Alberta Battle Doesn’t Seem to Matter – Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

I know people in Calgary who seem to know more about every move the Edmonton Oilers make, on or off the ice, than other Oilers fans. In the meantime, I’ll have a hard time seeing 10 players on the Calgary Flames, and I feel like a lot of people feel that way in the Oil Country.

When the league announced the 2026-27 NHL schedule last week, I was hoping the Flames and Oilers would meet for the final game of the regular season at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Instead, the Vancouver Canucks will help close out the final game of the regular season at the 43-year-old stadium. Times have certainly changed in Alberta.

Oilers and Flames – Once the Greatest Rivalry in the NHL

Back in Oct. 15, 1983, the Flames opened the Olympic Saddledome against the Oilers. The Oilers, led by Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and Jari Kurri, beat the Flames 4-3 that night, and it was the beginning of a new era of hockey for the Flames against the Oilers.

During the height of the Alberta War, the Stanley Cup passed through Alberta with the Oilers winning the Stanley Cup five times from 1984 to 1990 and the Flames lifting hockey’s holy grail in 1989. The Flames were led by Lanny McDonald, Mike Vernon, Al MacInnis, Joe Nieuwendyk and many other famous players. The Oilers, on the other hand, are loaded with Hall of Famers from Gretzky, Messier, and Grant Fuhr to Paul Coffey and Glenn Anderson. Head coaches Bob Johnson of the Flames and Glen Sather of the Oilers pushed each other, as did heavyweights like Dave Semenko and Tim Hunter. Every game felt like an important game of chess. Somehow, the rivalry lost its momentum.

Highs and Lows in the Last 30 Years

When all the big players left both Alberta cities for greener pastures starting in the 1990s, the rivalry was still there, but not as much. Things have been rotten since the 80s but never gone. Both franchises have returned to the Stanley Cup Finals since 2004 but have not met in any major playoff games until 2022.

Unfortunately, a Flames team that showed promise with players like Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, Jakob Markstrom, Noah Hanifin, and Rasmus Anderson ended up standing behind the star after the star left southern Alberta. Up in Edmonton, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard continued to fight and nearly won it all in 2024 and 2025. It’s hard to say if the Flames will be the team on the rise, while the Oilers could be on the way down. Either way, it will take a few more years for hockey fans to get a taste of what the Battle of Alberta rivalry can be like.

New Arena Brings New Hope to Calgary

When Scotia Place, the Flames’ new arena, opens for the 2027-28 NHL season, the Flames organization will undoubtedly hope to return to prominence. Time will tell if Flames general manager Craig Conroy has been putting the right pieces together. The novelty of a great new stadium will wear off quickly if the Flames can’t put together a contender. That’s why they need the right talent to go with key young players like Dustin Wolf and Zayne Parekh.

The Oilers, meanwhile, are in Stanley Cup mode right now, and if they don’t win it all soon, you could see a talent exodus from Edmonton similar to Calgary in 2022. The 2026-27 NHL season is important for Edmonton as it marks the start of McDavid’s two-year contract window. If the Oilers don’t make a big splash this season, McDavid could join Gretzky and Messier as one of the biggest players in the game to leave Alberta’s capital.

The Game Is Not The Same Without The Hot Battle Of Alberta

Say what you will about both teams and both cities: the best thing for hockey fans in Alberta is to have two strong and healthy NHL franchises. The NHL schedule maker doesn’t seem to care about the Battle of Alberta and doesn’t really care about nostalgia. Otherwise, the Oilers and Flames would play at least one Saturday night game next season. And they would face each other for the last time in the Saddledome during the Flames’ final home game of the regular season.

Now we are left with memories of Gretzky scoring a shortstop over Vernon in Game 2 of the 1988 Smythe Division Final or Esa Tikkanen scoring the series-winning goal in Game 7 of the 1991 Smythe Division Semifinal. The Saddledome has been great for Edmonton. We’ll see if Scotia Place can provide the same great vibes and even bigger Battle of Alberta hockey. The game of hockey can use it.