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Top 50 Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers began their existence as an inaugural franchise of the World Hockey Association, though for their first year of existence, they were the Alberta Oilers.  Their run in the WHA was largely unproductive, as until the end of their run in the upstart league, they accomplished very little.  They would reach the Avco Cup Finals in 1979, where they had the young phenom, Wayne Gretzky leading the way.   He would be the lynchpin when Edmonton joined the National Hockey League.

Gretzky would be the megastar of the team and other future Hockey Hall of Famers would join him.  This would include Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Glenn Anderson and Grant Fuhr, and they would win four Stanley Cups in the 1980s.  After dealing Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton would still win another Cup based on the leadership of Mark Messier.  To date, that is the last championship that the Oilers have won.

Since that time, the Oilers have only made one more Finals, a surprise run as an eighth seed.  They did not win and would plunge to the basement of the NHL standings.

As of this writing, they are a young team with upcoming stars that could add to their post-season success.


This list is up to the end of the 2022/23 season.

Note: Hockey lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.


With 796 Games and 12 seasons under his belt, Shawn Horcoff is one of the most tenured Edmonton Oilers ever.
Taylor Hall was drafted first overall in 2010 and would score 42 Points in his rookie year.  The Left Wing’s numbers would increase with a 53 and 50 Point campaigns, but he would then secure his best number as an Oiler with an 80 Point year that would see him…
Blair MacDonald made his pro debut with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1973-74 Season where he had 45 points in his rookie season.  He would exceed by one point as a sophomore, but the Oilers traded him the Indianapolis, though that stay in Indiana would be short-lived.
One of the best blueliners ever to come out of Finland, Janne Niinamaa, would spend six and a half seasons with the Edmonton Oilers (1998-03).
Steve Smith might be best known for an error he caused in the 1986 Smythe Division Finals.  With the score tied at two, Smith collected the puck from behind his net, and when he went to clear it, he deflected it off his Goalie, Grant Fuhr, and the puck wound…
Craig Simpson’s best season in hockey was 1987-88 when he was traded early in the season in a mega trade that brought the disgruntled Paul Coffey from Edmonton.  The Left Wing was placed on a line with Glenn Anderson and Mark Messier, and he would go on to have a…
Randy Gregg is an honored member of the five-time Stanley Cup Ring club of the Edmonton Oilers.  While there are a few members of this club, his path to professional hockey was the most unique.
Todd Marchant played Center for the Edmonton Oilers for ten seasons, and he was considered to be one of the fastest skaters in the NHL.  Marchant would join Edmonton when he was traded from the New York Rangers for Craig MacTavish.  While the trade worked out for MacTavish in that…
The son of Lee Fogolin Sr., who won a Stanley Cup in 1950 with the Detroit Red Wings, Lee Fogolin Jr., would double his father's accomplishments by winning two Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers.
You could state that Craig MacTavish had a rough start as a pro hockey player.  While playing in his fifth season for the Boston Bruins, he was starting to firmly establish himself as a solid defensive forward in the National Hockey League.  That would change on January 25, 1984.
An unsung hero of the Oilers' 80s dynasty, Craig Muni was a traditional stay-at-home blueliner who took pride in guarding his end of the ice.
Steve Staios signed with the Edmonton Oilers in 2001 after playing six seasons in the NHL.  Staios was a defensive stalwart who stayed firmly in his own end of the ice, and Edmonton would hold on to him for eight seasons.  Staios would manage three straight years where he had…
Jason Smith was the Edmonton Oilers Team Captain when they made their unexpected run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, and we think that is certainly worth something!
Dave Semenko is one of the hardest ones to rank, as there is no better example of where statistics don't tell the whole story. The Houston Aeros would draft Dave Semenko in 1978, but his rights were traded to the Edmonton Oilers before he would ever play a game in…
Sam Gagner’s rookie season would see him score 49 Points, which would be the highest total he would ever accumulate in the National Hockey League.  While Gagner never beat that total, he came close often, as the Center would have at least 41 Points the next four years.  Gagner was…
The Colorado Avalanche drafted Tom Gilbert in 2002, but before he could play for them on the elite level, he was traded to Edmonton for the struggling Goaltender, Tommy Salo.
After playing 65 Games with the Winnipeg Jets, he was traded late in his rookie year to Edmonton.  That year, he would be named to the All-Rookie Team, and he would build on that with two 32 Point seasons, and then a 46 Point campaign in 1997-98.  The Defenseman from…
Jason Arnott was the 7th Overall Draft Pick in 1993, and as a rookie, he would have one of the best seasons of his career.  The Center scored 68 Points, and was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy, losing to future Hockey Hall of Famer, Martin Brodeur.  Arnott would never…
Eric Brewer played 1,009 Games in the National Hockey League with 315 of them in an Oilers uniform.  It was in the Province of Alberta where he arguably played his best on a professional level.
Before Dustin Penner arrived in Edmonton, he had won a Stanley Cup with Anaheim, and when he left, he would win a second with the Los Angeles Kings.  While he never played a post-season game with the Oilers, his best individual play happened with that team.