Edmonton Oilers is one of the National Hockey League old-timers . Over its forty-year history, the team has experienced ups and downs. Famous players such as Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier played in its ranks.
Club history
Hockey club "Edmonton Oilers" first made itself known in the year of the opening of the World Hockey Association. Then the team was presented to the audience under the name Alberta Oilers. The club owed its original name to a provincial Canadian city. The Oilers management assumed that the team would share all their home fights between the hockey venues of Edmonton and Calgary. But this was not destined to come true, so already in the next season of 1973/1974 the team received a new name, under which it is still playing.
For all the time of participation in the VHL, the team did not achieve particularly great successes. The Oilers' only achievement was participating in the final of the playoffs in 1979, where the club lost to Winnipeg.
Edmonton Oilers: winning squad
The next season was a new milestone in the history of the team. The Edmonton leadership signed one of the largest contracts with the famous Wayne Gretzky. Just before the start of the new hockey year, already in the ranks of the National Hockey League, the club made another rather significant acquisition. In the ranks of the oil industry, the still unknown Mark Messier appeared.
In the very first season of the NHL, “Edmonton Oilers” declared itself as a team ready to fight for the highest positions in the championship. Despite the defeat in the first round, the club was able to set several significant records thanks to the same unsurpassed Wayne. Also, players such as Messier, Coffey and Curry made a significant contribution to the successful performance of the team.
Stanley Owners
A few years later, already well-played hockey players begin to receive points. For six consecutive years (since 1981), oil workers annually gain more than 100 points in the national championship. The team also four times becomes the owner of the main overseas trophy - Stanley Cup. In the finals of 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988, hockey players from the Boston club Philadelphia and New York Islanders were defeated.
In these golden years for Edmonton fans, the team was led by Glen Sater. The latter managed to instill in his team a real team spirit and infect them with the desire to win. One of the main roles in successful performances of the club was also played by the first black goalkeeper of the National Hockey League, Grant Für, who defended the Oilers gate in those years.
Goodbye Wayne!
August 9, 1988 was the fateful date for the Canadian club. Gretzky, who was the main striking force of the team, left the ranks of the oil workers and moved to the Los Angeles Kings. With Wayne leaving the team’s arsenal, the sweater number 99 disappeared forever, under which the hockey player performed. Without their central scorer, the Edmonton team began to suffer one defeat after another in the very first season. The club left the playoff series at the initial stage, losing to the same Los Angeles Kings, in which the former player of the team now shone.
Risen from the ashes
In 1990, John Makler was put at the helm of the team. Through his efforts, the club was able to overcome its crisis and for the fifth time become the owner of an honorary trophy. The Boston club, which was defeated in five games, was again the victim of the oil industry. After this victorious season, the Edmonton Oilers left many already fairly old players, including Marc Messier.
However, three years later, the team again overtook the crisis. This time the oil industry had financial difficulties. Oilrez leaves the playoffs four times in a row. Club director Peter Pocklington, to the great disappointment of the fans, decides to move Edmonton to another city because of the high cost of renting a hockey field where the team conducted training.
Tight Mid-Range NHL
Only in the 1996/1997 season did oil workers manage to show a more or less decent game, largely due to the efforts of Kurtis Joseph, who was at the gates of the club, as well as the extraordinary tactics of the game invented by the new coach Ron Lowe. The NHL club “Edmonton Oilers” managed not only to firmly settle in the middle of the tournament table, but also for the first time in many years to enter the playoff series. In the first game, the oil industry manages to create a miracle by defeating the notorious favorite of the match - Dallas. However, in the next game, the club was defeated by Colorado.
The following year, the Edmonton Oilers HC again surprised all hockey fans. In the first series of the playoffs, the team outplayed Colorado. But in the next game, the Dallas defeated last season managed to get revenge from an opponent.
And again the crisis
For three consecutive seasons, the club continued to show good hockey, regularly pleased its fans with exits to the playoffs. But in 2000, the Edmonton Oilers era marks a turning point. The chair of the team’s chief manager leaves Glen Sater, who has already become native to the players.
The new leadership was faced with serious financial difficulties and was forced to part with many leading players. But despite this, the club’s head coach Craig McTavish managed to create a fully combat-ready team that constantly went into the playoffs. The renewed team was able to achieve the biggest success in the 2005/2006 season. Edmonton made it to the Cup finals, where in eight games they were defeated by Carolina. The most productive players in the oil industry that year were Chris Pronger, who stood on the defensive position, forward Fernando Pisani and goalkeeper Dwayne Roloson.
Edmonton Oilers form: all metamorphoses
The personification of any hockey team is not only its game, but also the form in which the club members act. The hockey player, like any person, is also greeted by clothing.
The form of oil workers over the years the team has not undergone significant changes. Edmonton began his first season in the VHL in white sweaters with brown and blue stripes. For away matches, a darker version of the uniform was ordered - blue sweaters with brown and white stripes. For a long time, the leadership of the team did not make any significant adjustments to the design of sweaters. Only after almost twenty years the form underwent some changes. The colors became darker and duller, and the Edmonton Oilers emblem appeared on the shoulders - an oil worker with a club in his hands.
In 2001, the team got a second version of the home uniform - a dark blue sweater. At its center was a huge flying gear with a drop of oil in the middle. The image became the second logo of the team.
Six years later, Reebok became the general sponsor of the oil industry, thanks to which almost all the strips disappeared from the sweater. The Edmonton Oilers Arsenal has a form of both a new and an old model.