Post-season heroes come in all forms from the star player to the unknown fourth-liner. We all know the exploits of the great playoff performers. However, we hardly hear about the unlikely playoff heroes. These unlikely post-season stars can contribute in many ways. Contributions could be for an entire playoff run, a series, a game or even a goal. These unlikely heroes have made big plays that no one expects. This series looks at all of these unknown stars. These are the unlikely Edmonton Oilers playoff heroes.
Edmonton Oilers Playoff Heroes
Fernando Pisani
Before the Moment
Fernando Pisani was selected 195th overall by Edmonton Oilers in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Pisani would make his NHL debut in the 2002-03 season, at the age of 26. His season would be split between the Oilers’ AHL affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs and the Edmonton Oilers. He played 35 games with the Oilers that season eight goals and five assists for 13 points. The following two seasons would earn him a full-time job in the NHL. While playing 156 games combined between 2003-2005, he would score a combined 34 goals and 33 assists over the course of the two seasons. In the 2005-06 season, he would register 18 goals to record a career-high. This would be the final year of his 700k contract.
The Moment
Admittedly, no prediction of the performance Pisani was about to put on during the Edmonton Oilers playoff run could have been foreseeable. It all started in the Western Quarter-Finals against the President Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings. Pisani began the post-season by surprise, registering five goals and also recording an assist in the six games. He would score the tying goal in Game 6 with back-to-back goals in the third period, helping Edmonton’s victory in the series against the Wings. Pisani would cool down in the semi-finals with only two goals. One of them would come clutch, being the game-winner that helped the Oilers accomplish a 3-2 series lead against the San Jose Sharks. More magic would be on display by the unsung hero in the Western Conference Final against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, as he would bury the game-winner in Game 3. The Pisani show would continue into the Stanley Cup Finals, scoring the overtime winner in Game 5.
Apart from not capturing Lord Stanley, Pisani would score five goals and earn one helper in the finals. He also lead the playoffs in goals with 14, with five of those being game-winners. Only Sidney Crosby (2009) and Alex Ovechkin (2018) have scored more goals than Pisani during a Stanley Cup Playoff run since 2006.
The Aftermath
Fernando Pisani would sign a four deal worth 10 million dollars that following summer after Edmonton’s 2005-06 Stanley Cup run. He would finish out his contract with the Edmonton Oilers. The left-wingers’ performance would decline quickly in the following years to come. His final year in the NHL would be the 2010-11 season with the Chicago Blackhawks. Pisani would sign a one-year deal worth 500k and play 60 games only recording 16 points.
Petr Klima
Before the Moment
Petr Klima was a Czech born player known for wearing the unusually odd helmet. Klima was drafted in 1983 by Detroit, being picked 86th overall (fifth round). Klima would be joined in the honourable mentions for the Calder Trophy in his first season which saw him produce 32 goals and 24 assists for 56 points. However, it would not good enough as Gary Suter would go on to win the Calder that year. Later, still in Klima’s young career, he would average 30 plus goals in three seasons with Detroit. In the fourth and final full season with the Red Wings, his production would slightly drop to a career-low of 25 goals.
In the 1989-90 season, the Red Wings would deal Petr Klima to the Edmonton Oilers in a multiplayer deal. The reasoning behind this trade was focused on Klimas’ NHL outside life that affected his game.
The Moment
The moment that claimed Petr Klima’s name to fame would have Oiler fans praising the forward for years to come. In the 1989-90 season with the Oilers, the Czechoslovakian got back to his familiar 30 goal pace. Although Klima was back on track to being an offensive threat, his ice time was concerning. This was due to the coaching staff feeling the lack of a physical presence in the Edmonton Oilers playoff games. In 21 games played, Petr Klima would score five goals with no helpers. However, in the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals, John Muckler, then head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, would keep Klima on the bench for most of the game. Klimas skates would finally touch ice at 15:13 in the third overtime. He would record one-shot that entire game, and it would happen to be the game-winner.
The 1990 Stanley Cup Finals would end with Edmonton hoisting their fifth Stanley Cup. Game 1, which finally came to an end in the third over-time is one of the NHL’s’ longest games in Stanley Cup finals history. Petr Klimas’ name stays attached as the unsung hero who ended the game.
