Edmonton Oilers facts for kids

Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
Conference	Western
Division	Pacific
Founded	1972
History	Alberta Oilers; 1972–1973 (WHA); Edmonton Oilers; 1973–1979 (WHA); 1979–present (NHL)
Home arena	Rogers Place
City	Edmonton, Alberta
Colours	Orange, navy blue, white;
Media	Sportsnet West; Sportsnet Oilers; Citytv Edmonton; CHED (630 AM)
Owner(s)	Daryl Katz
General manager	Ken Holland
Head coach	Dave Tippett
Captain	Connor McDavid
Minor league affiliates	Bakersfield Condors (AHL); Wichita Thunder (ECHL)
Stanley Cups	5 (1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90)
Conference championships	7 (1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 2005–06)
Presidents' Trophies	2 (1985–86, 1986–87)
Division championships	9 (1978–79 (WHA), 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92)

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".

Images for kids

The Oilers acquired Jari Kurri in the 1980 draft. Kurri was one of several key acquisitions by the Oilers in the early 1980s.
A close-up view of the engravings for the 1983–84 Edmonton Oilers, winners of the 1984 Stanley Cup.
A statue of Wayne Gretzky stands outside Rogers Place. Playing with the Oilers from 1978 to 1988, he led the Oilers to four Stanley Cups.
Mark Messier was named the Oilers' team captain shortly following the Gretzky trade.
Cal Nichols spearheaded the Edmonton Investors Group's purchase of the Oilers franchise in 1998.
Acquired through a trade in 2006, Dwayne Roloson emerged as the Oilers' starting goaltender from 2006 to 2009.
Daryl Katz purchased the Oilers from the Edmonton Investors Group in 2008.
The Oilers drafted Taylor Hall with the first overall pick in the 2010 draft. He played with the Oilers from 2010 to 2016.
Andrew Ference played with the Oilers from 2013 to 2016. He was named team captain in 2013.
The Oilers drafted Connor McDavid first overall in the 2015 draft. He was named the Oilers' 15th team captain in 2016.
Rogers Place during the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Oilers moved into Rogers Place prior to the start of the 2016–17 season
Paul Coffey was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.
Recording 296 regular season goals while playing with the Oilers, Ryan Smyth is the franchise's fifth highest all-time goalscorer.
Rogers Place is the present home of the Edmonton Oilers.