The Battle of Alberta Doesn’t Seem to Matter Anymore

I know people in Calgary who seem to know more about every move the Edmonton Oilers make, on or off the ice, than some Oilers fans do. Meanwhile, I would have a hard time identifying 10 players on the Calgary Flames, and I feel like a lot of people feel that way in 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 regular-season game at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Instead, the Vancouver Canucks will help close out the final regular-season game at the 43-year-old arena. Times have certainly changed in Alberta.

Oilers and Flames – Once the Greatest Rivalry in the NHL

Back on 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 Flames versus Oilers hockey.

During the height of the Battle of Alberta, the Stanley Cup went through Alberta with the Oilers winning the Stanley Cup five times from 1984 to 1990 and the Flames hoisting hockey’s holy grail in 1989. The Flames were led by Lanny McDonald, Mike Vernon, Al MacInnis, Joe Nieuwendyk and many more great players. The Oilers, meanwhile, were 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, and so did heavyweights such as Dave Semenko and Tim Hunter. Every game felt like an important chess match. Somehow, the rivalry lost its intensity.

Highs and Lows Over the Last 30 Years

When all the great players vacated both Alberta cities for greener pastures starting in the 1990s, the rivalry was still there, but it didn’t mean as much. Things have simmered since the 80s heyday but never really boiled over. Both franchises have made it back to the Stanley Cup Final since 2004 but never met in any significant playoff games until 2022.

Unfortunately, a Flames team that showed promise with players such as Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, Jakob Markstrom, Noah Hanifin, and Rasmus Anderson ended up sputtering to a halt after star after star left southern Alberta. Up in Edmonton, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard continued to fight it out and came close to winning it all in 2024 and 2025. It’s hard to say if the Flames will soon be a team on the rise, while the Oilers may be in decline. Whatever the case, it’ll take a few more years for hockey fans to get a taste of what the Battle of Alberta rivalry could be.

New Arena Brings New Hope to Calgary

When Scotia Place, the Flames’ new arena, opens in the 2027-28 NHL season, the Flames organization will no doubt hope to return to significance. Time will tell if Flames general manager Craig Conroy has been putting together the right pieces. The novelty of a beautiful new arena 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 such as Dustin Wolf and Zayne Parekh.

The Oilers, meanwhile, are in Stanley Cup mode now, and if they don’t win it all soon, you could see a departure of talent in Edmonton that mirrors that of Calgary in 2022. The 2026-27 NHL season is an important one in Edmonton as it marks the beginning of McDavid’s two-year contract window. If the Oilers don’t make some big noise this season, McDavid could join Gretzky and Messier as one of the greatest players in the game to leave the Alberta capital.

The Game Isn’t the Same Without a Heated Battle of Alberta Rivalry

Say what you want 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 isn’t really into nostalgia. Otherwise, they would’ve had the Oilers and Flames play at least one game on a Saturday night in the upcoming season. And they would’ve had both teams face off one last time at the Saddledome during the Flames’ final regular-season home game.

Now all we’re left with is memories of Gretzky scoring shorthanded over Vernon in Game 2 of the 1988 Smythe Division Final or Esa Tikkanen scoring the series-clinching goal in Game 7 of the 1991 Smythe Division Semifinal. The Saddledome has been good to Edmonton. We’ll see if Scotia Place can provide the same positive vibes and even more great Battle of Alberta hockey. The game of hockey could use it.