Humphrey on Hockey – Adam Henrique Goes to Edmonton
A National Hockey League trade deadline deal has given a Windsor Spitfire icon his best shot yet at adding to his considerable haul of hockey hardware. One of the higher profile deals occurred a day ahead the 2024 NHL trade deadline and saw the Edmonton Oilers acquire both Adam Henrique, whose number 14 hangs in the rafters at the WFCU Centre, and Sam Carrick from the Anaheim Ducks on March 6 in a three-team trade that also included the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Henrique, a 34-year-old 6’1”, 190-lb. centre from Burford, Ontario has had a stellar NHL career that has already spanned 10 seasons, during which he has notched 257 goals and 264 assists in 890 games with the Ducks and the New Jersey Devils before joining the Oilers. While those are not superstar-level stats, Henrique has proven himself to be a bonafide second or third line centre and has a well-earned reputation for being a solid two-way player.
Henrique entered the NHL with the Devils after being their third round pick, 82nd overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to making the jump to the NHL, Henrique had a stellar four-season career with the Windsor Spitfires and was a key player on the Windsor squads that won back-to-back Memorial Cups in 2009 and 2010. During his last season with the Spits, Henrique was also a member of the 2010 Canadian National Junior Hockey Team that won a silver medal at the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
In his rookie season in Windsor, Henrique notched 23 goals and added 21 assists in 62 games, while perhaps outshining teammate Taylor Hall, who was the Spits’ first round pick, second overall, in the 2006 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. Henrique was taken in the second round, 24th overall, of the same draft by then-Spits general manager Warren Rychel.
Henrique has played in just 28 playoff games during his decade-long NHL career with 24 of those games coming during his first full season in the NHL when the Devils lost to the Los Angeles Kings in the 2012 Stanley Cup Final. When the Ducks missed the play-offs following the 2020-2021 NHL season, Henrique joined Team Canada at the 2021 World Hockey Championships in Sweden. He captained the team and led them to the gold medal, further adding to his trophy case that already included his two Memorial Cups won with the Spitfires, and the silver meal from the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships with Team Canada.
For decades, Team Canada’s entry at The World Hockey Championships have been comprised of players from NHL teams who have either missed the playoffs or been bounced from the first round along with a few players from European teams. All of this means, of course, that Henrique is not likely to be playing for Team Canada this spring. While the Oilers are not prohibitive favourites to capture their sixth Stanley Cup in team history, they should not only be safe bets to not only win at least a couple of playoff rounds, but perhaps be the last Canadian based-team standing.
Adam Henrique’s landing in Edmonton is not by accident and adds to a sizable Spitfire contingent in Edmonton. Current Oilers’ general manager, Ken Holland, and was a frequent visitor to the WFCU Centre was the Detroit Red Wings’ general manager during the Spits’ glory days as he was checking out the considerable contingent of highly-skilled talent, including Henrique, during those times. So he certainly knew what he was getting in making the deal with the Ducks for Henrique last week. The architect of those Spits team was Warren Rychel, currently a pro hockey scout with the Oilers and no doubt Rychel gave his opinion of Henrique to Holland before the deal was made. Other current Edmonton personnel who have ties to the Spitfires include Oilers assistant general manager, Keith Gretzky, who is also the general manager of the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL). Gretzky, brother of you-know-who, played parts of three seasons in Windsor in the mid- 1980s. One of the Condors’ two goaltenders is former Spitfire puckstopper, Jack Campbell. By the way, current Oilers head coach, Kris Knoblauch, by the way, was the head bench boss of the Erie Otters, who lost to the Spitfires in the championship game of the 2017 Memorial Cup at the WFCU Centre. So there is a definite Windsor, if not Windsor Spitfire, flavour to the Edmonton Oilers, which is another reason why Henrique was/is such a big pickup for the Alberta-based NHL club.
Henrique’s five-year contract worth $5.825 million per season expires after the current NHL and he will become an unrestricted free agent this summer should Edmonton not sign him to a new deal.
Spitfire fans who are disappointed over their favourite OHL team not making the OHL play-offs this spring and who are looking for a talented team to cheer for might consider cheering for Adam Henrique and the Edmonton Oilers in their pursuit of Lord Stanley’s Cup.