[15] The Oilers drew fans with players such as defenceman and team captain Al Hamilton, goaltender Dave Dryden and forwards Blair MacDonald and Bill Flett.

The team's fortunes improved dramatically in 1978 when Pocklington acquired underage player Wayne Gretzky,[19] as well as goaltender Eddie Mio and forward Peter Driscoll, for cash, from Skalbania's recently folded Indianapolis Racers.

[22] The Oilers joined the NHL for 1979–80, along with fellow WHA teams Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and the Jets following a merger agreement between the two leagues.

Of these four teams, only Edmonton has avoided relocation and renaming; the Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995, the Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996 and the Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997.

Within three years, Sather and chief scout Barry Fraser had drafted several players who would have an important role in the team's success, including Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Kevin Lowe, Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog.

After the Cup-clinching game, Gretzky implored his teammates, coaches, trainers, and others from the Oilers organization to join at centre ice for an impromptu team photo with the Stanley Cup.

Four games into the season, Jimmy Carson decided the pressure of playing in Edmonton was too intense and he was traded to Detroit with Kevin McClelland in exchange for Petr Klima, Adam Graves, Joe Murphy and Jeff Sharples.

In the next round, the Oilers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in six games to return to the conference finals for the third straight season, this time facing the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Oilers struggled with their small-market status for several years, but after the wiped-out 2004–05 season, they were aided by a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NHL owners and players.

[88][89][90] However, in-season acquisitions, such as defencemen Jaroslav Spacek[91] and Dick Tarnstrom,[92] goaltender Dwayne Roloson and left winger Sergei Samsonov,[93] helped Edmonton finish the season with 95 points and clinch the final playoff spot in the Western Conference over Vancouver.

[112] Patrick O'Sullivan was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Jim Vandermeer, Robert Nilsson was bought out of his contract and Oilers captain Ethan Moreau was placed on waivers and claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The 2010–11 season brought a new look to the Edmonton Oilers line-up, when Shawn Horcoff was selected to succeed Ethan Moreau as team captain.

During the 2011 off-season, the team again made several moves to bolster the offence and defence, re-acquiring fan favourite Ryan Smyth from Los Angeles for Colin Fraser and a seventh-round draft pick.

[117] These moves, coupled with the signings of Eric Belanger, Cam Barker, Ben Eager and Darcy Hordichuk, changed the complexion of the team, to add "grit and toughness".

[5][123] After 41 games into the shortened season and with the Oilers mathematically eliminated from the playoffs for a seventh successive time, Edmonton terminated Steve Tambellini's contract as general manager, where he was replaced with former head coach Craig MacTavish.

[129] More moves came on July 5, during free agency, which saw MacTavish trade captain Shawn Horcoff to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Philip Larsen.

[143] In Chiarelli's first transactions as Oilers general manager, he traded a first and a second-round pick during the first day of the 2015 NHL entry draft to the New York Islanders, in exchange for defenceman Griffin Reinhart.

[149] On February 27, 2016, mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, the Oilers traded defenceman Justin Schultz to the Pittsburgh Penguins, in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft.

In a one-for-one trade on June 29, Edmonton dealt all-star winger Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils, in exchange for defenceman Adam Larsson.

[152] Following the Hall trade, Chiarelli also pursued impending free agent Milan Lucic, signing him to a seven-year contract, in a bid to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

[154] The Oilers made further moves to their roster a few days later, when they traded Nail Yakupov to the St. Louis Blues,[155] and signed free-agent defenceman Kris Russell.

The Oilers finished with a 47–26–9 record, thanks largely to a 100-point season from McDavid and breakout performances from fellow forwards Leon Draisaitl and Patrick Maroon, whilst backstopped with strong play from netminder Cam Talbot.

But by the end of the season, the Oilers finished with a 49–27–6 record, being 46–18–5 under new head coach Kris Knoblauch and clinched the second seed in the Pacific Division, earning an opening round playoff matchup with the Los Angeles Kings for the third consecutive year.

However, the logo that appeared on the home jersey had a white oil drop, on a dark orange field, with the team name written in deep blue.

[188][189] To commemorate the franchise's 40th anniversary in the NHL, the Oilers wore their classic 1980s blue jerseys for four home games in 2018–19 against original Smythe Division rivals Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks.

[187] In the 2020–21 season, the Oilers released a "Reverse Retro" alternate uniform, reviving the 1980s white jersey but with the orange and blue switching places, save for the team's crest.

[198] The debut of the cheer-leading team received a mixed reaction from the Edmonton community, including petitions to keep cheerleading out of the sport of hockey in Canada.

[199] The first team had 19 cheerleaders, women aged 18 to 29, dressed in uniforms that resembled the original Edmonton Oilers jerseys, albeit with skirts and knee-high boots.

The inaugural Class of 2022 members included Al Hamilton, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Kevin Lowe, Glen Sather and Rod Phillips, all of whom had already seen their respective banners raised to the rafters.

Messier is often considered the Greatest Leader in professional sports and is to date, the only person in NHL history to ever captain two different Stanley Cup championship-winning teams, as a member of both the 1990 Edmonton Oilers and the 1994 New York Rangers.