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8 things for Edmonton Oilers fans to be thankful for

By Paul Taylor

EDMONTON, AB - OCTOBER 16: Exterior photo of Rogers Place before the first regular season meeting between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames during warmups at Rogers Place on October 16, 2021 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, AB - OCTOBER 16: Exterior photo of Rogers Place before the first regular season meeting between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames during warmups at Rogers Place on October 16, 2021 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images) /
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Edmonton Oilers
EDMONTON, AB – OCTOBER 10: Paul Coffey, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Wayne Gretzky, Glen Sather, Jari Kurri, and Grant Fuhr pose with the Stanley Cup during the Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Reunion at Rexall Place on October 10, 2014 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images) /

1) The history:

Even though the Oilers haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1990, it doesn’t take away from their rich tradition and history. Despite the lengthy drought, they are tied-sixth all time with five championships.

If you break it down further, the Oilers have won the most Stanley Cups out of all the Canadian teams, since they joined the NHL for the 1979-80 season. On a league-wide level, they are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the most championships over the same time period.

2) The Great One:

Of course there can be no discussion of the Oilers’ history, without mention of one Wayne Gretzky. “The Great One” is regarded as the greatest hockey player of all time, and Edmonton gets to claim him as their own.

What Gretzky did for the Oilers specifically and the NHL in general cannot be underestimated, as he took the game to new heights no one thought possible. His list of accolades is long and impressive, including the all-time records for career goals, assists and total points in both the regular season and playoffs, as well as most ever Hart Trophies.

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3) Lottery joy:

To say you have the best player in hockey history is special enough, but to say you arguably have someone who could one day overtake them, is almost unfair. Almost. And yet this is exactly the position the Oilers are in, after being fortunate enough to win the lottery draft and select Connor McDavid first overall.

McDavid is the best player in the game today, and the scary thing for opponents is he’s only just entering his prime years and still continuing to improve. He may or may not eventually surpass Gretzky, but worst-case he’s on course to become the second-best hockey player of all time.

4) Arguably second-best:

On the subject of second-best, the Oilers arguably have the number two hockey player in the game right now. More specifically Leon Draisaitl, who TSN ranked second in their most recent Top 50 NHL players poll.

In 2020, Draisaitl became the first ever German player to win the Art Ross Trophy, the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award. More recently, last season he came within two power play goals of the all-time single season record, while finishing tied for most playoff goals, despite only playing two rounds.

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