The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which opened in 2016. Kris Knoblauch is the head coach as of November 12, 2023, and Ken Holland was named general manager on May 7, 2019. The Oilers are one of two NHL franchises based in Alberta, the other being the Calgary Flames. Their proximity has led to a fierce rivalry known as the "Battle of Alberta".
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926. Although the WHA was not the first league since that time to attempt to challenge the NHL's supremacy, it was by far the most successful in the modern era.
The Vancouver Blazers were a professional ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1975. The Blazers played at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, sharing the facility with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. The Blazers were owned by local businessman Jim Pattison. The franchise moved to Vancouver after a single season in Philadelphia. Unable to establish a strong fan base in Vancouver, the team was moved again in 1975 to become the Calgary Cowboys.
Robert Briton Selby is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues from 1965 to 1971. He also played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Quebec Nordiques, New England Whalers and Toronto Toros from 1972 to 1975.
The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) and the National Hockey League (1979–1995). The franchise was relocated to Denver, Colorado in May 1995 and renamed the Colorado Avalanche. They played their home games at the Colisée de Québec from 1972 to 1995.
The 1979–80 NHL season was the 63rd season of the National Hockey League. This season saw the addition of four teams from the disbanded World Hockey Association as expansion franchises. The Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, New England Whalers, and Quebec Nordiques joined the NHL, bringing the total to 21 teams. The other two WHA teams were paid to fold.
Blair Neil Joseph "B. J." MacDonald is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association between 1973 and 1983. He featured in the 1979 WHA Final with the Edmonton Oilers and the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals with the Vancouver Canucks.
Peter Driscoll is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left wing who played in the World Hockey Association and National Hockey League between 1974 and 1981. He was born in Powassan, Ontario.
Steven Anthony Tambellini is a Canadian former ice hockey player and former general manager for the Edmonton Oilers. He is currently a scout for the Anaheim Ducks.
The WHA amateur draft was the entry draft for the World Hockey Association. The professional league operated from 1972 to 1979, but only held its annual draft from 1973 through 1978.
Ronald James Chipperfield is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who served as the Edmonton Oilers' first National Hockey League (NHL) captain. He played for the Oilers in both the World Hockey Association (WHA) and the NHL, as well as the Vancouver Blazers and the Calgary Cowboys of the WHA, and the Quebec Nordiques of the NHL. Chipperfield was born in Brandon, Manitoba.
David E. Parro is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 77 games in the National Hockey League with the Washington Capitals from 1981 to 1984. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, was spent in the minor leagues.
Claire Arthur Alexander or Arthur Claire Alexander is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) in the 1970s.
David Richard Langevin is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 216 games for the Edmonton Oilers in the World Hockey Association (WHA) as well as 513 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Minnesota North Stars and Los Angeles Kings between 1977 and 1987. He is a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
David Earl Lumley is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lumley was selected in both the twelfth round of the 1974 NHL amateur draft by the Montreal Canadiens and in the eighth round of the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft, by the Vancouver Blazers. Electing to pursue an NHL career, Lumley eventually played parts of nine seasons with the Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers and Hartford Whalers, winning the Stanley Cup on two occasions 1984 and 1985 with the Edmonton Oilers.
Stanley Brian Weir is a Canadian former ice hockey centre. He played on five different teams for the National Hockey League, and one season in the World Hockey Association, over an 11-year career that lasted from 1972 to 1983. Weir was drafted 2nd by the California Golden Seals in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, and made his debut with the team in 1972, playing three seasons there. Traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs Weir spent three seasons there before signing with the Edmonton Oilers of the WHA in 1978, playing one season there and returning to the NHL with the Oilers, where he played a further three seasons. He finished his NHL career with brief stints with the Colorado Rockies and Detroit Red Wings, and spent two seasons in the minor leagues before retiring as a professional in 1985.
Ralph Leo Klassen was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 497 games in the National Hockey League. In Klassen's ten-year career, he played for the California Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Blues.
Warren Fredrick Miller is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played 238 games in the World Hockey Association and 262 games in the National Hockey League between 1976 and 1983. Internationally Miller played for the American national team at the 1977 and 1981 World Championships and the 1981 Canada Cup.
The expansion era of the National Hockey League (NHL) began when six new teams were added for the 1967–68 season, ending the Original Six era. The six existing teams were grouped into the newly created East Division, and the expansion teams—the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Oakland Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues—formed the West Division.
