

It is worth noting that TSN’s Michael Farber, Toronto Globe and Mail columnist, Eric Duhatschek and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Bill Torrey had their three year terms renewed and will continue on the committee.

The other 12 members of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee are:

John Davidson, a former goalie and the current President of Hockey Operations for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Scotty Bowman, a 14 time Stanley Cup winner as a coach or executive.

David Branch, the Commissioner of the OHL.

Brian Burke, the President of Hockey Operations for the Calgary Flames.

Colin Campbell, the Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations for the National Hockey League.

Marc de Foy, a columnist for Le Journal de Montreal.

Mike Gartner, a Hockey Hall of Famer.

Anders Hedberg, a former NHL player and Swedish star and executive.

Igor Larionov, a Hockey Hall of Famer and former Soviet star.

David Polie, the President of Business Operations and General Mnager of the Nashville Predators.

Luc Robitaille, a Hockey Hall of Famer and the President of Business Operations with the Los Angeles Kings.



With no clear cut Hall of Fame inductees for next year, this could be the opportunity for players like Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya, Dave Andreychuk and Sergei Makarov to get the call after years of waiting on the ballot.

These eighteen men will decide the next class in June of next year, and clearly it will be the most interesting one yet!

Over the last few months, we here at Notinhalloffame.com have been so focused on other endeavors at the site, that we neglected to tell you about the continuing opportunity fro you to cast your opinion on existing Hockey Hall of Famers.

With that in mind, we here at Notinhhalloffame.com have expended greatly to allow you to vote on Hockey Hall of Fame inductees from 1999-2001.

The Players/Builders from that existing time frame include:

The 1999 Hockey Hall of Fame Class:

Scott Morrison, the former President and the CEO of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Wayne Gretzky, “The Great One” who is considered to be the finest hockey player of all time.

The 2000 Hockey Hall of Fame Class:

Denis Savard, a long time Chicago Blackhawk and seven time All Star who would win a Stanley Cup with Montreal.

Joe Mullen, a three time Stanley Cup Champion, two time Lady Byng Trophy recipient and former First Team All NHL Team.

Walter Bush, who helped bring the NHL to Minnesota, women’s hockey to the Olympics and was the president of U.S. Hockey for nearly twenty years.

The 2001 Hockey Hall of Fame Class:

Craig Patrick, a decent player in his own right but was known for his administrative prowess with the Pittsburgh Penguins earning two Stanley Cup Rings.

Dale Hawerchuk, a former Calder Trophy winner and five time All Star with the original Winnipeg Jets.

Jari Kurri, a Finnish born superstar with the Edmonton Oilers and five time Stanley Cup Champion.

Mike Gartner, a durable forward and seven time NHL All Star. 

Viachevslev Fetisov, a three time Stanley Cup winner with the Detroit Red Wings and a two Time Gold Medalist with the Soviet Union.

I think you know what we are looking for you to do!

When your time permits, take a look at this group and let us know if their Hall of Fame inductions are justified!



Jari Kurri

Jari Kurri was not the first player from Finland to grace a National Hockey rink, but he did become the first superstar from his Scandinavian country. Kurri had the fortune of being selected by the Edmonton Oilers and he was immediately paired with Wayne Gretzky; where they helped each other dominate the stat sheet. The original “Finnish Flash” hit the 100 point mark six times and finished two shy of 1,400 in his career. Kurri also captured the Goals title in 1986, an incredible feat considering the loaded offensive talent in the 1980’s. What Kurri did not always get credit for was his defensive ability. Which was naturally overlooked on those powerhouse Oilers teams. This two dimensional player also won the Lady Byng in 1985. Jari Kurri became the first Finnish player into the Hockey Hall of Fame.