Editing Edmonton Oilers (section)

===Return to the playoffs and seventh Cup Finals appearance (1996–2006)===
In [[1996–97 NHL season|1996–97]], the Oilers made the playoffs for the first time in five years, thanks to stellar goaltending by [[Curtis Joseph]]. In the first round, they upset the [[Dallas Stars]], who had compiled the league's second-best record, in a seven-game series. The Oilers won game seven on a goal by [[Todd Marchant]] in [[overtime (hockey)|overtime]]. However, the Oilers' surprise playoff run failed to continue, as the Colorado Avalanche defeated them in the next round. In [[1997–98 NHL season|1997–98]], Joseph led the Oilers to another first-round upset. After Colorado took a 3–1 series lead, the Oilers held them scoreless for eight straight periods en route to winning the series in seven games. Dallas and Edmonton met again in the second round, but this time, the Stars were the victors. The Oilers made the playoffs in four of the next six years, but they were defeated after the first round every time.

[[File:Cal Nichols in 2006.png|thumb|upright|[[Cal Nichols]] spearheaded the [[Edmonton Investors Group]]'s purchase of the Oilers franchise in 1998.]]
Despite their success over the past two seasons, the Oilers were in trouble off the ice. Owner Peter Pocklington had explored moving the Oilers to Minnesota during the 1990s. In 1998, Pocklington almost made a deal to sell the team to [[Leslie Alexander (businessman)|Leslie Alexander]], the owner of the [[Houston Rockets]] of the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA), who would have moved the team to [[Houston, Texas]]. On March 14, 1998, hours before the deadline to keep the team in Edmonton, the [[Edmonton Investors Group]] agreed to pay $70&nbsp;million to buy the club.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2012/09/19/daryl-katz-remembers-buying-an-oilers-team-at-risk-of-leaving-edmonton-but-is-that-how-it-actually-happened |title=Daryl Katz remembers buying an Oilers team "at risk" of leaving Edmonton – but is that how it actually happened? |access-date=May 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910192640/http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2012/09/19/daryl-katz-remembers-buying-an-oilers-team-at-risk-of-leaving-edmonton-but-is-that-how-it-actually-happened/ |archive-date=September 10, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The EIG were spearheaded by [[Cal Nichols]], who committed to retaining NHL hockey in Edmonton. The deal was finalized on May 5,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gasland.com/cal-nichols.php | title=Cal Nichols &#124; Gasland Properties Ltd}}</ref> and thus prevented them from being the third Canadian team to move in the 1990s and the fourth former WHA team to move in successive years (Quebec had moved in 1995, Winnipeg in 1996 and Hartford in 1997). The Oilers received support from the NHL for this very reason.<ref name="loonie">{{cite web |last=Weiner |first=Evan |url=https://www.nysun.com/sports/canada-gains-expansion-value-with-loonie/63509/ |title=Canada Gains Expansion Value With Loonie |publisher=New York Sun |date=September 27, 2007 |access-date=November 16, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oilersheritage.com/legacy/contributions_owners_EIG.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040504045258/http://www.oilersheritage.com/legacy/contributions_owners_EIG.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 4, 2004 |title=Edmonton Investors Group Ltd.-A last-minute reprieve |publisher=Edmonton Oilers Heritage |access-date=December 5, 2010}}</ref> In the 1998–99 season, the Oilers joined the Western Conference's Northwest Division.

On November 22, 2003, the Oilers hosted the [[2003 Heritage Classic]], the first regular season outdoor hockey game in the NHL's history and part of the celebrations of the Oilers' 25th season in the NHL. They were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens 4–3 in front of more than 55,000 fans, an NHL attendance record, at [[Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)|Commonwealth Stadium]] in Edmonton. The Oilers failed to make the playoffs in the [[2003–04 NHL season|2003–04 season]].

The Oilers struggled with their small-market status for several years, but after the wiped-out 2004–05 season, they were aided by a [[NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement|Collective Bargaining Agreement]] (CBA) between the NHL owners and players. This included a league-wide salary cap that essentially forced all teams to conform to a budget, as the Oilers had been doing for years.<ref>{{cite web |last=Allen |first=Kevin |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2009-09-28-nhl-salary-cap_N.htm |title=With NHL's salary cap comes a leveling of the ice |work=USA Today |date=September 29, 2009 |access-date=November 19, 2010}}</ref> A more reasonable conversion rate of [[Canadian dollar]] revenues to [[US dollar]] payroll in the new millennium also helped the Oilers to return to profitability.<ref name="loonie"/> Because of this, Edmonton was able to acquire [[Chris Pronger]] (former winner of the [[Hart Memorial Trophy|Hart]] and [[James Norris Memorial Trophy|Norris]] Trophies)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SilverwareTrophyWinner.jsp?tro=HMT&year=1999-2000 |title=Pronger, Chris |publisher=Legends of Hockey |access-date=November 20, 2010}}</ref> and [[Michael Peca]] (two-time [[Frank J. Selke Trophy]] winner)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hockey-reference.com/awards/selke.html |title=NHL Frank J. Selke Trophy Winners |publisher=Hockey-Reference.com |access-date=November 20, 2010}}</ref> before the [[2005–06 NHL season|2005–06 season]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=14984 |title=Chris Robert Pronger |publisher=Legends of Hockey |access-date=November 19, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Peca">{{cite web |last=Ciampa |first=Marc |url=http://oilers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=430843 |title=FEATURE: Peca finds his game |publisher=Edmonton Oilers |date=April 24, 2006 |access-date=November 19, 2010}}</ref>

