On October 26, former Edmonton Oilers winger Zack Kassian officially announced his retirement from the NHL. He spent seven of his 12 seasons in the NHL with the Oilers, while also spending time with the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, and most recently the Arizona Coyotes, who bought out his contract after last season.
In total, he played in 661 NHL games, 412 of which were as an Oiler, and had 92 goals and 203 points.
But, offence was not the focal point of Kassian’s game. It was his tenaciousness, physicality, and determination that helped him achieve success during his career. He never backed down from a fight, engaged physically wherever he could to help swing momentum in his team’s favour, and was versatile enough to slot in at any spot in the depth chart when needed.
Kassian being a hard worker and team player eventually endeared himself to Oilers fans throughout his tenure in Edmonton. Although he did not start out on anyone’s good side, he won us over in time.
Kassian before Edmonton
A former first-round pick, drafted 13th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2009, Kassian spent a few more seasons in juniors before making the transition up to the professional game. He only spent half of a season with the Sabres before being traded to the Vancouver Canucks, however.
Kassian spent the next three seasons with the Canucks, where he put up a (at the time) career high 14 goals and 29 points. But after the 2014–15 season, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens.
Before he had even played a game in Montreal, Kassian suffered an injury in a car accident where he was not driving but under the influence. He was subsequently suspended without pay as he went to complete the NHL’s Substance Abuse Program.
After returning to NHL eligibility, Kassian was waived by the Canadiens but told not to report to the team’s AHL affiliate.
Cue his trade to Edmonton.
Kassian’s time with the Oilers
In exchange for Ben Scrivens, the Oilers acquired Kassian in the middle of the 2015–16 season, which is when his career took off and he enjoyed his best seasons.
Kassian came to Edmonton determined to have a positive impact. He had to work hard to earn the favour of Oilers fans as he was not liked upon arrival due to an incident in the past where he broke Sam Gagner’s jaw with a careless high stick. Nevertheless, he did establish himself as a valuable presence in the Oilers’ lineup with his gritty, physical presence.
These seasons are where Kassian’s career settled down and he became a stable presence in the lineup. He was given a fresh start with the Oilers organization after undergoing treatment for addiction and found a ton of success in his sobriety.
As someone who respects the hell out of Kassian’s journey, determination, and what he brought to the Oilers lineup during his time with the team, there are a few key moments that stand out in my memory.
2017 playoffs, Games 2 and 3 versus the Sharks
You know those moments where the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and you get goosebumps? This game was one of those.
In the 2017 playoffs, excitement levels were sky high as this was the first chance for the Connor McDavid era Oilers to play postseason hockey as Edmonton made the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Heading into Game 2 down 1–0 in the opening round series against the San Jose Sharks, Kassian’s level of play hit a peak during this series.
In Game 2, Kassian had one of the best games in his life as he physically dominated the Sharks, laying out multiple huge hits early in the game. He also broke the scoreless tie early in the second period off of a shorthanded breakaway goal. By the end of this game, Rogers Place was chanting his name in the stands as the Oilers won 2–0.
He continued this into Game 3, where he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory.
His performance in this series turned momentum into the Oilers’ favour and gave them the upper hand as they eventually won in six games to advance to the second round.
Kassian feud with Tkachuk
The Battle of Alberta was rekindled in a big way in 2018 in large part due to Kassian’s feud with Matthew Tkachuk. The two players were frequently at odds with each other, often laying out huge hits and bickering at each other in the media.
There are a few key moments that led to an ultimate boiling over of the rivalry that were led by these two. Tkachuk knew how to get under Kassian’s skin, and that led to a few situations where the Oilers winger was provoked and fought Tkachuk, who did not reciprocate. This led to some comments about the Calgary Flames winger turtling as soon as he was presented with a challenge from Kassian.
The key moment of everything boiling over was in the 2020 season. In January, a game between the Oilers and Flames became heated as Tkachuk took a couple of runs at Kassian, which the latter did not like one bit.
A few weeks later, it continued to escalate as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fought Sean Monahan and Kassian and Tkachuk finally fought.
But just two nights after that, all hell broke loose.
A scrum in front of the net led to a line brawl that featured a rare occurrence: a goalie fight between Cam Talbot and Mike Smith.
The presence that Kassian brought to the team, his energy, his physicality, and his grit, was a key factor that led to the resurgence of the Battle of Alberta in recent years. It is certainly one of his most memorable contributions on the ice to Oil Country.
With that, we here at The Oil Rig want to thank Zack Kassian for everything during his time with the Edmonton Oilers. He is one of the most memorable players from that era who contributed a lot to the development of the team.
We wish Zack the best in health and good fortune in retirement and hope he can spend plenty of time riding around the continent on his Harley!
