Edmonton Oilers

Frommer's Review

The Oilers were founded in 1972 as part of the upstart World Hockey Association, which was envisioned as a rival league to the NHL. But with teams in smaller centers like Cincinnati and Indianapolis the league failed to catch on, and was dissolved in 1979. A handful of WHA teams made the jump to the NHL, the Oilers being one of them. In 1978, with the league on the verge of collapse, Edmonton acquired 17-year-old Wayne Gretzky from the Indianapolis Racers, a team that would fold just a few months later. In his first NHL season, as an 18-year-old, Gretzky scored 137 points. He would go on to the greatest career of all time, scoring 2,857 points, and would be the leader and centerpiece of an Oilers team, with Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, and Grant Fuhr, that would win multiple Stanley Cups and rank among the greatest ever.

Today's Oilers are less flashy, but they're a young, feisty lot who play in front of some of the loudest, most passionate -- if somewhat spoiled -- fans the world has to offer. If you go, be prepared to be showered in history of past glories by whomever you might sit next to; Edmontonians take their hockey very seriously, and they expect you to do the same.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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