Current State of the Flames/Oilers Rivalry

[Mony]

So in light of the trade of Sven over to Vancouver, there has been some talk in that thread that implies a good chunk of people consider the Canucks to be the Flames' primary and most hated rival.

While I agree that Vancouver is a major rival, I don't consider them to be our primary rival - I think that will always be the Oilers. But just because Edmonton is the primary rivalry, it isn't necessarily the most "relevant", if that makes sense. To clarify, the Battle of Alberta has historically been more significant than the Canucks/Flames rivalry, two 80's powerhouses that had to climb over the other to reach the Cup, "Death Valley", but it has come to the point where the BOA is viewed less significantly given the two teams have not done the greatest over the past few years. Another thing that may factor into this is that the Flames have simply had the Oilers' number over the past few years - their current streak is 6 straight wins and we have a very good shot of sweeping them in the last game this season.

The Battle of Alberta has also become a little messed up when it comes to the fans. I've seen a lot of Oilers fans this year actually admitting that they respect what Calgary's trying to do and a few have crossed over to our side. Although IMO that's a sporting sin - go with another team since that organization has done nothing to prove they deserve their loyal fans, but to a rival never. The first few months of the season, I'd go over to other places and check out what Oilers fans were thinking after each loss they took. It's no longer fun and it's pretty boring because it's all the same stuff being said.

The big question is - what is it gonna take to actually bring the rivalry back again? I was listening to the radio in the car a few weeks ago I think before a BOA, and one of the guys on the Fan says, "You know, the Flames say that they hate the Oilers, but I don't actually see it. You don't see it on the ice." Is Johnny gonna have to be crushed, or one of the Oilers' golden boys a victim of a questionable hit to put the spark back into this thing? Or when both of them are in similar spots higher up in the standings battling for playoff positioning - when would that even realistically happen?

What are everyone's thoughts on this subject, and if you have friends who are Oilers fans, how does the other side feel about this rivalry (or lack of it)?

Also Edmonton is no good.

[CroFlames]

It is weird. Canucks fans were insufferable from about 2008 to 2013. With Trevor & Benning on board, Kesler gone, Luongo gone, they are less insufferable I guess.

Oiler fans were insufferable during basically the same time period, as were the media. "They are building something special up there" rhetoric was a bit much. Now since the Oiler fans themselves admit they are horrid, it's not the same anymore.

I think what will really fire up the rivalries will be when all 3 are competitive at the same time. Historically Oilers have been the biggest rival, and I think they will always have that slight edge in who we as fans hate the most.

[Street Pharmacist]

Oilers fans are fully detected and mostly apathetic about hockey now (at least all the ones I know). There's no strong emotion about their own team, nevermind a rivalry.

It's been said ad nauseum, but in order for a rivalry to matter, the teams do.

The oilers will be a playoff team again at some point, just not anytime soon, so until then I'll direct my sporting curses down the Coquihalla

[GranteedEV]

I don't really hate the Oilers. Or their players. I just think the Oilers are LOL worthy.

I hate the Canucks. I love the thrill of beating them.

But then I wasn't even a year old during the 80s.

[skudr248]

This cycle has been the same for the last 8 years pretty much, come Sept/Oct all you hear from Oiler fans is this is going to be their year, that they're building whatever the hell is up there, then by December they all disappear back into hiding till the next season.

Oiler fan's are hilarious. Seriously, to cheer on a team for 8 pathetic seasons is just a waste of time. God damn zits all of them!

Rivarly is pretty much non-existent right now

[N-E-B]

They Oilers have been so bad for so long that at this point making fun of them is like giving a guy a shot to the crotch and kicking him when he's down...

I don't even bother talking to my mom/sister/best friend who are all Oiler fans anymore. They don't get mad, they've just accepted it and don't care anymore. Until both teams are competitive, it just won't be a good rivalry.

I do still enjoy watching the circus up north though, so if Edmonton is terrible for the next 20 years I don't think I'd lose any sleep. Anything that keeps their fans quiet is a good thing.

[Rollin22x]

At this point, there are more players on the Canucks that I dislike than the Oilers.
If Edmonton figures their team out, that may change but today I don't view them as the same threat as Vancouver.

