Edmonton Oilers: Parallels to the New York Islanders

The onetime rivalry the Edmonton Oilers had with the New York Islanders throughout the early 80s has long since disappeared, but the fortunes of the two franchises in a general sense have been very similar to each other throughout their histories. Since it’s the offseason it’s interesting to look at these historical tidbits that you wouldn’t think about during the season.

The Oilers perhaps have more history in common with this franchise than any other in the league, including every single one of the Canadian franchises. All have gone in very different directions from the Oilers. Let’s look at what the historical parallels are with these two storied franchises.

1. Both originated in some fashion from the WHA (World Hockey Association)

Owners and GMs of the day back when the WHA was formed will remember the league as an annoying rival pro league that drove up players’ salaries to what was obscene levels at the time (Bobby Hull signed the first seven figure contract after defecting to the WHA), while players will remember it as a boon to their income from cheapskate NHL owners. A lot of NHL players jumped ship to the WHA, and not all of it was for money reasons (anyone who played for the Leafs during the Harold Ballard years comes to mind).

The Oilers were one of the four teams that were moved over to the NHL after the WHA went broke – the rest being the Winnipeg Jets, Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques. Interesting how none of the other teams exist nowadays (yes I know the Jets eventually came back to Winnipeg, but only after the 1.0 version of the team moved to Phoenix to become the Coyotes).

Anyway, the Islanders were an expansion team that came into the league in 1972, and although they didn’t come directly from the WHA like the Oilers did, they came in response to the threat of a WHA expansion team after the WHA had plans to place it’s New York Team there (they were going to call it the Raiders).

As we’ve seen today, the city of New York easily has enough fans for two teams in New York City, and three if you widen the scope to the New York area where you can include the New Jersey Devils. The WHA actually did plant the Raiders as well as a team in New Jersey but the NHL was a much more well known league than the WHA, so both teams ended up folding before the WHA-NHL merger.

2. Both franchises were the last two NHL dynasties

Unless you consider the Detroit Red Wings winning three cups in six years – which frankly I don’t – as a dynasty then the Islanders and the Oilers were the last two great NHL dynasties. If the Tampa Bay juggernaut continues to win cups, they could be the next ones to hold the label, but for now, it’s the Oilers and the Islanders. The Islanders won five straight cups between 1979-1983, losing to the Oilers in the 1984 Cup finals, which at the time unbeknownst to anyone else was a passing of the torch. The Oilers, after winning in ’84, would go on to win in ’85, ’87, ’88, and 1990. Five cups in seven years.

How many cups you’d have to win to be considered a dynasty is up for debate. For me it’s absolute minimum four, and five would be better, all in a short period of time, but that’s just me.

Maybe dynasties are impossible these days due to the salary cap – but of course if you take away the salary cap we could only confidently count six franchises who would weather the escalation in salaries.

3. Both franchises have suffered from ownership issues in recent years

The New York Islanders have arguably had two bad owners. The first one was John Spano, a guy who owned the Islanders briefly for about nine months, he ended up going to prison for fraud after it was revealed he intentionally and grossly overestimated his net worth in his paperwork filed with the NHL. After having similar bad experiences with owners in Nashville and Buffalo, the NHL has since updated it’s due diligence practices to weed out any other potentially bad owners.

The second one was subsequent owner Charles Wang, who consistently went through many GM changes due to the fact that he insisted on meddling in their jobs, and history has shown us that hands-on owners in the NHL never work out. The key to success for NHL ownership is two-fold:  1) Hire competent people to oversee the organization in the President’s role and the GM role and then 2) Get out of their way.

That’s pretty much it. Wang never seemed to get that. During his years as Islander’s majority owner, the Islanders were drifters who never really went anywhere and never won much of anything. Unlike Spano, at least he legitimately had money, but as a person he was an unfit NHL owner.

