The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference.
The Oilers were officially founded in 1971 by W. D. "Wild Bill" Hunter and Dr. Chuck Allard. The team played its first season in 1972, as one of the twelve founding franchises of the major professional World Hockey Association (WHA). They were originally intended to be one of two WHA Alberta teams, along with the Calgary Broncos. However, when the Broncos relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, before the WHA's first season began, the Oilers were renamed the Alberta Oilers. They returned to their current name in the following year, and subsequently joined the NHL in 1979 as one of four franchises absorbed through the NHL merger with the WHA.
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 and also 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. For their success in the 1980s, the Oilers team of this era has been honoured with dynasty status by the Hockey Hall of Fame.
However, the Oilers began to struggle greatly shortly after the 2004–05 NHL lockout, having missed the playoffs every year since 2006, with the exception of 2016–17. The Oilers have drafted 12 first round selections since 2007, 10 of which were within the first 10 draft choices overall, 6 of those picks were within the first 4 picks overall, and 4 of those 6 were first overall selections. In the NHL Entry Draft, Edmonton selected first overall Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov and Connor McDavid with those picks; only McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins remain with the Oilers today.
The Oilers are one of two NHL franchises based in Alberta; the other being the Calgary Flames. Their close proximity to each other has led to a fierce rivalry known as the "Battle of Alberta".
On November 1, 1971, the Edmonton Oilers became 1 of the 12 founding WHA franchises. The original owners were "Wild Bill" Hunter (1920–2002) and partner, Dr. Charles A. "Chuck" Allard (1919–1991)[5] (father of Vancouver, Canada attorney Peter Allard)[6] 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 (now known as the Western Hockey League (WHL)). Hunter's efforts to bring major professional hockey to Edmonton via an expansion NHL franchise had been rebuffed by the NHL. So, he looked to the upstart WHA instead. It was Hunter who chose the "Oilers" name for the new WHA franchise. This was a name that had previously been used as a nickname for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 1950s and 1960s. Hunter also served as head coach during the 1972–73, 1974–75, and 1975–76 seasons, and the Oilers' mascot, Hunter, is named in his honour.
After the newly founded Calgary Broncos folded prior to 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 would have 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 was named player-coach late in the season, moving to the bench full-time after the season. Sather would be 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 relatively well-supported and financially stable by WHA standards. In 1976, Hunter and Allard sold the franchise to Vancouver real estate tycoon Nelson Skalbania, who would become 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.[17] However, Edmonton failed to win the championship, as they fell to the Winnipeg Jets in the Avco World Trophy Final. 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
