On Wednesday (March 6), the Edmonton Oilers acquired veteran forward Adam Henrique from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2025 or 2026 NHL Draft. He was first traded to Tampa Bay from the Anaheim Ducks, with whom he played 60 games this season.
Related: Grading the Oilers’ Trade for Adam Henrique
Along with fellow centre Sam Carrick, who the Oilers also acquired on Wednesday in a trade with the Ducks, Henrique bolsters the depth at forward for an Edmonton team with its sights set on a championship run.
A consistent scorer who can kill penalties, Henrique has notched 257 goals and 264 assists in 890 career regular-season NHL games since being drafted 82nd overall by the New Jersey Devils in 2008.
Henrique recently turned 34, stands 6 feet tall, weighs 190 pounds, and hails from the home of Wayne Gretzky, Brantford, Ont. Here are four other things to know about one of the newest Oilers:
Henrique Has Championship Experience
As a rookie with the Devils in 2012, Henrique reached the Stanley Cup championship series, playing all six games in New Jersey’s 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. The only other current Oilers to have suited up for a Stanley Cup Final game are defencemen Mattias Ekholm (2017 Nashville Predators) and Brett Kulak (2021 Montreal Canadiens) along with forwards Mattias Janmark (2020 Dallas Stars) and Corey Perry (2007 Ducks, 2020 Stars, 2021 Canadiens, 2022 Lightning).
While the Stanley Cup eluded Henrique during his stops in both New Jersey and Anaheim, he still has a fistful of championship rings. During his junior career with the Windsor Spitfires, he won back-to-back Ontario Hockey League and Memorial Cup championships in 2009 and 2010, and in 2021 he was a member of the Canadian national team that captured gold at the IIHF World Championship.
Henrique is a Record Holder
Thanks to his scoring heroics through New Jersey’s 2012 playoff run, Henrique has his name on multiple pages in the NHL record book.
Henrique’s goal at 3:47 of double overtime against the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the first round made him just the second rookie in NHL history to score in overtime of a Game 7, joining Claude Lemieux (1986 Canadiens).
With New Jersey leading the New York Rangers 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Final, Henrique sent his team to the Stanley Cup Final by scoring just 63 seconds into sudden death of Game 6. That goal made him the first rookie in NHL history to score two series-clinching overtime goals in the same playoff season.
Finally, in New Jersey’s 3-1 victory over Los Angeles in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, Henrique recorded his third game-winning goal (GWG), tying the NHL rookie record for most GWGs in a single playoff season. He shares that distinction with Jacques Lemaire (1968 Canadiens) and the aforementioned Lemieux.
Henrique’s Jersey is Retired
The No. 14 that Henrique wore while playing four seasons with Windsor hangs in the WFCU Centre, home of the Spitfires. Along with Ed Jovanovski and Steve Ott, who both also wore No. 14 for the Spitfires, he was honoured with a jersey retirement ceremony during the 2014-15 OHL season.
Over 238 regular season games with the Spitfires, Henrique totalled 111 goals and 117 assists. He received the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award (OHL Playoffs MVP) in 2010 when he scored an incredible 20 goals in 19 games en route to the Spitfires capturing their second consecutive OHL championship.
Henrique wore No. 14 with both the Devils and Ducks. He’s been assigned No. 19 by the Oilers, who already have a No. 14: Ekholm.
Henrique Has a Hockey Family
While his father Joe is a tobacco and ginseng farmer (from ‘Henrique hopes to harvest a playoff spot in Anaheim’, The Orange County Register, 1/13/18), Henrique’s father-in-law is one of the top 100 goal scorers in NHL history.
Steve Thomas, the father of Henrique’s wife Lauren, racked up 421 goals, including 78 GWGs, over his NHL career that spanned two decades from 1984-85 to 2003-04. He twice reached 40 goals, in 1989-90 with the Chicago Blackhawks and 1993-94 with the New York Islanders.
A 5-foot-10 left wing, Thomas also had 512 assists in his 1,235 regular season games. Over his NHL career, he suited up for six different teams, including both that his son-in-law has played for, the Devils and Ducks.
The brother-in-law of Henrique is Christian Thomas (son of Steve, sister of Lauren), who was drafted 40th overall by the New York Rangers in 2010 and has played 27 career NHL games. He last played in the NHL with the Arizona Coyotes in 2015-16 and now plays for Bolzano HC in Austria.
Henrique is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, so his stay in Edmonton could be short. But as far as Oilers fans are concerned, he doesn’t have to be here for a long time, so long as it’s a good time … that includes a championship celebration.
Both Henrique and Carrick are expected to be in the lineup for the Oilers next game, when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena tonight (March 7).
