On Thursday (Oct. 6) the Edmonton Oilers announced the addition of Steve Staios as a special advisor to the club’s hockey operations staff with a focus on player development. He returns to Edmonton where he spent parts of eight seasons as a defenceman between 2001 and 2010.
Since retiring in 2012, Staios has embarked on a successful off-ice career. He spent the last six seasons as president and general manager of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)’s Hamilton Bulldogs, with whom he won the OHL championship last spring.
Now he’s back in Oil Country, looking to help today’s Oilers win the ultimate prize that Staios and his teammates came so painfully close to capturing in 2006 when they lost the Stanley Cup Final in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Related: Oilers’ 2022-23 Opening Night NHL Roster Now Set: What Next?
Staios isn’t necessarily one of the most widely remembered members of that team. He wasn’t a Conn Smythe candidate like Chris Pronger; he didn’t catch lightning in a bottle like Fernando Pisani; he didn’t score a signature goal like Ales Hemsky; nor did he suffer a series-shifting injury like Dwayne Roloson. He was simply a rock-solid presence on the blue line, logging the third-most shifts among Oilers skaters during their 2006 Playoff run.
That’s more or less a microcosm of the Hamilton native’s time in Edmonton: somebody who never stood out, but could always be relied upon.
A dozen years since Staios last played for the Oilers, his hiring provides an opportunity to look back with greater appreciation on his more than 600 games (regular season and playoffs combined) in copper and blue.
Staios Starts Strong in Edmonton
Oil Country was still smarting from the departure of its All-Star captain when Staios signed a multiyear contract with the Oilers on July 12, 2001.
It had been only 11 days since Doug Weight was traded on Canada Day to the St. Louis Blues, the latest in the long line of elite players that were dealt out of Edmonton after becoming too expensive for the budget-conscious Oilers.
Staios wasn’t going to make fans forget about Weight, the skilled centre who had just put up 90 points during the 2000-01 season. At age 30, Weight had become a bonafide All-Star, while the 27-year-old Staios was but a journeyman blueliner, joining his fourth team in six years.
The two did share one thing in common, however: both had worn the captain’s ‘C’ in 2000-01, Weight with the Oilers and Staios with the Atlanta Thrashers, and the latter’s leadership ability was going to be a big part of his forthcoming time in Edmonton.
In his first season with the Oilers, 2001-02, Staios had 10 points with a plus-10 rating in 73 games. He won the Oilers’ Unsung Hero Award, becoming only the second defenceman in team history to receive that honour.
Staios increased his output to 26 points in 76 games and ranked second on the team (first among blueliners) with a rating of plus-13 in 2002-03 when he was named Oilers Defenceman of the Year. The following season, 2003-04, he played a full 82 games for the first time and established a new career-high with 28 points.
Oilers Make Run at the Cup
The entire 2004-05 NHL season was cancelled after the players were locked out over failure to come to terms on the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement). When the lights finally came back on in rinks across the continent for the 2005-06 season, Edmonton’s lineup had a new look, with key additions headed by veteran stars Pronger on defence and Michael Peca at centre.
Now 32, and having played three seasons in the Alberta capital, Staios had subtly taken on a very important role with the Oilers, as would be evidenced throughout the 2005-06 regular season and subsequent postseason.
Staios again played all 82 games, while equalling his personal best of 28 points and leading the team with a rating of plus-10 as he helped Edmonton get into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
You may also like:
- Oilers’ Trade Deadline Additions Are Making an Impact
- Oilers’ Raphael Lavoie Turning Heads With AHL Condors
- NHL Rumors: Oilers, Blues, Blue Jackets, Red Wings
- Oilers’ McDavid Projects to Win Historic Race For Art Ross Trophy
- Every NHL Team’s Most Underrated Prospect
The Oilers went on a Cinderella run that spring. They first knocked off the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings, then defeated the San Jose Sharks and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to reach the Stanley Cup Final, where they pushed the Carolina Hurricanes to the brink, before ultimately losing in seven games.
In 24 postseason games, Staios recorded six points and was third on the team for both penalty minutes (28) and blocked shots (55). He also logged the second-most even-strength minutes on the Oilers in the playoffs.
Staios Leads in Latter Oiler Years
Prior to the 2006-07 season, Staios was named an Oilers alternate captain, a position he held for the remainder of his Edmonton tenure.
The 6-foot, 200-pounder ranked first on the Oilers for blocked shots in back-to-back seasons, 2007-08 and 2008-09. Half a dozen years after first receiving the honour, Staios was again named Edmonton’s Unsung Hero in 2008, a testament to the degree to which he flew under the radar.
Staios’ departure from Edmonton, almost nine years after his arrival, is the most well-known aspect of his Oilers career. On March 3, 2010, Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini dealt Staios to the Calgary Flames in exchange for rearguard Aaron Johnson and a third-round draft pick in 2010 or 2011. It was the first time ever that the Battle of Alberta rivals traded with each other.
Staios played 573 regular season games in Edmonton, fourth most all-time among defencemen. He currently ranks fifth in franchise history with 739 blocked shots and his plus-17 rating in 2003-04 is the fifth highest by an Oilers defenceman in the last 30 years.
When he left, the Oilers were still playing at the old Northlands Coliseum, where the team’s five Stanley Cup banners hung with pride. On Wednesday (Oct. 12) when Edmonton opens its 2022-23 schedule against the Vancouver Canucks, Staios can look on from inside Rogers Place and envision the day when another one is raised.
