1998 – 99 Edmonton Oilers season The 1998 – 99 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers ' 20th season in the NHL , and they were coming off a 35 – 37 – 10 record in 1997 – 98 , earning their 2nd straight playoff appearance . They upset the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche in the 1st round , before falling to the Dallas Stars in the 2nd round . During the off - season , the Oilers franchise remaining in Edmonton looked very unlikely , as Oilers owner Peter Pocklington would be talking to a group from Houston , Texas , who if successful in the purchase , would relocate the club to Houston . At the last minute , the Edmonton Investors Group , a consortium of 37 Edmonton - based owners , raised the funds to purchase the team from Pocklington , vowing to keep the Oilers in Edmonton . The Oilers received support throughout the NHL , and the club would remain . Also during the off - season , the Oilers would lose goaltender Curtis Joseph , as he would leave the team as a free agent and join the Toronto Maple Leafs , leaving the goaltending duties to Bob Essensa and former Mighty Ducks of Anaheim backup Mikhail Shtalenkov , and Edmonton would join the newly created Northwest Division , along with their Western Canada rivals , the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks , and the Colorado Avalanche . Edmonton would start the season with a 7 – 4 – 0 record in their opening 11 games , and would remain close to the . 500 mark until early February , despite losing Doug Weight to injuries . Edmonton would then go into a slump , and would drop out of a playoff spot , and on March 17 , the Oilers would be 25 – 33 – 10 , sitting in 9th place . Three days later , the Oilers would send Mats Lindgren and an 8th round draft pick to the New York Islanders for goaltender Tommy Salo . Edmonton would also deal Boris Mironov and Dean McAmmond to the Chicago Blackhawks for youngsters Ethan Moreau , Christian Laflamme and Chad Kilger , and acquire Jason Smith from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 4th round draft pick on March 23 . The moves paid off for the Oilers , as they would have 8 – 4 – 2 record after the Salo deal , and sneak into the final playoff position , finishing the season with a 33 – 37 – 12 record . On April 3 , 1999 , Patrick Roy defeated the Edmonton Oiilers , and passed Glenn Hall with his 408th victory . Offensively , Bill Guerin would be Edmonton ' s leader , scoring a team high 30 goals and 34 assists for 64 points . Josef Beranek would earn 49 points , while Mike Grier would have a breakout season , scoring 20 goals and earning 44 points . Doug Weight would register 37 points in only 43 games . Defensively , Boris Mironov would lead blueline with 40 points , but was dealt to Chicago at the trade deadline . Roman Hamrlik chipped in with 32 points , while Janne Niinimaa would earn 28 . Sean Brown would have a team high 188 penalty minutes in only 51 games . In goal , Bob Essensa and Mikhail Shtalenkov would split time for a majority of the season , each earning 12 victories . Shtalenkov would then be traded to the Phoenix Coyotes , and the Oilers would acquire Tommy Salo to become the new starter , and in 13 games , Salo would go 8 – 2 – 2 with a 2 . 31 GAA . The Oilers would open the playoffs against the President ' s Trophy winning Dallas Stars , would finished the year with 114 points , 36 higher than the Oilers . Edmonton would find themselves down in the series 2 – 0 after dropping 2 close games in Dallas , and the Stars would quickly eliminate the Oilers , winning the next 2 games in Edmonton , both by 3 – 2 scores , to sweep the Oilers out of the playoffs . Transactions . Trades . " * Later traded to the New Jersey Devils . " < br > " * * Later traded to the Nashville Predators . " Draft picks . Edmonton ' s draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft