Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which opened in 2016. Kris Knoblauch has been the head coach of the team since November 11, 2023, and Stan Bowman has served as general manager since July 24, 2024. The Oilers are one of two NHL franchises based in Alberta, the other being the Calgary Flames. Their proximity has led to a fierce rivalry known as the "Battle of Alberta".
The Oilers were founded in 1971 by W. D. "Wild Bill" Hunter and Dr. Chuck Allard and played its first season in 1972–73 as one of the 12 founding franchises of the major professional World Hockey Association. They were intended to be one of two WHA Alberta teams along with the Calgary Broncos. However, when the Broncos relocated and became the Cleveland Crusaders before the WHA's first season began, the team was named the Alberta Oilers. They were renamed the Edmonton Oilers the following year and subsequently joined the NHL in 1979 as one of four franchises absorbed through the NHL–WHA merger.
After joining the NHL, the Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup on five occasions: 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1989–90. Along with the Pittsburgh Penguins, they are tied for the most championships won by any team since the NHL–WHA merger, as well as the most won by any team that joined the league in or after 1967. Among all NHL teams, only the Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup more times since the league's 1967 expansion. The Oilers also won six straight division titles from 1981–82 through 1986–87. Notably, however, the Oilers have not won a division title since 1987, a drought that includes their most recent two Stanley Cup wins and is the longest division title drought in all of the North American major professional sports. For their overall success in the 1980s and early 1990s, the Oilers team of this era has been honoured with dynasty status by the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The Oilers began to struggle after coming up short in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, missing the playoffs for the subsequent 10 seasons. The Oilers made 16 first-round selections in the NHL entry draft from 2007 to 2019: 11 within the first 10 picks overall, six within the first four picks, and four of the first overall selections. With those first overall picks, Edmonton selected Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov and Connor McDavid; of these, Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid remained with the team, helping them reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025, where they lost to the Florida Panthers on both occasions.
History
WHA years (1972–1979)
On November 1, 1971, the Edmonton Oilers became one of the 12 founding WHA franchises. The original owners were "Wild Bill" Hunter and partner, Dr. Charles A. "Chuck" Allard who, a decade later, also brought the SCTV sketch comedy TV series to Edmonton. Hunter also owned the Edmonton Oil Kings, a junior hockey franchise, and founded the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League. Hunter's efforts to bring major professional hockey to Edmonton via an expansion NHL franchise had been rebuffed by the NHL, and Hunter looked to the upstart WHA instead. It was announced in early 1972 that the team would be known as the "Edmonton Oil Kings", which referred to the previous Oil Kings teams in the 1950s and 1960s. However, this soon changed to where Hunter chose to name the team the "Oilers". Hunter also served as head coach during 1972–73, 1974–75 and 1975–76 seasons.After the newly founded Calgary Broncos folded before the commencement of the inaugural WHA season, the Oilers were renamed the Alberta Oilers as it was planned to split their home games between Edmonton and Calgary. Possibly for financial reasons or to allow for a less complicated return of the WHA to Calgary, though, the team ultimately played all of its home games in the Edmonton Gardens and changed its name back to the Edmonton Oilers the following year. They won the first game in WHA history 7–4 over the Ottawa Nationals.
The Oilers drew fans with players such as defenceman and team captain Al Hamilton, goaltender Dave Dryden and forwards Blair MacDonald and Bill Flett. However, a relatively little-noticed move in 1976 had an important impact on the history of the franchise. That year, journeyman forward Glen Sather was acquired by the Oilers. It turned out to be his final season as a player and he was named player-coach late in the season, moving to the bench full-time after the season. Sather was the coach or general manager of the Oilers for the next 23 years.
