#72 - Adam Oates

Adam Oates (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #72)

Adjusted Stats

1985-1986   Det          39 GP   7 goals     9 assists     16 points     0.41 PPG
1986-1987   Det          78 GP   13 goals   27 assists   40 points     0.52 PPG
1987-1988   Det          65 GP   12 goals   34 assists   46 points     0.71 PPG
1988-1989   Det          71 GP   13 goals   52 assists   66 points     0.93 PPG
1989-1990   Stl            82 GP   20 goals   68 assists   87 points     1.06 PPG
1990-1991   Stl            63 GP   23 goals   82 assists   105 points   1.68 PPG
1991-1992   Stl/Bos     82 GP   18 goals   72 assists   90 points     1.09 PPG
1992-1993   Bos          82 GP   37 goals   80 assists   118 points   1.43 PPG
1993-1994   Bos          75 GP   30 goals   74 assists   104 points   1.38 PPG
1994-1995   Bos          82 GP   21 goals   72 assists   93 points     1.14 PPG
1995-1996   Bos          70 GP   24 goals   66 assists   90 points     1.29 PPG
1996-1997   Bos/Wsh  80 GP   23 goals   63 assists   87 points     1.08 PPG
1997-1998   Wsh         82 GP   21 goals   68 assists   89 points     1.08 PPG
1998-1999   Wsh         59 GP   14 goals   49 assists   63 points     1.07 PPG
1999-2000   Wsh         82 GP   17 goals   63 assists   80 points     0.97 PPG
2000-2001   Wsh         81 GP   15 goals   77 assists   92 points     1.13 PPG
2001-2002   Wsh/Phi   80 GP   16 goals   75 assists   92 points     1.14 PPG
2002-2003   Ana          67 GP   10 goals   42 assists  52 points      0.78 PPG
2003-2004   Edm         60 GP    2 goals    19 assists  22 points      0.36 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1986-1987    Det          16 GP    4 goals    6 assists     10 points     0.62 PPG
1987-1988    Det          16 GP    6 goals    9 assists     15 points     0.94 PPG
1988-1989    Det          6 GP      0 goals    7 assists     7 points       1.15 PPG
1989-1990    Stl           12 GP     2 goals   10 assists   12 points      0.99 PPG
1990-1991    Stl           13 GP     6 goals   11 assists   17 points      1.31 PPG
1991-1992    Bos         15 GP     4 goals   12 assists   17 points      1.11 PPG
1992-1993    Bos         4 GP       0 goals    7 assists     7 points       1.85 PPG
1993-1994    Bos         13 GP     3 goals    9 assists    12 points      0.91 PPG
1994-1995    Bos         5 GP       1 goal     0 assists      1 point        0.18 PPG
1995-1996    Bos         5 GP       2 goals    5 assists     7 points       1.34 PPG
1997-1998    Wsh        21 GP     7 goals    12 assists   19 points     0.90 PPG
1999-2000    Wsh        5 GP       0 goals    4 assists     4 points       0.72 PPG
2000-2001    Wsh        6 GP       0 goals    0 assists     0 points       0.00 PPG
2001-2002     Phi         5 GP       0 goals    2 assists     2 points       0.48 PPG
2002-2003    Ana        21 GP     5 goals    11 assists   16 points     0.74 PPG

Career - 1380 GP, 336 goals, 1092 assists, 1432 points, 1.04 PPG
Career-Highs - 37 goals (92-93); 82 assists (90-91); 118 points (92-93); 1.68 PPG (90-91)
Avg. (19 seasons) - 73 GP, 18 goals, 57 assists, 75 points, 1.04 PPG
Peak Avg. (90-98) - 77 GP, 25 goals, 72 assists, 97 points, 1.26 PPG, 0 Cups

Playoff Career - 163 GP, 40 goals, 105 assists, 146 points, 0.90 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 7 goals (97-98); 12 assists (91-92); 19 points (97-98); 1.85 PPG (92-93)

Accolades - None
All-Star Teams - 1-time 2nd-team
Never Won Stanley Cup

Adam Oates ranks fifth all-time in career adjusted assists, behind Gretzky, Howe, Messier and Francis, and ahead of Bourque, Sakic, Jagr, Coffey and Yzerman. His peak total of 577 assists from 1990-1998 are fourth all-time for a peak high, behind only Gretzky, Orr and Joe Thornton. And his peak PPG average of 1.26 is right in the discussion with Mike Bossy (1.25) and Steve Yzerman (1.25).

Does Adam Oates belong in the same conversation as those players when it comes to ranking the all-time greats? No, not even close. No one who watched hockey throughout that period would tell you otherwise. But Oates' accomplishments are still nothing to sneeze at. He was never the best at his position, and in fact only once was named to a year-end all-star team (the second-team in 1991). But considering he played in the era of Gretzky, Lemieux, Sakic, Yzerman, Forsberg, Messier and Lindros, there's no shame in that. Oates may have never been at the top of his position, but year after year, he was one of the ten best centers in the league.

Oates' career began modestly enough, but when he was traded to St. Louis, he found an instant connection with Brett Hull, and both of their careers took off. Oates shortly left for Boston and proved that he was not some mere beneficiary of Hull's scoring prowess...his best year came in 1992-1993 with the Bruins, when Oates finished third in league scoring. Third was the highest Oates would ever get, but he finished in the top ten seven times, including late in his career (2001-2002). Oates would also lead the league in assists three times and finish in the top ten a whopping twelve times.

Oates deserves credit for continuing his solid, well-above-average (if not great) play late into his career. I had the vague memory of Oates being past his prime during the year he finished closest to his only championship, 1997-1998, when the Capitals made an improbable run to the Stanley Cup final, only to me smoked by the Detroit Red Wings. But Oates 89 adj. points that year, and indeed cracked the 90 mark (in adjusted terms) twice more in his career, before finally hitting a wall in a dreadful final year with Edmonton.

So if it came down to it, Oates would definitely get my vote for the hall-of-fame. He's essentially like Ron Francis without the Cup rings, or as we'll see, like Joe Thornton with a few more years (and a lot less size). He was a visionary passer, mediocre defensively, and sadly never was able to lead his team to a championship (although, unlike with Thornton, his numbers didn't take a noticeable dip in the postseason). I remember him fondly for being such an endearing setup specialist...he only really did one thing well, but he was one of the best at it.