[[File:Edmonton Oilers Goalie (6) ROLOSON (3308097413).jpg|left|thumb|Acquired through a trade in 2006, [[Dwayne Roloson]] emerged as the Oilers' starting goaltender from 2006 to 2009.]]
The team suffered from inconsistency during the first few months of the regular season, especially in goal and offence. Goaltenders [[Ty Conklin]] and [[Jussi Markkanen]] were unreliable in net and Peca also struggled with offence.<ref name="Peca"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/c/conklty01/gamelog/2006/ |title=Ty Conklin 2005–06 Game Log |publisher=Hockey-Reference.com |access-date=November 20, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/m/markkju01/gamelog/2006/ |title=Jussi Markkanen 2005–06 Game Log |publisher=Hockey-Reference.com |access-date=November 20, 2010}}</ref> However, in-season acquisitions, such as defencemen [[Jaroslav Špaček|Jaroslav Spacek]]<ref>{{cite web |author=Edmonton Oilers |url=http://oilers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=429875 |title=Oilers acquire Jaroslav Spacek |publisher=Edmonton Oilers |date=January 26, 2006 |access-date=November 20, 2010}}</ref> and [[Dick Tärnström|Dick Tarnstrom]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=10417 |title=Dick Tarnstrom |publisher=Legends of Hockey |access-date=November 20, 2010}}</ref> goaltender [[Dwayne Roloson]] and left winger [[Sergei Samsonov]],<ref>{{cite web |author=Edmonton Oilers |url=http://oilers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=430142 |title=Oilers acquire Sergei Samsonov from Boston |publisher=Edmonton Oilers |date=September 3, 2006 |access-date=November 20, 2010}}</ref> helped Edmonton finish the season with 95 points and clinch the final playoff spot in the Western Conference over Vancouver.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2006.html |title=2005–06 NHL Season Summary |publisher=Hockey-Reference.com |access-date=November 21, 2010}}</ref>

In the first round of the playoffs, the Oilers played the Detroit Red Wings (winners of the Presidents' Trophy).<ref>{{cite web |last=Starkey |first=Ted |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/04/caps-clinch-presidents-trophy/ |title=Caps clinch Presidents' Trophy |work=The Washington Times |date=April 4, 2010 |access-date=November 21, 2010}}</ref> Despite Detroit's much better regular season record, the Oilers pulled off a six-game upset for their first playoff series win since 1998.<ref name="Oilers season results"/> Edmonton then met the [[San Jose Sharks]] in the conference semifinals. After trailing the series two games to none, the team won the next four and became the first eighth-seeded team to reach a conference final since the NHL changed the playoff format in [[1993–94 NHL season|1994]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Chiasson |first=Paul |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/cup/2006-05-23-ducks-oilers-game3_x.htm |title=Oilers shoot down Mighty Ducks 5–4 to move one win from Stanley Cup finals |work=USA Today |date=May 25, 2006 |access-date=November 21, 2010}}</ref> There, the Oilers beat the sixth-seeded [[Mighty Ducks of Anaheim]] in five games, claiming the [[Clarence S. Campbell Bowl]] for a seventh time.

In the [[2006 Stanley Cup Finals]], Edmonton met the [[Carolina Hurricanes]]. During Game 1, the Oilers blew a 3–0 lead, lost Dwayne Roloson for the series after he suffered a knee injury, and ultimately lost 5–4 when Carolina's captain [[Rod Brind'Amour]] scored the winning goal in the final minute after backup goalie Ty Conklin misplayed the puck. From that game forward, the Oilers used Jussi Markkanen in net.<ref>{{cite web |last=Campigotto |first=Jesse |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/stanleycup2006/blogs/2006/06/edmonton_vs_carolina_game_2_st.html |title=Edmonton vs. Carolina – Game 2, Stanley Cup Final |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=November 21, 2010}}</ref> Despite trailing the series 2–0 and 3–1, the Oilers forced a Game 7 with a 2–1 win in Game 3, a [[Fernando Pisani]] short-handed overtime winner in Game 5 and a 4–0 shutout for Markkanen in Game 6. However, the Oilers could not complete the comeback as the Hurricanes won Game 7 3–1 to capture their first-ever Stanley Cup.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=45638 |title=Franchise Timeline |publisher=Carolina Hurricanes |access-date=November 21, 2010}}</ref>