50 Fun Facts About Edmonton Oilers

Which province-wide name did the club use in its first WHA season?

The plan was to split home games with Calgary after the Broncos folded, but every game was played at Edmonton Gardens.

Which co-founder of the Oilers also founded the Western Hockey League and owned the junior Oil Kings?

He turned to the WHA after the NHL rebuffed his expansion efforts.

Whom did the Oilers beat 7-4 in the first game in WHA history?

Captain Al Hamilton and goalie Dave Dryden were early draws.

Which journeyman forward, acquired in 1976, became player-coach and then ran the team for 23 years?

Chief scout Barry Fraser helped him draft Messier, Kurri, Coffey, Lowe, Fuhr and Moog.

From which folded WHA club did Peter Pocklington buy the underage Gretzky in 1978?

Nelson Skalbania owned the Racers and had earlier owned the Oilers.

Which Oiler scored the last goal in WHA history in the 1979 Avco Cup final?

Winnipeg won that game 7-3 and the title.

How did Pocklington keep Gretzky out of the 1979 NHL entry draft pool?

He used it as leverage to force the NHL to admit the Oilers with Gretzky.

The Oilers' rookie goalie set a record in 1981-82 by going unbeaten in how many straight games?

Gretzky scored 92 goals and 212 points the same season.

The 1982 'Miracle on Manchester' saw the Oilers blow what third-period lead to Los Angeles?

The Kings won 6-5 in overtime and took the series in five.

Which team swept the Oilers in the 1983 Final before Edmonton beat them for the 1984 Cup?

Mark Messier won the 1984 Conn Smythe.

How many goals did the 1983-84 Oilers score, an NHL record?

They were the first team with three 50-goal scorers: Gretzky, Kurri and Anderson.

Which defenceman set playoff records for goals (12), assists (25) and points (37) by a blueliner in 1985?

Gretzky still won the Conn Smythe with a record 47 points.

Which Oilers rookie scored on his own net on his birthday to decide Game 7 against Calgary in 1986?

Gretzky handed him the Cup first a year later in vindication.

Which Flyers rookie goalie won the 1987 Conn Smythe despite losing Game 7 to Edmonton?

The Oilers had let a 3-1 series lead slip before winning 3-1 in the finale.

Which 1987 documentary followed the Oilers' season?

Bob McKeown directed it.

Why did Game 4 of the 1988 Final against the Bruins have to be replayed?

It was 3-3 with 3:23 left in the second; the Oilers finished the sweep back home 6-3.

Which post-Cup tradition did Gretzky start after the 1988 clincher?

Every champion since has gathered at centre ice.

How much cash did the Oilers receive from Los Angeles in the August 1988 Gretzky trade?

Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas and three first-round picks came too; McSorley and Krushelnyski went with Gretzky.

Which NDP leader asked the Canadian government to block the Gretzky trade?

Some Oilers considered striking or demanding Pocklington sell.

Who scored in the third overtime of Game 1 of the 1990 Final, having been benched for much of the night?

Bill Ranford won the Conn Smythe as Edmonton won its first Cup without Gretzky.

Which Italian club did Jari Kurri spend the 1990-91 season with?

Grant Fuhr was suspended 60 games for drug abuse the same year.

Which NBA owner nearly bought the Oilers in 1998 to move them to Houston?

The Edmonton Investors Group, led by Cal Nichols, paid $70 million hours before the deadline.

Whose overtime goal in Game 7 completed the 1997 upset of the Dallas Stars?

Curtis Joseph's goaltending carried both that upset and the 1998 comeback over Colorado.

Which team beat the Oilers 4-3 in the 2003 Heritage Classic, the NHL's first regular-season outdoor game?

More than 55,000 fans at Commonwealth Stadium set an NHL attendance record.

The 2006 Oilers became the first eighth seed since 1994 to reach a conference final by beating which two teams?

They came back from 2-0 down against the Sharks, then beat Anaheim in five.

Which goalie's Game 1 knee injury in the 2006 Final forced Edmonton to turn to Jussi Markkanen?

Backup Ty Conklin's misplay gave Rod Brind'Amour the winner that night.

Whose short-handed overtime goal won Game 5 of the 2006 Final?

Carolina still won Game 7 3-1.

Which star defenceman requested a trade for personal reasons four days after the 2006 Final?

He went to Anaheim for Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid and three picks.

Which pharmacy magnate bought the Oilers from the Edmonton Investors Group in 2008?

His Katz Group contributed to the Rogers Place financing.

Which star refused a 2009 trade to Edmonton and ended up in San Jose instead?

Dustin Penner, Ladislav Smid and Andrew Cogliano would have gone to Ottawa.

Which four players did the Oilers take first overall between 2010 and 2015?

Only Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid remained for the 2024 and 2025 Finals.

Whom did the Oilers receive from New Jersey in the 2016 one-for-one trade of Taylor Hall?

Peter Chiarelli also signed Milan Lucic that summer.

At what age was Connor McDavid named Oilers captain, the youngest in NHL history?

He broke Gabriel Landeskog's record; the club had gone captain-less in 2015-16.

Whose franchise record of 40 wins by a goalie did Cam Talbot break in 2016-17?

Talbot won 42 as Edmonton ended an 11-year playoff drought.

McDavid's 2021 Hart Trophy made him only the second unanimous winner alongside whom?

He had 105 points in 53 games; Gretzky was unanimous in 1981-82.

How many points did McDavid score in 2022-23, the most in the salary-cap era?

Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins also topped 100, the first trio to do so on one team since 1995-96.

Which coach took over from Jay Woodcroft in November 2023 and went 46-18-5 the rest of the way?

The Oilers ripped off a 16-game win streak and reached the Final.

Which team beat Edmonton in both the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup Finals?

Zach Hyman scored 54 goals in 2023-24 as Edmonton beat the Kings for a third straight year.

Which former Blackhawks GM, reinstated after suspension, was hired by the Oilers in July 2024?

He soon signed Draisaitl to an eight-year, $112 million extension.

Which comic-book creator and minority owner designed the Oilers' 2001 flying-gears jersey?

The logo's elements saluted five Cups and ten captains.

In 1996 the Oilers changed to midnight blue and copper and added which alternate logo to the shoulders?

It was retired with the 2007 Reebok Edge switch.

Which fan tradition, born from a 2015 WHA-inspired alternate jersey, answered Calgary's C of Red?

It began with a WHA-inspired alternate in 2015-16.

Which local club's 1952 Olympic gold for Canada inspired the 2023 Heritage Classic uniforms?

The design used brown pants and gloves to evoke early 20th-century gear.

Which arena did Rogers Place replace as the Oilers' home in 2016?

Gretzky and Messier skated one last lap after the final game at the old rink, then called Rexall Place.

What is Rogers Place's seating capacity for hockey?

It rises to 20,734 for concerts.

Which OHL club did McDavid join at 15 after receiving exceptional-player status?

He was born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, to a Bruins-fan father.

Which injury cost McDavid three months of his rookie season?

He still made the All-Rookie Team and was a Calder finalist.

Which legendary Canadiens goalie briefly played for the WHA Oilers and entered the Hall of Fame in 1978?

He had led Montreal to six Stanley Cups in the 1950s and early 1960s.

In 2015, the Oilers moved their AHL affiliate from Oklahoma City to which California city?

The move was part of the AHL's new Pacific Division; the club became the Condors.

Which coach replaced Craig MacTavish behind the Oilers bench after the 2008-09 season?

That season Dwayne Roloson became the oldest goaltender to play 60 NHL games in one year.