1985 Stanley Cup Final Game 7 vs New York Islanders

Lore & Background

The Oilers were founded in 1971 by W. D. 'Wild Bill' Hunter and Dr. Chuck Allard and played their first season in 1972–73 as one of the 12 founding franchises of the World Hockey Association (WHA). They were originally named the Alberta Oilers, then renamed the Edmonton Oilers the following year, and joined the NHL in 1979 as part of the NHL–WHA merger. After joining the NHL, the Oilers won the Stanley Cup five times: 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, and 1989–90. They also won six straight division titles from 1981–82 through 1986–87. Notably, 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. The Oilers began to struggle after coming up short in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, missing the playoffs for the subsequent 10 seasons.

Reader's Guide

The Oilers are one of two NHL franchises based in Alberta, the other being the Calgary Flames, leading to the 'Battle of Alberta' rivalry. They are the NHL franchise with the northernmost home location. The Oilers made 16 first-round selections in the NHL entry draft from 2007 to 2019, including four first overall picks: Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, and Connor McDavid. 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.

Did You Know?

• Wayne Gretzky set NHL records in 1980–81 for assists (109) and points (164), and in 1981–82 set the single-season record for goals (92) and became the first player to score 200 points (212).
• The Oilers are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the most championships won by any team since the NHL–WHA merger.
• Only the Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup more times since the league's 1967 expansion.