[foshizzle11]

You make some great points. The games against the Oilers don't ever seem very intense right now at all but that is an element of their personnel. It doesn't ever seem like their team plays with passion or aggression.

I think at the moment the Canucks are a bigger rival for the flames because they seem to have our number and our games mean a bit more this year than in previous years.

I would love for the Canadian teams to be to best in the league and for the rivalries to matter. Obviously I want the flames to go further them those teams. It would just bring so much more to any rivalry game.

Right now, I hate the Canucks more and I and I am tired of the Oilers being no good...is rather they be better and we still dominate them.

[EastCoastFlamesFan]

I'm still bummed that we didn't win the '06 series against the Ducks. Would have set up a nice second round matchup with EDM.

I still think that EDM will eventually turn it around, especially with them more than likely grabbing Eichel or McDavid this year. With that being said, I do see this rivalry being reborn in the next 2-3 years. Unlike a lot of people here, I would not mind seeing EDM turn it around and actually be competitive. Living on the east coast, you would think that Western Canadian teams didn't exist. I think it would be fun to actually see American media focus on teams like Calgary and Edmonton.

All in all, the pieces are falling into place for both these teams to be competitive, and I really think it will happen sooner than later.

[Robbob]

They are currently sitting at 13% chance of getting McDavid. Over 60% chance they won't get either. With that being said I don't think the rivalry is reborn until we meet them in the playoffs, which looks like another 5 years (at least 2 more rebuilds).

[CaptainCrunch]

What rivalry? An ant dosen't have a quarrel with a boot. I mean its fun to squash an Ant but then you have to get that gross mess off of the bottom of the boot.

[codynw]

There is no rivalry while the Oilers remain this bad. I consider Vancouver a much bigger rival than Edmonton.

[JohnnyTitan]

Yip. We haven't played them in the playoffs forever and are unlikely to play them in the playoffs any time soon.

And head-to-head, we've won 24 of the last 31.

Edmonton is no good and that makes the rivalry no good!

Thanks to www.hockey-reference.com for the game logs.

Rk,Date,Tm,,Opp,Result,G,PP,SH,S,GA,PP GA,SH GA,SA,DIFF
1,2015-01-31,CGY,,EDM,W 4-2,4,1,0,33,2,0,0,19,
2,2014-12-31,CGY,,EDM,W 4-3 (OT),4,1,0,28,3,1,0,20,
3,2014-12-27,CGY,,EDM,W 4-1,4,0,0,27,1,0,0,27,
4,2014-10-09,CGY,@,EDM,W 5-2,5,1,0,26,2,2,0,40,


Rk,Date,Tm,,Opp,Result,G,PP,SH,S,GA,PP GA,SH GA,SA,DIFF
1,2014-03-22,CGY,@,EDM,W 8-1,8,0,0,31,1,1,0,25,
2,2014-03-01,CGY,@,EDM,W 2-1 (OT),2,0,0,30,1,0,0,22,
3,2013-12-27,CGY,,EDM,L 0-2,0,0,0,27,2,1,0,28,
4,2013-12-07,CGY,@,EDM,W 2-1 (OT),2,0,0,27,1,0,0,31,
5,2013-11-16,CGY,,EDM,L 2-4,2,0,0,35,4,0,0,23,

Rk,Date,Tm,,Opp,Result,G,PP,SH,S,GA,PP GA,SH GA,SA,DIFF
1,2013-04-13,CGY,@,EDM,W 4-1,4,1,0,38,1,0,0,29,
2,2013-04-03,CGY,,EDM,L 2-8,2,0,0,21,8,3,0,39,
3,2013-04-01,CGY,@,EDM,L 1-4,1,0,0,34,4,0,0,20,
4,2013-01-26,CGY,,EDM,W 4-3,4,1,0,35,3,2,0,20,

