NHL Team Guide: Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers were founded in 1972 as one of the first 12 franchises in the World Hockey Association. The Oilers were one of the four franchises absorbed into the NHL in 1979. Edmonton has had its share of success and is tied with Pittsburgh for the most championships won since the NHL and WHA merged.
The Oilers have also had their share of struggles. Since playing for a Stanley Cup in 2005-06, the Oilers have made the postseason just once (2016-17). As one of two teams in Alberta, the Oilers make up half of the Battle of Alberta. Calgary makes up the other half.
Edmonton fans can watch Oilers games on TV on a variety of networks. Nationally broadcast games are available on NBC, NBCSN, and the CBC. Fans can also watch regional broadcasts on Sportsnet. The complete Edmonton NHL schedule is available for live streaming on Sportsnet NOW.
NHL Standings
When Edmonton entered the NHL in 1979, it became a member of the Smythe Division and the Campbell Conference. When the league went to 26 teams in 1992, the Campbell Conference became the Western Conference and the Smythe Division became the Pacific Division, which is where Edmonton remains today.
Championship History
The Oilers of the 1980s are one of NHL’s dynasties. Edmonton won nine division championships, the first of which was won in 1978-79 when the team was in the WHA. The Oilers won NHL division titles in 1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1990-91, and 1991-92.
Edmonton has seven conference championships (1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1989-90, and 2005-06) and five Stanley Cups, which were won over a period of seven seasons. The Oilers won Stanley Cups in 1983-84, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1987-88, and 1989-90.
Home of the Oilers
The Oilers play their home NHL schedule at Rogers Place, which is located in downtown Edmonton. Rogers Place opened in 2014 and seats 18,347 fans for Oilers hockey games.
Best Oilers
The first five Oilers on the team’s career scoring list are all in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Each played a role in some or all of Edmonton’s run of Stanley Cups in the 1980s. At the top of the list is “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky who is regarded by many as the greatest player of all-time. He is the leading scorer in the history of the NHL and the top scorer for Edmonton. He totaled 626 goals, 1,147 assists and 1,773 points in his 10 seasons with the Oilers.
Jari Kurri also played 10 seasons in Edmonton. He is second on the Oilers all-time scoring list with 1,043 career points. Third on the list is Mark Messier who spent 12 years in Edmonton. Messier is second in Oilers history to Gretzky in assists (642) and scored 1,034 career points.
Fourth on the list is Glenn Anderson, who played 11 years for the Oilers. Anderson scored 417 goals and 906 points for his Edmonton career. In fifth place on the scoring list is defenseman Paul Coffey, who is second in NHL history among defensemen in goals, assists, and scoring. Coffey won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman three times and he holds the NHL record for goals (48) by a defenseman in a single season. Coffey scored 669 points for the Oilers in just seven seasons. Each member of the Oilers’ top five averaged more than a point per game during their career with the team.
Author: Dan Anderson