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Flashback Friday: How the 1979 NHL draft built the Edmonton Oilers dynasty
Photo credit: Newspapers.com/Edmonton Journal
Jun 26, 2026, 19:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 26, 2026, 19:37 EDT
The City of Edmonton has a fitting nickname.
Thanks to the Edmonton Oilers winning five Stanley Cups between 1983-84 and 1989-90, the capital of Alberta earned the nickname “The City of Champions.” Those five Stanley Cups, and why the Oilers remain in Edmonton can basically be traced back to one draft, and one decision leading into that draft.
Before joining the National Hockey League for the 1979-80 season, the Oilers spent nearly a decade in the World Hockey Association. When the WHA merged with the NHL, in their final WHA season, the Oilers acquired Wayne Gretzky from the Indianapolis Racers.
While he was eligible for the 1979 NHL draft, Gretzky was signed to a personal services contract, and due to refusing to waive it, the Oilers were allowed to keep him. In turn, all of their picks in the 1979 draft were last in their respective round.
That didn’t matter, because with the 21st overall pick, the Oilers selected Kevin Lowe. They traded their second- and third-round picks to the Minnesota North Stars for Dave Semenko and the 48th overall pick, using the pick to select Mark Messier.
Two months before the draft, the Oilers received a fourth-rounder from the North Stars so they wouldn’t take Paul Shmyr in the expansion draft. That worked out fine for the Oilers, who selected Glenn Anderson.
Newspapers.com/Edmonton JournalAll three of Lowe, Messier, and Anderson are in the Hall of Fame, as is Gretzky. Lowe, a defenceman, finished his career with 84 goals and 432 points. Messier lifted the Stanley Cup as the captain of two different teams, finishing with 694 goals and 1,887 points in 1,756 games. Anderson scored 498 goals and 1,000 points in 1,129 career games.
The trio each won five Stanley Cups with the Oilers, helping the team solidify their place as one of the best and most dominant dynasties in not only NHL history, but in sporting history. None of the three were career Oilers, and only Lowe finished his career as an Oiler.
Of course, the Oilers’ success in the 1980s wasn’t just because of the 1979 draft, as they selected Paul Coffey, Jarri Kuri, and Andy Moog in the 1980 draft, then Grant Fuhr and Steve Smith in the 1981 draft, but the 1979 draft will go down as the Oilers’ best of all time.
In fact, the 1979 draft will go down as one of the best in NHL history as a whole, producing seven Hall of Famers, eight if you include Gretzky. With their first three picks in franchise history, the Oilers selected three of them.
For all the well-deserved flak the Oilers draft record gets in recent years, there’s an alternate universe out there where the Oilers aren’t even in Alberta anymore. Of the four teams that joined the NHL in the WHA-NHL merger, only the Oilers remain.
The Hartford Whalers, Québec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets all packed up and relocated in the 1990s. Even the Oilers were pretty darn close to relocating despite winning five Stanley Cups in the preceding decade.
Four decisions revolving around the 1979 draft are why the Oilers are the team we know them as now. They aced their first three draft picks, and sacrificed draft position to hold on to a player who ended up becoming the greatest player of all time. Can’t get much better than that.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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