Oilers All-Time Best Player From Each Canadian Province & Territory

It’s July 1^st, which means the opening of free agency in the NHL, when hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts will be signed. But the first day of July is also Canada Day, so in celebration of the Great White North, we’re taking a break from the frenzied activity around the league to look at the top player in Edmonton Oilers history from every province and territory (excluding Nunavut, which has never had a citizen play for Edmonton’s NHL team).

British Columbia: Glenn Anderson

Vancouver native Glenn Anderson spent parts of 12 seasons (1980-81 to 1990-91 and 1995-96) with the Oilers, racking up 906 points in 845 games. The winger is one of the top goals scorers in franchise history, tallying 498 times for the Oilers in the regular season and playoffs combined.

Anderson is one of just six skaters to be part of all five of Edmonton’s Stanley Cup victories (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990), and one of only eight players to have his number retired by the Oilers.

Alberta: Mark Messier

Hailing from St. Albert, just outside of Edmonton, Mark Messier played for the Oilers from 1979-80 to 1990-91, serving as captain for the latter three seasons. He was integral to all five of the team’s Stanley Cup victories, particularly in 1984 when he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.  

Messier, whose No. 11 hangs in the Rogers Place rafters, is one of five players to surpass 1,000 points as an Oiler. He won the Hart Trophy in 1989-90 after totalling a career high 129 points.

Saskatchewan: Kelly Buchberger

Arguably the most blue-collar player in franchise history, Langenburg native Kelly Buchberger was drafted in the ninth round in 1985 and went on play 795 games over 12 seasons (1986-87 to 1998-99) with the Oilers, becoming the team’s all-time leader in penalty minutes, with 1,747.

A two-time Stanley Cup champion, Buchberger served as team captain for his last five seasons in Edmonton. He won the Oilers’ Top Defensive Forward award five straight years from 1993 to 1997.

Manitoba: Bill Ranford

Brandon’s Bill Ranford spent parts of 10 seasons in Edmonton (1987-88 to 1995-96 and 1999-2000), appearing in a total of 449 games, still the most among goaltenders in Oilers history.

Ranford backstopped Edmonton to its last Stanley Cup championship in 1990 when he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy. He was the team’s Molson Cup winner four times and received the Zane Feldman Trophy as Oilers MVP four seasons in a row, from 1990-91 to 1993-94. 

Ontario: Wayne Gretzky

Brantford product Wayne Gretzky is not merely the best player from Ontario in Oilers history, he’s the best player from anywhere in NHL history.

The Oilers’ all-time leader in nearly every stats category, Gretzky spent the first nine seasons of his NHL career in Edmonton, including five as captain, racking up 583 goals and 1,086 assists. The centre won the Hart Trophy eight times and Art Ross Trophy seven times during his Oilers tenure.

Quebec: Kevin Lowe

A defenceman with the Oilers for 15 seasons (1979-80 to 1991-92, and 1996-97 to 1997-98), Lachute product Kevin Lowe is quite simply the essential thread in the team’s fabric.

Lowe was Edmonton’s first-ever NHL draft pick, scored the team’s first NHL regular-season goal, served as team captain in 1991-92, won five Stanley Cups as an Oiler, is Edmonton’s all-time leader in games played for both playoffs and regular season, and had his number retired by the franchise.

Newfoundland and Labrador: Daniel Cleary

Before he became a bottom-six fixture on the powerhouse Detroit Red Wings teams of the 2000s, Carbonear native Daniel Cleary spent his formative years with the Oilers.

Originally acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks in March 1999, Cleary was part of Edmonton’s NHL lineup from 1999-00 to 2002-03. The winger notched 35 goals and 51 assists in 220 regular season games as an Oiler.

New Brunswick: Calvin Pickard

One of the best and most important backup netminders in Oilers history, Moncton’s Calvin Pickard helped Edmonton make consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025.

Over parts of three seasons (2023-24 to 2025-26) with the Oilers, Pickard appeared in 75 regular season games, compiling a record of 39-23-4. He was 8-2 in the playoffs for a win percentage of .800, which is the highest among all goalies to start at least one postseason game for the Oilers.

*this was initially published without Nova Scotia being included. We apologize for this error and are addressing the issue.

Prince Edward Island: Josh Currie

In 2018-19, Charlottetown’s Josh Currie became the first player from his home province to suit up for the Oilers in nearly four decades, since defenceman John Hughes in 1980-81.

After several seasons toiling in the minor leagues, Currie was recalled from the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL) in February 2019. The forward spent the rest of the season with the Oilers, appearing 21 games, scoring twice and adding three assists.

Yukon Territory: Bryon Baltimore

During Edmonton’s 47 years in the NHL, there has only been one player from the Yukon Territory to suit up for the Oilers, and incredibly, that happened within the first few weeks of the franchise’s inaugural NHL season.

Whitehorse native Bryon Baltimore, a defenceman, played just two games for the Oilers November 1979. He didn’t register a point but compiled a plus/minus of plus-4. Baltimore spent the rest of the 1979-80 season in the minor leagues and never played another NHL game in his career.

Northwest Territories: Geoff Sanderson

The most accomplished player to hail from the Northwest Territories in NHL history, Hay River product Geoff Sanderson spent the final seasons of his career with the Oilers in 2007-08.

During his time in Edmonton, Sanderson was a far cry from the player who had notched at least 30 goals in six different seasons. The winger appeared in just 41 games, scoring only three goals and adding 10 assists for an Oilers team that missed the postseason.

Players from across the land have contributed greatly to the Oilers throughout the years, and that theme continues today, with several provinces represented on Edmonton’s current roster.