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The greatest cult heroes in Edmonton Oilers’ history

Originally posted on The Oil Rig | By Alex Stewart | Last updated Aug 1, 2026 10:47 AM ET

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The Edmonton Oilers are a franchise rich with history. Some of the greatest players to ever lace skates have done so wearing the Copper and Blue. Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, the list goes on. The Oilers’ most storied franchise legends could stack up against any other team in the NHL.

However, it’s easy to remember the greats. Every franchise has had a star, but it’s the cult heroes who are sometimes more fun to remember. The unsung heroes who made their mark through hard work, unlikely triumphs, or pure connection to the fans. Edmonton is storied enough to have quite a few of those as well.

This week, we’ll be running down some of the greatest cult heroes in Oilers history and exploring why they still resonate even years later.

Ryan Smyth: the team’s beating heart

There may be no player more beloved by Edmonton fans than Ryan Smyth. Selected sixth overall in the 1994 Draft, Smyth was never the fastest skater, the most gifted scorer, or the most technical stickhandler.

What he was though, was the hardest worker on the ice, every night he played. Smyth made his bones in front of the net, always willing to absorb the punishment in a Dead Puck Era where players were all too willing to give it. Smyth became the face of the franchise in during the mid-90s swoon, and as the all-time legends departed for better financial situations, it was Smyth who the fans embraced as the next great Oiler.

He stuck with Edmonton through thick and thin, which made his eventual 2007 trade to the New York Islanders all the more devastating, doubly so due to the reports that his camp and the Oilers were just $100,000 apart on extension talks. Smyth returned to the Oilers to end his career, and was inducted into the Oilers Hall of Fame in 2022.

Although the franchise usually reserves retiring jersey numbers for players who were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, I believe they should make an exception for Smyth’s #94. No player has captured the hearts of Oilers’ fans quite like him, before or since.

Fernando Pisani: the playoff hero

While Smyth made his cult hero case over 11 seasons with the team, it took Fernando Pisani only 24 games to etch his name in Oilers lore forever. Pisani had been a solid middle-six winger from 2003 until 2006, but it was the 2006 playoffs that would define his story. The Oilers made a run to the Stanley Cup Final, powered by the goaltending of Dwayne Roloson and the play of offseason acquisition Chris Pronger. However, it was Pisani that became the team’s breakout performer. 14 goals in 24 games, with five game-winners in that span.

His most famous moment would come in overtime of Game 5 against Carolina. The Oilers trailed in the series three games to one. They were shorthanded when Pisani intercepted a pass at the offensive blueline, came in alone against Cam Ward, and went top shelf to win the game and extend Edmonton’s season.

Pisani’s career was never the same after the 2006 playoffs. A diagnosis of ulcerative colitis in 2007–08 limited him to just 56 games, and various injuries limited him from that point onwards. However, Oilers fans will never forget his role in that ’06 Cup run.

Queue the ABBA!

Georges Laraque: the intimidator

The 2000s were still a time where the enforcer roamed the NHL, and there was perhaps no one more feared in his era than Georges Laraque. “Big Georges” as he was known stood 6’3” and 273lbs, and was, for a time, the NHL’s most feared heavyweight. Laraque would drop the gloves with just about anybody. It got to a point where the threat of having to fight Laraque was more powerful than the fight itself. Laraque was one of the last great enforcers in NHL history, and he endeared himself to the Edmonton faithful with his abilities.

Off the ice, Laraque’s reputation is just as positive. Regarded as one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet, Laraque has been majorly involved in charity work after his playing days were through. He still considers Edmonton home, and has been active in the community both in Edmonton, and his native Montreal. Laraque’s off-ice demeanour couldn’t be more different from his on-ice playing style, but he epitomizes the idea of a “gentle giant,” and will always be beloved in Oil Country for it.

He’s even got a hat trick on the resume!

Esa Tikkanen: the unsung hero

The Oilers dynasty of the 1980s had unmatched firepower. Gretzky, Kurri, Messier, Anderson, Coffey. Some of the greatest players in history altogether on the same team at the same time.

However, it’s somehow possible for a team like that to still have a couple of underrated contributors. Enter Esa Tikkanen. Tikkanen was the third man on the top line of Gretzky-Kurri, but his job wasn’t to score. Instead, he was the checking, defensive winger whose job it was to frustrate the other team’s best players, and frustrate them he did.

Tikkanen was one of the most underrated defensive players of his era, a three-time runner up for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for best defensive forward. Tikkanen’s chippy and aggressive playing style made him a classic example of a player who you hated, unless he was on your team. His famed “Tikkanese,” a combination of broken Finnish-English, was often used to annoy opposing players, although sometimes not even his teammates could understand what he was saying.

Tikkanen’s crowning moment in Edmonton came during the 1991 playoffs. After Tikkanen led the team in points during the regular season due to injuries to Messier and the departure of Kurri, the Oilers faced off against the hated Calgary Flames one more time, a team that had finished the year 20 points higher in the standings. Edmonton built a 3–1 series lead, but squandered in, and Game 7 at the Saddledome went to overtime. It was Tikkanen who again played hero, scoring his seventh goal of the series to end the Flames season and push the battered Oilers into the Smythe Divison Final.

Tikkanen was traded to the New York Rangers in March 1993, but he brought the Oilers one last gift. The player he was traded for? Doug Weight.

Oilers > Flames

Joey Moss: the soul of the Oilers

Joey Moss never played a game for the Oilers, and yet he might be the most beloved hero in Oilers history. Brought into the Oilers organization as a dressing-room attendant during the 1980s due to Wayne Gretzky dating his sister, Moss’ infectious enthusiasm and hard working spirit endeared him not just to the players on the team, but the City of Edmonton as a whole.

Living with Down syndrome, Moss became a role model for people around the world, and any player who interacted with him had nothing but praise and respect for his role. Moss’ impact not only on the organization, but the whole world of hockey extends far beyond just Edmonton.

When Moss passed away in 2020, his name was honoured around the league. The Oilers opened their 2020–21 season wearing his name on their jerseys in warumps, and after every home win, they play “La Bamba,” Moss’s favourite song. The watch party area outside Rogers Place has been dubbed the “Moss Pit” in honour of Joey.

In September 2021, the Oilers unveiled a sculpture of Moss to be placed near the entrance of the dressing room, allowing players to always give Joey a fist bump before they hit the ice, as they had for every game before. Joey Moss’s impact on the Oilers is still felt to this day, and although he never played a single game, he, more than anyone else, is the ultimate cult hero in Edmonton Oilers history.