Rk,Date,Tm,,Opp,Result,G,PP,SH,S,GA,PP GA,SH GA,SA,DIFF
1,2012-03-16,CGY,@,EDM,L 1-3,1,0,0,19,3,0,0,25,
2,2012-02-21,CGY,,EDM,L 1-6,1,0,0,22,6,1,0,42,
3,2012-01-21,CGY,@,EDM,W 6-2,6,1,0,23,2,0,0,23,
4,2011-12-10,CGY,,EDM,W 3-0,3,1,0,34,0,0,0,21,
5,2011-12-03,CGY,@,EDM,W 5-3,5,2,0,32,3,0,0,29,
6,2011-10-18,CGY,,EDM,W 2-1,2,0,0,28,1,1,0,25,

Rk,Date,Tm,,Opp,Result,G,PP,SH,S,GA,PP GA,SH GA,SA,DIFF
1,2011-04-06,CGY,,EDM,W 6-1,6,3,0,47,1,0,0,23,
2,2011-03-26,CGY,@,EDM,W 5-4 (SO),5,2,0,31,4,0,1,21,
3,2011-01-01,CGY,@,EDM,W 2-1,2,0,0,30,1,0,0,17,
4,2010-10-26,CGY,,EDM,W 5-4 (SO),5,2,1,39,4,1,0,32,
5,2010-10-16,CGY,,EDM,W 5-3,5,1,0,46,3,0,0,30,
6,2010-10-07,CGY,@,EDM,L 0-4,0,0,0,37,4,2,1,33,

Rk,Date,Tm,,Opp,Result,G,PP,SH,S,GA,PP GA,SH GA,SA,DIFF
1,2010-01-30,CGY,,EDM,W 6-1,6,1,0,30,1,1,0,28,
2,2009-12-31,CGY,,EDM,W 2-1,2,1,0,39,1,0,0,22,
3,2009-12-28,CGY,@,EDM,W 4-1,4,1,1,23,1,0,0,35,
4,2009-10-24,CGY,,EDM,W 5-2,5,2,1,38,2,2,0,25,
5,2009-10-08,CGY,@,EDM,W 4-3 (SO),4,0,0,28,3,1,0,28,
6,2009-10-03,CGY,@,EDM,W 4-3,4,2,0,21,3,0,0,34,

[CaptainCrunch]

In almost every way, it just looks like the Flames have a brighter future even if the Oilers do get a wonder kid in the draft.

While the Oilers get McDavid or Eichel, they'll have to match up with a center depth here on Monahan, Bennett and Backlund.

While the Oilers might brag about their winger depth, outside of Hall, its not a great group in terms of 200 foot games and mental toughness.

You look at the future in goal with the Flames and Oilers and its not close.

You look at the coaching and its not close

You look at the front office and its not close

I would argue that the future is a bit brighter for the Oilers on the blueline, but I would expect that the Flames will work pretty hard on that.

There is nothing good about the Oilers, and I have no doubt that they'll enter another 5 year rebuild plan this summer when players sick of losing start actively campigning for a move.

[Jacks]

The greasers will always be my most hated team but that's probably because I was a hockey fan in the 80's. I can understand how younger people would see the canucks as the bigger enemy.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by codynw

There is no rivalry while the Oilers remain this bad. I consider Vancouver a much bigger rival than Edmonton.

Come on. There's a 17000 post thread on this forum that people find excuses to bump if it falls off the first page. No rivalry? haha ... that's a joke.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by nik-

Come on. There's a 17000 post thread on this forum that people find excuses to bump if it falls off the first page. No rivalry? haha ... that's a joke.

Sure there's one between the fans, but as long as the Oilers remain in the basement, it's not a real rivalry. If they ever meet in the playoffs again, then we've got something.

[Robbob]

I remember the 80's and that is why I will never feel sorry for the Oilers. I will admit that I am more emotionally invested in game versus the canucks because they mean more. Playing the Oilers now days is pretty stress free as it is as close to a guarantee win as you can get in sports.

[Geeoff]

The rivalry will flare back up if the Oilers start to show a pulse. Still waiting...

[Locke]

Originally Posted by nik-

Come on. There's a 17000 post thread on this forum that people find excuses to bump if it falls off the first page. No rivalry? haha ... that's a joke.

I dont know about rivalry though. I consider the Oilers like a jealous, mentally challenged little brother coveting their older brother's success.

Rivalries arent rivalries if they're completely one-sided.