Edmonton Oilers Octane are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton.
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49 Facts About Oilers Octane
2.
The Oilers Octane compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference.
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4.
Notably however, the Oilers Octane have not won a division title since 1987, a drought that includes their most recent two Stanley Cup wins and is currently the longest division title drought in all of the North American major professional sports.
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5.
Oilers Octane began to struggle after coming up short in their most recent trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006, missing the playoffs for the subsequent ten seasons.
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6.
The Oilers Octane have made twelve first-round selections since 2007: ten within the first ten picks overall, six within the first four picks overall, and four first overall selections.
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7.
Oilers Octane drew fans with players such as defenceman and team captain Al Hamilton, goaltender Dave Dryden and forwards Blair MacDonald and Bill Flett.
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8.
However, because 16 of the 21 NHL teams made the playoffs at the time, the Oilers Octane were still able to get their young players experience in the playoffs .
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9.
Gretzky's accomplishments helped the Oilers Octane become the first team to score 400 goals in a season, a feat they accomplished for five straight years.
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10.
The Oilers Octane were so determined to win the Stanley Cup that they hired Roger Neilson as a video analyst.
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11.
However, the Oilers Octane failed to win their third-straight Stanley Cup, as the Calgary Flames defeated them in seven games in the second round.
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12.
Several of the Oilers Octane considered launching a team-wide strike, and even considered demanding that Pocklington sell the team.
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13.
The Oilers Octane improved on their previous season, finishing with 38 wins and 90 points, good for fifth place overall in the NHL.
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14.
However, the Oilers Octane won the next three games to earn a rematch of the 1988 Stanley Cup Finals with Boston.
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15.
The Oilers Octane defeated the Bruins in five games, and won their first Cup without Gretzky.
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16.
The Oilers Octane even lost their head coach, as John Muckler left to become head coach and general manager of the Buffalo Sabres.
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17.
However, the Oilers Octane unexpected run in the playoffs came to a crashing halt, as the Blackhawks dominated every game and swept the series.
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18.
The Oilers Octane made the playoffs in four of the next six years, but they were defeated after the first round every time.
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20.
On November 22,2003, the Oilers Octane hosted the 2003 Heritage Classic, the first regular-season outdoor hockey game in the NHL's history and part of the celebrations of the Oilers Octane' 25th season in the NHL.
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21.
Several Oilers Octane left via free agency and during the season, long-time Oiler Ryan Smyth was traded to the New York Islanders for Ryan O'Marra, Robert Nilsson, and a first-round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft .
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22.
However, the Oilers Octane were able to re-sign Dwayne Roloson and Fernando Pisani.
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23.
The Oilers Octane announced a restructuring of their hockey operations on July 30,2008, which saw the promotion of Kevin Lowe to the role of president of hockey operations and was replaced by Steve Tambellini.
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24.
The Oilers Octane worked out a trade with the Ottawa Senators for star right wing Dany Heatley, which would have seen Dustin Penner, Ladislav Smid, and Andrew Cogliano go the other way, but Heatley refused a trade to Edmonton and was later acquired by San Jose.
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25.
The one advantage to such a bad season was that the Oilers Octane were able to make the first pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
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26.
The Oilers Octane selected two-time Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy winner Taylor Hall from the Windsor Spitfires with their pick.
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27.
The Oilers Octane selected Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the first overall selection, along with several other "blue chip" prospects.
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28.
However, the Oilers Octane were again unable to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth-straight season, as they finished 14th in the Western Conference.
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29.
Three days later, the Oilers Octane released a statement that their affiliation with the Barons would cease at the end of the season.
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30.
Oilers Octane won the 2015 Draft Lottery on April 18, moving them from the third-overall pick to first, marking their fourth lottery win in six seasons.
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31.
The Oilers Octane selected Connor McDavid first overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft held in Sunrise, Florida, on June 26.
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32.
On February 27,2016, mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, the Oilers Octane traded defenceman Justin Schultz to the Pittsburgh Penguins, in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
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33.
Oilers Octane' alumni, including Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky, skated around the rink one more time.
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34.
The Oilers Octane made further moves to their roster a few days later, when they traded Nail Yakupov to the St Louis Blues, and signed free-agent defenceman Kris Russell.
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35.
The Oilers Octane signed both McDavid and Draisaitl to 8-year contracts worth $100 million and $68 million, carrying annual cap hits of $12.
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36.
On January 22,2019, the Oilers Octane terminated Chiarelli's employment as president and general manager.
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37.
The Oilers Octane faced the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs, who finished third in the North Division.
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38.
The Oilers Octane lost four games in a sweep to the Jets, three of which were overtime losses, including the final game, which went to triple overtime.
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39.
The Oilers Octane faced the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.
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40.
In 2007, with the NHL's switch to Reebok Edge jerseys, the Oilers Octane kept their team colours but changed the style of their jerseys.
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41.
In 2008, the Oilers Octane introduced a new alternate jersey that closely resembled the blue-and-orange away jersey of the dynasty era.
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42.
On June 24,2011, the Oilers Octane presented their new white road jerseys at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, when they selected Ryan Nugent-Hopkins first overall.
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43.
The Oilers Octane wore their midnight blue alternates at home playoff games during the 2021 and 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, despite the popularity of the orange jerseys.
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44.
Oilers Octane mascot is a Canadian lynx named Hunter who was unveiled on September 26,2016.
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45.
Oilers Octane performed for the first time on December 14,2010, at a home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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46.
Oilers Octane are affiliated with a number of inductees in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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47.
Eleven Oilers Octane players have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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48.
Gretzky who played ten seasons with the Oilers Octane, led them to four Stanley cups consecutively throughout the Mid 1980s.
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49.
Four Oilers Octane builders have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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