Odds of the Edmonton Oilers Winning the Stanley Cup?
Who’s favored to win the 2024 Stanley Cup? Is it the Edmonton Oilers or the Florida Panthers? What are the odds of the Edmonton Oilers winning the Stanley Cup final when the series starts this Saturday night in Florida?
Well, Canadian hockey fans, at this point the odds aren’t fabulous for the Oilers. Sports writers, commentators, and betting trends are favoring the Florida Panthers to win the Cup. But you never know, eh? Let’s stay positive!
Could the Oilers win the Stanley Cup?
Edmonton has not won the NHL championship since 1990. The last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup final was the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
Edmonton won the Stanley Cup final in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990. The Oilers were Canada’s last hockey dynasty with five Cup wins and included players like Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and Grant Fuhr.
The Alberta team is making its first Stanley Cup final appearance since 2006, when the Oilers lost in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes,
The Hockey News says that the Oilers will win a game or two in this final, but the Florida Panthers are the best team in the NHL and will deserve to win their first Cup.
Time will tell whether this prediction will come true.
What was the Oilers path to the Stanley Cup final?
The Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, and Dallas Stars.
Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Toronto also had Stanley Cup hopes this year, but Edmonton is the last Canadian team standing.
What was the Panthers path to the Stanley Cup final?
The Florida Panthers beat the Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, and Dallas Stars to make their way to the Cup final.
The Panthers are based in Sunrise, Florida. Sunrise is a town just west of Ft. Lauderdale and just north of Miami so the team is in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers began playing in the 1993–94 NHL season and the franchise is the southernmost team in the NHL.
Who is the Oilers’ current star?
The Associated Press says centre Connor McDavid is the best hockey player in the world and is the biggest reason the Edmonton Oilers are in the Stanley Cup final.
McDavid is the reigning NHL MVP, face of the Edmonton franchise, and he is the Oilers’ best hope of winning the NHL championship.
McDavid has had help along the way from Leon Draisaitl, who also plays centre, defenseman Evan Bouchard and goaltender Stuart Skinner.
Forward Matthew Tkachuk is considered the Panther’s best player.
What don’t you know about the Edmonton Oilers?
The Oilers were founded in 1972 and the team was one of the original franchises of the World Hockey Association (WHA), a North American professional hockey league that was established as a competitor of the NHL.
Who is Peter Pocklington and how did Gretzky end up in Edmonton?
Peter Pocklington, who was known as Peter Puck, bought part ownership of the Edmonton Oilers in 1976. Pocklington’s biography says he offered a diamond ring his wife was wearing to dinner as a downpayment for the team.
Within a year, Pocklington bought out his partner, Nelson Skalbania, who would later own the WHA's Indianapolis Racers.
In the fall of 1978, Skalbania offered Pocklington the rights to 17-year-old Wayne Gretzky, laying the groundwork for the Oilers Stanley Cup wins. Wayne Gretzky, known as “The Great One,” played for the Oilers from 1979 to 1988.
The WHA and the NHL merged in June 1979 and the Oilers were one of the four WHA teams that joined the NHL.
Pocklington traded Gretzky in August 1988 to the Los Angeles Kings for $15 million cash and several first-round draft picks. He sold the Oilers in 1998.
What’s the Oilers’ song?
The Oilers’ community has come to embrace "La Bamba," a Mexican song that was a hit for Ritchie Valens in 1958 and had a resurgence in 1987 when released by the band Los Lobos.
It’s played after victories at Rogers Place arena in Edmonton.
They play the song as a tribute to Joey Moss, who started as a locker room attendant with Oilers in the 1980s and was one of the team's biggest supporters. Joey had Down syndrome and he died in 2020. "La Bamba" was his favorite song and the team plays it in his memory.
What Oilers’ jerseys numbers are retired?
The Oilers retired the jersey numbers of: Wayne Gretzky’s #99, Mark Messier’s #11, Paul Coffey’s #7, Jari Kurri’s #17, and Grant Fuhr’s #31.
What if there’s a Game 7 of the Cup final between Edmonton and Florida?
If there’s a Game 7, it’s slated for June 24.
Let’s Go Oilers!
