They were initially named the Alberta Oilers but in 1973, they were renamed the Oilers. The team had star players like Dave Dryden, Al Hamilton and Blair MacDonald, which led to a huge fan following. In 1978, owner Peter Pocklington acquired future superstar Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers fortunes looked up since then.

They were part of the WHA till it folded in 1979 and then they joined the NHL along with three other teams. All the other teams had to relocate, but the Oilers remained where they were. Most of the players were lost to other teams in the NHL reclamation draft in 1978, but the Oilers were able to retain Wayne Gretzky. They acquired other great young players like Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri and Mark Messier. The team reached the playoffs in their first season in the NHL, but lost to the Philadelphia Flyers. Gretzky won the NHL Most Valuable Player award, which was the first time that a teenager won it. In 1981, he became the third player to score fifty goals in fifty games. In fact, he was the only player to get it in less than forty games. He won the NHL MVP Hart Trophy for his first eight seasons.

In 1984, the Oilers went on to win their first Stanley Cup by defeating the New York Islanders, who were the four-time defending champions. In 1985, they beat the Philadelphia Flyers to win the Cup again. In 1987 and 1988, they were the Stanley Cup Champions again. In August 1988, Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, much to the anger of the fans. In fact, the Oilers lost to the Kings in the first round of the playoffs that year.

In 1990, in spite of losing many former great players, the Oilers went on to win their fifth Stanley Cup, their last until date. Most of their players like Kurri, Messier and Fuhr left the team leading to its decline. The Oilers were almost sold to a Houston group in 1998, but were saved by the Edmonton Investors Group who bought them from Pocklington and kept the team in Edmonton.

In the 2006 playoffs, the Oilers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes, who went on to win their first Stanley Cup. This was the first time; two former WHA teams faced each other in the Stanley Cup.

The Oilers retired the jersey numbers of Al Hamilton 3, Paul Coffey 7, Mark Messier 11, Jari Kurri 17, Grant Fuhr 31 and Wayne Gretzky 99. Gretzky’s number was retired in the entire league.