Craig Simpson

Born in London, Ontario on February 15, 1967, Craig Simpson played key roles in two Oilers Cup wins and had made Edmonton his home.

Simpson is also one half of the answer to a unique trivia question. He is only one of two players in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season that he was traded. Dave Andreychuk scored 54 goals in 1992/93 with the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs.

In the 1987/88 season, Simpson scored 13 goals in his first 21 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then, in a major move, he was sent to Edmonton in a deal that would bring disgruntled All-Star defenceman Paul Coffey to the Steel City.

As an Oiler, Simpson flourished, scoring 43 more goals before the end of the season—giving him a grand total of 56 on the year. Simpson finally had realized the great potential the scouts had seen when he registered 31 goals and 53 assists in just 42 games for the Michigan State University Spartans in 1984/85.

Simpson and the Oilers finished the season as the Cup champs. And Simpson admitted that when he arrived in Edmonton, he was in awe of his teammates—even though in Pittsburgh he had the chance to play with the great Mario Lemieux.

"I remember being amazed when I walked into Edmonton’s dressing room for the first time," said Simpson. "I was a 20-year-old kid who had just been traded from Pittsburgh and to see Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky was just an amazing feeling to have."

Simpson stayed with the Oilers until 1993, winning another Cup with the team in 1990. In 419 career Oilers games, he registered 365 points before joining the Buffalo Sabres.

Unfortunately, the punishment and cross-checks Simpson received from NHL defenceman took their toll; chronic back injuries forced him to retire after playing just 46 regular-season games over two seasons with the Sabres. At the age of 28, Simpson realized that his body would no longer be able to take the punishment that comes with being an NHL player.

But Simpson never strayed far from the game. He made the transition from player to broadcaster—and when he covered the 1997 Edmonton/Dallas playoff series for Fox Sports, he realized that he wanted to return to the city where he enjoyed the best times of his hockey-playing life. When he heard the crowd’s raucous "Let’s Go, Oilers!" chants before the puck had dropped to begin Game 6, chills went up his spine.

"That series, I saw it from a new perspective, a non-player perspective," recalled Simpson. "I think that seeing the fans and this city rally for the Oilers was a great thing. I think that for a long time, the City of Edmonton took it for granted that the team would always be here and it would always be good. When they realized it might not always be like that, they rallied and showed their support."

When the Canadian Television Network began the Sportsnet specialty network, Simpson jumped at the chance to move back to Edmonton so he could work Oilers’ broadcasts. He was Rogers Sportsnet’s colour commentator for Oilers games until 2003 and he is the head of Oilers’ Alumni. In the summer of 2003, Simpson moved from covering the team to actually being an Oiler again; he accepted a new post as an assistant coach with the hockey club.

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