Edmonton Oilers Franchise Profile
Founded: 1972 in World Hockey Association. Joined NHL in 1979
Formerly known as: Alberta Oilers (1972-1973)
Arena: Rexall Place
Stanley Cups: 5
1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990
The Edmonton Oilers were one of seven teams absorbed into the NHL in 1979, when the World Hockey Association folded.
But the pivotal moment in Oilers history took place in 1978-79, the final WHA season. That's when Edmonton acquired 17-year-old Wayne Gretzky from the Indianapolis Racers, as the Racers withdrew from the league.
In his first NHL season, Gretzky finished second in league scoring and won the Hart Trophy as league MVP. From there, he went on to lead the Oilers to four Stanley Cups, breaking countless statistical records along the way.
Gretzky's trade to Los Angeles in 1988 is still considered a black day by many Canadians of his generation. Edmonton won a fifth Stanley Cup two years later. But as other stars of the 1980s were traded away, in part due to contract demands, the team descended into a long post-Gretzky funk.
Edmonton Oilers Retired Numbers:
99 Wayne Gretzky
11 Mark Messier
3 Al Hamilton
7 Paul Coffey
9 Glenn Anderson
17 Jari Kurri
31 Grant Fuhr
Edmonton Oilers Hockey Hall of Fame Members:
Glenn Anderson
Paul Coffey
Grant Fuhr
Wayne Gretzky
Jari Kurri
Mark Messier
Jacques Plante
Norm Ullman
2009-10 Oilers Season Preview:
With the aging Nikolai Khabibulin in net and far too much youth at forward, it looks like yet another year of “future watch” in Edmonton.
The development of young scorers like Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, and Robert Nillson has been inconsistent.
It remains to be seen which of them will emerge dependable forwards to join Ales Hemsky and the versatile Shawn Horcoff.
Perhaps the coaching change - a veteran crew led by Pat Quinn takes over - will help.
If any of the kids has a breakout season, he will likely get a huge assist from the Oilers blue line. In Sheldon Souray, Lubomir Visnovsky and Denis Grebeshkov, Edmonton has lots of speed and skill on defense.
Unfortunately, that group is not nearly as strong in its own end.
In fact, the whole team has been defensively shoddy for a couple of years, which will put loads of pressure on Khabibulin.
If they can’t improve defensively under Quinn, significant roster changes are likely in the offing.
Prediction: 13th in the West.
