The Edmonton Oilers are based in Alberta, one of Canada's three Prairie provinces. The team plays its home games in Edmonton, Alberta's capital and its second-largest city.
The Oilers joined the NHL in 1979 when the league absorbed four teams from the World Hockey Association, including Edmonton. The franchise had already become famous in the WHA, largely because of Wayne Gretzky, who helped lead the club into the NHL's most dominant era. Edmonton won five Stanley Cup championships between 1984 and 1990.
The province is often confused with British Columbia because both are in Western Canada and their NHL teams have a long regional rivalry. Edmonton's principal provincial rival is actually the Calgary Flames, who are also based in Alberta. Their meetings are known as the Battle of Alberta, one of the NHL's most recognizable rivalries.