Back in the 1920 and 1930s, the greatest defenseman of the day was Eddie Shore of the Boston Bruins. Shore's nickname was the "Edmonton Express." Yet even Shore himself, hardly the self-effacing sort, would have to admit that the real "Edmonton Express" came along nearly a half-century later, and it was a team not a person.

The Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s was a team that dominated the National Hockey League like no other, winning five Stanley Cups in seven seasons and producing some of the greatest players the game of hockey has ever known.

The Oilers were the pride of their city, of their province, and of their country. They were a dynasty team that took its place alongside other "dynasty" teams such as the Ottawa Senators of the 1920, the Toronto Maple leafs of the 1940s, the Detroit Red Wings of the 1950s, the Toronto Maple Leafs of the 1960s, the Montreal Canadiens of the 1950s, the 1960s and the 1970s, and the New York Islanders of the 1980s.

Born of the World Hockey Association in 1972, the Oilers were first called the Alberta Oilers because the team originally intended to split its games between Edmonton and Calgary, an idea that was abandoned before the WHA started play. The team became the Edmonton Oilers in 1973.

After seven seasons in the WHA, the Oilers (and three other WHA clubs, Winnipeg, Hartford and Quebec) were welcomed into the NHL. The Oilers were an immediate success, making the playoffs their first four seasons in the NHL, before annexing Stanley Cup number one in 1984. Buy Edmonton Oilers Tickets.