The League (1979-1983)

During the first four years of the Edmonton Oilers existence, the teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) were not open to respecting the new team.

In 1979, the Oilers roster had a solid line-up, bolstered by a young playmaker named Wayne Gretzky; a player whom the Oilers believed would be key to their future. However, there were many critics who were skeptical of Gretzky's ability and believed that the  World Hockey Association (WHA) phenomenon would be a bust in the NHL.

As well, the Oilers had their WHA roster stripped before the club entered the NHL. With last pick in the draft, the team was actually worse off than a traditional expansion club.

Yet, within a matter of months, Gretzky had proven his critics wrong and a young team built by general manager and coach Glen Sather showed that the new team could skate. In this section, we will look at the building of a franchise from the bottom up, and examine the early encouraging signs and discouraging missteps of the new franchise.

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