Although the Oilers' on-ice performance for most of the WHA's history was mediocre, they remained well-supported and financially stable by WHA standards. In 1976, Hunter and Allard sold the franchise to Vancouver real estate tycoon Nelson Skalbania, who later became notorious for flipping property, both real and franchised. Skalbania soon made local businessman Peter Pocklington a full partner, then sold his shares to him the following year. The team's fortunes improved dramatically in 1978 when Pocklington acquired underage player Wayne Gretzky, as well as goaltender Eddie Mio and forward Peter Driscoll, for cash, from Skalbania's recently folded Indianapolis Racers.
His first year of WHA experience prevented Gretzky from being an official 1979–80 NHL rookie; his first and only WHA season, 1978–79, saw the Oilers finish first in the WHA standings, posting a league-best 48–30–2 record. However, Edmonton failed to win the championship, as they fell to the Winnipeg Jets in the Avco World Trophy finals. Dave Semenko of the Oilers scored the last goal in WHA history in the third period of the final game, which they lost 7–3.
The Oilers joined the NHL for 1979–80, along with fellow WHA teams Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and the Jets following a merger agreement between the two leagues. Of these four teams, only Edmonton has avoided relocation and renaming; the Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995, the Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996 and the Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997.
Entry into the NHL (1979–1983)
The Oilers lost most of the players from 1978–79 when the NHL held a reclamation draft of players who had bolted to the upstart league as they were allowed to protect two goaltenders and two skaters. Originally, Gretzky was not eligible to be protected; under the rules of the time, he normally would have been placed in the 1979 NHL entry draft pool. However, Pocklington had signed him to a 21-year personal services contract in 1979 and Pocklington used the contract to force the NHL to admit the Oilers and allow the Oilers to keep Gretzky.Upon joining the NHL, the Oilers were placed in the Campbell Conference's Smythe Division. They were mediocre during the regular season in their first two seasons, finishing 16th and 14th respectively. However, because 16 of the 21 NHL teams made the playoffs at the time, the Oilers were still able to get their young players experience in the playoffs. They won only one playoff series in their first three NHL seasons, though, upsetting the Montreal Canadiens in 1980–81. Gretzky set new NHL records in 1980–81 for assists and points. Also, they still had great draft positions. This allowed the Oilers to put together a young, talented, experienced team quickly. Within three years, Sather and chief scout Barry Fraser had drafted several players who would have an important role in the team's success, including Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Kevin Lowe, Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog.
The Oilers improved in 1981–82, finishing second overall. Grant Fuhr emerged as the starting goaltender and he set a rookie record by going undefeated in 23 straight games. However, Gretzky stole the show by setting the single-season record for goals with 92 and becoming the first player in NHL history to score 200 points. Gretzky's accomplishments helped the Oilers become the first team to score 400 goals in a season, a feat they accomplished for five straight years. However, they were upset by the Los Angeles Kings in five games.
In 1982–83, the Oilers finished third overall in the NHL. They advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before getting swept by defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders. During this season, Gretzky, Messier, Anderson and Kurri all topped 100 points, with Coffey not far behind at 96. After the season, Lee Fogolin resigned as captain of the Oilers, picking Gretzky as his successor.
Dynasty years (1983–1990)
In 1983–84, the Oilers finished first overall in the NHL, winning a franchise record 57 games and earning 119 points. They were the first team to feature three players with 50 goals. Gretzky started strong by scoring at least a point in the first 51 games of the season. Paul Coffey became the second defenceman ever to score at least 40 goals in a season. The team scored a total of 446 goals as a team, an NHL record. The Oilers were so determined to win the Stanley Cup that they hired Roger Neilson as a video analyst. They started the playoffs strongly by sweeping the Winnipeg Jets in the Smythe Division semifinals. They faced a tougher test in the Calgary Flames, but they defeated them in seven games in the division finals. They then swept the Minnesota North Stars in the conference finals to earn a rematch with the Islanders in the Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers split the first two games in Long Island but then won three in a row in Edmonton to become the first former WHA team to win the Stanley Cup. After the series, Mark Messier was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.The following season, the Oilers finished second overall in the NHL with 49 wins and 109 points. Gretzky led the NHL in goals with 73, and Kurri was close behind with a career-high 71. Gretzky also became the youngest player in NHL history to score one thousand points. In the playoffs, the Oilers swept the Kings in the opening round and Jets in round two. They won the first two games of the conference finals against the Chicago Black Hawks but lost the next two before winning the final two and returning to the Stanley Cup Final. Edmonton lost the first game to Philadelphia but won the next four to win the Stanley Cup for the second year in a row. Paul Coffey had a playoff performance to remember, setting records for most goals, assists, and points ever by a defenceman in a playoff year. In addition, Jari Kurri tied Reggie Leach's record for most goals in a playoff year, with 19. However, Gretzky won the Conn Smythe Trophy after setting the record for most points in a playoff year. The 1984–85 Oilers were voted as the greatest NHL team of all-time during the league's centennial celebrations in 2017.
