The Edmonton Oilers are a professional hockey team in the National Hockey League (the NHL). The Edmonton Oilers play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference with four other teams: the Minnesota Wild, the Colorado Avalanche, the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks.  Oilers tickets will be a hot item during the 2009-2010 NHL hockey schedule.

Edmonton Oilers 2009-2010 Outlook

The Edmonton Oilers have realistic hopes for the 2009-2010 NHL season.  After losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in the 7th game of the 2005-2006 Stanley Cup Finals, the Oilers have failed to qualified for post-season play in each of the last 3 NHL seasons.  In a much-improved Western Conference, the Oilers and new Head Coach Pat Quinn have their work cut out for them if they attempt to buck that trend during the 2009-2010 NHL season.

The Oilers added free agent goalie Nikolai Khabibulin from the Chicago Blackhawks in an attempt to bolster their play in front of the net.  The veteran goalie should bring some consistency and take a little pressure of the Oilers defense.  Look for young goalie Jeff Deslauriers to also see a lot of action in net for the Oilers as the season progresses.  Deslauriers will learn a lot from Khabibulin and could become the primary goalie if it looks like the Oilers won't qualify for post-season play by the March trade deadline.  Offensive production has also been a problem of late for the Oilers.  The Oilers were the only team in the Western Conference to not have a 25-goal scorer in 2008-2009 - Defenseman Sheldon Souray tied for the team lead with 23 goals during the season.  The Oilers will rely upon Winger Dustin Penner and Centers Sam Gagner and Patrick O'Sullican to spark the Oilers offense on a nightly basis.  Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky could also provide some scoring opportunities for the front lines.  If Head Coach Quinn can earn the respect of his players early on and if the team buys into his style of play, there is a chance that the Oilers could make a run at qualifying for post-season play following the 2009-2010 NHL season.  Get your Oilers hockey tickets at Rexall Place before it's too late.

History

The Edmonton Oilers franchise was originally founded in 1972 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada as part of the World Hockey Association (WHA).  The team was known as the Alberta Oilers of the WHA during the 1972-1973 season and the Edmonton Oilers from 1973 through 1979.  The franchise was one of the more successful members of the WHA, and in 1979, the NHL awarded expansion franchises to the Edmonton Oilers and 3 other WHA teams – the New England Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes), the Winnipeg Jets and the Quebec Nordiques.  The Edmonton Oilers were the dominant team in the NHL during the 1980’s winning 6 Western Conference titles and 5 Stanley Cups during a 7-year period.  The great Oilers teams were led by the NHL’s greatest hockey player of all-time, Wayne Gretzky (whose #99 jersey was retired league-wide on February 6, 2000), Paul Coffey, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr and Jari Kurri – all NHL Hockey Hall of Famers.  The Edmonton Oilers also advanced to the Western Conference Finals in 1991 and 1992, but each time, the team was denied a chance at another Stanley Cup title.  The Edmonton Oilers did not advance to another Western Conference Finals until the 2005-2006 NHL season.  That season, the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to advance to the franchise’s 7th Stanley Cup series.  A 6th Stanley Cup was not to be had, however, as the Edmonton Oilers lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in a memorable 7 game Stanley Cup series.   

The Edmonton Oilers have retired the following players’ numbers:  Al Hamilton’s #3; Paul Coffey’s #7; Mark Messier’s #11; Jari Kurri’s #17; Grant Fuhr’s #31; and Wayne Gretzky's #99.  The NHL also retired Gretzky’s jersey number #99 league-wide on February 6, 2000.

Edmonton Oilers TV/Radio

All Edmonton Oilers hockey games can be seen on the Rogers Sportsnet West television network in the greater Edmonton, Alberta area.  ESPN has television rights to Edmonton Oilers hockey games based on the popularity of the game. Tune into the Edmonton Oilers flagship station CHED 630 on your AM dial to catch each Edmonton Oilers hockey game on the radio.

The Edmonton Oilers play their home games in Rexall Place.  Rexall Place is an indoor sports arena located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and is owned by the city of Edmonton and operated by Northlands Park, the owners and operators of the “Alberta A Circuit” horse racing track in Edmonton.  In addition to hosting all of the home NHL games for the Edmonton Oilers, Rexall Place also host all of the professional lacrosse games for the Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League and all of the home professional hockey games for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League.  The venue was known as the Northlands Coliseum from 1974-1995, as the Edmonton Coliseum from 1995-1998 and as the Skyreach Centre from 1998-2003.  Rexall Medicine Company, a subsidiary of Katz Group Canada, purchased the naming rights to the venue during the middle of the 2003-2004 NHL season, and the arena has been known as the Rexall Place ever since.  Rexall Place holds a capacity of 16,839 devoted die-hard Edmonton Oilers, one of the smaller seating capacities in the NHL today.  Rexall Place has played host to numerous memorable and historic games, events and concerts, including the Canada Hockey Tournaments in 1981 and 1984, the 1995 World Junior Championships, the Commonwealth Games in 1978, the World University Games in 1983 and the World Wrestling Entertainment Backlash in 2004.  Rexall Place also hosts 2 popular annual events – the Canadian Finals Rodeo and the Christian Conference – YC Alberta.

Stadium:                Rexall Place
                                7424 118 Avenue NW
                                Edmonton, Alberta T5B 4M9

http://oilers.nhl.com
www.rexall-place.com

2008 Oilers