COLORADO AVALANCHE

The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL)The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play their home games at Ball Arena, which they share with the NBA's Denver Nuggets and Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League. Founded in 1972 as the Quebec Nordiques, the team was one of the charter franchises of the World Hockey Association. The franchise joined the NHL in 1979 as a result of the NHL–WHA merger. Following the 1994–95 season, they were sold to the COMSAT Entertainment Group and relocated to Denver. During their first season in Denver, the Avalanche won the Pacific Division and went on to sweep the Florida Panthers in the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals. The 1996 Avalanche became the first Denver-based team in the four major North American professional sports leagues to win a league championship. They were also the second major North American sports team to win a championship a year after relocating, joining the National Football League (NFL)'s 1937 Washington Redskins. In the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils in seven games to win their second championship. In the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games to win their third championship. As a result, they remain the only active NHL team that has won all of its appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Avalanche have won eleven division titles since relocating to Denver (and set the league record for most consecutive division titles at nine in a row from 1995 to 2003; one in Quebec, the rest in Colorado), and qualified for the playoffs in each of their first ten seasons after relocation; this streak ended in 2007.

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 PacificThe 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 opened in 2016. Their current head coach Jay Woodcroft was hired on February 11, 2022, and Ken Holland was named as the general manager on May 7, 2019. The Oilers are one of two NHL franchises based in Alberta, the other being the Calgary Flames; their close proximity to each other has led to a fierce rivalry known as the "Battle of Alberta".The Oilers were founded in 1971 by W. D. "Wild Bill" Hunter and Dr. Chuck Allard, and played its first season in 1972 as one of the twelve founding franchises of the major professional World Hockey Association (WHA). They were originally intended to be one of two WHA Alberta teams, along with the Calgary Broncos. However, when the Broncos relocated and became the Cleveland Crusaders before the WHA's first season began, the team was renamed the Alberta Oilers. They returned to their current name in the following year, and subsequently joined the NHL in 1979 as one of four franchises absorbed through the NHL–WHA merger. After joining the NHL, the Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup on five occasions: 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, and 1989–90. Along with the Pittsburgh Penguins, they are tied for the most championships won by any team since the NHL-WHA merger, as well as the most won by any team that joined the league in or after 1967. Among all NHL teams, only the Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup more times since the league's 1967 expansion. The Oilers also won six straight division titles from 1981–82 through 1986–87. Notably however, the Oilers have not won a division title since 1987, a drought that includes their most recent two Stanley Cup wins and is currently the longest division title drought in all of the North American major professional sports. For their overall success in the 1980s and early 1990s, the Oilers team of this era has been honoured with dynasty status by the Hockey Hall of Fame.The Oilers began to struggle after coming up short in their most recent trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006, missing the playoffs for the subsequent ten seasons. The Oilers have made twelve first-round selections since 2007: ten within the first ten picks overall, six within the first four picks overall, and four first overall selections. In the NHL Entry Draft, Edmonton selected Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, and Connor McDavid with those first overall picks; of these, only Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid remain with the team as of 2023.