File:Wayne Gretzky statue 6.jpg|upright|thumb|A statue of Wayne Gretzky stands outside Rogers Place. Playing with the Oilers from 1978 to 1988, he led the Oilers to four Stanley Cups.
Despite off-season legal issues, the Oilers were again the top team in the NHL during the 1985–86 season, with 56 wins and 119 points. They won the inaugural Presidents' Trophy, the trophy given to the team with the best regular season record. Gretzky, Kurri, and Anderson each scored 50 goals again. Kurri led the NHL in goals with 68, finishing with 131 points. Paul Coffey set a new record for most goals in a season by a defenceman and just missed setting a new record for points by a defenceman with 138. Gretzky also set records for assists and points. However, the Oilers failed to win their third-straight Stanley Cup, as the Calgary Flames defeated them in seven games in the second round. In the third period of a 2–2 tie during game 7, Steve Smith, a rookie for the Oilers, accidentally sent the puck into his own net on his birthday. This goal stood as the series-winning goal.
The 1986–87 season saw the Oilers capture their second straight Presidents' Trophy with 50 wins and 106 points. Gretzky and Kurri were first and second in the NHL point-scoring race, while Messier was fourth. Edmonton returned to the Stanley Cup Final and faced the same opponent as they had in 1985, the Philadelphia Flyers. The Oilers took a three-games-to-one lead in the series. However, strong goaltending by Flyers' rookie Ron Hextall forced a game 7, which the Oilers won, 3–1. In the post-game celebration, Gretzky immediately passed the Stanley Cup to Steve Smith, vindicated after his costly blunder the previous season. Hextall won the Conn Smythe Trophy.
In 1987, the team were the subject of Bob McKeown's documentary film The Boys on the Bus.
The Oilers began losing star players in 1987–88. Paul Coffey sat out the first 21 games of the season before getting traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Andy Moog also failed to report; he was tired of being the backup goaltender. Moog played for the Canadian Olympic team in the 1988 Winter Olympics before getting traded to the Boston Bruins for Bill Ranford. Despite the changes, the Oilers placed third overall in the NHL. Grant Fuhr started a league-record 75 games and posted a team-record 40 wins. In the first round of the playoffs, the Oilers dispatched the third-place Winnipeg Jets in five games. The Oilers then defeated first-overall Calgary in a sweep. In the conference finals against the Detroit Red Wings, the Oilers prevailed in five games. The Oilers then swept the Boston Bruins in four games. The fourth game had to be re-played because of a cancellation. With the score tied 3–3 with 3:23 to play in the second period, a power outage hit the Boston Garden, forcing cancellation of the entire game. The Oilers won the next game back in Edmonton 6–3 to complete the series sweep. However, all player statistics for the aborted game four in Boston are counted in the NHL record books. Gretzky won the Conn Smythe Trophy after leading the playoffs in scoring with 43 points. After the Cup-clinching game, Gretzky implored his teammates, coaches, trainers, and others from the Oilers organization to join at centre ice for an impromptu team photo with the Stanley Cup. This started a tradition since continued by every subsequent Stanley Cup champion. After the season, Fuhr was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender.