The Edmonton Oilers

1979- The Beginning The Edmonton Oilers are a professional hockey team in the NHL. They have been in the league since Glen Sather was the general manager for the team at that time. He acquired Wayne Gretzky before the team started. In the NHL Entry Draft for 1979, he drafted players that would become legends for the team and league, such as Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Kevin Lowe, Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog.

The Stanley Cup Years The Oilers won 5 Stanley Cups. First in the season was their second Stanley Cup year. Their third cup came in th in , and last in cup in Their first cup they beat the New York Islanders. Second and third cup was against the Philadelphia Flyers. Their 4 th and 5 th cups were against the Boston Bruins.

Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier

The trades that changed a team and city Many trades have effected both the Oilers and the city of Edmonton and its fans. The biggest trade was the one of Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings. On August 9 th, To this day, Oilers fans are still hurt and angry. Mark Messier went to the New York Rangers, along with Glen Anderson and Kevin Lowe. Jari Kurri to Colorado Avalanche. Paul Coffey to Pittsburgh Penguins. Grant Fuhr to St. Louis Blues. Oiler fans were never happy about these moves. Since Mark Messier left. They never won a Stanley Cup. Also one big trade in 2007 was the trade of Ryan Smyth to the Islanders. Smyth was the most loved player in the history of the Oilers.

Wayne Gretzky Trade August 9 th, 1988, the worst day in Edmonton. Gretzky crying while talking with the Edmonton media as an Oilers for the last time.

This year was seen as a break-out year for the Oilers, they had great young players. They had also signed Chris Pronger, one of the best defenceman in the league, along with Michael Peca, a great veteran to help lead the young. Along with Ryan Smyth, Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff, the Oilers had a great season. But they had trouble with their goalies. At the trade deadline they got Dwayne Roloson, a good veteran goalie, they also got Sergei Samsonov, a famous player in Boston and Jaroslav Spacek from Buffalo. Then came the playoffs. A fairy tale to always be remembered.

2006 Playoff Run. This was an amazing run for the Stanley Cup, no one will forget, especially the Oiler fans. They entered the playoffs in the 8 th and final spot, they were going to play the Detroit Red Wings, the 1 st place team and the team picked to win the Cup. They would beat them in 6 games out of 7. They would next place the San Jose Sharks, another great team, Oilers won in the 6 th game. They then faced the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, eliminated them in 5 games. They were heading to Stanley Cup Finals for the 1 st time since Messier left.

Stanley Cup Finals. Edmonton Oilers vs. Carolina Hurricanes. Tied at 4 in the first game, Oilers starting goalie Dwayne Roloson was hurt and put out of action for the rest of the playoffs after a collision when Oiler blue-liner Marc-Andre Bergeron knocked 'Canes winger Andrew Ladd into him with under 6 minutes to play in Game One. With Roloson out, Ro Brind'Amour scored the game winner on a mix up by Ty Conklin and Jason Smith with only thirty seconds left. After trailing the series 2–0 and 3–1, the Oilers forced a seventh game while riding backup Jussi Markkanen, a miracle overtime shorthanded goal in game 5 by local hero Fernando Pisani, and a 4–0 shutout win at home in Game 6. They could not complete the comeback, however, as the Hurricanes won Game 7 by a score of 3–1 (third goal was an empty net) to capture their first ever Stanley Cup championship. The Oilers, on the other hand, would later hang their 23rd banner in their young history by winning the Western Conference Title.

Most hated man in Edmonton- Chris Pronger Four days after the Oilers lost the Cup, he asked for a trade to leave Edmonton. There were many rumours about him. His wife didn’t like Edmonton, he cheated on his wife and had a baby. He went to Anehiem for Joffery Lupul and Ladislav Smid. The next year he won the Cup with the Ducks. Oiler fans want to kill him, I do aswell.

Current Roster Forwards 10-Shawn Horcoff “A” 83-Ales Hemsky “A” 89-Sam Gagner 13-Andrew Cogliano 27-Dustin Penner 34-Fernando Pisani 19-Patrick O’Sullivan 21-Ales Kotalik 12-Robert Nilsson 18-Ethan Moreau “C” 51-Kyle Brodziak 78-Marc-Antoine Pouliot 85-Liam Reddox 46-Zack Stortini 22-Jean-Francois Jacques 33-Steve MacIntyre

Current Roster Defence/Goalies 44-Sheldon Souray “A” 24-Steve Staios “A” 71-Lubomir Visnovsky 5-Ladislav Smid 77-Tom Gilbert 37-Denis Grebeshkov 43-Jason Strudwick 35-Dwayne Roloson 38-Jeff Deslauries

Coaches Craig MacTavish- Head Coach Charlie Huddy- Assistant Billy Moores- Assistant Kelly Buchberger-Assistant

Empty Net Miss- Hemsky Goal