The Aftermath
Petr Klima had his NHL moment and will live as a legacy to Oiler fans. He would stay with the Oilers for three more seasons posting a career-high 40 goals in 1991, the continuing year he would take part in his first NHL All-Star Game. Klima would have three more chances to recreate his heroic playoff display with the Oilers, yet he’d only record 10 post-season points in 49 games. Edmonton would trade him to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1993 as his game would start to decline at the age of 29. Klima saw himself traded three times in 1996, once to the Los Angeles Kings, then onto Pittsburgh Penguins and finally back to Edmonton. The Detroit Red Wings would sign the former hero in his final days with the NHL. Unfortunately, he spent most of his time in the IHL with the Cleveland Lumberjacks. In his last four seasons split between the four NHL teams, he would play 46 games, posting 15 points.
Klima would retire in 1999 after his previous attempt of a comeback with the Detroit Red Wings failed. Between the years 2001 to 2003, he would play in a Czech hockey league where he retired after his tenure there for good. He wore the number 85 for Litvinov HC in the identification of his first year in the NHL.
Dwayne Roloson
Before the Moment
In 1994 the Calgary Flames would sign the undrafted free agent to a minor two-year deal. He would spend two seasons as a member of the Flames, splitting his playing time between the NHL and the AHL. Roloson was then traded to the Buffalo Sabres to back up Dominik Hasek, only seeing seven games in those two seasons. The Columbus Blue Jackets would select Roloson at the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft to hear him choose a different career path signing with the AHL Worcester IceRats instead. In 2001-02 Roloson would sign with the Minnesota Wild as a backup to share the crease with Manny Fernandez. The Wild would reach the Western Conference Final in 2003 for the first time in franchise history. Dwayne Roloson would appear in 11 games in the Wilds playoff run and record a .903 save percentage.
At the age of 34, he would earn his first-ever appearance at the 2004 NHL All-Star game. That same year he would have the NHL’s league-leading best save percentage of .933. He would go on to capture the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award. The Trade deadline in 2006 would bring Dwayne Roloson to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a first-round draft pick and a conditional pick that became a third-round draft pick.
The Moment
The Edmonton Oiler’s cinderella year took place in the 2005-06 season, capturing a moment taken by surprise. Expectations were not high and definitely nowhere near in Edmonton’s favour. Kevin Lowe was crucially criticized about the addition of Dwayne Roloson and what he gave up to acquire him. Oiler fans were ecstatic about their goaltender as Roloson would prove his worth, a chant that would soon linger and evolve for his entire career “Roli” the goalie was re-born.
Roloson would play a heroic role in the Edmonton Oilers playoff run. Roloson posted a 12-5 record, 2.33 GAA and gaining the first post-season shutout of his career. The veteran netminder would shine and lead the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a .927 save percentage. No chance at all would Edmonton have earned their way to the Stanley Cup Finals without Roloson’s playoff magic.
Edmonton fans would have told you the run had certainly ended in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals versus Carolina, due to Roloson’s injury. With only five minutes left of the third period, a crash into the net involving Andrew Ladd and Marc-Andre Bergeron sent Roloson hard into the ice. The injury would push Roloson out the remainder of the finals. Jussi Markkanen would take over only to see the Carolina Hurricanes raise the cup.
The Aftermath
The heartbreaking loss to Carolina would end any future hopes of the Edmonton Oilers’ playoff hopes for years to come. A new era for Edmonton would see them finish at or near the bottom of the league for the remainder of Rolosons final three years of his contract. Regardless, he would still post respectable numbers averaging a .910 save percentage 2.75 GAA, considering Edmonton’s roster. Dwayne Roloson would reject a one-year deal with Edmonton worth $3 million and accept a two-year deal worth $5 million with the New York Islanders. On November 23, 2009, he would post a career-high of 58 saves on 61 shots and break the Islanders record held by Rick DiPietro. In 2011 a trade between the Islanders and the Lightning would send Roloson to Tampa Bay. In the first 11 games with the Lightning, Roloson would record four shutouts.
Even more, he would post a shutout in a game against Pittsburgh in Game 7 during the First Round. This would make him the oldest goalie in the league to do so. With his contract expiring after the playoffs he would sign a one-year deal with $3 million. Roloson would end up having the worst season of his career with a .887 save percentage.
Dwayne Roloson’s retirement would not stray away from the game. The Anaheim Ducks would name him their goaltending consultant in 2013. His role would require him to focus on the club’s AHL’s affiliate Norfolk Admirals goaltending. While carrying his role with the Anaheim Ducks, he would find himself suiting up one last time. In 2014 against the Colorado Avalanche as an emergency backup goalie. As a result of a pre-game injury, the 14-year veteran would be forced to withdraw from playing one last game.
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