The 1986–87

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

season was the Oilers' eighth

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, and they were coming off a heart breaking playoff loss to the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

the year before, ending the Oilers' bid for a third-straight

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

. Edmonton won the

Presidents' Trophy The Presidents' Trophy (french: Trophée des présidents) is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the most points (i.e. best record) during the NHL regular season. If two teams are tied for the mo ...

, as they finished with 106 points and won their sixth straight

Smythe Division The NHL's Smythe Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Conn Smythe, who was a longtime owner, general manager, and head coach in the league ...

title. There was no postseason upset this year, as Oilers defeated the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

in the Final to win their third Stanley Cup in four years, although the Flyers did push the Finals series to seven games. As of this is the Oilers' most recent division title, making it the longest such active drought in the North American major professional sports leagues. Nevertheless, Edmonton would go on to win two more Stanley Cups over the next three seasons.

Regular season

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

led the league with 183 points, earning his seventh

Art Ross Trophy The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the league by former player, General Manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has ...

and win his eighth

Hart Trophy The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was donat ...

Jari Kurri Jari Pekka Kurri (; born May 18, 1960) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger and a five-time Stanley Cup champion. In 2001, he became the first Finnish player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017 Kurri was named one ...

finished with 54 goals and 108 points, while

Mark Messier Mark John Douglas Messier (; born January 18, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League (NHL). His playing career in the NHL lasted 25 years ( 1979– 2004) with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rang ...

had a career high 107 points.

Esa Tikkanen Esa Tikkanen (born January 25, 1965) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Florida P ...

had a break out season, getting 78 points, including 34 goals, along with 120 penalty minutes.

Paul Coffey Paul Douglas Coffey (born June 1, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for nine teams over 21 seasons in the National Hockey League. Known for his speed and scoring prowess, Coffey ranks second all-time among ...

missed 21 games but still finished with 67 points to lead Oilers defencemen. In goal,

Grant Fuhr Grant Scott Fuhr (born September 28, 1962) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League and former goaltending coach for the Arizona Coyotes, who is best remembered for a decade of stellar play for the Edmonton Oilers i ...

and

Andy Moog Donald Andrew Moog (; born February 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Moog played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens, and also for the C ...

once again split time, with Moog leading the team with 28 wins, while Fuhr posted a team best 3.44 GAA.

Season standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

In the playoffs, the Oilers got a bit of a scare in their opening game against the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

, losing 5–2, but Edmonton rebounded, winning game two by a 13–3 score and won eight games in a row to get past the Kings and sweep the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

in the process. Edmonton had little trouble getting past the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

in the Conference Final, defeating them in five games and faced the only other 100-point team in the NHL in the Stanley Cup Final, the

. The series went the full seven games, with Edmonton winning the seventh and deciding game by a 3–1 score to capture their third Stanley Cup in the past four years. No Oiler won the

Conn Smythe Trophy The Conn Smythe Trophy (french: Trophée Conn Smythe) is awarded annually to the most valuable player (MVP) of his team during the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general man ...

, as

Ron Hextall Ronald Jeffrey Hextall (born May 3, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and executive. He is the current general manager#Sports teams, general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hext ...

of the Flyers won it despite failing to win the Stanley Cup.

Player statistics

Regular season

;Scoring leaders ;Goaltending

Playoffs

;Scoring leaders ;Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Records

* 177: A new NHL record for most career points in a playoffs by

on April 9, 1987. * 9: A new NHL record for most career short-handed goals in a playoffs by

on May 22, 1987. * 5: Tied NHL record for most game-winning goals in a playoffs by

on May 31, 1987.

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the

1986 NHL Entry Draft The 1986 NHL Entry Draft was the 24th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 21, 1986, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the revers ...

References

* National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:1986-87 Edmonton Oilers Season Edmonton Oilers season, 1986-87 Edmon Edmonton Oilers seasons Presidents' Trophy seasons Smythe Division champion seasons Stanley Cup championship seasons Western Conference (NHL) championship seasons

Edm EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...