Edmonton Oilers are on the cusp of a new era under a new coach and a new GM. The management has worked tirelessly during the offseason to make additions to the team. Every time changes are made, it attracts a lot of interest and that is exactly what is happening with Oilers. The team needs the fans backing and there is no better way to do that than buying Edmonton Oilers tickets and making your voices heard.
The Start
1971 saw the formation of the World Hockey Association and Edmonton Oilers were among WHA’s foremost chartered members. The Oilers played in the WHA for the entire duration of the league’s short seven years existence and made it to the playoffs five times. One of the last moves by the Oilers management before WHA folded was to add a certain “Wayne Gretzky” to the roster in 1978. That one decision was to change ice hockey and the Oilers fortunes forever.
Move to NHL and Dominance
Edmonton Oilers shifted to NHL after WHA. It took them two seasons before they captured top position. Oilers upped the ante in 1981-1982 season with Gretzky leading the charge. It was more of the same next year and Oilers went on to lift their first division and conference championships.
1983-1984 campaign turned out to be a monumental one for Edmonton Oilers. They went on a rampage that season, winning fifty seven games overall to clinch the division title with some swagger. North Stars were then downed to lift the conference crown. The Islanders were then brushed aside 4-1 and Oilers became Stanley Cup champions for the first time ever. If anyone thought that triumph was a fluke then that myth was dispelled next year as they went on to repeat the division, conference and Stanley Cup treble.
Edmonton Oilers got their hands on the Presidents’ Trophy in 1985-1986 before making their way to the top of the ladder once again by winning the division, Presidents’ Cup, conference and the Stanley Cup quadruple next season. 1987-1988 was Gretzky’s final year with the Oilers and he went out on a high by helping the team retain their division, conference and Stanley Cup titles. Oilers didn’t let their standards slip and captured these three titles once again by the end of 1989-1990 campaign.
Slump till Now
Edmonton Oilers followed the triumphant 1990 season with two successive division championships in 1991 and 1992. That unfortunately was also the last time the franchise won a title for the next fifteen years. Their form looked to be picking up once again when Oilers laid their hands on the conference title in 2005-2006 season but they haven’t made it to the playoffs since.
The recent performances have been too hard to digest for everyone associated with Oilers. This is team that raised the bar and was a benchmark for others to follow for a long time. Now with new changes made, there is a new ray of hope that all the pieces will fall into place to propel Edmonton Oilers back to their glory days.