For the Oilers, their bad owner was their first one – Peter Pocklington. Pocklington was a guy who at the height of his business empire oversaw a multi-billion dollar conglomerate of business interests in multiple sectors, but the lion’s share was in the food industry.

However, long story short due to a combination of things both within and outside of his control, his business empire started crumbling in the late 80s and early 90s. In his early years in business, he seemed to be ethical, conducting business on the level, but as time went on greed seemed to take over in his decision making. There were rumours of suppliers to his businesses performing services and not getting paid. If you did a business to business service, and didn’t get paid for it, would you do business with the same guy again? Of course not. One of those suppliers went public, the company who made all the buttons for his failed 1983 campaign for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada, went to the media and revealed that he had made the buttons as Pocklington requested but never got paid – and not so coincidentally that’s when Pocklington paid him.

We can only imagine how many local pig farmers received no compensation for the pigs they sold to Gainers.

His bank went under due to the high interest rates of the early 80s, that was outside his control. But there were other things he could control – like his poor and ill-fated response to the strike at the Gainers plant on the north side of Edmonton. Or the interest free loan he received from what at the time was the Alberta government owned bank, Alberta Treasury Branches, that he never paid back, then fled the country when he realized what was happening.

Eventually it seemed to the people of Edmonton that he had burned so many bridges that no one would want to do business with him anymore. The only business he seemed to run ethically at the end was the Oilers, and he probably only did that because he knew what the media was like around the Oilers, and the resulting circus that would come about if he didn’t pay people who worked for or did business with them.

Imagine if he had actually done business ethically, he would’ve lost a lot less money and wouldn’t have been forced to dismantle the late 80s dynasty team, and then we might be talking about a team that won a couple more cups in the early 90s. If they were traded it would’ve been for hockey reasons, not financial ones. He might’ve still had to sell the team, but at least he would’ve had more assets to unload to avoid that. Then maybe Daryl Katz might’ve bought the team from Pocklington instead of from the Edmonton Investors Group, as what happened in real life.

4. Both franchises at one point had the two oldest arenas in the league, only to secure new ones or have them open soon.

The Oilers got the downtown arena they’d been crying out for for years in 2016 when Rogers Place opened. It’s held countless concerts, events, and is also the home of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings as well. It was also one of two sites that were the bubbles for the NHL playoffs two seasons ago. It’s also being used as the catalyst for a downtown revitalization which has been going on for years now – which is actually feasible in a hockey city like Edmonton. It’s since been widely regarded as one of the NHL’s best, most state of the art arenas.

The Islander’s new arena is slated to open this November, six weeks into the NHL season and the Islanders will be spending the first part of the season on the road until then as their lease at the Barclays Center ran out and Nassau Coliseum closed indefinitely earlier in 2020.

Not being an Islanders fan who has followed the whole saga I don’t know too much about it, but it’s bound to have some things in common with every other NHL arena – luxury boxes, dine in and fast food restaurant options, merch stores, lots of bathrooms (hopefully), expensive beer. Wang tried his hand at delivering this during his time as owner, but failed with a different project.

Your move, Calgary.

5. Lots of players have suited up for both teams

The Oilers have traded away lots of players to Long Island, and have managed to snag some sweet trades from there as well. Among the notable players who have played for both teams through direct signings or trades – Jordan Eberle, Tommy Salo (thanks, mad Mike), Robert Nilsson, and Janne Niinimaa.

Then, of course, there was the infamous Griffin Reinhart trade which the Oilers badly lost and the Islanders made out like bandits on with a great draft haul. Thanks, Peter Chiarelli. Just one of many reasons why you were fired and haven’t been hired as a GM anywhere else since.

But I digress.

6. Both teams are currently playoff contenders

The Islanders have been this for much longer than the Oilers have, but at this point, I’d say both teams are currently capable of winning a playoff series.

I wouldn’t classify either team as a cup contender, but the Oilers might be on the verge of that. I get the sense the Isles might need more high end talent to go the distance, but that’s just me.